Hollywoodland

February 10 2022

HELL AND HIGH WATER

Elaine Stewart gets fat for the only time in her life.

This photo shows actress Elaine Stewart preparing for a bath scene in her 1958 thriller High Hell, in which she starred with John Derek. Make-up artist George Claff is applying a layer of grease paint, which is basically animal fat, sometimes with pigments mixed in. We guess it must have helped keep Stewart warm in the water. Maybe someone else has a better explanation. That’s ours. In any case, handling Stewart’s hot legs must have been the highlight of Claff’s career. We imagine him returning home that evening:

Mrs. Claff: “How was work today, honey?”

George: “Work? Um… Why? What did you hear?”

*later makes love to wife with wild abandon she hasn’t known since they were first married*

Mrs. Claff: “Wow! What got into you?”

George: “Nothing. I just realize I love Elaine— Er… I mean… um… I love a-laying… you… Just a-you.”

Below you see the result of Stewart’s extensive grease paint preparation. De Niro? Hah! Stewart fattened up for a role long before him. Is it our imagination or is supporting actor Patrick Allen looking inside the barrel while on the verge of tears? It’s understandable. Look here.

High Hell, Elaine Stewart, John Derek, Patrick Allen

Vintage Pulp

December 16 2020

TATTERED AND TORN

A rag is a gown, 'til a man comes around.

Above is an Italian poster for Il vestito strappato, better known as The Tattered Dress, starring Jeff Chandler, Jack Carson, Jeanne Crain, Gail Russell, and the lovely Elaine Stewart. The art, depicting an evening gown reduced to a useless rag by a disembodied male hand, is actually accurate in terms of the film’s visuals. We mean a dress is ripped and you don’t get a good look at who’s attached to the hand. We talked about it a while back. Shorter review: disorder in the court.

Italy, The Tattered Dress, Il vestito strappato, Jeff Chandler, Jeanne Crain, Jack Carson, Gail Russell, Elaine Stewart, poster art, cinema

Femmes Fatales

April 3 2020

FULLY RIPE

These little apples are so adorable. They remind me of me before I had my college growth spurt.

It’s time once again for a promo photo of U.S. actress Elaine Stewart, a favorite around the sprawling Pulp Intl. mega-complex. Stewart appeared in a dozen films in mostly supporting roles in 1952 and 1953, a pretty fast clip, but tapered off sharply afterward and was out of show business by the time she was thirty-four. She had a child with husband Merrill Heatter around then, and another soon after, so that’s probably why her career ended, but we greatly enjoy anytime we see her, whether onscreen or in photos. She will return to grace our website again.

Elaine Stewart, Merrill Heatter

Vintage Pulp

March 14 2020

DRESS FOR THE OCCASION

Big shot attorney finds his defense strategy in tatters.

Above is a poster for The Tattered Dress, an unexpectedly entertaining flick about a craven New York City lawyer who ventures to smalltown Nevada to defend a local big shot against murder charges, only to find that the acquittal breeds a dangerous new enemy. The film stars Jeff Chandler, and amazingly this was the first thing we’ve seen him in. We were thinking, “Why wasn’t this guy a huge star?” He could act, he had presence, and he was great looking. And then we internetted him and learned that died at age forty-two after complications from back surgery. Apparently his surgeon botched the job, cut an artery, and Chandler only survived the operation with the help of 55 pints of infused blood. But he never made it out of the hospital, as subsequent side effects laid him low. What a way to go.

You’d almost think Chandler originally hurt his back carrying The Tattered Dress, because the movie rides almost entirely on him. He gets a nice assist from Jack Carson, and co-stars Jeanne Crain, Gail Russell and super-hottie Elaine Stewart certainly don’t hurt, but it’s Chandler who’s asked to handle all the toughest elements of this heavy courtroom drama, including two long cross-examinations and an emotional closing argument. And it’s no wonder he’s emotional—thanks to his new enemy that closing argument comes as he’s serving as his own counsel, defending himself in court against bribery charges. They say the man who serves as his own counsel has a fool for a client. Chandler has to prove that adage wrong or he’s prison toast.

The Tattered Dress goes the route of portraying defense lawyers as devoid of morals, when in the real world it’s often prosecutors that are the dodgy ones, but it’s still fun to see Chandler progress from pure mercenary to a man with newfound respect for his profession. The “tattered dress” of the title at first seems to refer to a torn dress worn by co-star Elaine Stewart that becomes crucial in the opening case, but we later learn it really refers to dress worn by Lady Justice. Chandler finally understands that the law needs to be protected above all. Too bad it doesn’t seem to work that way anywhere except on the silver screen. The Tattered Dress premiered in the U.S. today in 1957.

Don’t worry, baby. We have a stand-your-ground law in this state, so theoretically my stalking and murdering this guy shouldn’t be a big deal.

Hypothetically speaking, if I botched your husband’s defense, would that increase or decrease the odds of the two us having hot filthy sex?

So, long story short, banging guys in this convertible has become sort of a way of life.

Objection! Melodramatic!

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my client is extremely rich. Defense rests.

The Tattered Dress, Jeff Chandler, Jeanne Crain, Jack Carson, Gail Russell, Elaine Stewart, poster art, cinema, movie review

Femmes Fatales

February 12 2020

GAIL FORCE

She's the reason you should have disaster insurance.

Above, a great promo image of U.S. actress Gail Russell from the 1957 drama The Tattered Dress, in which she co-starred with Jeff Chandler, Jeanne Crain, and Elaine Stewart. We aren’t kidding about disaster insurance, by the way—she once crashed her car into a bar.

The Tattered Dress, Gail Russell, Jeff Chandler, Jeanne Crain, Elaine Stewart

Femmes Fatales

November 20 2018

HOT SEAT

Then I asked the photographer if the heater was off, he said yes, and long story short—that's how I burned my butt off.

Above, a nice shot of U.S. actress Elaine Stewart the instant before she lets out a yowl that shatters every window within a five block radius. We’ve featured Stewart before, and seeing as she’s quite lovely and has numerous great promo images, we’ll probably circle back to her again. No date on this, but figure around 1955.

Elaine Stewart

Vintage Pulp

April 8 2013

BAD COMPANY

He who goes up must one day come down.

This beautiful poster for Vicente Minelli’s 1952 drama The Bad and the Beautiful was made for the film’s French release as Les ensorceles. A behind-the-scenes look at the rise of a legendary Hollywood producer, the story is told in triptych, with each section focused on someone the producer betrayed during his rise to the top. The three sections are wrapped in a framing device wherein the betrayed have been called together to hear the producer’s pitch for working together again. Of course, all of them are too angry to consider such a collaboration—at least at first.

The real attraction here is seeing 1950s Hollywood turn its camera inward for a look at the machinations behind the magic of movies. The cast—Kirk Douglas, Dick Powell, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, and Gloria Grahame—range from excellent to adequate, and the story of ruthlessness being rewarded in Tinseltown has a contemporary feel. The saying goes that it’s best to be nice to everyone you meet on the way up because you run into the same people on the way down. Doubtless that’s true, but even better advice would be to never come down at all.

Turning our attention to the poster, you may notice that the design was inspired by the promo shot just below. Except—hold on a sec. Is that Douglas and Turner? No, it isn’t. It’s Gilbert Roland and super hottie Elaine Stewart. The producers must have liked their dance bit so much they decided to use it as inspiration for the promo art, basically putting Douglas’s and Turner’s heads atop Roland’s and Stewart’s bodies. That’s like being left on the cutting room floor, but somehow even worse. In Stewart’s case at least, we will be sure to get back to both her head and body. Les ensorceles premiered in France today in 1953.

France, Les ensorceles, The Bad and the Beautiful, Kirk Douglas, Dick Powell, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, Gloria Grahame, Elaine Stewart, Vicente Minelli, poster art, cinema, movie review

Femmes Fatales

November 14 2012

HORSING AROUND

Having a merry go ’round in Hollywood.

American actress and model Elaine Stewart first caught Hollywood’s attention as See magazine’s Miss See for the month of January 1952. She immediately launched a film career, winning small roles in seven movies that year, and eventually appearing in The Tattered Dress, Night Passage, High Hell, The Bad and the Beautiful and other productions, as well as in several television shows. This shot was made in 1954 when she was filming MGM’s musical classic Brigadoon.

Brigadoon, Night Passage, High Hell, Brigadoon, The Bad and the Beautiful, The Tattered Dress, See Magazine, Elaine Stewart, cinema

ABOUT

EMAIL

LEGAL

SEARCH PULP INTERNATIONAL

PULP INTL.
HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 6

1966—LSD Declared Illegal in U.S.

LSD, which was originally synthesized by a Swiss doctor and was later secretly used by the CIA on military personnel, prostitutes, the mentally ill, and members of the general public in a project code named MKULTRA, is designated a controlled substance in the United States.

October 5

1945—Hollywood Black Friday

A six month strike by Hollywood set decorators becomes a riot at the gates of Warner Brothers Studios when strikers and replacement workers clash. The event helps bring about the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which, among other things, prohibits unions from contributing to political campaigns and requires union leaders to affirm they are not supporters of the Communist Party.

October 4

1957—Sputnik Circles Earth

The Soviet Union launches the satellite Sputnik I, which becomes the first artificial object to orbit the Earth. It orbits for two months and provides valuable information about the density of the upper atmosphere. It also panics the United States into a space race that eventually culminates in the U.S. moon landing.

October 4

1970—Janis Joplin Overdoses

American blues singer Janis Joplin is found dead on the floor of her motel room in Los Angeles. The cause of death is determined to be an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol.

October 3

1908—Pravda Founded

The newspaper Pravda is founded by Leon Trotsky, Adolph Joffe, Matvey Skobelev and other Russian exiles living in Vienna. The name means “truth” and the paper serves as an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991.

October 3

1957—Ferlinghetti Wins Obscenity Case

An obscenity trial brought against Lawrence Ferlinghetti, owner of the counterculture City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, reaches its conclusion when Judge Clayton Horn rules that Allen Ginsberg’s poetry collection Howl is not obscene.

October 3

1995—Simpson Acquitted

After a long trial watched by millions of people worldwide, former football star O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson subsequently loses a civil suit and is ordered to pay millions in damages.