vintage and modern pulp fiction; noir, schlock and exploitation films; scandals, swindles and news
Above is another treasure from Saturday—Une tombe pour la veuve, which means “a grave for the widow,” 1961, from publishers Éditions de Lutèce for their L’Agence Héléna series. The book is billed as an unpublished novel from Francis Fortunas, a pseudonym of Jean Denis, and it cost us two little euros at the Place de Quinconces. Art is uncredited, but signed GB, which is probably Georges Boland.
This cover for Joli brin d’amour has Humphrey Bogart on it. Right? No doubt about it, that’s him. The guy turns up everywhere. Joli brin d’amour, which means something like “pretty bit of love” or maybe “nice bit of love,” (French speakers, help us out with this one) was published in 1960 by Editions de Lutèce as part of its Les drames de la vie series. As far as we know, it was not written by the famous French author of adventures and fairytales Comtesse d’Aulnoy, aka Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, but we can’t identify the actual author (assuming D’Aulnoy is a pseudonym). No artist credit either. We’ll see if more info turns up later.
Update: We got a response from Miga almost immediately, who wrote:
“Since you asked for help, I’m not a linguist or anything but in my opinion the more appropriate choice would be “pretty bit of love.” The way I understand English, pretty is more used in the sense of beautiful, good looking, etc. As for nice it can apply to appearance but it seems to be used more in the sense of personality like kind. I can assure you, however that “petit brin d’amour” refers to exterior look and that petit is not a qualificative of love. Hope this helps!”
Thank you, Miga, for clarifying that for us. Much appreciated.
The first assembly of the League of Nations, the multi-governmental organization formed as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, is held in Geneva, Switzerland. The League begins to fall apart less than fifteen years later when Germany withdraws. By the onset of World War II it is clear that the League has failed completely.
Four members of the Herbert Clutter Family are murdered at their farm outside Holcomb, Kansas by Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith. The events would be used by author Truman Capote for his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, which is considered a pioneering work of true crime writing. The book is later adapted into a film starring Robert Blake.
Walt Disney’s animated film Fantasia, which features eight animated segments set to classical music, is first seen by the public in New York City at the Broadway Theatre. Though appreciated by critics, the movie fails to make a profit due to World War II cutting off European revenues. However it remains popular and is re-released several times, including in 1963 when, with the approval of Walt Disney himself, certain racially insulting scenes were removed. Today Fantasia is considered one of Disney’s greatest achievements and an essential experience for movie lovers.
British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his men are found frozen to death on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, where they had been pinned down and immobilized by bad weather, hunger and fatigue. Scott’s expedition, known as the Terra Nova expedition, had attempted to be the first to reach the South Pole only to be devastated upon finding that Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had beaten them there by five weeks. Scott wrote in his diary: “The worst has happened. All the day dreams must go. Great God! This is an awful place.”
Hugh Gray takes the first known photos of the Loch Ness Monster while walking back from church along the shore of the Loch near the town of Foyers. Only one photo came out, but of all the images of the monster, this one is considered by believers to be the most authentic.
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the story of the My Lai massacre, which had occurred in Vietnam more than a year-and-a-half earlier but been covered up by military officials. That day, U.S. soldiers killed between 350 and 500 unarmed civilians, including women, the elderly, and infants. The event devastated America’s image internationally and galvanized the U.S. anti-war movement. For Hersh’s efforts he received a Pulitzer Prize.
