Some of you may be fast asleep by the time I post this, while others among you may still be milling about for the latest on Marlene Dietrich. Whenever you read this, I urge you to scoop yourself a heaping spoonful of
MagazineArt.org, a site that snap, crackle, and pops with Old Hollywood serials! Unlike
LIFE magazine, this site treats Hollywood stars like faces on a milk carton, so don't expect more than stylish cover art mugshots. After all, it's what's on the outside that counts, isn't it?
I haven't yet sunken my teeth into MagazineArt.org's contents, but I would like to serve you two covers I found that feature Dietrich's creamy visage, including a high-quality scan of the one on the left:
Note that the site owners crave more or better cover scans, so consider sharing your vittles!
Thanks for the link -- very fascinating. As someone who respects and admires Dietrich, I enjoy your site.
ReplyDeleteI run a star-focused blog, too, dealing with one of Marlene's Paramount stablemates, Carole Lombard:
http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/
In fact, here's an entry I wrote last fall about Dietrich and Lombard (it's based on Donald Spoto's bio of Marlene -- not sure how you feel about that book):
ReplyDeletehttp://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/346936.html
Your blog is a gem! Great content! I'm guessing a lot of Carole Lombard materials are in the public domain. The biography by Dietrich's daughter Maria Riva mentions Lombard several times, although not in the kindest way. If I recall correctly, Riva described Lombard as one of Dietrich's "pet hates."
ReplyDeleteI know there was a period in the early '30s where Dietrich believed Lombard was "ripping off" Marlene's style somewhat (this is roughly the time when Carole's hair was at her blondest), but apparently if there was any animosity, it didn't last very long. If it had, I doubt Dietrich would have attended Lombard's famed party at the Venice pier in 1935 (the event where the two were pictured with Cary Grant and Richard Barthelmess; I think there was another pic of them with Errol Flynn and Lili Damita).
ReplyDeleteI agree. I doubt there was any animosity--Dietrich was simply catty, poking fun at celebrities' looks her entire life. Apparently, Paris Match printed a Meryl Streep photo graffitied by Dietrich with the question, "How ugly can you get?"
ReplyDeleteOne site I go for material is Google News; it has archival items from a number of newspapers, many of them free access (non-pay sites). A lot of the items are tidbits, and not everything is 100% accurate, but it provides an idea of how Carole Lombard was perceived at the time, and I'm certain Dietrich received comparable treatment from the press.
ReplyDeleteGoogle News is great, isn't it? Well, the archives--at least. Thank you for reminding me. In fact, I'm going to take your tip and run with it because finding Dietrich-related information is becoming more difficult as its proliferates, and I started this blog with the intention to help people wade through the quagmire of quatsch online!
ReplyDelete