Vintage Pulp

June 10 2024

THE FURIOUS 5

Don't push them 'cause they're close to the edge.

Sizzling is a good word for Kim Novak. In her fourth film, 5 Against the House, which premiered in the U.S. today in 1955, she wasn’t quite a star yet, but her backers at Columbia Pictures had tabbed her for the Hollywood firmament. They placed her in this drama about a quartet of men who’ve spent a few years in the Korean War (Novak makes the 5 of the title but she spent that time on the home front) and are back to finish law school. Distressed by their lack of resources and opportunities, one of them, who’s a gambler and dreamer, convinces two of the others they can rob a Reno casino. Guy Madison, top-billed, has no idea what’s occurring, at least at first, and Novak plays his girlfriend and has even less of an idea. They figure it out, though, while the group are road-tripping to Nevada. Madison and Novak want out, but both are blackmailed into participating.

The movie has an interesting tone. They guys are all quipsters, and some of their Rat Pack interplay is legitimately funny, but their simmering disaffection eventually comes to the fore as they amp themselves up for the robbery by talking about all they’ve lost having been sent to war. Most of all, they’ve lost time. That idea makes narrative sense, but the actors are a little old for the roles. Madison, Alvy Moore, and Brian Keith are all in their mid-thirties. How long did they spend in Korea—a decade? Kerwin Matthews is twenty-nine, which maybe works, but Novak, as Madison’s college sweetheart, is in her early twenties. How the hell did that happen? Did he start dating her when she was thirteen? Maybe their ages are minor points, but we noticed, and you will too.

In any case, the guys resent being years behind law students who avoided the war, and figure the country owes them something, even if it’s only cash. Later, though, right when it looks like they might get smart and back out, Keith shows that he had a screw knocked loose by combat and manages to force the issue. The subsequent robbery involves fake mustaches and a misdirection play, but it’s never the point. The movie is really a sympathy piece for the boys who fought overseas and a mild remark about the psychological cost of warfare. All fine, but—and it pains us to say this about any Novak movie—it’s weak, entirely unrealistic, and climactically ludicrous. Ultimately, 5 Against the House is probably only worth seeing for the banter between the fellas, and a gander at captivating Kim. She’s hotter than Reno in July. You can bet on it.

Korean War, Nevada, Reno, 5 Against the House, Kim Novak, Guy Madison, Brian Keith, Alvy Moore, Kerwin Matthews, William Conrad, poster art, cinema, movie review

Vintage Pulp

February 14 2020

MILITARY APPRECIATION

Thank you for your service, girls.

We have a special treat for you on Valentine’s Day (which doesn’t exist where we live, but we’re living up to the International part of Pulp International). Above is the cover of a 1951 photo magazine called G-Eyefuls, which was marketed in the U.S. to the Korean War generation, specifically soldiers. We suspect it was sold in drugstores in military towns, possibly in military base exchanges, and the like. It’s credited to a guy named Bill Boltin, who also authored a little-known 1952 novel called Witch on Wheels. Boltin didn’t write much for G-Eyefuls, just a foreword and some cheesy captions for the pix.

We consider it unfortunate that Boltin took time to write captions for nearly every photo, but identifed no models. Since the photos are almost certainly handouts, it’s possible Boltin had no idea who most of the models were. However, burlesque queen Lili St. Cyr appears twice, which suggests he at least recognized her. We assume you do too, but if not she appears in panel seven below, with a close-up in panel eight, and she recurs in the third-to-last panel, with another close-up below that. At sixty-four pages, we ran out of patience to upload this entire magazine, but we have a representative selection of forty scans. Happy corporate holiday, Valentiners.

Korean War, Lili St. Cyr, Bill Boltin, burlesque

Vintage Pulp

September 24 2018

THE SHOE MUST GO ON

Somebody tried to put a glass slipper on my foot but I told him I'm strictly a Gucci girl.

Above is a nice George Gross cover for John D. MacDonald’s 1953 novel A Bullet for Cinderella. We acquired this book mainly because of the art, but also to see if the weird generalizations about various types of people we complained about in MacDonald’s Travis McGee novels was the character or the author. Turns out it was the author. But he keeps it in a lower gear than in his McGee novels, which helps. In the story a Korean War prison camp survivor heads to a dead buddy’s home town to try to locate $60,000 in stolen money. On his deathbed in the prison camp the friend had confessed to hiding the money, but in his delirium did not say exactly where. He asked that the money be returned to its rightful owner but the hero of the story plans to keep it. To his dismay another death camp survivor who somehow learned the same information is already in the town, also trying to locate the cash. You get a battle of wills, a moral struggle over whether to keep the money if found, and a love interest who was once the dead man’s girl. You could find a better book to read, but you could also find a lot worse.

Korean War, South Korea, John D. MacDonald, cover art, literature

Vintage Pulp

December 6 2017

CALLING HER SHOT

Yes, I'd like to report a murder. A man murdered every last bit of my patience.

Above, a nice cover for Day Keene’s 1954 thriller Death House Doll, with excellent art credited to Bernard Barton, who’s aka Harry Barton (Bernard was his middle name). In the story, a Korean War vet has promised his fatally wounded brother he’d look after his wife and baby daughter, but when he gets back to the world (Chicago) he’s stunned to find that she’s sitting on death row for murder, and unwilling to spill the truth even if it saves her. The attraction with this one is watching a decorated war hero run riot on hoods and thieves, while up against the always effective ticking clock gimmick—an execution date, which in this case is five days hence. The book was an Ace Double with Thomas B. Dewey’s Mourning After on the flipside, and the art on that one, just above, is by Victor Olson. We put together a nice collection of Harry Barton’s work back in May that we recommend you visit at this link.

Korea, Korean War, Ace Books, Ace Double Novels, Day Keene, Gunard Hjerstedt, Thomas B. Dewey, Harry Barton, Bernard Barton, Victor Olson, cover art, literature

Intl. Notebook

August 3 2013

KOREAN COOKING

Monroe heats up the troops with her special brand of spice.

Isn’t this an amazing shot of Marilyn Monroe? Heritage Auctions, which bills itself as the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer, is selling a cache of Marilyn Monroe photos taken while she was entertaining U.S. troops in South Korea in 1954. She performed ten shows over four days to more than 100,000 spectators. It’s a small but amazing group of thirteen shots, with the high bid currently at $1,000, and an expected winning bid somewhere in the $2,000 range. Even if you can’t afford that kind of purchase, the photos are more than worth a look and you can see them here.

South Korea, Korean War, Marilyn Monroe

Intl. Notebook

May 1 2013

DOG DAY AFTERNOON

These weapons have the power to kill every human on the planet. High five!

Back during the days of aboveground nuclear testing, particularly during the Korean War, the U.S. government wanted to be sure troops could operate under threat of nuclear attack. A field exercise known as Desert Rock IV was conducted at the Nevada Test Site during some of the detonations comprising the nuclear test series codenamed Operation Tumbler-Snapper. Thousands of soldiers conducted maneuvers as the blasts occurred, and were exposed to radiation, though the levels were said to be low. This particular photo is from the 20-kiloton airburst codenamed Dog, and shows two soldiers pretending to touch the bomb’s debris cloud. An aerial photo of the blast appears below. That was today in 1952.

Korean War, Nevada Test Site, nukes

Vintage Pulp

April 2 2013

IN PLANE SIGHT

Those magnificent blokes in their flying machines.

Over the last few months we’ve culled together a collection of Australian World War II and Korean War paperback covers from the 1960s and today seemed like a good day to share these with you. All of the books are from Horwitz Publishing, the family owned house established in 1921 in Sydney by Israel and Ruth Horwitz. Upon its inception Horwitz published trade journals and sporting magazines, but eventually moved into popular fiction, pulps, and comic books. It was under son Stanley Horwitz, who took over the head spot at the company in 1956, that these books were published.

Australia, Sydney, World War II, Korean War, Horwitz Publishing, Ruth Horwitz, Israel Horwitz, Stanley Horwitz, William R. Bennett, Fergus Grant, Frank Rennie, Ivan Southhall, Roger Hunt, cover art, liertature

Vintage Pulp

September 22 2010

AMERICANUS INTERRUPTUS

Beyond the villa of the dolls.

Above, a September 1964 Action for Men adventure magazine containing assorted WWII and Korean War tales. The cover art is by Charles Copeland, and it depicts American soldiers and partially dressed Italian “call dolls” aka prostitutes, capturing a group of Nazi officers who we’ll assume are pretty bummed the raid didn’t happen about an hour later.

Action for Men, WWII, Korean War, Charles Copeland, magazine art

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 15

1945—Laval Executed

Pierre Laval, who was the premier of Vichy, France, which had collaborated with the Nazis during World War II, is shot by a firing squad for treason. In subsequent years it emerges that Laval may have considered himself a patriot whose goal was to publicly submit to the Germans while doing everything possible behind the scenes to thwart them. In at least one respect he may have succeeded: fifty percent of French Jews survived the war, whereas in other territories about ninety percent perished.

October 15

1966—Black Panthers Form

In the U.S., in Oakland, California, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale form the Black Panther political party. The Panthers are active in American politics throughout the 1960s and 1970s, but eventually legal troubles combined with a schism over the direction of the party lead to its dissolution.

October 14

1962—Cuban Missile Crisis Begins

A U-2 spy plane flight over the island of Cuba produces photographs of Soviet nuclear missiles being installed. Though American missiles have been installed near Russia, the U.S. decides that no such weapons will be tolerated in Cuba. The resultant standoff brings the U.S. and the Soviet Union to the brink of war. The crisis finally ends with a secret deal in which the U.S. removes its missiles from Turkey in exchange for the Soviets removing the Cuban weapons.

October 13

1970—Angela Davis Arrested

After two months of evading police and federal authorities, Angela Davis is arrested in New York City by the FBI. She had been sought in connection with a kidnapping and murder because one of the guns used in the crime had been bought under her name. But after a trial a jury agreed that owning the weapon did not automatically make her complicit in the crimes.

October 12

1978—Sid Vicious Arrested for Murder

Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious is arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is found in their room at New York City’s Chelsea Hotel. Vicious and Spungen had a famously stormy relationship, but Vicious proclaims he is innocent. He is released on bail and dies of a heroin overdose before a trial takes place.

October 12

1979—Adams Publishes First Hitchhiker's Book

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in a series, is published by Douglas Adams. The novels follow on the heels of the tremendously successful British television series of the same name.