Hollywood in Kodachrome

This week, I received a book called Hollywood in Kodachrome by David Wills and Stephen Schmidt. In short, it is a fantastic coffee table book of vintage celebrity photographs. 

Kodachrome film was first used in the 1940s and was the first time people were seeing Hollywood stars in color. It brought new life to Hollywood and boosted the careers of those actors and actresses with colorful appearances, such as my personal favorite, Lucille Ball. With her milky skin, fiery red hair, and bright blue eyes finally on display, she was being cast in better films and given the nickname "Technicolor Tessie." In fact, Hollywood in Kodachrome dedicates a whole section to Lucille with 12 stunning color photographs.

This book is filled with beautifully restored photographs that are bursting with color and detail. The moment I saw a sampling of photographs on Vanity Fair's website, I knew I had to buy Hollywood in Kodachrome. The book displays over 200 publicity shots, movie stills, magazine covers and more all from 1940 to 1949. Every 1940s celebrity you can think of grace the pages of Hollywood in Kodachrome, from Rita Hayworth to Frank Sinatra, Betty Hutton to Humphrey Bogart. The photographs in the book are by all the big Hollywood photographers like George Hurrell, Bernard of Hollywood and Ernest Bachrach, just to name a few.

There are six total chapters of photography in Hollywood in Kodachrome. Chapter one is titled When Goddesses Roamed The Earth. This chapter, as you can imagine, reveals dazzling photos of all of Hollywood's most beautiful women: Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable, Jane Russell, and more. The next chapter Light and Illusion is over 120 pages illustrating the use of light in photography to showcase celebrity faces. Technicolor Tessie, as I mentioned before, comes third. Imagine living in the 1940s and seeing Lucille in bright color for the first time! The Posed Candid is the fourth chapter, and it's just as it seems. People wanted to see celebrities in their homes or doing normal everyday tasks, so photographers posed their subjects in casual settings. Here we see Alan Ladd carving a turkey, Ed Sullivan and Clark Gable golfing together, and Maureen O'Hara cuddling two puppies. Stars and Stripes displays Bing Crosby and Ann Miller in their red, white, and blue during the World War II era, Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda in their military uniforms, and John Wayne and James Cagney in stills from WWII movies. Lastly, Selling the Dream is full of celebrity endorsements. They've been around as long as there has been movie stars and products which need selling! Many times an advertisement would have the celebrity boasting the product and their latest picture at the same time. Hedy Lamarr sells makeup, Betty Grable tempts us with a cold Royal Crown soda, and a young Marilyn Monroe demonstrates how gorgeous prints from your personal collection of slides can look!  

Gene Tierney by Jack Albin

1942

Ava Gardner by Clarence Sinclair Bull

1944

Cary Grant by Ernest Bachrach

1947

Danny Kaye and the Goldwyn Girls

1944

Errol Flynn by George Hurrell

1940

Fred Astaire by Eric Carpenter

1947

Gregory Peck by Madison Lacy

1946

Guy Madison and Shirley Temple by Bob Beerman

1945

John Wayne

1942

Lucille Ball by Eliot Elisofon

1943

Marlene Dietrich by Al "Whitey" Schafer

1947

Rita Hayworth by Robert Coburn

1947

Ronald Reagan

1945

Frank Sinatra by Pagano

1945

Yvonne De Carlo by Ray Jones

1945

David Wills and Stephen Schmidt signing copies

of Hollywood in Kodachrome

(www.duuplex.com)

My newly discovered favorite photo is also featured right in the middle of Light and Illusion (the photo is credited to Clarence Sinclair Bull). I gasped when I saw it in all its glory! I will own a print of it someday.

I am so elated this book is in my collection. I adore coffee table books that are full of Old Hollywood photos. I appreciate the value of Old Hollywood. We don't get to see this type of glamour, elegance, and poise in today's Hollywood. I'm so thankful to David and Stephen for taking the time to find and restore all these images, making sure they are preserved and giving the proper credit to all the wonderful photographers of yesteryear who worked so hard to make an art out of photography. Hollywood in Kodachrome is a must-have!

Until next time,

Vintage Adverts

Advertisements from decades ago are extremely interesting to me. The colors, the use of words to tell the consumer why they should invest in the product, and even the products that used to frequent the pages of magazines on adverts are all so much different than what we see today in magazines or on TV. Sure, we obviously still see car ads, makeup ads, and soda ads. But how often do we see advertising for cigarettes anymore? Also, compared to 60+ years ago, we see more ads directed towards both genders instead of just females! 

1930s

Advertising in the 1930s seemed to be heavy in cigarettes and Coca Cola. The United States was in the midst of the Great Depression, so ads for big ticket items such as automobiles or radios seemed to be few and far between, and advertising for luxury items such as makeup were also sparse. Even in the '30s, advertisers knew that the use of movie stars would help promote a product big time! 

Actress Claudette Colbert (It Happened One Night, 1934) for 

Lucky Strike cigarettes

Claudette Colbert tells how the throat-strain of emotional acting led her to Luckies.

Miss Colbert says: "After experimenting, I'm convinced that my throat is safest with Luckies." 

Jean Harlow (Hell's Angels, 1930) for Coca Cola

This drink just naturally fits into a pause from work or play....Tastes good when

nothing else does....Leaves you cool and refreshed.

1937 Chevrolet

You get all the newest things of 1937 in Chevrolet

"The Complete Car - Completely New!"

Irresistible Talc

Easily, quickly, you can dust your body odor away with this dainty deodorant talc. Apply it generously all over your body. No matter how great your body warmth....the exquisite perfume of Irresistible Talc keeps its exotic delicacy....keeps you irresistible.

Westinghouse World Cruiser

Just taste the thrill of World Cruising with Westinghouse - of choosing your radio entertainment from the best the whole world affords.

1940s

With the Great Depression behind them, advertisers in the 1940s shifted focus to the glamour of Hollywood movie starlets and how to look like them. The war effort and how those at home could help were also prevalent in advertising. With the men fighting overseas, ads were still aimed at mostly women. After the war, more women could now afford the little things such as lipstick and other beauty items and families could spend money on a new car.

Rita Hayworth (Gilda, 1946) for Max Factor Tru-Color Lipstick

The color stays on through every lipstick test.

Martha O'Driscoll (Carnegie Hall, 1947) for Cashmere Bouquet Beau Cake

And, as beautiful Martha O'Driscoll says: "Such a time-saver! When I open my Beau Cake, the sponge is always ready for use."

General Electric appliances

Hers is the bloom of youth. She's taken advantage of the age she lives in - the age of modern electrical servants that lighten household tasks. No wonder she looks younger than women to whom home-making is a daily round of drudgery! 

1949 Ford

We think you'll agree the '49 Ford has "the look of the year!" 

Nestle chocolate

Delicious, nutritious and compact - chocolate is everybody's favorite, whether on the fighting front as an energy food, or on the home front as a quick pick-me-up.

1950s

The '50s brought about Marilyn Monroe and women everywhere were trying to attain that perfect figure. With the end of World War II came (mostly) the end of the working woman. More women were able to be housewives, and advertisers took note of that and household products to make running a family easier became a focus.

Marilyn Monroe (Niagara, 1953) for Westmore Hollywood Cosmetics

Even more important, it imparts a radiant natural glow that brings out your true beauty!

Perma-Lift Brassiere

"The Lift that never lets you down!"

7-Up

Crystal-clear, sparkling 7-Up is so pure, so good, so wholesome that folks of all ages can "fresh up" often!

DuPont Cellophane

Good things are twice as good in Cellophane.

Crisco 

Crisco-fried foods are so digestible you can eat them 7 days a week!

Now, I'm no advertising expert and I certainly don't keep up with today's adverts, but I know we would never see babies in cellophane in an ad today! It's fun for me to see old ads. They all have so much wording, really trying to sell their product! I really love the ones featuring the most beautiful movie stars, but that brassiere one really speaks to me!

 Until next time,