Theda Bara

Does anyone know how to pronounce this dame's name?

Between Takes

Cooper napped, Lombard swore and John Barrymore drank.
Don't believe the earnest script-reading for a moment. They're perusing the lunch menu.
Even that had to be illustrated.
Iconista's with Hitchcock, and cattle can't read.

Moving Images

Normally Iconista prefers the big screen to the small but when the Friday Night Boys found this, she could not resist sharing.

Iconista can hardly wait until the Boys become Men. They show potential.

Warning: do not watch if you are queasy. Some of the morphing is a little nauseating.

Coopsters #1

Gary Cooper's big love after Clara was Lupe. She once stabbed him in the arm (a poor reward for his having drawn a face on one of her nipples).
Frankly, Iconista has little time for hysterics. Give me Joan Crawford's icy determination every time. She'd have stabbed for keeps.

Top Three Flickr Pictures

Whilst considering complexity, simplicity and chaos, Iconista wondered if any pattern had formed around her collection of pictures on Flickr.
Out of the chaos of the world wide web, these three are, in order, the most observed.
Do you see any pattern?

The Saddest Eyes in Hollywood

Iconista has little to share but her hangover.
Soak up some Silvia while she's indisposed.

Pick of the Week

The Siren whetted Iconista's already sharp appetite for George Sanders with a snippet from his autobiography...



...while dear Gareth shared some Lost Movie history (Letty Lynton, Crawford) gleaned from the "now-unveiled" Siren.
Unveiled? One can only suppose she has at last finished mourning her lost youth and tossed away the widow's weeds.



But enough of the Siren (though one suspects one can never have enough of the little dear). While we're on Gareth, Iconista must thank him for indulging her passion for this ugly great Gaul.



And thank you Hollywood Heyday for the vintage gossip injections. Iconista loves them like botox. Her favourite headline this month was MARY ASTOR EXPECTS VISIT FROM STORK. Who knew Billingsley did house calls? Perhaps he was collecting on a debt.



Meanwhile the Silent Movie blog had some delightful documentary evidence. It seems Clara Bow sent Marlon Brando star-struck Christmas cards. Now that's a culture clash Iconista would pay handsomely to have witnessed. No doubt, the smart money would have been on Clara.





Quote of the month of course comes from Parker, a quote noted not only for its fine imagery but also because it refers to Jean Arthur, one of Iconista's favourite darlings. "To me she always seems to talk like you've got your hand up her skirt." I can only suppose that Parker must have warm hands.



Incidentally Iconista accidentally came upon this quote: "In 1942, Hedda Hopper labeled her the ‘Least Popular Woman in Hollywood,’" wrote Oller in Jean Arthur: The Actress Nobody Knew. "The same year, the Hollywood Women’s Press Club confirmed that opinion by bestowing upon her its annual ‘Sour Apple Award’ for being the least cooperative actress in the business." Seems at odds with the Portrait of a Nervous Nelly Iconista pointed you toward a few weeks ago.

Iconista fears she is boring you. But if your attention span is able to stretch a little further, read on.

Have you been considering your favourite posters of the last decade? These are the picks from Like Anna Karina's Sweater. Interesting in themselves, but dull by comparison with the freakish Polish posters Lolita's Classics has been digging up lately.

Compare and contrast if you must.