Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 152

Here are the last two photos I submitted for the book cover that were not chosen. These are two of my favorite photos of Ann. The first one which is behind the scenes of College Coach is so unusual that it’s really interesting. Her eyebrows had been dramatically shaped for her role as a gypsy in The Way to Love which makes her look even more intense in this image. Her position next to the faceless woman holding a script is also intriguing. Perhaps Ann is looking so serious because she realized what a lousy role she had been cast in.

This next one is just simply gorgeous. It’s the only photo that I have ever seen from this sitting and I think it perfectly captures Ann at the time. I would have also been very happy had this one been chosen.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 151

Here are two more photos I submitted to UPK that were not used for the cover of the book. These two are kind of in the middle of the first ones I posted and the one that was actually used. They’re a bit more pre-Code-like because Ann is showing some skin, but her expression is not as seductive as the one that was ultimately used.

I have hundreds of portraits of Ann so narrowing it down to the seven I submitted was a delightful ordeal.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 150

On Tuesday I posted one of the photos I submitted for the book cover which was not selected. Since there was an interest in seeing the rest of them and I need to write another 200+ posts this year, I figured I would go ahead and spend the next few days sharing the rest of the portraits that were passed over by the publisher.

This one is actually from the same session as Tuesday’s portrait which was taken in early 1932. The pose is more serious than the other one, but I still think it captures Ann and she looks lovely. However, now that I am looking at it, the shadow almost makes her look like she has a black eye, which may be one of many reasons why is was not chosen.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 148

When it came time to submit everything for the book, I decided to give the designers over at University Press of Kentucky a variety of photos to choose from for the cover. I was not surprised with the image they chose, which screams “pre-Code” and is more than likely to turn a few heads, and hopefully sell a few books. While I am thrilled with how the cover turned out, I actually think the photo is very un-Ann-like. She usually did not look this sultry in photos and did not play overtly sexual characters too often, the obvious exception being Scarface.

Since I am not a graphic designer or a publisher, and did not have strong feelings about what image should go on the cover, I was more than happy to let them decide. But – if I did have to say which photo I was secretly rooting for, it would be this one. It’s not a super glamorous or sexy shot of Ann, but I really think it reflects her more than the one that was chosen. She looks elegant but simple as well as confident and intelligent. As great as the sultry photo is, I think the person in this photo is the one that will be found on the pages of the book.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 147

Two weeks ago, I purchased a box of Ann’s personal possessions which included a scrapbook of photos from her travels with first husband Leslie Fenton, and a handful from her later years. My publisher, the University Press of Kentucky, was good enough to let me include some of these photos even though we are well into the production phase. However, because the price point had already been set based on the number of photos already submitted, I could not added any more images but could only switch them out.

I ended up using six photos from the collection, which means I needed to axe an equal amount. This is one of the sacrificed photos, showing Ann behind the scenes of the Paramount feature Masquerade in Mexico. The film is not one of my favorites, but I love the photo. Ann looks absolutely flawless, and since her costumes are completely outlandish in the film, I like that she’s in full hair and make-up but is wearing casual clothes. Well, casual clothes and a fur coat.

I’m sorry this one is not going in the book, but I think it was worth it in order to include some of the photos from Ann’s personal collection.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 146

This is a portrait of Ann during the time she was making A Life of Her Own at M-G-M in 1950. In all my years of collecting on Ann, I had never seen any publicity shots from the film, other than the standard scene stills, so I was thrilled when this popped up on eBay earlier in the year. She was 38 or 39 when this was taken, and her career would be done within two years. In A Life of Her Own, her character is a washed-up fashion model and it seems as if she were made-up to look a bit run down and past her prime, but this photo shows how gorgeous she still was.

This is one of my personal favorites, and I had submitted it to be included in the book. However, this ended up being one of the images that was cut in order to make room for the honeymoon scrapbook photos, so it’s now here to enjoy instead.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 145

I am heading off to my kid sister’s college graduation. In honor of this momentous occasion, here is a photo of Margaret Lindsay, Jean Muir, and Ann Dvorak in Gentlemen Are Born. The film was originally titled Just Out of College, and is the not-so-uplifting story of a group of college grads who are unable to start their post-grad careers and can barely make ends meet in the midst of the Great Depression. The film is a great example of how Warner Bros. reflected social issues of the day, and sadly the content of Gentlemen Are Born is too far removed from current times. It is an interesting film, though a complete waste of Ann’s talents.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 144

It’s Friday, and I am heading into a four day holiday weekend, which includes my kid sister’s graduation and a day at Disneyland. So, here’s a fun pic of Ann from The Walls of Jericho acting mortified because she just shot Cornel Wilde.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 143

Ann Dvorak was not a big star, so she did not appear in big budget movies. This means she never made any films in color, except for the early two-color Technicolor titles at MGM when she was a chorus girl. She was seldom photographed in color as well, and in 15 years of collecting on Ann, I have only seen a handful of color shots.

This is one I found on eBay a few years back. Since Ann is sporting the titian tresses,and judging by the hairstyle, it’s probably from around 1947 when she was filming The Private Affairs of Bel Ami. I think she looks quite regal in this image.  Ann was a chronic sun-worshiper so it’s unusual for her to look so pale, though she also looks absolutely flawless.

It’s really too bad we never got to see her in glorious 3-strip Technicolor.