#1952 magazines

[project1939]

100 Films of 1952 

Film number 98: The Outcasts of Poker Flat 

Release date: May 16th, 1952. 

Studio: 20th Century Fox 

Genre: Western 

Director: Joseph M. Newman 

Producer: Julian Blaustein 

Actors: Anne Baxter, Dale Robertson 

Plot Summary: After a bank in Poker Flat is robbed, the town exiles four of its seedier inhabitants. A gambler, a drunk, and two women of ill repute find themselves stranded together in a cabin during a snowstorm. When one of the bank robbers makes his way to the cabin, things get dangerous. 

My Rating (out of five stars): **½ 

This movie ended up being a big disappointment for me. The premise is one of my favorite types- a movie where a group of strangers with differing backgrounds are forced together in some circumstance. The obvious successful example of a Western is Stagecoach, and my favorite from 1952 is Phone Call from a Stranger. Unfortunately, everything fell kind of flat in this one, and the characters weren’t developed enough for me to care. (Spoilers!)

The Good: 

The opening sequence. The beginning was so promising! A group of criminals were slowly sneaking through Poker Flat as they began carrying out the robbery. There was no non-diegetic music- all we heard were the clashing sounds of different music from different bars and dance halls as the robbers crept by. The stark lighting, the lack of dialogue, and the pacing/editing were all spot on. I loved it. 

The gambler character, John Oakhurst. He was the most developed character- easily the most interesting and sympathetic. 

The drunk, Jake, played by William H. Lynn. It was Lynn’s performance that made him such a highlight of the film for me. Pretty much every line delivery made me chuckle. 

Piney, the unmarried pregnant women. Her character itself wasn’t fleshed out in any conceivable way, but I liked that the film generally had a sympathetic view toward her. There wasn’t any big judgmental stigma attached to her, which was incredibly surprising given the culture the early 1950s. 

The Bad: 

Anne Baxter’s character, Cal. She was pretty annoying to me- I never really felt like I could trust her, and I didn’t find her very sympathetic. I like Baxter, but her performance here didn’t do her any favors either. It was all pretty flat for me, like the film overall. 

The characters in general. As I’ve said, they were only the most threadbare of stereotypes and plot devices. 

The romance between Cal and John. It felt contrived, I didn’t understand why John would fall for her so fast, and I thought he deserved better. I was hoping he would ultimately reject her in the end. 

The music. I often felt like I was watching a TV Western from the late 50s-60s, because the music was almost identical. And not in a good way. It was cheesy and intrusive. 

Miriam Hopkins was wasted here. Did she have more than 5 lines? 

The ending! Aside from the two romantic leads, we literally get no information at all about what happened to everyone else. It made the other characters feel even more like meaningless paper cutouts. 

There were a lot of Western character tropes: a lone wolf gambler, some women of ill repute, a pregnant woman, a murderous bank robbing gang of criminals, a pathetic comedic drunk, etc. 

Did gamblers in the 19th century wear pompadours? Cause John here looked like he was going for a greaser/Teddy Boy look! Dale Robertson was certainly handsome with it, but it was distractingly anachronistic. 

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Marilyn Monroe (1952)

[twixnmix]

Eartha Kitt photographed by Gordon Parks for LIFE magazine in New York City, 1952.

[theamericanpin-up]

Peter Driben - October 1952 Flirt Magazine Cover Illustration - American Pin-up Calendar Collection

[thevaultofretroscifi]

[misforgotten2]

Cover by Bob Clothier -- 1952

[pixiedeadbeat]

Dale Strong, Las Vegas showgirl, photographed for Life Magazine, 1952.

[cerealkiller740]

1952 Jello Halloween advertising

[chicinsilk]

L'Art et la mode au Château de Versailles Décembre 1952

Salle a Manger du Petit Trianon. Jean Dessès Haute Couture Fall/Winter 1952-53 Collection. Agnès in an evening dress with a ruby ​​red bodice harmonizing with the purple shade of the long skirt that sculpts the body and drapes in a long panel on the side.

Salle a Manger du Petit Trianon. Jean Dessès Collection Haute Couture Automne/Hiver 1952-53. Agnès dans une robe du soir au corsage rouge rubis s'harmonisant avec la teinte pourpre de la longue jupe qui sculpte le corps et se drape en un long pan sur le coté.

Photo Georges Saad

[oakendesk]

Special Detective Apr 1952

Howell Dodd

[beary-good-finds]

🐯 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey magazine cover, 1952 🐯

[project1939]

Overview of Magazines from Project 1952:

Favorite Magazines:  

1. Life is a big, classy weekly news and culture magazine with lots of amazing pictures and a relatively centrist ideology. There’s no obvious slant. 

2. Motion Picture and Television Magazine might be my favorite movie mag, just cause it’s got tons of great pictures, interviews, and movie ratings. I also got a complete 1952 set for really cheap on ebay, so I gotta love that. 

3. Good Housekeeping is THICK. It’s got tons of information on housekeeping, cooking, fashion, decorating, childcare, family dynamics, culture, health, and some short fiction as well. The recipe section in the issue I got was priceless. 

Favorite articles: 

 “Our Teenagers: How Good are Their Morals?” by Dr. Judson T. and Mary G. Landis., from the March 1st issue of Collier's. It tried to pour cold water over the “juvenile delinquency” hysteria so much of the country was hung up on. I loved that it fact checked the fears and just said- “Calm the F down, everyone!”  

“Lucy Leaves Em Limp,” by Don Allen in the April issue of Motion Picture and Television Magazine. It was a surprisingly in-depth interview with Ball about how I Love Lucy came to be, how it was filmed, and why it was such a success. 

Worst articles:  

“College Girls: If They Could Only Cook,” in Quick magazine from September 8th. It gripes about how college ruins women from becoming good housewives. “They average less than two children. Statistically, a high proportion seem likely to have broken marriages and nervous breakdowns.” !!!! 

“Southern Crisis: The Segregation Decision,” by Virginius Dabney, in the Saturday Evening Post on November 8th. While awaiting the Brown v. Board of Education decision, this author tells everyone to put the breaks on when it comes to de-segregating the South. All the old crap like, “We’re moving slowly but still moving!” “Look at a nice school we built for black students! See, separate but equal works!” “We’re just not ready to desegregate yet, give us time!” and the worst, “If you move too fast, there will be violence, and it’ll be all your fault!” 

Full Magazine List: 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, January 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, February 1952. 

Cosmopolitan, February 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, March 1952. 

McCall's, March 1952. 

Collier's, March 15th, 1952. 

Life, March 24th, 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, April 1952. 

Life, April 14th, 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, May 1952. 

Movie Teen, May 1952. 

Farm Journal, May 1952. 

Life, June 9th, 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, June 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, July 1952. 

Life, July 21st, 1952. 

Life, July 28th, 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, August 1952. 

Life, August 4th, 1952. 

Photoplay, August 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, September 1952. 

Quick, September 8th, 1952. 

Life, September 15th, 1952. 

Good Housekeeping, September 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, October 1952. 

The Radio-TV Mirror, October 1952. 

The Atlantic, October 1952. 

Quick, November 3rd, 1952. 

The Saturday Evening Post, November 8th, 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952. 

Screen Stories, November 1952. 

Life, November 17th, 1952. 

The Saturday Evening Post, December 6th, 1952. 

Motion Picture and Television Magazine, December 1952. 

Look, December 30th, 1952. 

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Marilyn Monroe (1952)

[luzzarm]

ᶜᵃᵖᵗⁱᵒⁿ ★ DRINK IT, FRANKIE: That's what Dean and Jerry are telling Frank Sinatra as they feed the bonnet-clad singer his bottle of milk. Like most other stars, Frankie joins right in the shenanigans of the comedians. ★

☆ ꜰʀᴏᴍ: 'ᴛᴠ ᴅɪɢᴇꜱᴛ' ɢᴜɪᴅᴇ — 1952

[theamericanpin-up]

Pete Hawley - "Emily Posted" - June 1952 Esquire Magazine Esquire Girl Illustration - American Pin-up Calendar Collection

[inthedarktrees]

Mary Freeman Swimming Champion

Hank Walker, “The Diligent Mermaid,” Life, Jul 23, 1951