Vintage Pulp

January 10 2023

FLIGHT TO JAPAN

Rare Maltese bird migrates to Asia.

Above: a very nice Japanese poster for the classic early film noir The Maltese Falcon, with Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Peter Lorre. The movie was titled in Japanese, “colors of Malta,” which we can’t see as any better than the original, but whatever. It’s a great piece of art. We’ve talked about the film only briefly, because what more can we offer than the numerous film experts who’ve reviewed it? However, we do have a lot of associated poster and book art, some of which you may not have seen. We suggest looking here, here, here, and here.

Japan, The Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, poster art, cinema, film noir

Hollywoodland

March 11 2022

A HUNDRED YEARS YOUNG

Early movie magazine celebrates a pantheon of Hollywood stars long gone.

Above and below are the cover and a selection of pages from an issue of Pantomime magazine published exactly one hundred years ago, today in 1922, by New York City based Movie Topics, Inc. We don’t share much printed material from the pre-1940 pulp years because it tends to be rare to find, a bit expensive to buy, and not as visually dynamic as what came afterward. Luckily, there’s a selection of items like these on Archive.org, and that’s where this particular discovery originated, part of a collection of eighteen issues available for free download.

There isn’t much information available on Pantomime. The rise of Hollywood fueled a huge satellite industry of movie and celeb mags, and scores of them were short-lived. It’s possible this one was in existence only during 1921-22, during the silent era. It’s filled with celebrities whose names have faded from popular culture, such as cover star Mae Murray, who was known as “The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips,” Betty Compson, who we’ve shown you before, Bebe Daniels, who starred in the first version of The Maltese Falcon, action megastar William Duncan, who appeared in one-hundred fifty movies and short features, and Bryant Washburn, who topped Duncan, accumulating well over three-hundred screen credits.

As you might imagine of a publication from 1922, there’s problematic material, in this case an article purportedly written by Pantomime‘s office boy, Eustace Yodels, but in reality written by the editors in what they imagined was African American vernacular, filled with racist phonetics. Apparently the piece is part of a series, an assumption we make because the subhead says it’s “another” discourse by Yodels. We’ve uploaded a snippet below, but if you ever need to do research on racist tropes in old magazines, pull this one off Archive.org and read the whole shameful thing for yourself.

Pantomime also published fiction—official, aknowledged fiction, unlike the above. This issue has Sign of the Trident, which is two chapters of Herbert Crooker’s novelization of the Ruth Roland cinema serial White Eagle. For any visitors unfamiliar with the concept, serials were films shown one chapter per week in cinemas. They came on before the main features, and each chapter ended with a so-called cliffhanger. Pantomime was a weekly, so each week it published a fictionalization of what was showing in the movie house. All that for a cover price of ten cents. Inflation-wise that would be about $1.67 today. Not a bad value.

New York City, Pantomime Magazine, The Maltese Falcon, White Eagle, Mae Murray, Bebe Daniels, Wanda Hawley, Ruth Roland, Betty Compson

Femmes Fatales

July 2 2017

THE LADY ASTOR

Getting Mary-ed was one of the most important decisions of her life.

Above you see a Paramount Pictures promo image of U.S. actress Mary Astor made around 1930. Astor is remembered by movie fans for her role in 1941’s The Maltese Falcon, but she had been in film for more than twenty years by then. We often note show business name changes. Astor’s real name was Lucile Langhanke. Would she have been as successful using that name? There’s no way to know, but we doubt it. To us, Langhanke sounds like a cut of meat. Like something from the middle ages. Gimme a langhanke and an ale! And a roasted Maltese falcon too! Acting is hungry work! But instead she appropriated the family name of a strain of British royalty and her career took flight, so it seems Mary made the right choice.

Paramount Pictures, The Maltese Falcon, Mary Astor, Lucile Langhanke, cinema

Femmes Fatales

December 9 2016

A DIFFICULT BEBE

Explain to me again this theory about sparing the rod.

Above, a really nice shot of Bebe Daniels as the femme fatale Ruth Wonderly from the The Maltese Falcon—the 1931 version with Ricardo Cortez and Thelma Todd. If you haven’t seen it you should. It’s goofy, but definitely worth a viewing just for the purposes of comparing to the game changing 1941 version.

The Maltese Falcon, Bebe Daniels, cinema

Vintage Pulp

October 18 2016

HIGH FLYING FALCON

This bird is more impressive every time you see it.

The Maltese Falcon is considered by most scholars to be the first major film noir. It was also one of the best, with legendary talents John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, and Peter Lorre coming together to make magic. Mary Astor was excellent too. This must-see film premiered in the U.S. today in 1941, but the poster above—one you don’t see often—was made for its run in Australia. Put this film in the queue if you haven’t seen it. And if you have, well, watch it again.

Australia, The Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, John Huston, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook Jr., poster art, cinema, film noir

Vintage Pulp

September 14 2015

SHOE TO KILL

I hear the falcon is nice and all, but darlin’, these ankle strap pumps of yours are to die for.

Of the many covers for Dashiell Hammett’s classic The Maltese Falcon, this version painted by Stanley Meltzoff is one of our favorites. It’s from 1945 and is a dust sleeve for a paperback, a rarity that explains why it goes for $100 and up, generally. We’ve even seen it listed for $250. Beneath the Meltzoff sleeve is a cover by Leo Manso, the famed collagist and abstract artist, which he first painted for the 1944 paperback edition. You can see an example of that here. The Meltzoff sleeve was supposedly controversial at the time due to the Brigid O’Shaughnessy character removing her bra. We didn’t notice that at first, to tell you the truth—our eyes moved right to that triangle of darkness where we see Sam Spade’s hands as he assesses a pair of red pumps. Lovingly, we think. Almost like he wants to keep them. Or are we reading too much into this one?

Pocket Books, The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett, Stanley Meltzoff, Leo Manso, cover art, literature

Femmes Fatales

December 12 2014

WORRY DOLL

Photo sessions make me nervous and then I look uneasy or stressed, so please wait until I'm smiling before you—

Actually, American actress Gladys George did tend to look worried in many of her photos. Not her fault—it’s just the way her face was built. But she coincidentally suffered from numerous worrisome ailments during her life, including throat cancer, heart disease, and cirrhosis. You may remember her as Iva Archer in the classic noir The Maltese Falcon, but she also appeared in Madame X, They Gave Him a Gun, and The House that Jazz Built, among more than forty other films. She eventually died early from a cerebral hemorrhage.

The Maltese Falcon, Madame X, They Gave Him a Gun, The House that Jazz Built, Gladys George, film noir, cinema

Vintage Pulp

November 3 2014

THE BIRDMAN OF ARGENTINA

Way down Argentine way Bogart fronts the era’s definitive detective novel.

Leoplán was an Argentine magazine published by Ramón Sopena’s eponymous company Editorial Sopena from 1934 to 1965. This issue features a complete Spanish language reprint of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon and is fronted by a nice Manuel Olivas painting of Humphrey Bogart and the bird. It’s from 1949.

Argentina, Editorial Sopena, Leoplán, The Maltese Falcon, El halcón maltés, Ramón Sopena, Humphrey Bogart, Dashiell Hammett, Manuel Olivas, magazine art, literature, cinema, film noir

Vintage Pulp

September 21 2012

A BIRD IN THE HAND

Is worth a fortune in the pocket.

Above, a rare copy of Dashiell Hammett’s classic 1930 detective story The Maltese Falcon, the Panther Books edition, 1957, with cover art by John Vernon.

Panther Books, The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett, John Vernon, cover art, literature

Vintage Pulp

March 16 2012

A RARE BIRD

Ever seen a $75,000 book? This is what it looks like.

You really can’t discuss pulp and San Francisco without mentioning The Maltese Falcon. Written by San Fran resident Dashiell Hammet and published by Knopf in 1930, the book’s protagonist San Spade became the archetypal private eye as he haunted the Bay area trying to solve his partner’s murder. The first edition has since become one of the Holy Grails of book collectors, which probably explains why the international auction house Sotheby’s sold a copy of the novel’s first pressing for $75,000. Before you say, “You’re shitting me,” we’ll add that 75K was actually lower than their upper end estimate of $90,000. The 1941 film version of The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by John Huston is considered by most cinema experts to be the first real film noir, and Bogart said it best when asked in the movie exactly what the falcon was. His answer: “The stuff that dreams are made of.”

San Francisco, Sotheby's, The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett, Humphrey Bogart, John Huston, cover art, literature

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

December 4

1918—Wilson Goes to Europe

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sails to Europe for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, France, becoming the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office.

December 4

1921—Arbuckle Manslaughter Trial Ends

In the U.S., a manslaughter trial against actor/director Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle ends with the jury deadlocked as to whether he had killed aspiring actress Virginia Rappe during rape and sodomy. Arbuckle was finally cleared of all wrongdoing after two more trials, but the scandal ruined his career and personal life.

December 3

1964—Mass Student Arrests in U.S.

In California, Police arrest over 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover and sit-in at the administration building in protest at the UC Regents’ decision to forbid protests on university property.

December 3

1968—U.S. Unemployment Hits Low

Unemployment figures are released revealing that the U.S. unemployment rate has fallen to 3.3 percent, the lowest rate for almost fifteen years. Going forward all the way to the current day, the figure never reaches this low level again.

December 2

1954—Joseph McCarthy Disciplined by Senate

In the United States, after standing idly by during years of communist witch hunts in Hollywood and beyond, the U.S. Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for conduct bringing the Senate into dishonor and disrepute. The vote ruined McCarthy’s career.

December 1

1955—Rosa Parks Sparks Bus Boycott

In the U.S., in Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city’s racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott resulted in a crippling financial deficit for the Montgomery public transit system, because the city’s African-American population were the bulk of the system’s ridership.