Seraphic Secret

Robert J. Avrech: Emmy Award winning screenwriter. Movie fanatic. Helplessly and hopelessly in love with my wife since age nine.

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

by 4 Comments

“I’ve probably understood men too well. I realize they are predatory by nature, and I have a certain acceptance of the male animal.”
—Jacqueline Bisset (b. Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset, England, 1944)

Edvard Munch
Girls on the Bridge, 1901

 

Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon, The Apartment, 1960
Written by Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond

 

Erdmann & Rossi Hispano Suiza H6B, 1928

 

Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, 1925

 

Ceramic tea kettle, 1930 by Bauhaus student Margarete Heymann-Loebenstein (1899 – 1990)

 

“I always think of blondes as soft and pliable, ready to cling to the nearest male for support and protection, just waiting to be taken care of, and very sweet and easy to live with because they are so amiable. None of which qualities belong to me. I am a fighter. I have made my way alone and can stand up for myself. I think I am the sort of a person who can take a great deal from one I care for and forget it, but there is a limit; beyond that, and it’s all over.”
—Thelma Todd (America, 1906 – 1935)

 

Art Nouveau front door, Strasbourg, France

 

Rick McGinnis
Niagara Falls, 2021

 

“I don’t know anything about life, but everything about cinema.”
—Romy Schneider (born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach; Germany, 1938 – 1982)

 

From WW I, 1917 Elgin Red 12 General Funston Trench Watch

 

Erwin Blumenfeld, Hat and Jewelry (Probably by Schiaparelli), Paris, 1938

 

Maayan Ariel wishes all our friends and relatives the best Shabbat ever.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nice collection, as usual. Jacqueline Bisset was good in “Bullitt,” good being mostly decorative. Long career. I had not heard of Thelma Todd so spent some time reading about her.

    Hispano Suiza was probably the best engine builder for WWI airplanes but was small at the time. They also made cannon for WWII planes, especially the Hurricanes. They were also used in American P 38 fighters. I had not seen their cars.

  2. I thought, or hoped, that Larry had a fair chance at dethroning gorgeous Gussie, but you are usually in for a disappointment when counting on awful people to smarten up. They usually do not.

  3. A good gallery today, Robert.

    Not to get too personal, but I always sympathized with that one line of MacLaine. I feel that way most of the time.

    What a beautiful Hispano-Suiza! I don’t know that I ever read why Billy Wilder chose an Isotta-Fraschini for Norma Desmond’s car instead of an Hispano. But (completely out of context, I suppose) looking at the buildings in the hazy background, I almost expect Goldfinger and Oddjob to climb into the car and head off after James Bond.

    I’d give almost anything to be behind the wheel of that car cruising along Sunset Boulevard. Those were the days when Hollywood was young, California was full of promise and every day was a new beginning in the land of sunshine. I’m sorry Larry Elder lost, Robert, but I guess we all knew he had no real chance.

    I don’t know that I’d use that teapot – with a smooth, solid disc for a handle, I could easily see it slipping out of my hand and crashing to pieces on the floor.

    I recently picked up a collection of Hal Roach shorts with Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly. A lot of them were hit-or-miss, but some of them were truly funny, and Todd was delicious in all of them. Now I have to go back and get the ones she did with ZaSu Pitts.

    That Erwin Blumenfeld picture immediately reminded me of this one, with the silent star Valeska Suratt: https://tinyurl.com/3j7eh3na

    A lovely weekend to you and yours, Robert.

  4. Jacqueline Bisset is a beautiful woman, no doubt, but I am really curious about the context of her quote. Although she had a string of long-term relationships, she never married or had children. I find that unusual in the entertainment industry.

    The Munch painting is unusual in that it almost looks happy. I find most of his works focus on death, darkness, or despair.

    I’ve only seen parts of The Apartment, but when I see Lemmon and MacLaine together, I always think of Irma la Douce.

    The Hispano Suiza is so “old school” compared to the modern, swept, Art Deco designs of just a few years later. Such a stark contrast in design.

    I find the comment by Thelma Todd, known as The Ice Cream Blonde, very ironic given the nature of her life and suspicious death.

    Rick’s photo is stunning. The Blumenfeld photo is cool, and the photo of the IDF soldier needs no caption.

    I like the door, but what are those 2 vertical pieces in the middle??

    I love the Elgin watch. It’s one of my favorites that you have had over the years. I still don’t understand why Elgin failed and so many lesser watch companies survived.

    I hope you had an easy and meaningful fast. . .

Leave a Reply