| Vintage Pulp | Feb 9 2023 |
She's one cool cat burglar.
We have bit of tasty French style for you with this poster for La louve solitaire, a film that premiered today in 1968 and starred Danièle Gaubert. The movie is sourced from a series of novels by Albert Saine-Aube, and plotwise Gaubert plays a Parisian real estate agent by day/leotard wearing cat burglar by night. When she's caught in the act of a robbery by two government agents who've been lying in wait for her, she's blackmailed into working for them. The government duo want her to make a daring theft that will help bring down an international drug smuggling network. She's assigned a helper in the form of Michel Duchaussoy, so the movie becomes a sort of partners-in-crime adventure with a side of romantic tension. Gaubert, of course, finds herself in more danger than she expected, and after the caper the crooks she's robbed are hellbent on revenge.
Just looking at the poster, which you may have noticed is actually a French- and Dutch-language promo from Belgium, you can tell that the movie provides high style in a similar vein as cult flicks such as Danger: Diabolik and Modesty Blaise. Like those films, La louve solitaire features nice outfits, hip lingo, and nightclub scenes, plus Gaubert rolling around in a blood-red Pontiac Firebird that qualifies as pure car porn. Also like those other movies, La louve solitaire isn't fully successful from an execution standpoint, however because it's among a group that was at the forefront of portraying women as physically dangerous ass-kickers with specialized skills (Gaubert's thief character is a trapeze artist), it's worth seeing for historical perspective alone.
FranceBelgiumParisLa louve solitaireDe stoutmoedige dieveggeThe Golden Claws of the Cat GirlDanièle GaubertMichel DuchaussoyAlbert Saine-Aubeposter artcinemamovie review
| Intl. Notebook | Jan 3 2023 |
Plane lands on autopilot after pilots spend entire flight in passenger cabin hanging with Swedish actress.
What is it about flights to London? First Rita Hayworth arrives a mess from Los Angeles, then Swedish star Christina Lindberg arrives missing some clothes. We've shown you three other photos made of her on the Heathrow tarmac that were shot the same day (today in 1972) which indicate that she did not in fact travel in this outfit. But we do enjoy imagining the reaction on the plane if she had. These photos were used as press handouts promoting both Lindberg and her 1970 movie Rötmånad, which played in England in 1972 as What Are You Doing After the Orgy? We watched it several years ago and it's an odd little film, meant to be comedic, we suppose, about a very bad mother who tries to turn her daughter into a prostitute. The ’70s, right? There was nothing filmmakers wouldn't try back then.
The rear of the photos both say the following: In her native Sweden, Christina Lindberg has fashioned a successful career for herself almost overnight. Less than one year ago she was an unknown schoolgirl with Latin and archeology as special interests. Then, suddenly she was discovered by one of Sweden's biggest weekly magazines. They widely publicised her as a pin-up girl and she created a tremendous stir with her innocent yet voluptuous beauty. Soon she was discovered by leading Swedish film directors, and now plays the part of Sally in the new film What Are You Doing After Orgy?, a very black comedy set in the Swedish archipelago. Christina is twenty-one, unmarried, and at one time girlfriend of Prince Gustav. The film opens at the Cinephone, Oxford Street, January 6th.
| Hollywoodland | Aug 29 2022 |
They're not really going anywhere but they look mighty good doing it.
What's a period drama without a fake driving scene? Nearly all such sequences were shot in movie studios using two techniques—rear projection, which was standard for daytime driving, and both rear projection and lighting effects for simulating night driving. Many movie studios made production images of those scenes. For example, above you see Jane Greer and Lizabeth Scott, neither looking happy, going for a fake spin around Los Angeles in 1951's The Company She Keeps. We decided to make a collection of similar shots, so below we have more than twenty other examples (plus a couple of high quality screen grabs) with top stars such as Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Mitchum, and Raquel Welch. We've only scratched the surface of this theme, which means you can probably expect a second collection somewhere down the road. Incidentally, if you want to see Bogart at his coolest behind the wheel look here, and just because it's such a wonderful shot, look here for Elke Sommer as a passenger. Enjoy today's rides.
Humphrey Bogart tries to fake drive with Ida Lupino in his ear in 1941's High Sierra.
Dorothy Malone, Rock Hudson, and a rear projection of Long Beach, in 1956's Written on the Wind.
Ann-Margret and John Forsythe in Kitten with a Whip. We think they were parked at this point, but that's fine.
Two shots from 1946's The Postman Always Rings Twice with John Garfield and Lana Turner, followed by of shot of them with soon-to-be murdered Cecil Kellaway.
Jean Hagen and Sterling Hayden in 1950's The Asphalt Jungle.
Shelley Winters, looking quite lovely here, fawns over dapper William Powell during a night drive in 1949's Take One False Step.
William Talman, James Flavin, and Adele Jergens share a tense ride in 1950's Armored Car Robbery.
William Bendix rages in 1949's The Big Steal.
Frank Sinatra drives contemplatively in Young at Heart, from 1954.
George Sanders drives Ingrid Bergman through Italy, and she returns the favor, in 1954's Viaggio in Italia.
Harold Huber, Lyle Talbot, Barbara Stanwyck and her little dog too, from 1933's Ladies They Talk About.
Virginia Huston tells Robert Mitchum his profile should be cast in bronze in 1947's Out of the Past.
Ann Sheridan hangs onto to an intense George Raft in 1940's They Drive by Night.
Peggy Cummins and John Dall suddenly realize they're wearing each other's glasses in 1950's Gun Crazy, a film that famously featured a real driving sequence, though not the one above.
John Ireland and Mercedes McCambridge in 1951's The Scarf.
James Mason drives an unconscious Henry O'Neill in 1949's The Reckless Moment. Hopefully they're headed to an emergency room.
Marcello Mastroianni driving Walter Santesso, Mary Janes, and an unknown in 1960's La dolce vita.
Tony Curtis thrills Piper Laurie with his convertible in 1954's Johnny Dark.
Janet Leigh drives distracted by worries, with no idea she should be thinking less about traffic and cops than cross-dressing psychos in 1960's Psycho.
We're not sure who the passengers are in this one (the shot is from 1960's On the Double, and deals with Danny Kaye impersonating Wilfrid Hyde-White) but the driver is Diana Dors.
Kirk Douglas scares the bejesus out of Raquel Welch in 1962's Two Weeks in Another Town. We're familiar with her reaction, which is why we're glad the Pulp Intl. girlfriends don't need to drive here in Europe.
Robert Mitchum again, this time in the passenger seat, with Jane Greer driving (and William Bendix tailing them—already seen in panel ten), in 1949's The Big Steal. The film is notable for its many real driving scenes.
James Mason keeps cool as Jack Elam threatens him as Märta Torén watches from the passenger seat in 1950's One Way Street.
And finally, to take a new perspective on the subject, here's Bogart and Lizabeth Scott in 1947's Dead Reckoning.The Company She KeepsKitten with a WhipHigh SierraWritten on the WindThe Postman Always Rings TwiceTake One False StepArmored Car RobberyThe Big StealYoung at HeartViaggio in ItaliaLadies They Talk AboutOut of the PastThey Drive by NightGun CrazyThe ScarfThe Reckless MomentLa dolce vitaJohnny DarkPsychoOn the DoubleTwo Weeks in Another TownThe Asphalt JungleThe Big StealDead Reckoningfilm noircinema
| Femmes Fatales | Aug 27 2022 |
This is the point at which most men realize I'm way too much woman for them to ever satisfy. But no pressure.
Her name is Ann Atmar. She's appeared here before, back in 2014 as part of an issue of Adam magazine, the U.S. version. She acted in three movies, including 1959's Street-Fighter, and several television series, one of which was the small screen serialization of the classic film noir The Third Man. You're thinking: “There was a series based on The Third Man?” Indeed there was, and Atmar graced a single episode. Sadly, she died early, in 1966 aged twenty-seven, which means her career never quite took flight. The above shot came from Girls of the World magazine, which is an all photo publication that as far as we know never had copyright dates inside. However, the magazine launched in 1968, which means Atmar's photo is posthumous.
| Hollywoodland | Jun 18 2022 |
I love it here. Sun, sand, surf. It's almost enough to make me stop thinking about cold-blooded murder.
Above and below: a series of photos made for the classic murder drama The Postman Always Rings Twice, with Lana Turner and John Garfield busily frolicking on Laguna Beach south of Los Angeles. The movie was released in April 1946, but began filming in June 1945, which means these photos were made sometime during that summer. Postman features two long seaside sequences, plus one brief beach scene of Garfield alone, and all the shooting was of the day-for-night variety—filmed during the day but filtered to simulate night. We're fans of the film, but even more so of James M. Cain's pitch dark novel. For two enjoyably amoral experiences, ring twice.
| Femmes Fatales | May 3 2022 |
Hi, I'm just a typical smalltown wife and I have nothing murderous on my mind at all.
This photo shows the moment Lana Turner makes her screen entrance in the 1946 film noir The Postman Always Rings Twice, and as noir fans know, when the light hits an actress and glows in that special way trouble soon follows. Reviews of the film glowed too, and Turner went from star to supernova. If you haven't seen Postman you really should. For that matter, you should probably read the book.
| Femmes Fatales | Feb 26 2022 |
Bang bang, lovelies—there's a fab new sheriff in town.
Helga Liné's last name has an accent, which means it's pronounced not “line” but “lee-nay.” She was born in Germany as Helga Stern in 1932, but her family fled nazism and she grew up in Portugal, where her first exposure to show business was as a dancer and circus acrobat. It was after moving to Spain in 1960 that her film career took off. She appeared in many giallo, spaghetti western, and horror films, among them All'ombra di una colt, aka In a Colt's Shadow, Pánico en el Transiberiano, aka Horror Express, and Amanti d’Oltretomba, aka Nightmare Castle. The promo above is not one we can identify as from a particular film, but we do know the date—it was part of a session that produced a cover for the Spanish magazine Dígame in July 1965.
GermanyPortugalSpainAll'ombra di una coltaka In a Colt's ShadowPánico en el TransiberianoHorror ExpressAmanti d’OltretombaNightmare CastleDígameHelga Liné
| Femmes Fatales | Feb 12 2022 |
Down at the end of lonely street.
This amazing promo image of U.S. actress Shirley MacLaine was made for her iconic 1963 film Irma la Douce, about a prostitute in Paris and the cop who falls in love with her. Millennials and post-millennials often dislike its unserious portrayal of prostitution, and that's understandable, but there's more going on than meets the eye. MacLaine's co-star Jack Lemmon has to come to grips with her sexual history if he's to love her. That idea was an advancement for cinema, even if the trade-off was that the woman was portrayed as promiscuous. MacLaine had already played similar role in 1960's The Apartment, and other films had begun to make explicit the fact that good women were not necessarily virgins. Irma la Douce was a landmark in that sense. It's also a movie that has produced some stunning promo images, such as this one and this one. We may even dig up more later.
| Femmes Fatales | Feb 4 2022 |
Gotham bank robbed. Witnesses describe thieves as tall, blonde, and festive.
This amusing photo shows June Wilkinson and Inga Neilsen and was made when they appeared on the television series Batman. We've seen most episodes of the show, thanks to the miracle of streaming, and we think it's one of the better television products of its era. This episode, which aired during season three, had the fun title, “Nora Clavicle and the Ladies' Crime Club,” but neither Wilkinson nor Neilsen played Nora Clavicle. That was Barbara Rush. These two were her henchwomen Evelina and Angelina. Below you see them planning to where to spend their loot. The shots are from 1968.
| Vintage Pulp | Jan 28 2022 |
Jim Kelly takes on the mob in hit-and-miss karate adventure.
The blaxploitation/kung fu flick Black Belt Jones premiered in the U.S. today in 1974, but we're sharing the Italian poster for two reasons: this Ermanno Iaia effort is more interesting than the U.S. art; and it's another example of African American stars being erased from Italian promo art. We assume it happened because Italian distributors figured many Italians wouldn't knowingly choose to see a film with a black star. Well, this one featured one of the biggest black stars—martial arts sensation Jim Kelly. He's not widely known today, but during the height of the martial arts craze he was an icon because of his screen charisma and cred. And by cred we mean he won four martial arts championships in 1971 alone, including the world middleweight karate title.
There's no release date for Black Belt Jones in Italy, but probably it played there during the summer of ’74, retitled Johnny lo svelto, or “Johnny quick.” Plotwise the mafia have learned that city of L.A. plans to erect a new civic center, and have bought up all the land at the prospective building site except a karate dojo owned by a martial arts instructor named Papa Byrd—and Papa won't play. Meanwhile, somewhere across town, Kelly is asked by cops to investigate the L.A. mob, who are getting cozy with local politicians and building up so much power they might soon be untouchable. In the tight knit local martial arts community, Kelly and Byrd know each other, so when Byrd turns up dead Kelly is motivated to get to the bottom of the murder.
The movie is partially a burlesque, with bits of slapstick, some salty slang, and many of the characters constructed as pure stereotypes—Italian gangsters crying, “Mamma mia!” and that sort of thing. Viewed in a certain frame of mind it's funny, and considering it features an ass-kicking Scatman Crothers (long before getting axed in the chest in The Shining), the red hot Gloria Hendry, and Love Boat bartender Ted Lange as a minor league crook, there's plenty worth seeing here. That includes Kelly's martial arts, which are fun to watch, once you get past a bizarre opening fight shown entirely in slow motion. Kelly's abs are also on regular display, which made the Pulp Intl. girlfriends happy.
So Kelly knows martial arts and looks great, but can he act? Considering the constraints, he does okay. These low budget ’70s movies didn't give stars much chance to sharpen their performances, and they're nearly always poorly paced in terms of dialogue, but he has charisma and his acting matches that of Bruce Lee or any other of the action stars from the period. They weren't hired to do Hamlet, after all. With Kelly at its center Black Belt Jones is worth a watch. And as we said, viewed in a certain frame of mind, it's even sort of good. But by frame of mind, we mean one in which you don't take it too seriously—the filmmakers certainly didn't seem to. We mean that as a compliment.
ItalyLos AngelesBlack Belt JonesThe Love BoatThe ShiningJim KellyGloria HendryTed LangeScatman CrothersErmanno Iaiaposter artcinemablaxploitationmovie review
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