Pulp International

Aug 22 2023

I adore this thing, but I need to get it repaired. Every time I try to shoot a photo some random bystander gets wounded.

We love this photo of Italian actress Luisa Rivelli handling the latest in spy gear. Her gun-camera is not quite Francisco Scaramanga's golden gun that doubles as a cigarette case and lighter, but it's pretty nice. Rivelli appeared in numerous films, including Jules Dassin's 1959 thriller La legge, aka The Law, 1965's Il tesoro della foresta pietrificata, aka Treasure of the Petrified Forest, and 1966's Operazione Goldman, aka Operation Lighting Bolt. This image came with a date on the reverse. It was made in 1965.

Italy La legge The Law Il tesoro della foresta pietrificata Treasure of the Petrified Forest Operazione Goldman Operation Lighting Bolt Luisa Rivelli

Modern Pulp

Jul 13 2022

A beautiful old poster turns out to be a beautiful new poster.

Yes, we just showed you a nice Japanese poster for Laura, and here we are again with another promo, this one French made and very striking. There's more than one French promo for the movie, but this is a special one. It's signed by the artist—Goldman. At first we were unable to find his first name, though we did immediately find another poster he created. That piece was for Orson Welles' 1946 drama The Stranger, so at that point we were thinking Goldman was an overlooked talent from the golden age of cinema.

We used all our internet mining skills and learned, according to an auction website we visited, that Goldman's poster for The Stranger was for a cinematic re-release that occurred much more recently than the 1940s. That meant Laura was probably made for a re-release too. We soon determined that both The Stranger and Laura were screened in France in August 2012. The Cinémathèque Française, which is

a venerable film society housed in a building designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry, each year offers a slate of vintage and restored films, often focusing on one or several filmmakers. In 2012 Otto Preminger, director of Laura, was one of filmmakers being honored, along with Welles, Manoel de Oliveira, Jean-Louis Trintignant, and others.

So, if we've gotten all this correct—which is no guarantee—the poster we thought was a rare piece of vintage promo art is actually a rare piece of modern promo art. And to think we always complain about modern promo art. So, okay, for the moment we're silenced, because this is excellent work. Still, though, we couldn't find out about Goldman. The internet is often heavy on noise and short on signal. With well known Goldmans out there ranging from Emma to Oscar to Sachs, we can't isolate our Goldman no matter what keyword/quotation mark/Boolean trick we try. But maybe the answer will turn up later. It often does.

France Paris Laura Gene Tierney Otto Preminger Orson Welles Goldman Frank Gehry Manoel de Oliveira Jean-Louis Trintignant poster art cinema film noir

Vintage Pulp

May 20 2021

A shot in the arm may finally set us free.

We got our vaccinations today, and in commemoration we have a collection of paperback covers featuring syringes. These should be considered a supplement to the larger collection of needles we put together in 2013. The process of vaccination was surprisingly efficient. The health pros were going thorough people at a rate of about one per minute. There's been no controversy here. No talk about refusing. Vaccinations are considered the right and sensible thing to do. We've had some shots before in our lives and mostly didn't feel them. This one felt exactly someone stabbing you in the arm with a long, sharp object.

During the last year-plus about ten friends got sick and recovered, and a couple of friends died, one in Guatemala and one in the U.S. But we can't complain about how the period has gone for us. We have plenty of space, an ocean view, mellow girlfriends, and we work online. Having all of that makes us reflect upon how difficult it's been for so many others. Early last year we threw a birthday party for PSGP. That party turned out to be the last get together between our social group, the last hurrah. Well, when it seems safe we're having a first hurrah. And we'll toast to our lost friends. Let's hope all these vaccinations work. More needles below.