vintage and modern pulp fiction; noir, schlock and exploitation films; scandals, swindles and news
Above is a 1950s Technicolor lithograph with an unknown model losing her shirt and more in a poker game. The litho is titled “Out of Luck,” and it came from the company KLM. There are about eighty of these in the site, but we have a few favorites. See if this selection doesn’t grab you: here, here, and here.
An unidentified model appears above on two 1965 Technicolor lithographs, the first of which, from A. Fox Corp., is called “How Nice,” and the second of which, from KLM, is called “Silver Siren.” The model sports striking silver hair in both, and we’ve noticed this trend has gotten pretty big of late, so these serve as a reminder that, once again, your grandmother beat you to it.
Does this model look familiar? She might, if you visit here frequently. She’s the same unidentified star of an undressable Technicolor lithograph we shared around Christmas time. In the above image her pose is almost—but not quite—identical to that in the December image. You can compare them by looking here. The earlier shot was from K.L.M., while the one above was published by J.S.I. Both of them are from the early 1950s. Now look below. Yes, you’re seeing double. Well, almost. The print down there came from Corp. A. Fox in 1956. If you look closely you’ll see that the logo at lower right and title at lower left are different than above. The above shot is titled “Secret,” as in secret admirer, we presume, and the below shot is titled “Remembrance,” as in we hope the florist remembered to remove the thorns.
The change of logo and title shows how these images spread from company to company. Possibly each publisher bought the rights for a short time, leaving the owner free to peddle the same shots again later. Alternatively, K.L.M. bought the negs for a long period but was absorbed by A. Fox at some point. We wouldn’t doubt it—there were many publishers of these shots, and it seems unlikely they all thrived. Buying out a failing company and acquiring its images would be good business. It gets complicated, though, because as we now know, some of these pin-ups come from negatives owned by Playboy and were printed with the bunny logo, which suggests licensing deals. We’re still doing research on that aspect of the industry, so maybe we’ll know more later. In meantime, anyone recognize the model?
Above, another Technicolor pin-up that undresses when you peel back a glassine overlay, which as we mentioned before, was probably pioneered by the French magazine Paris-Hollywood. This particular pin-up from the company KLM featuring an unidentified model is entitled “Dreaming of You,” and the original, unobscured version dates from 1950. The overlay was added for a republication of the shot, probably around 1953 or later.
This Technicolor lithograph from KLM features something we’ve seen before—a semi-transparent overlay that provides coverage for the model. But all you have to do is lift the glassine top layer et voila!—instant nude. We’re pretty sure these were first done in France, as we showed you here, here, here, and in a couple of other places. Those examples date from 1951 and 1952. The above lithograph is originally from 1951, but it was published without the overlay. We think the nightie was added sometime in the mid-1950s. The model is unidentified.
Edit: Boom! We never quit! Here it is October 2022 and we’ve just learned that this is Karin Lane, a popular model who posed for photographers such as Irving Klaw. We’ll share more from her soon.
The Soviet space probe Luna 3 transmits the first photographs of the far side of the moon. The photos generate great interest, and scientists are surprised to see mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two seas, which the Soviets name Mare Moscovrae (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire).
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.
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.
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.
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.
