Vintage Pulp

January 11 2017

PLEIN JANE

There's nothing up my sleeve except more of me.

Above: Paris-Hollywood magazine published in 1949, with a bare-shouldered Jane Russell on the front cover and Anne Baxter (spelled Ann by editors) gracing the rear. Baxter is pointing out Alaska on a wall map, probably explaining that she’d need a parka and snow shoes if she ever went there, rather than the undies and heels she’s wearing. Inside the issue you get showgirls, models in lingerie, and celebs dressed as bunnies. Was it Easter? No idea, because Paris-Hollywood came without publication dates during these years. However, the front cover noted that Russell was starring as Calamity Jane in the film Pale Face, aka The Paleface. Since that appeared in France in mid-February and promotional efforts usually occur in advance of a film’s premier, or at least around its opening date, we suspect the issue was published in February or March of 1949.

France, Paris-Hollywood, Folies Bergère, The Paleface, Jane Russell, Calamity Jane, Martha Vickers, Diana Dors, Imagene Williams, Mary Stuart, Barbara Bates, Anne Baxter, nudity

Vintage Pulp

August 17 2011

GOOD NEUES

Sex and the single mädchen.

Above is the cover of the German mid-century art and culture publication Neues Magazin. This is issue number 4, which you can see indicated at lower left—heft 4, year 1950— and the text at lower right tells us that we’ll learn the art of “verführung”, or seduction. There are many interesting images inside, but for us there are two clear winners. The first is the rare ad for Jane’s Russell’s Der Engel mit den zwei Pistolen, which was known in the U.S. as The Paleface, and the second is the portrait of Josephine Baker by French illustrator Jean-Gabriel Domergue. Those pages and others appear below.

Germany, Neues Magazin, The Paleface, Der Engel mit den zwei Pistolen, Jane Russell, Jean-Gabriel Domergue, Josephine Baker, magazine art

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

April 20

1939—Holiday Records Strange Fruit

American blues and jazz singer Billie Holiday records “Strange Fruit”, which is considered to be the first civil rights song. It began as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, which he later set to music and performed live with his wife Laura Duncan. The song became a Holiday standard immediately after she recorded it, and it remains one of the most highly regarded pieces of music in American history.

April 19

1927—Mae West Sentenced to Jail

American actress and playwright Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for the content of her play Sex. The trial occurred even though the play had run for a year and had been seen by 325,000 people. However West’s considerable popularity, already based on her risque image, only increased due to the controversy.

April 19

1971—Manson Sentenced to Death

In the U.S, cult leader Charles Manson is sentenced to death for inciting the murders of Sharon Tate and several other people. Three accomplices, who had actually done the killing, were also sentenced to death, but the state of California abolished capital punishment in 1972 and neither they nor Manson were ever actually executed.

April 18

1923—Yankee Stadium Opens

In New York City, Yankee Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, opens with the Yankees beating their eternal rivals the Boston Red Sox 4 to 1. The stadium, which is nicknamed The House that Ruth Built, sees the Yankees become the most successful franchise in baseball history. It is eventually replaced by a new Yankee Stadium and closes in September 2008.

April 17

1961—Bay of Pigs Invasion Is Launched

A group of CIA financed and trained Cuban refugees lands at the Bay of Pigs in southern Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro. However, the invasion fails badly and the result is embarrassment for U.S. president John F. Kennedy and a major boost in popularity for Fidel Castro, and also has the effect of pushing him toward the Soviet Union for protection.