| Femmes Fatales | Sep 14 2019 |
Photographer fatally shot by movie star while staging publicity photo.
This unusual triptych shows actress Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko, better known as Natalie Wood, not watching as she fires off a round. You'll see these photos described simply as Wood shooting a pistol, as if she used a real gun, but we doubt it's real. We don't think the photographer Ralph Crane would have risked having her fire a real gun anywhere in the direction of either himself or an expensive remote operated camera—especially considering the shaky aim involved.
Wood is almost certainly using a Hollywood prop pistol designed to shoot 
blanks. Crane probably set up about thirty feet away, where he'd be at no risk from superheated gases, blank cartridge debris, etc. On the other hand, maybe the bullet was real—because you never know what sort of crazy shit someone will do with a gun.
blanks. Crane probably set up about thirty feet away, where he'd be at no risk from superheated gases, blank cartridge debris, etc. On the other hand, maybe the bullet was real—because you never know what sort of crazy shit someone will do with a gun. Second matter that needs clearing up—some websites say this isn't Natalie Wood. They're wrong. She was eighteen when the photos were made, and was already a big star thanks to 1955's Rebel without a Cause. We mention the film only because Wood's fame means there were hundreds of photos of her from the period, and we've uploaded a nice color one here as well. There's zero doubt. Same eyes. Same haircut. Same mouth. Natalie Wood.
The shooting photos first appeared in Life magazine, and both those and the color image are from 1956. As we've noted in the past, sometimes the narrow column width on Pulp Intl. means images are smaller than we'd like them to be, so we took the liberty of rearranging the black and whites vertically in order to offer a better look at them, and you see the result below. Interested in seeing more rare Wood images? Look here, here, and here.
| Femmes Fatales | Sep 7 2019 |
Everywhere she went brought a change in the weather.
You know the difference between weather and climate? Los Angeles has beautiful women. That's climate. Dana Wynter stood out in L.A. for being unusually hot, wherever she happened to go. That's weather. Glad we could clear that up. Wynter was born in Berlin and raised in England, but made her name in U.S. movies such as Something of Value and Shake Hands with the Devil. Today she's mainly remembered for Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which we briefly mentioned back in May. Check here.
| Femmes Fatales | Sep 3 2019 |
There was a thirty chinchilla wrap, but I bought one made of twenty chinchillas. We all need to cut back to save the planet.
Above is a beautiful color promo photo starring b-movie femme fatale Cleo Moore looking like a Christmas wish come to life. The image was made for her 1956 crime drama Over-Exposed. We talked about it. Shorter version—clumsily moralistic but pretty fun. You can peruse our thoughts in more detail here, and see more Moore here.
| Femmes Fatales | Musiquarium | Aug 26 2019 |
Can you believe the verve of some people?
French singer France Gall, who was born Isabel Gall, canoodles with an inflatable something-or-other in this beachy photo made on the Côte d'Azur around 1970. Gall worked for years beginning in 1964 to become a top musical act, enduring disappointment after disappointment, until finally achieving stardom in 1974 with the hit single “La Déclaration d'amour.” Our déclaration is that we love this beautiful shot.
| Femmes Fatales | Aug 21 2019 |
Get out of my astrological house or I'll blow your brains out.
This photo shows Latvian actress Ilse Taurins rocking what looks like a Russian ushanka hat, accessorized with a pistol. She's actually a Virgo, not a Taurus. Apart from a single motion picture, she acted exclusively on television, appearing on shows like Wild Wild West, Perry Mason, and Bonanza, between 1963 and 1972. This shot was made as a promo for The John Forsythe Show in 1965.
| Femmes Fatales | Aug 18 2019 |
Finally a constellation you don't have to use your imagination to see.
We'll never look at the night sky quite the same way again, thanks to this otherworldy photo of U.S. actress and model Marisa Berenson. This is the second time we've featured her. The first time was equally striking. See here. This shot appeared in the French magazine Photo-Revue in 1977.
| Femmes Fatales | Aug 13 2019 |
Everything you need for a perfect day at the seaside.
Above is British icon Joan Collins, making an outfit switch for two great beach photos from 1965. You can tell it's the same beach because of the distinctive wooden railing fronting the boardwalk behind her, but we couldn't hazard a guess where it might be. In any case, these are great shots.
| Femmes Fatales | Aug 6 2019 |
Brother can you spare a diamond?
Ambitious show-biz hopefuls from all over the world have always flocked to Los Angeles. Actress Jacqueline White is a rare breed—she was born there, in Beverly Hills, in fact, which may be why despite having a nice dress and a fur coat, she has her hand out for more. White was drawn into film when a casting agent saw her in a play at UCLA, and she went on to appear in the classic noirs The Narrow Margin and Crossfire. This particular shot was made for the thriller Mystery in Mexico, in which she and others chase a fortune in missing jewels. It's from 1948.
| Femmes Fatales | Aug 2 2019 |
Summertime and the living is easy.
Born Jytte Stensgaard, Danish actress Yutte Stengaard emigrated to Britain seeking stardom and had a busy four-year career, appearing in two dozen movies and television shows between 1968 and 1972, usually playing the naive or naughty young love interest. Among her big screen efforts were Scream and Scream Again and Lust for a Vampire, and of her many remarkable scenes, her pinnacle was 1969's The Love Factor, in which she burned a coq au vin. If you know “coq” is pronounced “cock,” then you know where this is going—after leaping from bed and sprinting nude into the kitchen to save her burning dinner, she exclaimed, “The coq's ruined!” That's writing, folks.
| Femmes Fatales | Jul 30 2019 |
She's dangerous when her abacus is against the wall.
Above, a cool shot of one of mid-century cinema's agreed upon top beauties, Italian actress Virna Lisi, here standing against an abacus wall that she needs to keep track of all her admirers. We've never seen a wall like this before. Never seen a woman like this before either. The photo was made for her 1965 romantic comedy How To Murder Your Wife, in which she starred with cinematic treasure Jack Lemmon. Definitely see that film. It's incalculably fun.
