Great set of cards! We are currently auctioning a glass slide from her second biggest movie role, Applause, directed by Rouben Mamoulian.
http://auctions.emovieposter.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=1709611 Bruce On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 10:53 AM, Kirby McDaniel <[email protected]> wrote: > Paramount lobby cards for YOU BELONG TO ME (1934) starring Lee Tracy, Helen > Mack, Helen Morgan and David Holt. > > David Holt, also known as David Jack Holt. One of a group of child actors > from the thirties, he had an interesting career, appearing as Sid Sawyer in > the 1938 film THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER and in WILD WEED aka MARIJUANA, > THE DEVIL'S WEED. > > So you can see his career has run the entire gamut of Americana. > > These are pretty Paramount cards and while Lee Tracy was a big star for > Paramount at that time, the more interesting of the adult performers in the > film is Helen Morgan. I am going to copy an imdb entry for her for those > interested: > > > Biography > Before the tragic legacies of songbird icons Édith Piaf, Billie Holiday and > Judy Garland took hold, there was the one...the original...lady who sang the > blues and started the whole "bawl" rolling. Like her successors, Helen > Morgan lived the sad songs she sang...and more. > > She started her life fittingly enough on August 2, 1900 in very humble > surroundings. Her father was an Illinois dirt farmer and school master. She > moved to Chicago while young and worked a number of menial blue-collar jobs > -- manicurist, cracker-packager, counter clerk. But her passion was music > and at the age of 18 decided to leave and pursue her dream as a cabaret > singer. Within a few years she was working under the Broadway lights with > the George White Scandals. In between she studied music at the Metropolitan > Opera and performed in vaudeville shows. > > Helen was the antithesis of the freewheeling "Jazz Age" baby as her deep, > dusky voice seemed born to weave tales of sadness and lament rather than > focusing on fun and frolic. The Chicago mobsters and underground bootleggers > bawled like burly babies and really took to Helen's "torch song" renditions > while glamorously propped on a piano with trademark scarf in hand > (originally used to disguise nerves). Prohibition-era gangsters even > bankrolled her clubs which became very popular...and frequently raided. > > Helen conquered Broadway in the late 1920s with her quintessential role as > the tragic mulatto Julie in the landmark smash musical "Show Boat" in 1927. > Introducing the standards "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" and "Bill", Helen > earned more success with the musical "Sweet Adeline" in 1929 in which she > introduced another favorite "Why Was I Born?" Her fragile mind and heart, > however, couldn't handle the problems that started surfacing in the 1930s. > > A broken marriage, emotional instability and a deep passion for the demon > drink quickly did her in. She couldn't hold jobs and her health worsened by > the year. After spiraling badly for a half decade, she tried sobering up and > made a huge splash in 1936 with the screen version of Show Boat starring > Irene Dunne, Allan Jones and Paul Robeson. She also began to redeem herself > in clubs again but it was ultimately too late. Years of abuse did its damage > and she died of liver cirrhosis in 1941 at age 41. In 1957, a glossy, > somewhat fictitious movie was made chronicling her life and troubled times. > The Helen Morgan Story (1957) starred a game Ann Blyth as the sultry, > ill-fated songstress, with Gogi Grant a spectacular choice for dubbing in > the vocals to all of Helen's best known standards. > > Yes, before there was a Garland, there was Morgan, and although Garland > seems to have her beat these days as THE musical icon of despair, Helen was > the original tear-stained blueprint. > > > Set, mint. $550.00 > > > > > > > Kirby McDaniel > MovieArt Original Film Posters > P.O. Box 4419 > Austin TX 78765-4419 > 512 479 6680 www.movieart.net > mobile 512 589 5112 > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > Send a message addressed to: [email protected] > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
