| Intl. Notebook | Dec 25 2022 |
Ciné-Revue was the go-to publication for movie stars seeking exposure.
Here's your official Christmas gift, a prime example of that mid-century phenomenon we discuss often, the intersection of mainstream and adult cinema during the sixties and seventies. Ciné-Revue, which was published in Belgium and distributed there and in France, Switzerland, Canada, Portugal, Britain, and the Basque region of Spain, was at the vanguard of that idea. It highlighted both popular stars and their adult counterparts, blurring the line between the two. It wasn't hard to do. Famous performers often acted in sexually oriented films, and Ciné-Revue was a platform that helped cinematic explorations of sexual ideas be taken seriously.
The issue you see above is the cover of Ciné-Revue Photos 49, a visual compendium of actresses both world famous and somewhat obscure. The names run the gamut from Anita Ekberg to Marina Marfoglia. Marfoglia gets the cover, while Ekberg gets the rear, and that's exactly what we're talking about—the obscure elevated over the known. Both are also featured in multiple pages inside—but while Ekberg gets seven, Marfoglia gets eight and the centerfold. The issue is about a hundred pages, but we're unable to put together a post that long. Instead, we've selected some of the nicer images to warm up this winter day. Enjoy, and don't worry about us slaving over a computer. We put this collection together last week. Right now, on Christmas, we're traveling with the PIs.
BelgiumFranceSwitzerlandCanadaPortugalBritainCiné-RevueAnita EkbergSara SferatiEleonora ValloneMarina MarfogliaGiovanna RalliJilly JohnsonOrnella VanoniLara Saint PaulCristiana MancinelliEleonora GiorgiNadia CassiniMarinella GiordanaPaola MorraLaura BelliEdwige Fenechnuditynudie mags
| Femmes Fatales | Sep 17 2022 |
Go in the water? That's the freaking North Sea you're talking about.
It's been a few years, so we're returning to subject of German actress Karin Schubert today with this brilliant shot that first appeared as a centerfold in the West German magazine Sexy, a publication that did this sort of thing often. Schubert is a unique figure. She was born in Hamburg during wartime in 1944, debuted in cinema during the late ’60s, then, after establishing herself as a mainstream actress, went into porn. We talked about that in detail here, and we also mused on the relationship between mainstream erotic films and xxx movies, with her as an example, at this post. The latter link contains some of our ponderings concerning nudity on our website, so you may be interested in that, and if so, we go into more detail on that subject here, and talk about the entire purpose behind the site here. The above shot dates from 1971. And by the way, Germany does have some nice beaches—when they aren't covered by snow.
| Femmes Fatales | Jan 14 2020 |
Oh what a wonderful Day.
This nice floral themed photo features the beautiful U.S. model and actress Mary Weston—aka Venetia Day, Venecia Day, and Vinicia Day. The shot came from a Dutch magazine called Blacky. Yes, you just read that correctly. We just work here. Those old supersaturated Dutch nudie mags often didn't bother with copyright info, but we're guessing the image appeared around 1975. Weston/Day had several notable acting roles, including in the film Can I Keep It Up for a Week? and the television shows Smiley's People and The Chinese Detective. All good, but we particularly dig the fact that she had an uncredited appearance in the cheeseball sci-fi show Space: 1999, which we've been watching of late and really love, in that guilty pleasure sort of way. You may be wondering if Weston/Day ever got out from behind those flowers, and in fact she did. We'll show you one of those photos later. Meantime, you can see more of her inside a tabloid we uploaded several years ago. Look here.
NetherlandsKeep It Up for a Week?Smiley's PeopleThe Chinese DetectiveSpace: 1999Venecia DayVinicia DayVenetia DayMary Westonnudie magstelevision
| Vintage Pulp | Dec 21 2019 |
Vintage men's magazine stands at the threshold to a new era.
In many countries during the late 1960s the newsstands were still dominated by nudie mags that bore classical, studio nude-style depictions of women, but the transition toward magazines recognizable as modern porn was well underway. Knight, from Sirkay Publishing out of Los Angeles, is one of those transitional magazines. It debuted as Sir Knight in 1958 with a focus on fiction, humor, and demure photo features. The above issue published in 1967 is a bit racier, but still middle-of-the road for the time period. In another few years pubic hair would be on display in American men's magazines. Soon after that the pearly gates would appear, and in short order they'd be wide open. Did we really write that? Sorry—it's the booze talking.
On the cover here is Rita Rogers, touted as the next big thing, but who made only a few magazine appearances as far as we can tell. Inside you get William Holden, Turkish bellydancer Kiash Nanah, aka Aïché Nana, whose impromptu strip in a Rome cafe we talked about a while back, and actress Joi Lansing, whose age resistant DNA we talked about here. And you get some fantastic art, much of it with a psychedelic edge. There's also an article on psychedelic music, so that seems to have been a theme with this issue. We love these old nudie publications. They're so innocent by today's bizarro standards that if you caught your kid looking at one you'd probably hug him and go, “You've made me very, very happy!” Scans below.
TurkeyRomeLos AngelesSirkay Publishing Co.Knight MagazineSir Knight MagazineRita RogersJoi LansingKiash NanahAïché NanaWilliam Holdenmagazine artnuditynudie mags
| Femmes Fatales | Jun 1 2019 |
We suspect Le Corbusier would have wanted a model to enhance his furniture, not eclipse it altogether.
This image of Pam Grier, which came from a high-end auction site, is an eight-panel centerfold from an issue of Players magazine originally published in 1974. She's posed on a Le Corbusier lounge. Did you care at all? We have a feeling you didn't. Le Corbusier died in 1965, and if he hadn't, this surely would have made his heart stop. It's one of Grier's most provocative shots, and we can't not have it on the site, a type of imperative we've discussed before. We've also done something special with it, just for you. While it's only 433 pixels wide visually, the file is more than ten times that size digitally. Pull it off the page and you'll have your own 5,000 pixel image of one of U.S. cinema's most iconic stars. Or alternatively, you can just look at the chair.
Note: It turns out Le Corbusier didn't design this lounge after all. He was so famous by 1974 that he employed apprentice designers, tasked them with creating what he deemed minor items, but placed his studio's name on the final results. Though every website we checked gave Corbusier credit, this iconic piece of furniture was actually the work of Charlotte Perriand, who is, all these years later, also considered a grand master of modern design.
| Femmes Fatales | Jan 23 2019 |
You ever had a vision Cyr itself into your brain?
This nude image of burlesque queen Lili St. Cyr brings to mind classical paintings. At least it does to us, but since it isn't a painting, we guess it's just porn. Funny how that works. The shot appeared as Cabaret magazine's centerfold this month in 1957 with a logo and text, but we wiped it to get a clean image. Wiped her pubic hair too. Actually, that wasn't us. We are tireless in our retouching efforts, but that's part of—or actually, isn't part of—the original image. But if you ask real nice maybe we'll give her a big ole bush, just for fun.
| Vintage Pulp | Apr 8 2018 |
Bilateral cooperation produces great results.
Above are assorted scans from Paris-Hollywood #109 published in 1951. The cover is an Ektachrome photo credited to Mac Arthur, who's a new name for us. The centerfold déshabillable (undressable)—which is the main selling point of this magazine—was painted by Raymond Brenot under his pseudonym Carols. The rest of content features photos by Serge de Sazo, Stephen Glass, and others, of French cabaret dancers, nearly all of them forgotten today, but fondly memorialized thanks to this magazine. We have more. Just click the keywords below.
| Vintage Pulp | Sep 12 2017 |
Thank you! Thank you very much! I agree! I'm amazing!
Above is another issue of our favorite classy skin mag Paris-Hollywood, this time with Betty Grable on the cover, and no, you haven't developed cataracts—the genitals of all the nudes have been erased, as per normal for this publication. The main attraction with these early 1950s Paris-Hollywoods are the déshabillable centerfolds, which were painted by notable artists of the day. The example in this issue is from Roger Brard, and you can see more of his work by clicking his keywords below and scrolling down. How many of these magazines do we have to upload still? A lot. A deep stack we picked up during a trip to Paris a few years ago, faithfully documented. Stay tuned.
| Vintage Pulp | Aug 19 2017 |
How do you relax in nature? Folies de Paris et de Hollywood demonstrates.
This edition spéciale issue of Folies de Paris et de Hollywood with an unidentified cover model sitting on a rock of the bay is subtitled Mer et Montagne, which means “sea and mountain.” Inside you get exactly that—the usual suspects posed in the promised idyllic settings, their genitals erased as required by French decency laws of 1960. Ever been to the mountains and not seen a single bush? Now's your chance. Folies produced these special editions fairly often, and we have a few others we'll get around to sharing a bit later. In the meantime we have something like twenty issues scattered around the website, and they're all worth a look. If you want to do that, click here and scroll down.
| Vintage Pulp | Aug 6 2017 |
Every night in Paris is a treasure hunt.
This “Paris la nuit” themed issue of Folies de Paris et de Hollywood from 1959 has, in addition to the usual dancers and showgirls, a list on the cover of the clubs at which they worked. We already knew some of the places, like The Crazy Horse Saloon and Pigall's, but there are many more, all with amazing names: Boule Blanche, Drap d'Or, Shako, Grisbi, Shocking, Le Sexy, et al. If we had to choose just based on the name we'd go with Shocking. It can't be too wild in 1959, right? Anyway, the list gave us the idea of digging up photos of these venerable entertainment halls, but you'd be surprised how few historical shots exist. We're going to keep working on that. In the meantime, enjoy the photos below of the artists who occupied those stages. They include Dolly Bell, Kitty Tam-Tam, Nicole Dore, Carole Riva, and more.
FranceFolies de Paris et de HollywoodLe Crazy HorseDolly BellKitty Tam-TamNicole DoreCarole Rivanuditynudie mags
