Warren William, Marion Marsh, William Powell and the DESK!

I must assume anyone who's been following this blog knows by now that I am on a full-blown Warren William kick! In the last 2 months I've watched over 20 of his films, most of them I had never seen before! I must also assume that at least a few of you know I have been developing a major obsession with all things Art Deco as well! As a consequence I am more and more keying into the set design and art direction of films from the 20's and 30's, especially the absolutely stunning work of Anton Grot over at Warner Bros. Well, during a recent revisit of the hilarious Warren William/Marion Marsh film "Beauty and the Boss" (1932), I was totally blown away by William's amazing Art Deco office, but especially of his DESK!!!

So a while back I was watching "High Pressure" (1932) with the most awesome William Powell and what do I see, but that magnificent Desk again! This time with a lovely stylized female nude in the front center area and what looks like decorative metal along all the rounded edges not just the top. We can also see much of the same set was used for both films.

Then last week I am revisiting another excellent Warren William/Marion Marsh picture "Under Eighteen" (1931) that I saw only once several years ago, and lo and behold my beloved desk is there again!!! Isnt it lovely? And I imagine it was quite sturdy and lots of fun to try to move around!

Meanwhile I have been on the lookout at ebay for Warren William memorabilia and wouldnt ya know it, I find up for auction a Lobby Card for "Beauty and the Boss" that features both stars AND the DESK!!! Talk about positive Juju!! Well, I figured this being pre-code and all I would have to shell out some bucks for it but to my most wonderful surprise I was the only bidder!

This lovely card now resides in my home...my first piece of Warren William memorabilia woo hoo!!!!! I now have a strong sudden urge to ruthlessly take over a corporation, manipulate the stock market, have an affair with a showgirl, seduce an innocent young clothing store model, lie, cheat, steal and even murder, all while wearing a bejeweled turban and shouting "SMASH OR BE SMASHED!!!!!

Good times! Good times!
I also have a huge future project in my mind...to build a replica of that incredible desk! I have NO idea how its put together, what materials were used and what color and type of finish it had....mere trivialties that should only take a decade or so to unravel the mysteries of....