 I'm going out for a spin. If you need me just look for the brightest light in the evening sky. 
There's a common assumption that Swedish actress Anita Ekberg began her acting career in Europe and later appeared in Hollywood productions, but the opposite is true. She debuted onscreen in 1953's The Mississippi Gambler, and her first credited role was in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, for which the above promo image was made. She had competed in the 1951 Miss Universe Pageant, and as one of six finalists been awarded a contract with Universal Studios. In Abbott and Costello Go to Mars she played a member of the Venusian Guard (Abbott and Costello's ship landed on Venus by mistake). By 1955 she was a regular supporting player, and by the next year was earning $75,000 a movie. Not a bad way to fly.
 Vaudeville goes to outer space. 
Occasionally we deviate from pure pulp to share something amazing and this Japanese poster for Abbott and Costello Go to Mars falls into that category. Not that the movie is light years from pulp—it's sci-fi, sort of. The twist is that Abbott and Costello don't actually reach another planet—at least not at first. Instead they accidentally land in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and merely think they're on an alien world. Cute in parts, but stupid as hell in most, the movie is strongly Vaudeville influenced, with everything that term implies. Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, with the lovely Mari Blanchard co-starring in film and on poster, opened in Japan today in 1953. 
 Suddenly we believe in a Hyer power. 
American actress Martha Hyer first appeared in films in 1946, which makes her another golden age actress who is still around today. She was predominately cast in westerns, however did appear in the thriller The Velvet Touch, the comedy Abbott and Costello Go To Mars, and the musical Bikini Beach. This was shot by Lativian-born photographer Philippe Halsman in 1963, and appeared in the German magazine Intim.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1955—Rosa Parks Sparks Bus Boycott
In the U.S., in Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city's racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott resulted in a crippling financial deficit for the Montgomery public transit system, because the city's African-American population were the bulk of the system's ridership. 1936—Crystal Palace Gutted by Fire
In London, the landmark structure Crystal Palace, a 900,000 square foot glass and steel exhibition hall erected in 1851, is destroyed by fire. The Palace had been moved once and fallen into disrepair, and at the time of the fire was not in use. Two water towers survived the blaze, but these were later demolished, leaving no remnants of the original structure. 1963—Warren Commission Formed
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson establishes the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However the long report that is finally issued does little to settle questions about the assassination, and today surveys show that only a small minority of Americans agree with the Commission's conclusions. |
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