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Price: $175.00

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If You Care…

Way before Robert Downey Jr. was born, and even thought of donning metal armor and downing massive quantities of pharmaceuticals with no apparent ill affect, there was another Iron Man in town.

In 1951, Universal decided to remake noir great W. R. Burnett’s novel, Iron Man. It had already been made as a Jean Harlow vehicle in 1931. But the boxing story didn’t feature blondes and boobs, so rewrites were necessary. In the end Harlow plays a scheming harlot with a  skimpy pre-code wardrobe –what a switch! What a box office success!

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Price: $675.00

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If you Google “Marilyn Monroe, Don’t Bother To Knock“, you will get 49,300 responses. I won’t waste your time.

But….as an ex ad-bitch I can’t resist pointing out the obviously misleading marketing ploy with regard to the poster:

Sell Sexy Marilyn

Marilyn never wore the cherry red sparkly bustier in the movie. In fact, Marilyn went out and purchased a cheap shift off the rack for her character. Also, Marilyn strikes an exaggerated come hither pose while Widmark leers doorside. Is Marilyn a wanton Las Vegas showgirl? No! Throughout most of the movie, Marilyn actually looks looks like she’s having a nervous breakdown. Oh Wait! She is having one. Duh. Well that won’t sell.

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Price: $525.00

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I  love Barbara Stanwyck. As a child I whiled away the hours daydreaming about being Ms. Barbara Stanwyck in The Big Valley. Not the simpering Audra, who didn’t look like she had any fun.  Stanwyck  got to ride around on a horse with a shotgun, boss around her grown up sons, get into fights, and still wear frosty blue eyeshadow and false eyelashes. How cool was that? Later, I was bedazzeled by “Missy” in the more sophisticated comedies like Ball of Fire and The Lady Eve. Of course Henry Fonda and Gary Cooper fell for her too — was it the incredibly glamourous (i.e. Glittery) costumes? the card sharking? The wisecracks? Stanwyck always looked good and got what she wanted. Then I got older and wiser. Ms. Stanwyck was my teen dream idol. Cool and sophisticated, she never got the butterflies for the boys. Evidence: Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity. Naughty Noir Stanwyck could hang out by the lockers or go smoking in the girls bathroom and no one would dare nark on her. Boys beware.