Allure: Jean Harlow

Showing posts with label Jean Harlow. Show all posts

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Jean Harlow

Born March 3, 1911, and gone June 7, 1937, at age 26, Elton John could have written "your candle burned out long before your legend ever did" for Jean Harlow. She remains a legend to this day and her performances, comedic, dramatic, naughty, or nice, are a joy to watch. There is so much written about her that I will not spend time reviewing her career, you can find information here and her images are all over the web.

I have always thought that some images of Jean didn't do her justice. Her facial structures were made overly harsh when using the dramatic and stark lighting popular at the time. However, when done right...

Because there are so many images available, I have tried to post ones that may be less well known. You may have seen some of them, but hopefully there will be a few that are new to viewers.

Click on the images for a larger view.

Screen Play magazine, February 1931

Picture Play magazine, February 1931

British postcard

Publicity photo

Movie Classic magazine, September 1932
This picture, as I see it, suffers from the lighting.

Photoplay magazine, August 1932 - Artist: Earl Christie

Movie Classic magazine, September 1932 - Artist: Marland Stone

Photoplay magazine, July 1933
More Photoplay 1933 duotone experiments

Publicity still.

German postcard

Publicity still for Dinner at Eight (1933)

Screen Play magazine, January 1934

Cigarette card from the 1935 Gallaher Film Partners series.

Reckless (1935) publicity still

Movie Classic, November 1935 - Artist: Charles Sheldon
Also in my cover post of April 2008, but worth posting again - love this image.

Publicity still

Jean Harlow - What do you think - Allure?

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Asides - Smoke 'em If Ya Got'em

Cigarette ads have been a source of magazine revenues since before the turn of the 20th century, and the tobacco companies realized an endorsement from a Hollywood star would be golden. Lucky Strike exploited this like no other brand during the twenties and thirties. The other major brands like Old Gold, Camel, Chesterfield, and Spud were represented in the various movie magazines, but only Lucky Strike regularly featured stars or starlets in their ads. What follows is a sampling of those Hollywood tie-in ads and a couple of others I just think are fun/interesting/bizarre. Click on the images for a larger view - enjoy.

Sally Eilers - Movie Mirror, February 1932
The lower right paragraph notes that Miss Eilers was not paid one cent for this endorsement. I'm wondering of course if wasn't the Fox publicity department that paid The American Tobacco company to feature her.

Edmund Lowe - Photoplay, February 1932

Of possible interest is that Mr. Lowe was also under contract to Fox during this period.

Jean Harlow - Photoplay, March 1932
Jean states: "It's a real delight to find a Cellophane wrapper that opens without an icepick.

John Gilbert - Photoplay, September 1929
John keeps his masculine physique by reaching for a Lucky instead of a sweet.

Lupe Velez - Photoplay, April 1932
This ad appeared on this blog before under a different context.
Lupe seems to like the Cellophane wrapper as well and was not paid for her endorsement either.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - Photoplay, June 1932
Man, what's with that wrapper, it sounds like all other brands were
impossible to open and that is why people HAD to smoke Luckies.

Some nice lady from Bronxville, NY. - Photoplay, August 1931
She hopes you will consider your Adam's Apple.

The New Movie Magazine - December, 1932
It may just be me, but I think Chesterfield was implying that if males smoke their brand, they will grow to almost twice the size of a normal human, or you will attract very small women.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Asides - Cover Catch Up

This post features movie magazine covers with looks generally different than those shown in previous posts. The first major difference is that none of these covers come from Photoplay, the most popular film magazine in the 20's and 30's, and the publication that makes up the bulk of our collection. Enjoy and click on the images for a larger view.

Movie Classic, November 1935 - Artist: Charles Sheldon
I think this is one of the most sophisticated and alluring portraits of Jean Harlow I have ever seen. As covers go, it is unusual as well, because unlike most movie magazine covers of the time that portray the subject in close-up, this and the next two covers provide a fuller length view of their subjects.

Picture Play, March 1932 - Artist Modest Stein
Modest Stein was born in 1871 and became a prolific, if under appreciated commercial artist whose work can be found in and on numerous magazines, books, and advertisements. He died in Flushing, NY, in 1958. See my post on Peggy Shannon for another of his covers.

Picture Play, November 1932 - Artist: Martha Sawyers
Martha Sawyers (1902-1988) designed Broadway Playbills and art work for the theater section of the New York Herald Tribune in the 1930's. She also provided covers for American Liberty and Collier's Magazines. Martha drew illustrations for novelist Pearl Buck, and she is featured with such notables as Norman Rockwell in "Forty Illustrators and How They Work" by Earnest W Watson.

Picture Play, January 1933 - Artist: A.D. Moscon

I can find absolutely no information on artist A.D. Moscon. However, searching the NYT archive I did find a 1968 obituary notice of a Hanna Moscon. It listed her as a distinguished member of the American Society of Contemporary Artists. Quite possibly she is A.D. Moscon because the name itself is quite rare. Anybody with more information, please share.

Shadoplay, April 1933 - Artist: Earl Christy
Well here we are, back at the close up - real close up. Christy's work is all over this blog, but Shadoplay (who came up with that spelling) is really quite rare. This particular issue is Vol. 1, No.2, and I have only seen a couple of other issues, including one from October of 1934, so they had a bit of a run.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Asides

I guess we all know that allure sells, and let me tell you, I'm heading out right now for a carton of Lucky Strikes and case of Coca-Cola. Here are two ads from the April, 1932 edition of Photoplay magazine. Lupe Velez says that Luckies are certainly kind to her throat and she loves that cellophane wrapper. Jean Harlow doesn't need to say anything, she just holds the glass and smiles. Click on the images for the larger version. BTW, a lovely portrait of Lupe, but I can't identify the artist.

They could sell me the Brooklyn Bridge anytime!