Vintage Pulp

April 2 2025

BAIT THE HOOK

With Michaels as the lure the prey is helpless to resist.

Blonde Bait is yet another vintage b-movie with an a-poster, as Beverly Michaels stars on this colorful concoction put together from tinted production photos. She plays a nightclub singer who sees her mysterious boyfriend only rarely and is supposed to meet him next on New Year’s Eve, a few months hence. Unfortunately she gets herself tossed in jail for assault, and on the inside comes to the attention of the U.S. State Department. They know exactly who her boyfriend is—a courier of illegal secrets and a murderer. They decide to manipulate Michaels into railroading him. She has no idea about her man’s shady past, and no idea she’s being steered by federal suits. She’s given the opportunity to escape prison and keep that New Year’s Eve tryst, all while unknowingly acting as bait in a trap. Unlikely? For sure. But if the movie isn’t a must-see (even within the parameters of cheapie vintage dramas) you can spend your time in worse ways than hanging with Michaels. As a side note, Blonde Bait shares footage with a British drama titled Women without Men, so if you’ve seen that don’t be surprised at the similarities. Blonde Bait premiered today in 1956.

Blonde Bait, Women without Men, Beverly Michaels, Jim Davis, Joan Rice, Paul Cavanaugh, Richard Travis, poster art, women in prison, cinema, movie review

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

March 15

1937—H.P. Lovecraft Dies

American sci-fi/horror author Howard Phillips Lovecraft dies of intestinal cancer in Providence, Rhode Island at age 46. Lovecraft died nearly destitute, but would become the most influential horror writer of all time. His imaginary universe of malign gods and degenerate cults was influenced by his explicitly racist views, but his detailed and procedural style of writing, which usually pitted men of science or academia against indescribable monsters, remains as effective today as ever.

March 15

2011—Illustrator Michel Gourdon Dies

French pulp artist Michel Gourdon, who was the less famous brother of Alain Gourdon, aka Aslan, dies in Coudray, France aged eighty-five. He is known mainly for the covers he painted for the imprint Flueve Noir, but worked for many companies and produced nearly 3,500 book fronts during his career.

March 14

1964—Ruby Found Guilty of Murder

In the U.S. a Dallas jury finds nightclub owner and organized crime fringe-dweller Jack Ruby guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. Ruby had shot Oswald with a handgun at Dallas Police Headquarters in full view of multiple witnesses and photographers. Allegations that he committed the crime to prevent Oswald from exposing a conspiracy in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy have never been proven.

March 13

1925—Scopes Monkey Trial Ends

In Tennessee, the case of Scopes vs. the State of Tennessee, involving the prosecution of a school teacher for instructing his students in evolution, ends with a conviction of the teacher and establishment of a new law definitively prohibiting the teaching of evolution. The opposing lawyers in the case, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, both earn lasting fame for their participation in what was a contentious and sensational trial.

March 12

1933—Roosevelt Addresses Nation

Franklin D. Roosevelt uses the medium of radio to address the people of the United States for the first time as President, in a tradition that would become known as his “fireside chats”. These chats were enormously successful from a participation standpoint, with multi-millions tuning in to listen. In total Roosevelt would make thirty broadcasts over the course of eleven years.

BABE IN THE WOODS

This idyllic scene for Folco Romano’s 1958 novel Quand la chair s’éveille was painted by Alain Gourdon, aka Aslan. You'd never suspect a book with a cover this pretty was banned in France, but it was.

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