Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 159

I have started rescanning some of the photos that were done back when this site first launched in 2002 and came across this magnificent photo of Ann and George Raft in Scarface. I am ashamed to admit that I totally forgot I had it and only have a vague recollection of buying it.  I am fairly certain it was an eBay purchase and I bought it within the last two years. No clue what I shelled out for it.

Most Scarface photos I have come across over the years are of Ann with Paul Muni, so any with George Raft is something to get excited about. Well, I guess all Scarface photos are worth getting excited about, but this one is especially cool.

Enjoy!

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 157

Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – I love Girls of the Road. A film with that title leads one to have certain expectations and this film delivers. It may not be Academy Award material, but it’s damn good fun and even has a social message in there if you want to stop and think about it. Girls of the Road even lives up to expectations with its poster art! What’s not to love about this one sheet when we can “meet the girls of the female hobo jungles?”

This poster comes up for sale every so often and depending on what way the wind is blowing, can go for as much as $250 and as little as $50. I don’t remember exactly what I paid, but I think it was on the lower end. Either way, every penny spent on this beauty is well worth it.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 156

This is an image I toyed with using in the Ann Dvorak biography, but ultimately didn’t. It’s an unusual photo for a few reasons. First, it’s a glass plate negative which you don’t come across too often from the 1940s, when this photo was taken. Ann’s tightly pulled hair is not a style you see too often with her and the photo is not retouched, so there are some lines visible around her eyes which gives her a subtle maturity. The speckling on the image is on the negative and not freckles, and since I did not submit it for the book, I did not bother to correct that.

Overall, an unusual but still lovely image of a post-War Ann Dvorak.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 154

Last week, I posted one of the photos initially submitted for the interior of the book, but was ultimately swapped out for one of the recently acquired Ann-D personal photos. This is another one of those sacrificed images which is a behind-the-scenes shot from the Warner Bros. feature, Sweet Music.

It was included in a chapter titled “Warner Workhorse” which discusses the mountain of movies Ann made during a two year period starting in September 1933. I love photos like these, and this one is especially cool because it shows a few members of the cast (Rudy Vallee, Phillip Reed, Alice White), along with director Alfred Green. This was a tough one to let go, but since I have had this photo posted on the Sweet Music page of this site for years, it’s not unknown and was worth sacrificing for one of the Ann’s personal snapshots.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 153

The last few days we have been looking at some of the portraits of Ann that I submitted to the publisher as possible book covers that were not chosen. Now, here is the image that was ultimately selected.

As I mentioned before, I was not surprised that this is the image that was selected. After all, it is the most provocative of the group. However, I was not expecting the photo to be cropped the way it was for the cover. I’m not complaining of course, and I love how the cover turned out, but it is interesting to see how this whole book publishing process is moving along.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 152

Here are the last two photos I submitted for the book cover that were not chosen. These are two of my favorite photos of Ann. The first one which is behind the scenes of College Coach is so unusual that it’s really interesting. Her eyebrows had been dramatically shaped for her role as a gypsy in The Way to Love which makes her look even more intense in this image. Her position next to the faceless woman holding a script is also intriguing. Perhaps Ann is looking so serious because she realized what a lousy role she had been cast in.

This next one is just simply gorgeous. It’s the only photo that I have ever seen from this sitting and I think it perfectly captures Ann at the time. I would have also been very happy had this one been chosen.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 151

Here are two more photos I submitted to UPK that were not used for the cover of the book. These two are kind of in the middle of the first ones I posted and the one that was actually used. They’re a bit more pre-Code-like because Ann is showing some skin, but her expression is not as seductive as the one that was ultimately used.

I have hundreds of portraits of Ann so narrowing it down to the seven I submitted was a delightful ordeal.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 150

On Tuesday I posted one of the photos I submitted for the book cover which was not selected. Since there was an interest in seeing the rest of them and I need to write another 200+ posts this year, I figured I would go ahead and spend the next few days sharing the rest of the portraits that were passed over by the publisher.

This one is actually from the same session as Tuesday’s portrait which was taken in early 1932. The pose is more serious than the other one, but I still think it captures Ann and she looks lovely. However, now that I am looking at it, the shadow almost makes her look like she has a black eye, which may be one of many reasons why is was not chosen.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 148

When it came time to submit everything for the book, I decided to give the designers over at University Press of Kentucky a variety of photos to choose from for the cover. I was not surprised with the image they chose, which screams “pre-Code” and is more than likely to turn a few heads, and hopefully sell a few books. While I am thrilled with how the cover turned out, I actually think the photo is very un-Ann-like. She usually did not look this sultry in photos and did not play overtly sexual characters too often, the obvious exception being Scarface.

Since I am not a graphic designer or a publisher, and did not have strong feelings about what image should go on the cover, I was more than happy to let them decide. But – if I did have to say which photo I was secretly rooting for, it would be this one. It’s not a super glamorous or sexy shot of Ann, but I really think it reflects her more than the one that was chosen. She looks elegant but simple as well as confident and intelligent. As great as the sultry photo is, I think the person in this photo is the one that will be found on the pages of the book.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 147

Two weeks ago, I purchased a box of Ann’s personal possessions which included a scrapbook of photos from her travels with first husband Leslie Fenton, and a handful from her later years. My publisher, the University Press of Kentucky, was good enough to let me include some of these photos even though we are well into the production phase. However, because the price point had already been set based on the number of photos already submitted, I could not added any more images but could only switch them out.

I ended up using six photos from the collection, which means I needed to axe an equal amount. This is one of the sacrificed photos, showing Ann behind the scenes of the Paramount feature Masquerade in Mexico. The film is not one of my favorites, but I love the photo. Ann looks absolutely flawless, and since her costumes are completely outlandish in the film, I like that she’s in full hair and make-up but is wearing casual clothes. Well, casual clothes and a fur coat.

I’m sorry this one is not going in the book, but I think it was worth it in order to include some of the photos from Ann’s personal collection.