| Vintage Pulp | Dec 8 2019 |
McGinnis sells sea tale with a seashore.
West German publishing company Heyne Bücher makes good use of art by Robert McGinnis on the cover of Der Flamingo Mörder, which was a translation of Charles Williams' 1958 novel The Concrete Flamingo, aka All the Way. This beachy painting originally appeared in Argosy in April 1961 as an illustration for Ed Lacy's story "The Naked Blanco,” but it's a perfect match for Williams, who became a gifted crafter of oceangoing thrillers, among them Dead Calm, And the Deep Blue Sea, Scorpion Reef, and Aground. And yes, we know, by the way, that technically (not even technically, but actually) a fowl is a bird domesticated for its eggs, which flamingos aren't, but you try thinking up headers for these posts for eleven straight years. Anyway, the entire McGinnis painting from which the cover art was borrowed is below. And as always you can learn more about everyone involved by clicking their keywords at bottom.
| Vintage Pulp | Dec 2 2019 |
Looking back at one of the solar system's hottest celestial bodies.
Anita Ekberg's film noir Screaming Mimi opened in West Germany today in 1960. We've had a look at one West German poster, but today we've decided to share another one. This version is similar to the U.S. promo, but the unusual color palette makes it seem like a completely different design. We think's it's really beautiful.
| Vintage Pulp | Nov 24 2019 |
I can see forever from up here. Man, the smog over London is really bad.
Raquel Welch stands tall in this pin-up poster made for her prehistoric adventure One Million Years B.C. This was sold in West Germany, where the movie premiered today in 1966. In fact, it was the film's world premiere. It was made by Associated British-Pathé and Hammer Studios, and partly shot on British sound stages (as well as in the Canary Islands), but for some reason the filmmakers chose West Germany for a testing ground. They needn't have been so cautious—thanks to Welch an otherwise ridiculous b-flick became a worldwide smash.
West GermanyBritainSpainCanary IslandsHammer StudiosAssociated British-PathéOne Million Years B.C.Raquel Welchsex symbol
| Vintage Pulp | Nov 3 2019 |
Strangely calm on the eastern front too. Let me try the western front one more time.
Even the most serious and important books of all time can be given the genre treatment. German author Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is a towering literary achievement, a masterpiece of war fiction with deep pacifist themes, but it could still be sexed up a little, thanks to Lion Books. This edition is from 1950, and the artist is uncredited.
| Sex Files | Nov 1 2019 |
Like the saying goes, if it feels good just do it.
Berlin based Goliath Books has developed a specialization in art volumes exploring the sexual practices and quirks of the past. Previous Goliath releases have focused on the Marquis de Sade and the underground porn of the Third Reich, among other subjects. Now the company has published a new collection authored by Richard Battenberg entitled A Visual History of Lovemaking Toys, with photos and illustrations proving that ingenious folk have been using sex devices to spice up their private lives for a very long time. Two-hundred and forty images, mostly vintage but also recent, show various uninhibited pleasure seekers using dildos, strap-ons, candles and more.
The images are shocking, funny, educational, and sometimes just plain weird, but more than anything else the five hundred plus years of erotic history examined serve as a reminder that time goes by, societies evolve, and nations rise and fall, but people don't really change much when it comes to their bodily needs. These days up to half of Brits and possibly two thirds of Americans own sex aids. It really gives the term Toys R Us a whole new meaning. We have a few scans from inside the book below, and needless to say, you should probably make sure nobody is looking over your shoulder when you view them. You can find more info about this and other items at Goliath Books.
The images are shocking, funny, educational, and sometimes just plain weird, but more than anything else the five hundred plus years of erotic history examined serve as a reminder that time goes by, societies evolve, and nations rise and fall, but people don't really change much when it comes to their bodily needs. These days up to half of Brits and possibly two thirds of Americans own sex aids. It really gives the term Toys R Us a whole new meaning. We have a few scans from inside the book below, and needless to say, you should probably make sure nobody is looking over your shoulder when you view them. You can find more info about this and other items at Goliath Books.
A Visual History of Lovemaking Toys ISBN: 978-3-948450-07-6 €29.99
| Femmes Fatales | Sep 7 2019 |
Everywhere she went brought a change in the weather.
You know the difference between weather and climate? Los Angeles has beautiful women. That's climate. Dana Wynter stood out in L.A. for being unusually hot. That's weather. Glad we could clear that up. Wynter was born in Berlin and raised in England, but made her name in U.S. movies such as Something of Value and Shake Hands with the Devil. Today she's mainly remembered for Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which we briefly mentioned back in May. Check here.
| Vintage Pulp | Sep 5 2019 |
We're going to have fun. I'm well known as the life of the Communist Party.
This cover for M.E. Chaber's 1952 spy thriller All the Way Down is uncredited but pretty nice. The rear pleases the eye too. If we had to guess we'd say it was painted by Rafael DeSoto, who was often utilized by Popular Library during the early ’50s, but with no interior credit, alas, we cannot know for sure. What we do know for sure is that Chaber's real name was was Kendell Foster Crossen, and under various pseudonyms he wrote pulp fiction and sci-fi, and well as other spy novels. Most of the latter category starred franchise hero Milo March, heavy drinker and quick with a quip, with the above coming second in a series devoted to the character. It was originally called No Grave for March, but the good folks at Popular Library thought All the Way Down was a better fit, and of course when it comes to title changes they're always right.
All the way down where? Why into the underbelly of German communism. At the center of the plot is a superweapon—one of those hilarious sci-fi contrivances unique to 1950s mass market literature. March heads to Berlin bearing microfilm concerning this technological atrocity and poses as a member of the American Communist Party in order to infiltrate the German commies. Chaber's descriptions of post-war pre-wall Berlin, the streets, subways, and parks, are obviously written from experience, and those passages add considerable interest to the proceedings as Milo tries to earn the trust of suspicious enemies, stay alive while doing so, and—best case scenario—keep a low level brandy buzz intact the entire time. And of course there's a love interest. Greta is her name. She's German by birth but American by nationality and a member of the Denver Communist Party. Milo wants to march into her panties, so naturally smalltalk brings him around to asking why she joined the movement. Part of her answer:
“Then in 1942, after we Americans were at war against Hitler, someone wrote a name on the window of my father's store. It was the same name that the Nazis had written on his store window in Berlin—only it was written in English instead of German this time. The next day I became a Communist.”
She joined the Communist Party to oppose fascism. Why do we highlight that quote? Well, let's just say people are becoming confused these days about Nazis. It was once universally known that Hitler persecuted and imprisoned leftists, despite the deliberately deceptive name of his political party. Those episodes are mentioned time and again in All the Way Down, as Chaber makes clear that Nazis and communists were at opposite ends of the political spectrum. He probably never would have 
believed there would be confusion about this, yet here we are in 2019, and increasing numbers of Americans believe (or at least pretend) Nazism and communism were both leftist movements. In any case, Chaber has written an entertaining book here, in which a skirmish between communists and capitalists is deftly won by the capitalists. That's not a spoiler. In 1952, in a Popular Library paperback, it's obviously the only ending that could ever be.
believed there would be confusion about this, yet here we are in 2019, and increasing numbers of Americans believe (or at least pretend) Nazism and communism were both leftist movements. In any case, Chaber has written an entertaining book here, in which a skirmish between communists and capitalists is deftly won by the capitalists. That's not a spoiler. In 1952, in a Popular Library paperback, it's obviously the only ending that could ever be.
| Vintage Pulp | Aug 14 2019 |
Haven't we seen her somewhere before?
Looks like West German publisher Paul Feldmann Verlag was yet another company that jumped on the celebrity photocover bandwagon, using an image of of British actress Diana Rigg for Auf den Spuren des Syndikats, which means “in the footsteps of the syndicate.” Rigg is, of course, best known for playing ass kicking Emma Peel on the beloved British television series The Avengers, and the photo used here was borrowed from a promo image made for the series.
Auf den Spuren des Syndikats was part of Feldmann's series PFV-Krimi. Author Henry C. Scott was credited 
with numerous books, but we knew he was a pseudonym just based on his improbably vanilla name. Color us surprised to learn that rather than a German author masquerading as a yank, it was a guy named Walter Arnold. Seems like Walt could have just written using the vanilla name he was born with, but what do we know?
We found this book cover on the German blog Leihbuchregal, which you can visit at this link, if so inclined. It will be helpful if you can read German. Paul Feldmann Verlag published many other books with borrowed celebs, which if you visit here regularly you know is a phenomenon we've noted, um, auf den. See a couple of good examples here and here. 1969 copyright on the above.
with numerous books, but we knew he was a pseudonym just based on his improbably vanilla name. Color us surprised to learn that rather than a German author masquerading as a yank, it was a guy named Walter Arnold. Seems like Walt could have just written using the vanilla name he was born with, but what do we know?We found this book cover on the German blog Leihbuchregal, which you can visit at this link, if so inclined. It will be helpful if you can read German. Paul Feldmann Verlag published many other books with borrowed celebs, which if you visit here regularly you know is a phenomenon we've noted, um, auf den. See a couple of good examples here and here. 1969 copyright on the above.
West GermanyThe AvengersPaul Feldmann VerlagHenry C. ScottWalter ArnoldDiana Riggcover artliterature
| Vintage Pulp | Jul 2 2019 |
Woman, 20, seeks man any age. Must be open minded. Sex guaranteed. No commitment. Emotional masochist preferred.
Above is a West German poster for the French sexploitation flick Laura, originally titled Laure, starring the sexiest elf in cinema history, Annie Belle, in the tale of a minister's libertine daughter trekking around the Philippines, getting laid with whomever while her boyfriend-later-husband watches and sometimes films. We talked about this one in detail a while back but wanted to share this nice poster. Notice Emmanuelle Arsan is credited as the director? What happened was the actual director Louis-Jacques Rollet-Andriane quit and refused to allow his name to be attached to the film because he didn't get to delve more deeply into his philosophy of freedom and swinging. Which is funny because the movie is almost entirely about freedom and swinging. But give a Frenchman six inches and he'll demand a mile. Read more here. Laura premiered in West Germany today in 1976.
West GermanyPhilippinesLaureLauraAnnie BelleAnnie BrillandLouis-Jacques Rollet-AndrianeEmmanuelle Arsanposter artcinemasexploitation
| Vintage Pulp | Jun 27 2019 |
Crazy for feeling so lonely.
Above, a really nice West German poster for Roman Polanski's quasi-horror flick Ekel, better known as Répulsion, with Catherine Deneuve as a woman who goes crazy in the isolation of her apartment. We talked about this one briefly and shared two Japanese posters for it a while ago. After opening in France and the UK, the film received its debut for German viewers at The Berlin International Film Festival today in 1965.
West GermanyBerlin International Film FestivalEkelRépulsionRepulsionCatherine DeneuveRoman Polanskiposter artcinema
