SECRET OF MUSIC: Papermania 2009!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Papermania 2009!

By a bit of happenstance I ended up being in CT yesterday and was able to attend the "Papermania" antique paper show in Hartford. I havent been to one of these in more than a decade so it was fun to poke through all the dealer tables looking for something to add to my collection. I didnt have much cash on hand but I still managed to pick up a few nifty items . . .

I found an issue of "Stars of the Month", an 8-1/4" x 5-1/2" pictorial supplement to "Film Weekly" dated June 3rd, 1932, issue no. 2. On the cover a great shot of Miriam Hopkins.

The inside cover and first page with a portrait of Leslie Howard, probably best known for playing Ashley Wilkes in "Gone with the Wind" but I prefer him much more in films like "The Petrified Forest", "Of Human Bondage" (both with Bette Davis) and Michael Powell's excellent "49th Parallel"

Evelyn Brent and the suave Adolph Menjou. Menjou appeared in many excellent films like Lewis Milestone's "The Front Page", Joseph Von Sternberg's "Morroco" with Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper, "Morning Glory" which is the film Katherine Hepburn won her first Oscar for, and the 1937 version of "A Star is Born", with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, but my fave performance by him came much later when he played the wily General Broulard in Stanley Kubrick's 1957 anti-war masterpiece "Path's of Glory".

Betty Stockfeld and Greta Nissen, 2 stars i am not familiar with. It is interesting to see in these old promo items, which stars made the grade and which ones faded into obscurity over time.

One of my fave actresses of the 30's, Ruth Chatterton didnt make very many films but when she signed on at Warner bros in 1932 she appeared in a handful of little gems including "Frisco Jenny" and Lily Turner" both directed by the great William "Wild Bill" Wellman, and "Female", "The Crash" and "The Rich are Always with Us, all 3 co-starring her then husband George Brent. She's undoubtably best known for playing Walter Huston's wife in William Wyler's superlative drama "Dodsworth".

Doloroes Del Rio and the great Lionel Barrymore. With 215 screen credits to his name including the silent classic "West of Zanzibar" starring Lon Chaney, the MGM dramas "Grand Hotel" and "Dinner at Eight", Frank Capra's "You Can't Take it with You" and "It's a Wonderful Life", John Huston's "Key Largo" and David Selznick's gargantuan production of "Duel in the Sun" Barrymore always made his presence known in a film!

Two fine actresses, one went on to become a legend, the other did not, but Karen Morley appeared in a handful of memorable films including Howard Hawk's "Scarface" and MGM's classic "Dinner at Eight"

Paul Lukas and Barbara Stanwyck, both very talented and versatile performers. Lukas won an Oscar in 1943 for "Watch on the Rhine". He also made a memorable appearance in 1933's "Little Women" with Katherine Hepburn. Barbara's list of screen appearances is enviable by anyone's standards.

the back cover.

I also picked up a nice original 8x10 still of a very elegant-looking Ruth Chatterton. Now i can finally matt and frame my Ruth Chatterton autograph (from a sheet of someone's old autograph book) and hang it up for display, woo hoo!

The last item I picked up is this very nice 5x7" promotional card of my fave silent flm actress Clara Bow. These were the kinds of items the studio would send to people who wrote letters to the stars asking for a photo. Ahhhh but If only that signature were real!!!!