Marion Davies and Helen Jerome Eddy

There is something almost tangible in the depths of these images, a burnishing of texture that draws me into the scene. Sartov - if it is Sartov who is responsible - plays with perspective, in some shots capturing the depths of a room in pristine focus; in others, figures loom out of the shadows. Marion Davies is often shown in these pictures as a delicious madcap, in keeping with her public persona, but this image of her in Helen Jerome Eddy's consoling arms is fraught with tragedy.