Hollywoodland | Mar 21 2024 |
![ON BENDED KNEES](/images/headline/7415.png)
Strange ideas from the minds and lenses of mid-century promo photographers.
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A while back we shared a promo photo of Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame from 1953's The Big Heat that was meant to imply oral sex (it absolutely was, and you can see for yourself here). We commented on its weirdness, and noted that an actress would probably not be asked or made to pose that way today. The shot got us thinking about whether there were other kneeling promo shots from the mid-century era, and above you see two others from The Big Heat.
Below we have more such shots, and while none are as jarring as that previous promo, they're all interesting. We assumed there would be few if any featuring kneeling males, but we found a couple. Even so, there are probably scores more kneeling actresses that we missed. While many of shots took the form they did to highlight the criminal/victim themes in their parent films, you still have to wonder what else—consciously or not—was in the various photograhers' minds. Anyway, just some food for thought this lovely Thursday. Ready, set discuss!
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And lastly, in a curious example, Hugo Haas seems to tell Cleo Moore to stay in a shot made for 1953's One Girl's Confession.
The Big HeatChukaShield for MurderDon't Bother To KnockCry TerrorStreetcar Named DesireManpowerTaste the Blood of DraculaGildaThe Naked and the DeadDead ReckoningI Died a Thousand TimesThe Pink PantherOne Girl's ConfessionRod TaylorLuciana PauluzziEdmund O'BrienMarla EnglishMarilyn MonroeRichard WidmarkInger StevensTerry Ann RossKim HunterMarlon BrandoGeorge RaftMarlene DietrichChristopher LeeRita HayworthAldo RayBarbara NicholsIda LupinoLizabeth ScottFiorella MariShelly WintersJack PalanceBlake EdwardsCappucineHugo HaasCleo Moorecinema
Modern Pulp | May 21 2022 |
![PLAIDING HIS CASE](/images/headline/6564.png)
Something old, something new.
This is something a bit unusual. It's a life-sized promotional cardboard cut-out for 1982's film noir-sourced comedy Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, which starred Steve Martin and Rachel Ward. We thought of this film recently due to Martin's new Agatha Christie-influenced television mystery series Only Murders in the Building, which we watched and enjoyed. We first saw Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid years ago, long before Pulp Intl. and all the knowledge we've gained about film noir. We liked it much better during our recent viewing.
If you haven't seen it, Martin uses scores of film noir clips to weave a mystery in which he stars as private detective Rigby Reardon. Aside from Ward, and director Rob Reiner, his co-stars are Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Barbara Stanwyck, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Cary Grant, and many others, all arranged into a narrative that turns out to be about cheese, a Peruvian island, and a plot to bomb the United States.
The film's flow only barely holds together, which you'd have to expect when relying upon clips from nineteen old noirs to cobble together a plot, but as a noir tribute—as well as a satirical swipe at a couple of sexist cinematic tropes from the mid-century period—it's a masterpiece. If you love film noir, you pretty much have to watch it. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid had its premiere at the USA Film Festival in early May, but was released nationally today in 1982.
USA Film FestivalDead Men Don't Wear PlaidOnly Murders in the BuildingSteve MartinRachel WardRob ReinerAva GardnerHumphrey BogartBurt LancasterBarbara StanwyckIngrid BergmanCary GrantVincent PriceRay MillandEdmund O'BrienCharles LaughtonVeronica LakeAlan LaddKirk DouglasJames CagneyLana Turnerposter artcinemafilm noirmovie review