| Femmes Fatales | Oct 15 2023 |
This one must be defective. It hasn't made me want to smile at all.
Coca Cola's advertising tagline—“Have a Coke and a smile”—is probably one of the most famous in corporate history, though it hadn't been thought of yet back when U.S. actress Ann Sothern posed with a Coke for this promo image made for her 1947 movie The Judge Steps Out. Back then the company's slogan was, “Coke knows no season.” Sothern knows no season either. She accumulated a hefty number of credits on radio, television, stage, and screen—more than one hundred, if we count correctly—including in The Blue Gardenia, Shadow on the Wall, and Super-Sleuth. We've shared a couple of promo images of her before, one of which was amusingly similar to today's. Have a look here. Sothern will be back.
| Vintage Pulp | Mar 20 2021 |
Baxter's bad night is about to get a lot worse.
We thought the French poster we shared for Anne Baxter's The Blue Gardenia was the best promo made for the movie, and we stand by that, but this U.S. promo in three-sheet style is pretty nice too. No artist is credited with this, as it's a photo-illustration. We think it has a film noir feel to it, but even though the movie was directed by German noir legend Fritz Lang, it isn't a noir—it's a mystery/drama, one that deals with gender issues, and for vintage film buffs it's certainly worth watching.
You've noticed that the name of the film echoes the Black Dahlia murder, still somewhat on the public's mind at the time, but there are no similarities between the crime and the film. That's just sneaky marketing. Well, whatever people thought they were getting when they ponied up their cash to watch this, what they got was an okay-not-great showcase for Baxter's top notch acting skills. The Blue Gardenia premiered in the U.S. today in 1953. You can read our detailed discussion of it here.
| Vintage Pulp | Mar 12 2020 |
Who's afraid of him? Nobody anymore.
Isn't this a great poster? It was painted for La femme au gardénia, better known as The Blue Gardenia. Every once in a while you come across an old movie that's so ahead of its time you can't believe what you're seeing. This one is about a woman's response to sexual coercion, and law enforcement's reaction to the aftermath. Basically, Anne Baxter, who's five-three and a buck twenty, ends up in the apartment of Raymond Burr, who's six feet and goes at least 230. Burr plies Baxter with booze, and when he later tries to get her horizontal a struggle ensues and he ends up dead. Baxter escapes the apartment, and thanks to the arrival of a very efficient cleaning lady nearly all the evidence of her presence is accidentally erased the next morning before Burr's body is discovered.
So Baxter's scot-free? Well, not quite. There's that whole guilt, edginess, and fear thing, which her roommates notice. And there are a few bits of evidence, which lead to police drawing ever closer. All these are good plot moves. Lacking an identity for the killer, the press begins calling her—the bit of evidence that exists indicates it's a her—the Blue Gardenia, which is a clear Black Dahlia echo. We liked that. And we also liked that, at this point, the film was a thriller built wholly around consent and power. But this was the 1950s. Of course they weren't trying to impart that lesson. What were we thinking? Instead, an ending so pat that it almost ruins the movie comes blundering over the horizon. Is it wrong to suggest watching the first 75 minutes of this and turning it off?
Okay, the movie isn't completely trashed by the ending. It's just that we thought we had something daring on hand, and in reality it's a decent-not-great semi-noir from Fritz Lang that flirts with feminism but decides not to close the deal. However, the story was derived from a novella by author and playwright Vera Caspary, and we can't help wondering if the suits overruled her on a different ending. Probably not, but we'll have to dig that tale up and read it anyway. Regardless, we think the movie is worth watching just for Anne Baxter's bravura performance. And we love the platinum poodle cut she sports too. Plus there's Nat King Cole as, presumably, himself. The Blue Gardenia opened in the U.S. in 1953, and premiered in France today in 1954
FranceLa femme au gardéniaThe Blue GardeniaVera CasparyAnne BaxterRichard ConteAnn SothernJeff DonnellRaymond BurrNat King ColeFritz Langposter artcinemamovie review
| Femmes Fatales | Jun 7 2015 |
Invitation to a dark place.
Above, American actress Ann Sothern, who first appeared onscreen in 1927 and last in 1987, along the way starring in Fast and Furious, The Blue Gardenia, the comedy Maisie and its eight sequels, and dozens of other films, as wells as Broadway plays and television shows. This amazing shot, with Sothern’s luminous, somewhat expectant eyes peering out from shadow, is from 1934.
