Pulp International

vintage and modern pulp fiction; noir, schlock and exploitation films; scandals, swindles and news

THE SUBSTANCE OF FIRE

It takes planning and skill to contain a Blaze.

Burlesque dancer, nudist, and tabloid personality Blaze Starr is captured in oils by painter Joseph Sheppard in a photo made in his studio this month in 1955. Starr was only twenty-three, but well known thanks to an appearance the previous year in Esquire. Sheppard was also well known, and would continue growing into an artist of international renown. In addition to his numerous paintings, he was also a highly regarded sculptor with many works to his credit, and would eventually create the Brooks Robinson statue that stands outside Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

This portrait wasn’t the only one Starr and Sheppard made together, but it’s the only one that was photographed in progress. Or seemingly in progress, anyway. Considering that the painting actually looks finished, the shot may be staged. But it’s nice anyway. Sheppard also made either a study or a separate piece in pencils, with a reverse orientation, which you see below too. We probably won’t see Sheppard here again, but if you’re interested in his work there’s a website that shares his pieces and the details of his life. As for Starr, she’ll be back eventually. You can count on it. Meanwhile, see her again here and here.

Baltimore, Esquire Magazine, Blaze Starr, Joesph Sheppard, burlesque

CHOUREAU STORY

It took her quite a bit of time to get through the entire thing.

This promo image features French actress Etchika Choureau, née Jeaninne Verret, among whose films were 1957’s I colpevoli and 1958’s Darby’s Rangers. She eventually managed seventeen roles before retiring in 1966. At that point she had become tabloid fodder thanks to her affair with Morocco’s Prince Moulay Hassan, who later became King Hassan II. The two were unable to marry due to religious and cultural strictures, but remained lifelong friends. Choureau featured in a relatively small number of films, but she lived an unrelatively lengthy number of years, dying in 2022 at age ninety-two. We should all be so lucky. The above shot was first published in a 1957 issue of Esquire.

France, Morocco, Esquire Magazine, I colpevoli, Darby's Rangers, Etchika Choureau, Jeaninne Verret, Prince Moulay Hassan, King Hassan II

A BIG ESQ.

Men's magazines come of age with Esquire.


Esquire isn’t a pulp magazine, but it’s a seminal U.S. publication that goes back to that era, debuting in 1933 and becoming incredibly popular within only a few issues. Today’s from this month in 1945 was given to us by a friend. It was an unexpected and generous gift. It’s also an unusual one. Dimensionally it’s thirteen inches by ten, a size we’ve only seen a couple of times before. That meant scanning pages in halves and assembling them digitally, and because Esquire was perfect-bound, the scanning meant the destruction of the issue. Inside, there’s fiction from Richard Gehman, James Stern, George Wiswell, Maurice Zolotow, and others, accompanied by nice story art. There are also some brilliant portraits of show business celebrities—including Virginia Mayo, Vera Zorina, Dorothy Hart, Ann Miller, Daun Kennedy, and ballerina Milada Mladova.

But it’s the ads that catch the eye. Advertising is a trip back in time, a look at what culture considered important, which is why we have a vintage ad feature in our sidebar. Esquire is packed with ads, chiefly for booze, smokes, and suits. Lots of suits. To think that artists sat at easels in studios producing these illustrations is an amazing thought—and bittersweet, considering how little artistic talent goes into advertising today. We picture the cast of Mad Men refreshing their creative reservoirs with an occasional drink, or even better, Darrin Stevens from Bewitched, struggling over his art pad until Samantha gives him a witchy boost. The ads are mostly signed—by the likes of Frederic Fellander, Jay Hyde Barnum, Robert Goodman, and J.N.C. Fenton. Enjoy the scans. We killed the magazine but it was worth it, we think. And thanks to Alex for the donation.

Esquire Magazine, Virginia Mayo, Vera Zorina, Dorothy Hart, Ann Miller, Daun Kennedy, Milada Mladova, Frederic Fellander, Jay Hyde Barnum, Robert Goodman, J.N.C. Fenton, Richard Gehman, James Stern, George Wiswell, Maurice Zolotow, Henry John Kaiser, literature, magazine art

CLEAN SHAVE

Hello again, mirror me. After all these years it's still only the two of us that know I'm a very hairy woman.

Virna Lisi made every photo amazing just by being in them, which is probably why Esquire magazine conceived this gender blurring idea in 1966 as a humorous commentary on her legendary beauty. Even with her face half covered Lisi still looks as good as ever. We doubt even a beard would have made much of a difference. We’ve included the magazine cover, as you see, and the photo is slightly different (if you can spot how, thumbs up for you). The issue is considered collectible today, and the image has even made it onto t-shirts. We’ve featured Lisi multiple times, including here, here, here, and here. All the shots are excellent. 

Italy, Esquire Magazine, Virna Lisi

THE OTHER AVA

When I'm a really big star there'll be a photo retoucher to make sure I have perfect armpits.


This scan made from a 35-millimeter slide shows Hungary born actress Ava Norring, who had exactly one credited role—that of Beatrice in 1952’s The Snows of Kilimajaro, in which she appeared with her more famous namesake Ava Gardner. She later was featured in an eight page Esquire photo essay published in July 1955, but stardom was not to be. We love this shot, underarm razor burn and all. We haven’t seen The Snows of Kilimajaro, but we’re curious about it. The 1936 Ernest Hemingway work upon which it’s loosely based is a short story (touching on standard Hemingway themes we discussed a while back), and it’s always interesting to see how filmmakers flesh out something so slight. We’ll get to the movie at some point, see both Avas in action, and probably report back. 

Hungary, Esquire Magazine, The Snows of Kilimajaro, Ava Norring, Ava Gardner, Ernest Hemingway

SHEER BEAUTIES

They're dressed for bed but it doesn't look like sleep is the plan.


We’re back to Mike Ludlow today, with these two pin-up paintings of negligée clad beauties he created for Esquire magazine. As we mentioned not long ago, Ludlow painted portraits of film stars, and as you can see here even the women that came from his imagination look a bit famous. For instance, to us these two look like Diana Dors (a little) and Elaine Stewart (a lot). Or is that just us? Regardless, they’re beautiful creations.
Esquire Magazine, Mike Ludlow

LEADING LIGHTS

Can you name the five stars in the constellation Ludlow the Genius?


Above you see five pin-up paintings that came from the brush of Mike Ludlow, an artist we featured the first time only recently. He rose from humble beginnings in Buffalo, New York, to become an acclaimed figure that at his zenith painted portraits of major actresses for Esquire magazine. That’s where all these pieces were originally published, and if you haven’t identified them all, they are, top to bottom, Anita Ekberg, Gina Lollobrigida, Virginia Mayo, Denise Darcel, and Betsy von Furstenberg. All these stars have been featured on Pulp Intl., and you can see interesting posts on them at the following links: Ekberg, Lollobrigida, Mayo, Darcel, von Furstenberg.
Buffalo, Esquire Magazine, Mike Ludlow, Anita Ekberg, Gina Lollobrigida, Virginia Mayo, Denise Darcel, Betsy von Furstenberg

A LIGHT YEAR

Varga's whimsical pin-ups make time stand still.

Below, every month from a Varga calendar published in Esquire magazine in 1948. Varga, aka Alberto Vargas, as you probably know was a top pin-up artist through the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. We have another complete calendar at this link, a movie poster here, and an interesting historical curiosity here.

Esquire Magazine, Varga, Alberto Vargas

MOOD INDIGO

Even Hollywood trailblazers get the blues.

This striking image, which appeared in Esquire magazine in April 1948, shows Maylia, an actress who played Eastern beauties onscreen but was born in Detroit, Michigan as Gloria Chin. Paramount Studios promoted her as “the first Chinese star since Anna May Wong,” and indeed she was—Chinese-American, that is, just like Wong. But in the end Maylia appeared in only six films. In fact she was one of the only Asian actresses appearing in films at all during the the mid-century period. After two years of decent roles from 1947 to 1949, followed by uncredited bits in ’51 and ’53, she left show business to have a family.

Michigan, Detroit, Esquire Magazine, Maylia, Gloria Chin, Anna May Wong, cinema
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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1948—Paige Takes Mound in the Majors

Satchel Paige, considered at the time the greatest of Negro League pitchers, makes his Major League debut for the Cleveland Indians at the age of 42. His career in the majors is short because of his age, but even so, as time passes, he is recognized by baseball experts as one of the great pitchers of all time.

1965—Biggs Escapes the Big House

Ronald Biggs, a member of the gang that carried out the Great Train Robbery in 1963, escapes from Wandsworth Prison by scaling a 30-foot wall with three other prisoners, using a ladder thrown in from the outside. Biggs remained at large, mostly living in Brazil, for more than forty-five years before returning to the UK—and arrest—in 2001.

1949—Dragnet Premiers

NBC radio broadcasts the cop drama Dragnet for the first time. It was created by, produced by, and starred Jack Webb as Joe Friday. The show would later go on to become a successful television program, also starring Webb.

1973—Lake Dies Destitute

Veronica Lake, beautiful blonde icon of 1940s Hollywood and one of film noir’s most beloved fatales, dies in Burlington, Vermont of hepatitis and renal failure due to long term alcoholism. After Hollywood, she had drifted between cheap hotels in Brooklyn and New York City and was arrested several times for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. A New York Post article briefly revived interest in her, but at the time of her death she was broke and forgotten.

1962—William Faulkner Dies

American author William Faulkner, who wrote acclaimed novels such as Intruder in the Dust and The Sound and the Fury, dies of a heart attack in Wright’s Sanitorium in Byhalia, Mississippi.

  • FEATUREd PULP

DON’T RIDE THE WHITE HORSE

Rafael DeSoto painted this excellent cover for David Hulburd's 1954 drug scare novel H Is for Heroin. We also have the original art without text.

BARN GIRLS

Two Spanish language digest novels from Argentine publishers Malinca Debora and Malinca Nueva Pandora.
Argentine publishers Malinca Debora reprinted numerous English language crime thrillers in Spanish. This example uses George Gross art borrowed from U.S. imprint Rainbow Books.

LOVES OF A BLONDE

Uncredited cover art for Orrie Hitt's 1954 novel Tawny. Hitt was a master of sleazy literature and published more than one hundred fifty novels.

INSATIABLE APPETITE

George Gross art for Joan Sherman’s, aka Peggy Gaddis Dern’s 1950 novel Suzy Needs a Man.

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