Irving Talberg tried, he really tried. But every effort he made to please the censors and tone down this tarty little tale of a scheming trollope that sleeps her way to the top only made things worse. The Legion of Decency was incensed. The film was
banned. Where it was not banned it was hacked to pieces prior to showing. Red-Headed Woman became one of the infamous “Pre-Code” films that led to the draconian Hays Production code of 1934. The code would remain in effect until 1968 — and separate twin beds reigned on tv and in films across America for the next 30 years. But it’s star, the braless (and occasionally pantiless) Jean Harlow, became an instant Superstar. Thalberg had a Hit.
The Big Heat, Half Sheet
No matter what the role — gang moll, vapid sexpot, drunken whore, pill-popping nympho, man-crazed slut, enlightened hooker, gun-slinging adulterous wacko — Gloria Grahame managed to give her characters real heat. Few could hold a candle to her on the big screen.
But her private life was en feugo. The real life antics of Britney Spears, Madonna, and Michael Jackson have nothing on this Noir Super vixen. Multiple marriages, affairs and botched plastic surgeries aside, few scandals can top the star’s affair with her then 13-year-old stepson with Nicholas Ray (Director of Rebel Without a Cause, In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar. To top it off, she married him 7 years later when she was 37 and the marriage produced two more children. Her career took a dive and never recovered. If it were 2010, she’d probably
Gloria Grahame
knock the Kardashians off the covers of all the mags with a three picture deal and executive producing credits to boot.
Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin’s boiling coffee scene in The Big Heat remains one of the most famous in noir history. As a kid it made quite an impression on me. But something else made an even bigger impression on me. Later in the film, Gloria went out for revenge packing heat and wearing a full length mink. Now that’s killer style.
CONDITION: Mint. Never used. White background. No Fading. No pinholes. Not Folded. Kept in archival sleeves.
The Lodger-- Window Card -- Click for an enlarged image
Before there was Freddie Krueger, there was Jack the Ripper. But, more importantly, before there was Botox, there was the Obie!
In London, in 1937, Merle Oberon was in a near-fatal car accident that left her exquisite and exotic facial features with significant and in movie terms career ending scarring. To make matters worse, an allergic reaction to make-up in 1940 left her skin pitted and more scarred. Luckily, Merle was married to mega-producer Alexander Korda and all the stops were pulled in terms of lighting and procedures at the time to bring her flawless complexion back. Still….
Enter Lucien Ballard. Protege of Von Sternberg (The Devil is Woman, Morocco); art director for Howard Hughes (The Outlaw); etc., etc. Ballard knew how to make a woman look good. On the set of The Lodger, Ballard developed a flat light that mounts next to the camera that lights the subjects face head-on and reduces unflattering facial lines. This light is still used today in movies and fashion photography and is nicknamed the “Obie”– Merle Oberon’s nickname.
They Won’t Believe Me — Half Sheet — Click for an enlarged image
Kindly Dr. Welby — a slick, womanizing gigolo? Say it isn’t so. Twenty years before dispensing advice to the gracefully ill (no blood gushing from major orifices on Dr. Welby, M.D.), Robert Young was flashing his acting chops as a smarmy noir gigolo in 1947′s They Won’t Believe Me. Weirdly prudish ending aside, some pretty good stuff. Susan Hayward co-stars. Joan Harrison, a long-time Alfred Hitchcock assistant, produces.
This poster is the bomb. This site’s color choice is influenced by this poster. In fact I’m so in love with this poster I had a hard time deciding whether or not to offer it for sale…
CONDITION: Near Mint. Vibrant Colors. Very faint fold lines.
I don’t know if there is a category for Camp Noir, but if there is I nominate Queen Bee starring Joan Crawford. So deliciously hammy, trashy and tres fashionable at the same time. Check out this Lobby card for the movie.. The Hollywood Wax museum would have a hard time copying this pose for zombie allure. Few could top the Queen Joan for over-the-top cinema glamour. The skin-tight costumes by Jean-Louis were nominated for an academy award. Unfortunately the skin-tight facial expressions and caterpillar eyebrows were somehow overlooked by the makeup committee.
Joan In Jean-Louis
The film was released in 1955 and co-starred Barry Sullivan, Betsy Palmer and John Ireland. I imagine a young Aaron Spelling crib noting this movie to to use as basis of his long running soap-monster Dynasty kingdom. Flashy tight costumes with shoulder pads and jewels – Check. Riding crop destruction scene – Check. Venomous dialog spewed by crazy scheming rich bitch, Check.
“Oh, they’re so smug and namby-pamby!” [Swings riding crop violently and knocks trophies off the mantle] “I wish I could get rid of them as easy as this trash!” .
