BUSTER CRABBE | HOW TO SWIM IN NINE EASY LESSONS (1938) Set of 4 beefcake photos
[Los Angeles]: Paramount Pictures, 1938. Set of four (4) Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photos. Minor corner creases and wear to all. One has chip at top right corner, another has chip at bottom left corner. Overall very good. Four photos in a series called "How To Swim in Nine Easy Lessons". The series included nine photos as indicated; present are numbers 1, 6, 8 and 9. Each has a blurb printed on the verso explaining the swim technique which Buster is demonstrating. They were used to publicize his appearance in the Paramount film Tip Off Girls. The Olympic swim champ was popular and utilized in film for his physique more so than his acting talents, but he did make for an iconic Flash Gordon. From the Kenneth Anger collection, but not stamped. Anger may have been planning a beefcake storyline for one of his books, or just liked collecting beefcake photos of the stars. Coded P1498-240, 241, 243, 248.
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BUSTER CRABBE | HOW TO SWIM IN NINE EASY LESSONS (1938) Set of 4 beefcake photos
[Los Angeles]: Paramount Pictures, 1938. Set of four (4) Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photos. Minor corner creases and wear to all. One has chip at top right corner, another has chip at bottom left corner. Overall very good. Four photos in a series called "How To Swim in Nine Easy Lessons". The series included nine photos as indicated; present are numbers 1, 6, 8 and 9. Each has a blurb printed on the verso explaining the swim technique which Buster is demonstrating. They were used to publicize his appearance in the Paramount film Tip Off Girls. The Olympic swim champ was popular and utilized in film for his physique more so than his acting talents, but he did make for an iconic Flash Gordon. From the Kenneth Anger collection, but not stamped. Anger may have been planning a beefcake storyline for one of his books, or just liked collecting beefcake photos of the stars. Coded P1498-240, 241, 243, 248. BUSTER CRABBE | KING OF THE JUNGLE (1933) Set of 5 beefcake publicity portraits
[Los Angeles]: Paramount Pictures, 1933. Set of five (5) vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white double weight matte finish photos. Very minor corner wear and some with tiny pinholes at corners, about fine. When Buster Crabbe lost out to fellow Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller in playing Tarzan at MGM, Paramount came up with this competitive story. It was Buster's first feature film and the studio photographers wasted little time in presenting photography of his physique, which bared nearly all and of which would not be tolerated once the Production Code was enforced. This series of images introduced moviegoers to Crabbe. They are amongst the finest photos in male beefcake. Photos are coded P-1495-2, 3, 4, 6, 27. DON Q, SON OF ZORRO | DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS WITH ARROW BETWEEN HIS TEETH (1925) Photo
[Los Angeles: United Artists, 1925]. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Minor crease at bottom right corner, about fine. Douglas Fairbanks is all swashbuckler in this tale of the son of Zorro. Photo is coded DQ95. VIVIEN LEIGH | GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) Classic portrait
[Los Angeles: David O. Selznick, 1939]. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Small crease at top left edge corner, near fine. One of the supreme classic Hollywood portraits. Vivien Leigh as the young and vibrant Scarlett O'Hara, wearing her green spring bar-b-que dress. Photo is coded S.I.P. 108-P-122. KATHARINE HEPBURN | ALICE ADAMS (1935) Portrait by Ernest Bachrach – 2
[Los Angeles]: RKO Studios, [1935]. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Stamped on verso in ink with Ernest Bachrach photographer stamp as well as attached printed paper blurb. Crease near top left corner, minor chip at bottom left corner and minor creasing near right bottom edge. About fine. Katharine Hepburn played the small town Indiana girl who wants to improve her social status in this adaptation of Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1921 novel. Walter Plunkett designed a simple contemporary to 1935 wardrobe for her, but for this glamour portrait she wears a lace and crocheted top with diamond clips. Photo is coded NY Q-324. LOUISIANA STORY (1948) Photo archive
[London: London Films International, 1948]. Set of eight (8) vintage original black-and-white photos: six 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) single and double weight glossy silver gelatin photos and two 7 x 9" (17 x 22 cm.) double weight matte photos. Two have original typed paper blurbs on verso, one with foreign printing ink stamp. Generally about fine. The idyllic life of a young Cajun boy and his pet raccoon living in the Bayou is disrupted by an oil well being drilled by his home. Filmed on location in the Bayou, the production was sponsored by Standard Oil. Joseph Boudreaux as the boy is featured in all of the images. Director/writer Robert Flaherty's semi documentary film. Only one photo is coded: LS-7. GENE TIERNEY | THE LEFT HAND OF GOD (1955) Classic 1950s portrait
[Los Angeles: Twentieth Century Fox, 1955]. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Remnants of tape on back where original paper blurb was attached. Minor edge creases, about fine. Photo of Gene Tierney for the Twentieth Century Fox film The Left Hand of God. Gene Tierney played a missionary in China, opposite Humphrey Bogart as lead. Fifteen years of constant filmmaking, a failed marriage to Oleg Cassini, failed relationships and the birth of her intellectually handicapped daughter led her to deep depression. She had trouble throughout filming and was sent to a sanitarium afterward, not returning for seven years to make another movie. Here she wears a classic necklace and earrings of pearls. Photo is coded G59/S/211. MARILYN MONROE WEARS FASHION SHOW BATHING SUIT (1953) Photo
[Los Angeles: Twentieth Century Fox, 1953]. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Photo curls. Minor crease at top right corner. Near fine. Full-length costume portrait of Marilyn wearing the bathing suit that she models in the fashion show sequence from How to Marry a Millionaire. As a myopic character, Monroe played both physical and psychological comedy as she tripped her way around the runway stage attempting to see the wealthy and handsome patron asking her and pals Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall to model the latest fashions. Photo is coded F999/S/431. Kenneth Anger (screenwriter, director) THE GNOSTIC MASS (2002) Film script
Np [Los Angeles?]: 2002. Vintage original film script, quarto, brad bound, [1], 20 pp. Photomechanically printed first generation screenplay. Various scattered creases (with the final page, which is mostly blank, most affected), very good+. An unproduced screenplay generated by Kenneth Anger. It was intended to be the basis of a forty-minute film adaptation of Aleister Crowley's book of the same name, first published in 1918. The structure of Crowley's mass is similar to the Mass of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, communicating the principles of Crowley's Thelema. It is the central rite of Ordo Templi Orientis and its ecclesiastical arm, Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica. Scripts for any of Anger's films are exceedingly uncommon, and this is the only one I have ever seen. Provenance: Kenneth Anger archive. BLOW-UP | SARA MILES, DAVID HEMMINGS (1966) UK photo
[London: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1966]. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Near fine. Michelangelo Antonioni's exploration of the vapid mid-1960s mod scene in the London fashion business is also a murder mystery. Photographer Thomas (David Hemmings) engages in a number of sex relationships with models, including Patricia (Sara Miles). Though top-billed with Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave, Miles had far less screen time. To this day, people wonder about the philosophy of the film. Sean Connery turned it down as he had no idea what Antonioni was trying to say. Vanessa Redgrave offered her take on the film in her autobiography. "Blow-Up was about the unity and difference of essence and phenomena, the conflict between what is, objectively, and what is seen, heard, or grasped by the individual." Photo is coded BU-B5. RITA HAYWORTH DANCING | COVER GIRL (1944) Portrait
[Los Angeles]: Columbia Pictures, 1944. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Minor waving near bottom of photo. Minor creases at bottom margin. Tape remnants on verso. About fine. Original attached paper blurb describes the dancing portrait as publicity for the upcoming Columbia Pictures musical Cover Girl. In a dancing pose, Rita Hayworth is dressed in a flowing gown -- though not one used in the film. Jerome Kern wrote some of his best-remembered songs for the spectacular Technicolor musical set in the fashion, modeling and show biz world of 1944. DON Q, SON OF ZORRO | DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS IN CAPE (1925) Photo
[Los Angeles: United Artists, 1925]. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. There is a chip at the top right corner, about fine. The film is a swashbuckling spectacle made at the height of Douglas Fairbanks' physical prowess. Fairbanks was also producer with actor/director Donald Crisp at the helm. Youthful Mary Astor was Fairbanks' leading lady. Photo is coded DQ 143. CAROLE LOMBARD WEARING MINK (1936) Portrait for Paramount
[Los Angeles]: Paramount Pictures, 1936. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Paramount Pictures info printed and dated 1936 on bottom margin, Kenneth Anger collection label on verso. Creases at top right edge and along right white margin, corner creases, wear and crop marks at top margin for possible publication use. Very good. Wearing what is likely a mink, Carole Lombard displays the sumptuous coat in a sophisticated manner in this studio publicity still for Paramount. In 1936 Lombard appeared in the films Love Before Breakfast and The Princess Comes Across for Paramount. Lombard wore this costume in the comedy The Princess Comes Across, which was designed for her by Travis Banton. Filmmaker, artist and Hollywood Babylon author Kenneth Anger collected original photography for his various books and projects. BETTE DAVIS | BAD SISTER (1931) Very early fashion portrait by Ray Jones
Ray Jones [Los Angeles]: Universal Pictures, 1931. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white double weight glossy silver gelatin photo. Some rippling caused by attached paper blurb. Near fine. Two original paper blurbs on verso describe the fashions she models in publicizing the film Gambling Daughters. There is a Ray Jones photographer ink stamp and Screen Play Secrets ink stamp, with handwritten information including dates of 1/28/31 and March 28, 1931. This fashion portrait was taken of Bette Davis soon after her arrival in Hollywood and is one of the earliest known professional images of the soon-to-become queen of the screen. It is for her very first film, originally titled What a Flirt, then (as this photo blurb describes) Gambling Daughters, but was finally released as Bad Sister. Supremely unsure of herself and her appearance, she would learn the ropes in supporting roles at Universal for a year and then move on to the greener pastures at Warner Brothers the next year. Still, even with her unsureness she appears as strong and defiant as ever in this Ray Jones portrait. Photo hand-coded BDF 9.- $500
- $500
DOLORES DEL RÍO | FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933) Costume portrait
RKO Radio Pictures [Los Angeles: RKO Radio Pictures, 1933]. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Minor curling and aging, tape remnants top and bottom of verso. Very good+. Dolores del Río poses for this publicity portrait in a gown most likely designed by Walter Plunkett. The musical was conceived as a star vehicle for Dolores, but it became a huge hit because of the introduction of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Photo coded FDR-ADV-77 and NY-707-262 (used by the New York office).- $175
- $175
SESSUE HAYAKAWA for ROBERTSON-COLE (1922) Portrait
Robertson-Cole Productions [Los Angeles: Robertson-Cole Productions, 1922]. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Just about fine. Type on verso describes Sessue Hayakawa as star in Robertson-Cole Productions. Portrait is from his independent period, after his own film company failed and before his move to work in Europe. While touring the United States in a theatre company from Japan in 1913, Sessue was discovered by filmmaker Thomas Ince; the first Asian film star was born. He soon went to work for Cecil B. DeMille and enjoyed a prolific career rivaling that of the top Caucasian stars of the time. Deciding to leave Famous Players, he formed his own company around 1920; when that did not prove financially successful, he freelanced. This portrait is from that period. In his later career he would earn an Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). Photo is coded SHS-1.- $250
- $250
SINGING MARINE, THE (1937) Oversized production photo by James Manatt
James Manatt [Los Angeles]: Warner Brothers, 1937]. Vintage original 11 x 14" (28 x 35 cm.) black-and-white double weight glossy silver gelatin photo. Ink date stamp of Mar 4, 1937, and photographer Manatt ink stamp as well. Minor crease at top right corner, minor edge wear. Near fine. Original paper blurb on verso says that director Ray Enright and crew are filming Dick Powell and Doris Weston on a beach set for Warner Brothers' The Singing Marine. During the early 1930s, Warner Brothers rang supreme in the genre of movie musicals: the songs were catchy, the scripts were pre-Code racy and the Busby Berkeley musical numbers were mind boggling. By 1937, MGM had come into its own with great performers and musicals with real stories. While Dick Powell enjoyed making the earlier productions, his interest was zilch by the time he made this lackluster film. He could not even feign interest in his scenes with first-timer Doris Weston and in an interview at the time told reporters that he totally zoned-out when she sang to him. Powell and Weston are caught doing their best for director and crew in this rare bit of behind-the-scenes photography which shows the studio-built "beach at night" set, lights, overhead mic and camera track used to get this shot. Powell served out his Warner's contract, got out in 1939 and went on to an entirely new film career as straight actor in comedies, dramas and noir. Weston did not catch on at all and called it a day by 1939.- $375
- $375
GERRY MULLIGAN (1956-60) Set of 3 photos
Robert Parent New York: Np, 1956-1960. Set of three (3) vintage original photos: one 7 x 10" (18 x 26 cm.) and one 8 x 8" (20 x 20 cm.), both borderless and with Robert Parent photographer stamps on verso; and one 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) double weight with mimeographed text and date stamp on verso. Generally near fine. Gerry Mulligan was one of the great mid-century jazz musicians; he played saxophone and clarinet. One photo shows him with his group playing at a club called the Music Inn, one shows them in a recording session, and the third is of Mulligan's appearance at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival as documented in the 1959 film Jazz On a Summer Day.- $400
- $400
ANN-MARGRET | KITTEN WITH A WHIP (1964) Oversized portrait
Universal [Los Angeles]: Universal Studios, [1964]. Vintage original 11 x 14" (28 x 35 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Original paper blurb from Universal Studios on verso. Crease at bottom left corner, near fine. Ann-Margret, very early in her film career, is at her most demure in this lovely portrait for her role as a sassy juvenile delinquent. The role somewhat typecast the multi-talented lady who still thrills us today.- $350
- $350
ERROL FLYNN, BURT LANCASTER, ROBERT MITCHUM IN DRAG at FRIARS’ FROLIC (1950) Photo by Charles Rhodes
Charles Rhodes [Los Angeles]: Fawcett Publications, 1950. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Ink stamp on verso from Fawcett Publications and credited to photographer Charles Rhodes, ink stamp date of April 1950. About fine. Original attached paper blurb claims that Burt Lancaster is ordering Robert Mitchum to keep his hands off Erroll Flynn, at the Friars' Frolic at the Shrine Auditorium. Flynn was one of the masters of ceremonies for this all-male fundraising event. Mitchum and Lancaster were part of a musical number and were two of six Floradora Girls. The 3rd Annual Friars' Frolic was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on April 22, 1950, in which Hollywood's big-name male actors starred. Proceeds were for the Motion Picture Relief Fund and various Friars charities. Famous figures like Jack Benny, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Red Skelton and Keenan Wynn played girls. Dan Dailey and Mario Lanza did solo acts. George Burns and Broderick Crawford performed together, as well as famous duo Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Other comedians included Phil Silvers, George Jessel, Harpo Marx, etc. Many other actors, including well-known Ricardo Montalban, Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Errol Flynn, Al Jolson and violinist Isaac Stern played in the sketches and specialty acts. A rather flamboyant evening!- $500
- $500
KATHARINE HEPBURN | QUALITY STREET (1937) Oversized portrait
RKO Radio Pictures [Los Angeles: RKO Radio Pictures, 1937]. Vintage original 11 x 14" (28 x 35 cm.) black-and-white double weight glossy silver gelatin photo. Crease at bottom right corner, minor wear. About fine. A stunning portrait -- and of the highest quality -- from the golden age of Hollywood portraiture. Katharine Hepburn, wearing a period costume designed by Walter Plunkett, is in perfect characterization as the 1810s prim maid Phoebe Throssel of J. M. Barrie's story. George Stevens directed. RKO felt that adapting some of Barrie's works for Hepburn would be appropriate. Audiences did not respond and, with a box office poison rating, Hepburn found herself needing to change gears. She soon did by starring, first on stage and then on screen, in The Philadelphia Story. Photo is coded QS-36.- $550
- $550
ARCHIE SHEPP (ca. 1970) Photo by Raymond Ross
Raymond Ross New York: Raymond Ross, [ca. 1970]. Vintage original 10 x 8" (25 x 20 cm.) black-and-white photo. With photographer Raymond Ross' stamp on verso, fine. Archie Shepp, whose instrument was the saxophone, was one of the great innovators in avant-garde jazz. His music increasingly reflected his Afrocentric orientation and his growing political consciousness.- $325
- $325
JOAN CRAWFORD SHOWS HER LEGS | DANCE, FOOLS, DANCE (1931) Photo
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [Los Angeles]: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1931. Vintage original 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Photo has minor use. Typed credit information on verso comes through on Lester Vail's face. About fine. A riches-to-rags saga involving the Roaring Twenties, the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash and the subsequent Depression, which is reason for wealthy Joan Crawford to seek a job at a newspaper. All of the pre-Code story elements were here, some of the storyline was based upon the real-life incidents of the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre in a garage in Chicago and the June 9, 1930 murder of Chicago Tribune reporter Jake Lingle. Photo is coded 531-58.- $300
- $300
