It’s been a while since we’ve added to our noir blinds collection, so here you see a cover for Raymond Chandler’s Tot ziens, Mr. Marlowe, which translates as, “See you later, Mr. Marlowe,” and was a Dutch re-issue of The Long Goodbye. The original was published in 1953. This came from Amsterdam based publishers A.J.G. Strengholt in 1956. The art is by Frans Mettes, and it’s beautiful work. Note the shadow of the knife-wielding stalker on the louvres. We don’t have “blinds” keyworded, so we’ll point those who are interested to our other posts on this subject: our main noir blinds collection is here, and the many beautiful additions are here, here, here, here, here, and here.
1944—Velez Commits Suicide
Mexican actress Lupe Velez, who was considered one of the great beauties of her day, commits suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. In her note, Velez says she did it to avoid bringing shame on her unborn child by giving birth to him out of wedlock, but many Hollywood historians believe bipolar disorder was the actual cause. The event inspired a 1965 Andy Warhol film entitled Lupe.