Here are a few sparkling stars to perk up your Independence Day.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
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| Ruth Roman again has a-hold of a big one. |
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| Miss Ann Miller gives her gams a well-earned break! |
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| Cyd Charisse tries out "bondage!" |
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| Joan Crawford is scarfing it down. |
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| Elena Verdugo is just what the doctor ordered. |
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| Piper Laurie really has her hands full. Stand back! |
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| I do hope Rhonda Fleming gave up smoking that day with a collar like this one! |
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| Terry Moore takes us out with a bang! |
7 comments:
Happy 4th Poseidon!!
A fun collection with one of my absolute faves, Ruth Roman leading the way!
That's a great collection of holiday-themed studio shots!
Thanks for including Elena Verdugo! I remember a TV interview she did during her MARCUS WELBY, M.D. days, where she proudly announced that she once got to kill the Wolf Man! (In HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN-- but he inexplicably "got better" in the sequel.)
Thanks for all your great work, Poseidon! Happy 4th to all, and be safe and well, everybody!
Happy 4th Poseidon!
Love the pics but I have to say those early pictures of Joan Crawford were kinda scary. Crazy eyes.
Thanks for the post!
Happy 4th, Poseidon! I always wonder what was going through the minds of these actresses who were forced to pose for these silly (and fabulous!) publicity photos for their studios...holidays were big business for such things. Thanks for sharing...
Thanks, friends! A, I was more distracted by her very gummy and thin-lipped smile! I think this was before her signature look was settled. But early photography could sometimes be stark and almost jarring. I feel like George Hurrell began working with her and the results were then staggering. Of course, he knew how to bring out the best in virtually everyone! jobj69, a lot of these corny schemes were set in motion before TV (and of course long before the Internet) so the treadmill of publicity pics were put to good use in the countless hordes of movie magazines and newspapers. The ones here are late in the game for the most part, but in earlier years the concepts were just as zany, if not worse. I suspect some gals were eager to take part (on the way up) while others (who may have been up already) thought of it as a horrendous chore... Fun to look back at them now, anyway. Take care!
That picture of Crawford looks like it was taken just before Max Factor redid her lip line with what he called a "hunter's bow lip" (as opposed to the "cupid's bow lip" he made popular in the '20s) but also got dubbed "the Smear."
But George Hurrell also was responsible for helping Crawford change her image, and his portraits of her are amazing, some of the best B/W portraiture ever. Years ago, I read a book (I believe it was called "The Hurrell Touch") in which Hurrell described working with various stars and how he tried to help shape their images, with a large section on his relationship with Crawford.
The most fascinating thing was that he insisted that Crawford come to her photo sessions without the foundation that she used to hide her freckles, just eyes and lips made up. He wanted the natural glow of her bare skin to work with in taking the photos-- and then he worked with a retoucher to meticulously remove every freckle on the huge negatives!
The book printed one of the unaltered negatives so you could see just how freckle-faced Crawford naturally was. Still quite beautiful, but not the polished perfection of a "screen goddess" Hurrell created in the final portraits!
And some of the stars definitely hated the studio photo sessions and tried to avoid them-- men had to endure them, too, and many actors rebelled by gaining a little paunch to get out of beefcake shots.
Thanks for all you do, Poseidon! Love to all, and be safe and well, everyone!
Hope your holiday was free of work demands and full of restful and restorative activities, while wonderful vintage movies played in the background.
Thanks for all you do!
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