A Couple of Scream Queens

It's Julie Adams, scream queen of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Janet Leigh, scream queen from... well, if you don't know you really shouldn't be here, at the November 1951 premiere of Bright Victory in which the talented Adams co-starred. And judging from the look on his face it appears Tony Curtis is achieving victory simply by not collapsing while holding Janet. With Julie is her screenwriting husband Leonard Stern, a man who brought joy to children everywhere and annoyance to parents the world over when he co-invented Mad Libs in 1953. Financially speaking, that was the brightest victory of any of them.

Doctor Macro, your days are numbered

As Life Magazine and Google throw a curve ball into the mix with all, yes, all of Life Magazines photos now up online. Of course the wonderful efforts of all those contributors who submit scans to Doctro Macro, and folks like me who do their own scans, aren't really in danger of extinction since this is just Life's archive but it does present gazillions of on the set, behind the scenes and off camera shots of Hollywood past. For instance, just a couple of minutes of searching brought up...

Boris Karloff pitching in a cricket match in 1948.

**********

Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh on the set of Holiday Affair in 1949.

**********

Norma Shearer with her husband Irving Thalberg and their two year old son, Irving, in 1933, leaving South Hampton for the States.

**********

Orson Welles hamming it up in one of his magic acts on stage

**********

Veronica Lake without her trademark blonde hair and in a corset.

**********

And again!

**********

Deborah Kerr through a window, 1947.

**********

What a great archive. The years are listed, the photographer (people like Alfred Eisenstaedt)and location. And the images are presented in high pixel large sizes for high quality downloads. Click on these to enlarge and see what I mean. And go here to start searching today. But still come back to see my scans every now and then... okay?

And..... Pose!

From If Winter Comes made in 1947 with Walter Pidgeon, Angela Lansbury, Deborah Kerr and Janet Leigh (not pictured, obviously). It was a dud for all of them but did mark the first occasion on which Lansbury and Leigh would star together in a film. The next time they did the results were decidedly ... well, actually, about the same. It was The Red Danube in 1949 with Pidgeon once again in the starring role. Finally, in 1962 Lansbury and Leigh figured out that to succeed they had to dump Pidgeon and scored a winner with The Manchurian Candidate. Pidgeon had his own politically charged movie that same year, Advise and Consent, sans Lansbury and Leigh. Still, I wish they'd given it just one more try. Think of the great things they could have done as a trio if they'd put their minds to it: Jules and Jim in reverse or an early incarnation of Three's Company with Charles Laughton as Mr. Roper. Now that would've been a winner! Walter Pidgeon as Jack Tripper? Are you kidding me? He would've nailed it! Oh, if only... if only. Sigh.

Orson Welles: Man About Town

Orson with Nancy Valentine

*****

Orson with Lucille Ball

*****

Orson with Lovely Rita (the actress, not the meter maid).

*****

Orson with Tony and Janet.

*****

Orson with someone. Not sure who, the photo doesn't credit it. It doesn't look like Paola Mori his wife at the time but her head's down so who knows? I don't. Anybody?

*****

Orson with Gary Graver and Oja Kodar.

*****

As always, click to enlarge.

It's the New Year...

... so let's start working off that holiday fudge. Tony and Janet have already started. Tony clearly knows how to dress for a workout.

______________________________________

If you start now you could look like silent star Francis X. Bushman by March. He was the original Ben-Hur and no offense to Chuck, but he actually looks like he could've spent a year rowing as a slave in the bowels of a Roman ship. He also looks like he could kick Chuck's butt.

As always, click to enlarge