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,

You Read It In Winchell...

It was a gathering of celebrities to celebrate Walter Winchell's 56th birthday in May of 1953! 

Winchell was a popular gossip columnist and radio show host in Hollywood at the time. His radio show was the first time people, including Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, it seems, would hear that Lucille was expecting a baby. Lucille wrote in her posthumously published autobiography, Love, Lucy:

"Desi was fast asleep and I was knitting, listening to the radio. Walter Winchell came on the air and announced: 'After ten childless years of marriage, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are infanticipating.' I dropped my knitting, ran into Desi's dressing room, and woke him up. 'We're going to have a baby!

Desi sat up, rubbing his eyes. 'How d'ya know? We aren't supposed to hear until tomorrow!' 

I said, 'Winchell just told me.'

 'How d'ya like dat!' was my Cuban's reaction."

Desi's Ricky Ricardo would sing a song he wrote on I Love Lucy, "You read it in Winchell that we're adding a limb to our family tree!"

The point here is: he was the TMZ of his day.

On May 13, 1953, the stars came out for Winchell's birthday at Ciro's, a Hollywood nightclub located on Sunset Boulevard. I never ever thought I'd see a photo of Marilyn Monroe and Lucille together, but at last, I came across these randomly one day and my little Old Hollywood heart began to flutter. 

Standing: Darryl Zanuck, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, Walter Winchell, Jane Russell

Seated: Lucille Ball, Jimmy McHugh, and Louella Parsons

Betty Grable's face makes me giggle.

It's always difficult trying to get everyone to smile 

at the same time, isn't it?!

Until next time, 

Goodnight, Mickey

On Sunday, we lost another legend of the silver screen. Mickey Rooney passed away at age 93 in Los Angeles. He was one of the last surviving actors from the silent film era & the last surviving co-star of many of his movies from the 1930s & 1940s.

Born Joseph Yule, Jr on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York to Vaudevillian parents, Mickey began acting on stage at age 17 months in his parents' show. His parents separated in 1924 & in 1925, his mother moved him to Hollywood. She took him to an audition for a series of shorts where he starred as Mickey McGuire from 1927 to 1936. He then had to change his name from Mickey McGuire to Mickey Rooney for legal reasons. In 1934, Mickey signed a contract with MGM where they set him on the road to stardom by casting him as Andy Hardy in 1937's A Family Affair. The Andy Hardy series spanned 13 films until 1958. It was during this period he starred along newcomer Judy Garland and from there bloomed a deep friendship until Judy's untimely death in 1967. The two also starred in other films and musicals aside from the Andy Hardy series such as 1939's popular Babes in Arms. 

"Judy and I were so close we could've come from the same womb. We weren't like brothers or sisters but there was no love affair there; there was more than a love affair. It's very, very difficult to explain the depths of our love for each other. It was so special. It was a forever love. Judy, as we speak, has not passed away. She's always with me in every heartbeat of my body." 

-Rooney in the 1992 documentary MGM: When The Lion Roars

Mickey and Judy on set of Babes on Broadway, 1941

Mickey with Judy and friends at Judy's 17th birthday, 

June 11, 1939

Busby Berkeley, Mickey, Louis B. Mayer, and Judy Garland

on set of Babes on Broadway, 1941

Clark Gable, Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney, and Judy Garland 

for MGM, circa 1942

Mickey with Judy and her daughter, Liza

Mickey enlisted in the Army during WWII, where he served 21 months entertaining and supporting troops in America and Europe. The Army even awarded him a Bronze Star Medal for entertaining the troops in a combat zone. His film career was not great after the war ended, and he ended up doing one last film with Judy Garland and a couple of radio shows where he reprised his role as Andy Hardy. In the 1950s Mickey appeared on his own television show, The Mickey Rooney Show: Hey, Mulligan for a total of 32 episodes. He directed a feature film, My True Story, and also played in a television drama, The Comedian, for Playhouse 90. 

“The audience and I are friends. They allowed me to grow up with them. I've let them down several times. They've let me down several times. But we're all family.”

By the 1960s, Mickey had filed for bankrupcy as it was hard for a man who was only 5'3" to find work in Hollywood unless he was a young Andy Hardy. He found work in the theatre and unimpressive film roles but found the occasional gem like It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World & Breakfast at Tiffany's, though that role of the Asian next door neighbor was rather controversial. 1979 brought about the successful The Black Stallion which spawned several sequels and spin-off television shows, even through the 2000s. 

1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's

Mickey was married eight times, including to Ava Gardner for a year in the 1940s, before she became a movie star herself. He had 9 children, also, one of which he adopted from wife Carolyn Hockett's previous marriage. 

“I’m 5 feet 3, but I was 6 feet 4 when I married Ava."

Mickey's humor and charm will be missed. His classic movies will live on forever. We know he has gone to be with Judy again, and wherever they may be, they are surely happily reunited.

“You've got to recognize, there will never be another you. It has nothing to do with ego; it happens to be the truth. There will never be another person the same. There'll never be another you. There'll never be another me..."

Until next time, 

Walt Disney Visits Hollywood Royalty

In 1932, the three Barrymore siblings - Ethel, John and Lionel - filmed an MGM picture together called Rasputin and the Empress, a period piece with elaborate costumes. Around the same time, Walt Disney was working on a short film titled Mickey's Gala Premier in which a new Mickey short premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theatre and all the big movie stars come out to watch. In the short film, the Barrymore trio appear in the first limousine dressed in the costuming from their recent movie. 

Disney visited the Barrymores on the set of Rasputin and the Empress seemingly to discuss their cameo in his upcoming Mickey short. This is another one of those photos I found and fell in love with because of the unlikely pairing! When I think of Walt Disney movies, I don't think of the Barrymores and vice versa. I love these fun finds!

Lionel, Walt, Ethel, and John

Rasputin and the Empress set, 1932

John assisting Ethel out of the limo in Mickey's Gala Premier

Lionel exiting the limo in Mickey's Gala Premier

You can watch Mickey's Gala Premier below thanks to Cartoon Station on YouTube. It features other Old Hollywood stars such as Mae West, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable and the Marx Brothers, plus many, many more!

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,