Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 215

I’m in the home stretch of proofing the book for a second time, so I’m taking the easy way out again.

Stranger in Town may not be much of a movie, but this portrait of Ann Dvorak & David Manners is one of the most beautiful photos I own.

Enjoy!

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 213

I am still proofing the proofs, so here’s a lovely shot of Ann Dvorak & James Cagney in The Crowd Roars to get you through your Thursday.

Cheers!

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 211

I am still in the midst of proofing the book, so here’s another gorgeous portrait of Ann Dvorak with a co-star. This time it’s Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in Love is a Racket.

Enjoy!

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 210

Yesterday marked what would have been Joe E. Brown’s 122nd birthday. As a belated commemoration, here is an adorable photo of Ann Dvorak and Brown as Joe & Fay Wilson in 1935’s Bright Lights.

(I’m still proofing the book, so I am taking the easy way today.)

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 209

Ann Dvorak’s role in Side Streets is one of the smallest of her career. The Warner Bros. feature from 1934 stars Aline MacMahon, who is awesome, and kind of makes up for the absence of Ann. Of all the years I have been collecting Ann Dvorak memorabilia, I have only found two photos from Side Streets and this one lobby card. I am actually surprised she made it onto one of the cards, so I will be grateful for that and end this post here.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 203

Yesterday, we took a look at Ann Dvorak paper dolls which ran in a Sunday newspaper, presumably to promote a latest Warner Bros. release. Today, I give you Ann Dvorak patterns – one for a “two-piece ‘market boy’ frock,” and the other for either a “tuck-in shirt or overblouse.” Both patterns advertise Ann as a Warner player and both would set you back 15 cents in the mid-1930s. Interestingly, the photo of Ann used on the blouse pattern is one that was used to promote Racing Lady, a RKO release. Please note that in the 1930s, a size 14 was a 32″ bust and 35″ hips, which is probably around a size 4 today.

These vintage patterns are fairly collectible and there are additional Dvorak ones, though I usually get outbid when they show up on eBay. Hopefully, I’ll be able to add more to the collection in the near future.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 202

After 15 years of collecting on Ann Dvorak, I’ve acquired a lot of run-of-the-mill memorabilia items such as stills, lobby cards, and posters. I’ve also picked up a few unusual promotional items like these paper dolls. They ran in the Sunday issue of a newspaper, on the back of the comics page. Judging from the costumes and likeness, I would place these around 1935. I bought them already cut up, so I don’t know if it this was some sort of promotional tie-in for a movie or just a general Warner Bros. promo. Whatever their original purpose was, now they serve as a reminder that if one collects on a 1930s movie star, there will never be an end to the amount of stuff out there waiting to be bought.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 201

Ann Dvorak was never one to rest on her laurels. When she wasn’t making films or reporting her employer to the ASPCA, she was practicing bacteriology, selling flowers from her greenhouse to the local florists, or making hats. That’s right, the Divine Miss D designed and made her own hats. In fact, in Ann’s first freelance film She’s No Lady, the actress was permitted to wear her own personally designed headgear.

Here’s a shot of Ann, Hedy Lamarr, and Anne Baxter engaged in a very serious conversation at the Walter Florell hat show in January 1946.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 200

Photos of scenes from movies are grand. Glamorous portraits are also fab. However, it’s the candid shots that really get my heart a flutter. There’s something about the un-posed and un-retouched images that I find fascinating and sometimes insightful.

For the 200th post in the 2013 Ann Dvorak blogathon, her is a shot of her on the set of the 1935 Warner Bros. feature G Men. She’s taking a breather while shooting the musical number  “You Bother Me an Awful Lot.” The shot is so candid that her face is obscured by the water glass and I love that she’s sitting on one od the chairs that is actually part of the set design while the members of the crew are busy behind her.

Maybe it’s a cheap thrill, but I am really a sucker for these candid photo.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 198

Film actors have always been used to endorse products. I have a small collection of flatware ads featuring the likes of Greer Garson, Olivia de Havilland, and Judy Garland hanging in my kitchen, and Ann Dvorak’s likeness was used during her career to proclaim the virtues of make-up, soap, and shoes. Even armed with this knowledge, a photo of a fur-clad Ann inspecting the latest model Ruud water heater is a bit off the wall. This was taken as a publicity photo for Merrily We Live and as far as I know, was never actually used in an official ad for Ruud water heaters.