The Max Factor

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The man who created the faces of Hollywood was born in Poland and became the wigmaker and make-up artist to the Court of Tsar Nicolas II. Because of rampant antisemitism in the early 1900s, he and his family fled to America where relatives were living. An immigration officer inadvertently changed his name to Factor with a c instead of a k. Max Factor moved to Hollywood at the right moment. Theatre make-up did not work very well with projectors and close-ups and the talkies as well the introduction of technicolor created other problems Factor brilliantly solved.

In 1935 he had created a make-up empire which allowed him to ask the famous architect S. Charles Lee to build an art-deco office for him which is now the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles. Julia Kuperberg & Clara Kuperberg interviewed film historian Marc Wanamaker who talks about the achievements of Max Factor, while Donelle Dadigan shows us around the Museum, and the actresses Lee Purcell and Jaclyn Smith tell us what Max Factor meant to them. Lots of film clips featuring the stars Factor worked with round off this look behind the scene.

Directors : Julia Kuperberg & Clara Kuperberg
Production : Wichita Films
Producers : Clara Kuperberg & Julia Kuperberg
Year : 2018
Running Time : 52 minutes

Casting

Donelle Dadigan
Owner of the Hollywood Museum Max Factor

Marc Wanamaker
Film Historian

Lee Purcell
Actress

Jaclyn Smith
Actress