Yesterday, the Pulp girlfriends suggested that the only reason we posted all those album covers was because several of them featured nudity. We're just humble historians, chronicling mid-century art and discussing the social context within which it appeared—honest. But because our girlfriends called us voyeurs, we've decided to balance the scales a bit by posting something pretty much all women find exciting—crashing cars. Below is an assortment of Japanese posters for nine automotively-themed, vintage American movies. So there you go girls. If you don't find these exciting, well, we give up trying to figure you out.

Above is a photo of Lila Leeds, circa 1949. Leeds started in Hollywood as a hatcheck girl, quickly married conductor Jack Little, and eventually scored roles in films such as Moonrise, and So, You Want To Be a Detective. But her film roles paled in comparison to the lasting notoriety she achieved for being arrested with Robert Mitchum in 1948 for possession of marijuana. She spent sixty days in jail, and was released to discover that her career was over. She did manage one more film role, the ironically titled She Shoulda Said No!, but soon was forced to leave Hollywood behind. According to another notorious Hollywood arrestee, Cheryl Crane, Leeds had picked up a heroin habit while in prison, which hindered her attempts to get her career back on track at least as much as her ruined reputation. Leeds eventually died in obscurity. That was ten years ago today. 

We love this ominous promotional still from the classic thriller Night of the Hunter, that memorable story of an ex-convict terrorizing a mother and her two children. In yet another case of a movie going completely over the experts’ heads, Hunter received such a negative critical reception that director Charles Laughton vowed never to helm another picture, a promise he kept. But longevity is the proof with art—now Night of the Hunter is considered one of the most extraordinary American films ever made, and Robert Mitchum’s murderous faux-preacher Harry Powell has been referenced and riffed on in media as diverse as art rock (“The Mercy Seat” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) and cartoons (The Simpsons). If you haven’t seen Night of the Hunter we highly recommend it. It premiered in the U.S. fifty-three years ago this week.

Various movie stills of Robert Mitchum and the chest that helped make him a Hollywood icon, circa late 1940s, early 1950s.