Pulp International - Dina+Merril

Jul 5 2022

Inside Story goes where other tabloids tread—then claims not to have gone there.

It's been a few years since we posted an issue of Inside Story, but we don't run out of tabloids, we just run out of time to scan them. Today, though, there's time aplenty, so above you see an issue that appeared this month in 1963 with a cover touting a feature on the new generation of young actresses in Hollywood taking over from Brigitte Bardot, Kim Novak, and Marilyn Monroe. At the time, Bardot was twenty-nine and Novak was thirty-five. Those aren't exactly geriatric years for actresses, even back then, but Inside Story said there was a young new guard: Angie Dickinson, Ann-Margret, Jane Fonda, Connie Stevens, Tuesday Weld, and Julie Newmar. Dickinson was actually older than both Bardot and Novak, but we get the general point.

Later in the issue there's a story dedicated to Monroe that describes her fans as a death cult. The interesting aspect of this is that the author Kevin Flaherty accuses people of obsessing over Monroe—while himself obsessing over Monroe. The gist of his article is that a cottage industry of films, books, and magazine articles were cashing in on her suicide, which had occurred the previous August. This was, of course, shaky ground for any tabloid to tread upon, as they all made their profits via unauthorized articles about various celebrities, which one could define as exploitative by nature. But never let the facts get in the way of a good story angle.

Flaherty tells readers that Monroe's life was marred by abandonment, depression, and rape, and suggests that if she had been given a little peace by constantly clamoring fans and intrusive reporters she might not have taken that fatal dose of pills. We think it's just as valid to conclude that without stardom she wouldn't have lasted as long as she did. Since she isn't around anymore to speak for herself (she'd be ninety-six this year), we view her on the terms she chose. She started as a model and worked hard to become an actress, and we think those achievements are far more important than what she had no control over. But there will always be debate over Monroe's legacy, and Inside Story shows that the discussion was already in full swing. Twenty-plus scans below.

Vintage Pulp

Aug 13 2019

David Janssen takes aim at a mystery linked to his past.

Twenty Plus Two premiered in the U.S. today in 1961. We got interested in this one because it starred David Janssen, who was the central character in the television show The Fugitive, but who we remember from the obscure flick Birds of Prey that used to pop up on cable when we were in high school. We loved that movie, but it was the only thing we'd seen Janssen in. Twenty Plus Two is billed as film noir on some websites, so that interested us too. First things first—it isn't a film noir. Not even close. It's a black and white crime drama with a few night sequences, but no noir stylings or iconography, except for a single flashback. People get this twisted all the time, but we'll say it again: just because it's a black and white crime movie doesn't mean it's a film noir.

Janssen stars as an investigator who's drawn into a murder case involving a movie star's secretary. She possessed material on a missing heiress, and Janssen finds himself investigating both the missing person and the murder. Mixed in are complications from his past in the form of his ex-fiancée. Janssen never quite figures it all out, but that's okay—the villain explains it in detail for him at the end. The whole production comes across like a television movie, complete with the type of punctuative trumpet blasts you'd hear on an old cop show. We can't recommend it, but if you're a fan of Janssen you won't be disappointed. He's about as reliable a star as you'll find, and he makes Twenty Plus Two watchable all by his lonesome.

Twenty Plus Two Birds of Prey The Fugitive David Janssen Jeanne Crain Dina Merrill poster art cinema movie review