Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 69

When I am not writing a book about Ann Dvorak or trying to convince a toddler to g0 to bed at a decent hour, I oversee the photo collection at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), which includes the image morgue of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. These photos start in the mid-1920s and go up to the time the paper folded in 1989, so to say it’s a massive collection is an understatement. While working with this collection, I am always amazed by the shots the photo-journalists would get, and the amount of access they might have to their subjects. Think of the photos you’ve probably seen of Frances Farmer or Robert Mitchum in their cells after being arrested – you would never see that nowadays. The above photo shows Ann and her dad, Edwin McKim, at the Pasadena train station right after he stepped off and was reunited with a daughter he had not seen in well over ten years. Just an intimate moment between Ann, her dad, and a wire service photographer.

If there was one thing the Herald photographers loved back in the day, it was taking pictures of notables in the courtroom. Fortunately for them, celebrities appeared in court A LOT, and for a variety of reasons, and the photographers were right there snapping away. Almost all the photos I am using in my book are from my personal collection, but I did turn to USC, UCLA, and the LAPL collection for seven photos, five of which show Ann in court. One of the images from the LAPL collection is an all time favorite, showing Ann entering the courthouse in February 1936 to battle with Warner Bros. She’s clad in fur and looking like she is ready to step onto a film set rather than the witness stand. I am holding out on you here, and saving the unveiling of these archival photos for the book.

As much as I might admire well-shot portrait by a master like George Hurrell or Clarence Sinclair Bull, coming across a news photo of Ann is always a cheap thrill. The studio portraits depicted ethereal beings, glamorous beyond comprehension, and utterly flawless. The newspaper photographers would capture these same people, but portray them as human. Both types of images serve their purpose, and even though I have six Hurrells of Ann hanging up in my living room, it’s the news photos I get really excited about.

I was inspired to write this post because yesterday I hosted a panel discussion at the library between 10 former Herald Examiner photographers from the 1960s-1980s. It was an exceptional program, which you can read all about from the Los Angeles News Group.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 68

If you haven’t already figured out, I have a massive collection of memorabilia relating to Ann Dvorak. I love every last piece in my collection, even if I sometimes can’t remember buying something or, on the rare occasion, have too much of something. There are a handful of items that standout as favorites, and these photos of Ann during her MGM chorus days are right up there.

I have a lot of photos of Ann in the chorus over at MGM. During her tenure at the studio from 1929-1931, she appeared in over 2o titles and fortunately, stills from these films are not hard to come by. These particular photos are especially amazing to me because they are individual shots of her and there are five of them. What’s even more amazing is that she is not identified by name of the back of the photos, so some film aficionado looked at these decades later and knew who is was, which enabled them to wind up in an Ann Dvorak file at a memorabilia shop and finally into my eager hands.

I bought these at Jerry Ohlinger’s Movie Material Store in 2003. I was visiting New York with a bunch of friends and me and Darin, my collecting partner in crime hit this shop our first day in the city. I pulled out these five photos, along with a few others, which were then handed to Mr. Ohlinger himself for pricing. The chorus shots came back with $30 written in pencil on the back. Being a starving grad-school student at the time, I was outraged, but somehow managed to talk him down to $20 each on two of them and left the other three behind.

By our last day in New York, the thought of not going home with all five photos was consuming me. We had a late afternoon flight back to Los Angeles, and when Darin knocked on the door of my hotel room in the morning, I answered it with, “I need to go back and get those three photos, don’t I?” “Um…yeah!” was the response, and off we went.

We got to the shop and I pulled the three photos, only to be told that Mr. Ohlinger was not in on Sundays, and that staff was not allowed to sell vintage photos in his absence. After an excessive amount of whining on my part, someone finally called him at home and he gave his blessing to sell them to me – for $30, non-negotiable.  I paid it.

As we left the store, I started having buyer’s remorse at having dropping $90 on three photos. Darin whipped around and exclaimed, “Three chorus girl photos of Ann Dvorak come up on eBay. $90. Buy It Now. Do you do it?”

“Oh heck ya,” I immediately replied.

And I have never regretted buying these since.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 67

Movie memorabilia comes in all shapes in sizes. While most pieces were made for promotional use only, some things were specifically manufactured for public consumption. Postcards fall into this category, and even the most obscure of actors can usually be found on them. In some cases, film postcards can cost a pretty penny but fortunately, Ann Dvorak does not fall into that category. Here’s a selection from my collection, including one of Ann’s mom, Anna Lehr.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 66

That’s right – every night we dine next to a giant 81″x 81″ Ann Dvorak head.

I have a very patient husband.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 61

First off, I apologize for the poor quality of this photo, which was taken around 2002 with a really early digital camera. For those of you in the know (or not), a 3-sheet measures 41″x 81″, so I was probably standing on a chair when I took this and attempting to shoot the photo before my dearly departed Thelma Kitty ran into the shot.

I’m pretty sure this We Who Are About to Die poster was the first 3 sheet I ever owned, and I think I paid over $100 for it, which was a tidy some in those grad school days. I love this poster since it has a giant Ann Dvorak head, though it is disappointing that Preston Foster did not make it onto the artwork. One thing I should point out about my particular copy is that it is mounted on craft paper and looks like someone used it as a drop cloth for painting at one point. Some movie posters just can’t get any respect!

I guess with today’s vastly improved technology, I could drag out this poster and take another photo of it. Since I am barely keeping up with this one-a-day commitment, it probably won’t happen any time soon, so try to enjoy this gorgeous 1937 poster and early example of crappy digital photography.