Aficionados of films starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire know his name well, and revere it. Scholars familiar with Citizen Kane know it, too, even if some aren't quite as respectful as Fred and Ginger's fans. Head of art direction for RKO at one of the most critical periods in that studio’s history, Van Nest Polglase was one of the first art directors to become a name with what Hollywood terms "marquee value".

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