#Dancing Lady 1933

[briarandleaf]

You're very welcome 😄

[ultraozzie3000]

Genesis of Genius

It’s hard to believe in this day and age that a theoretical physicist could enjoy rock star status, but then Albert Einstein wasn’t your everyday theoretical physicist. Dec. 2, 1933 cover by Helen Hokinson. A two-part profile of Einstein (1879–1955) by Alva Johnston (with terrific caricature by Al Frueh) examined the life and “idol” status of a man who would define the idea of genius in the 20th…

[freddie-my-love]

Fred Astaire making his screen debut alongside Joan Crawford in Dancing Lady, 1933

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks

Dancing Lady / Joan Crawford as Janie "Duchess" Barlow

It's always weird to me to remember that Joan Crawford was in musicals. Even weirder to remember that Fred Astaire's screen debut was with her!

I particularly like the gown in the bottom photo; it's pure distilled 1930s, with the ruffled skirt and the broad, feathered shoulder silhouette. The backlit effect in the top photo is interesting and makes it look like the dress is nearly transparent; but I suppose even in the pre-code era, they wouldn't go that far...

Just found another photo. Never mind.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Ginger Rogers (Swing Time, Top Hat)—Look I’ll level with you, I’ve never seen her in a musical and I know that she’s an amazing dancer and she’ll be even hotter when I finally watch Top Hat but I’m not submitting her as a dancer I’m submitting her as an ACTRESS. Her comic timing is impeccable!!!!! She’s full to bursting with life and in every role she seems to be having FUN, you can practically feel the twinkle in her eye. With her natural warmth it’s like she’s letting you in on the joke, y’all get to have this fun together! Making me laugh is hot!!! [If you'd like to see Ginger dance, videos below the cut]

Dorothy Lamour (The Jungle Princess, Road to… movies)—Ok, to be honest, I get if no one wants to vote for her--she's kind of like my ~problematic fave~ because she started in the Road (Singapore, Bali, Hong Kong, etc) movies with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, which are full of all sorts of exoticism tropes and usually have her playing very side-eye type roles..island princesses and things...yeah. also she banged J. Edgar Hoover. not very hot. but your honor i still think she's pretty despite all that she's pretty please look at her and tell me she's prettyyy

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Dorothy Lamour propaganda:

She started in jungle and South Seas movies and became famous in the Road series. She learned quickly to improvise when facing Bob and Bing. Road to Bali almost has her character marrying both of theirs, since she's island royalty and nobody had a problem with it - a nearly poly relationship, an epiphany for a viewer who didn't even know that that could happen! She was a popular pinup girl during World War 2, and was the first singer for the popular standard "It Could Happen to You". She sang often in her movies and has a lovely voice!

Ginger Rogers propaganda:

She needs no introduction! An undeniable powerhouse on the dancefloor, and no less talented an actress. I once watched a compilation of cinema's greatest dance scenes and one of her and Fred Astaire's dances was featured, and one of the talking heads said he pitied her for 'having to keep up with him' - or something to that effect. Bullshit, I cry. Ginger Rogers was his absolute equal, and underplaying her incredible skill is downright criminal. I want the 'Cheek to Cheek' sequence from Top Hat to be permanently burned into my memory.

"Backwards in high heels", as the saying goes (though the pedant in me must point out that she in fact spent her fair share of time leading or dancing side-by-side). One of the earliest twinkle-toed ladies of the silver screen, and in terms of acting/persona, her balance of wide-eyed cuteness and movie-star glamour has never quite been replicated.

we all know her beloved string of musicals with fred but ginger also has an extensive and varied non-fred filmography that she's great in! a few ginger moments that are important 2 me personally ginger singing “we’re in the money” in gold diggers of 1933, complete with a verse in pig latin bc this whole movie is kinda mocking the concept of anyone actually being in the money in 1933; ginger and una merkel singing a verse of “shuffle off to buffalo” in 42nd street, providing some statler & waldorf-esque commentary on newlyweds from the upper berth of a railway car (interesting that belly was apparently a risque word in 1933 - maybe its bc the lyric is innuendo-ing about out of wedlock pregnancies - and that panties was a term for men’s underthings!); a favorite fred & ginger number

Ginger Rogers could do everything! She could sing, dance and act. She was hilarious in comedies, moving in dramatic roles (she won an Oscar for Kitty Foyle in 1940) and absolutely gorgeous!

Listen, no shade to Fred Astaire at all, but she both kept up with him step for step and then later went on to WIN AN OSCAR FOR ACTING. (which he did not.) truly a double threat!!!

One of the best dancers in Hollywood! Her work with Fred Astaire is just incredible.

ONE LINE: "Everything Fred did, Ginger did backwards and in heels" AND THEYRE RIGHT! Rogers was a total dance badass, and a lot of movie buffs know the story, but the Never Gonna Dance number from Swing Time took almost 50 takes, and allegedly by the end of filming it her white shoes had been stained pink because her feet were bleeding. As a note, she looks crazy gorgeous in this number. Watching these two dance is insane. They match up to each other in a way my mom describes as "divine" and she's right. DANCE NUMBERS!

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (Shall We Dance, 1937, dancing starts at 3:14, they're in ROLLERSKATES)

(Ginger Rogers is the hottest woman ever to live in this number. seeing this as a teenager altered my brain chemistry)

(also watch her feet and how she moves opposite Astaire in this one. We all know our boy Freddie had that precision demon but jesus christ Miss Rogers, let a girl live!)

Pick Yourself Up, Swing Time 1936 (Everyone's seen this one but by god you are going to see it AGAIN!)

Shall We Dance, 1937 (duet begins at 2:34)

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Roberta 1935 (There's just something about Ginger Rogers in a slick black dress man)

The Continental, The Gay Divorcee 1934 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjv6nmF7wdk God she's MAGIC in this one.

Gay Divorcee's Ending Montage 1934The infamous table and chairs spin happens at about 0:49. Pay CLOSE attention to her in this bc it looks like witchcraft and I feel lightheaded whenever I watch this movie bc shes THAT awesome.

She is a miracle to watch. Sorry for the sheer amount of clips. My entire family is like madly in love with Ginger Rogers.

[kayflapper]

Joan Crawford in "Dancing Lady" (1933.)

[broadwaydivastournament]

Movie Musical Divas Tournament: Round 1

Something familiar, Something peculiar, Something for everyone: A comedy tonight!

Carol Burnett (1933- ): Miss Hannigan in Annie (1982) | Winifred in Once Upon a Mattress (1964)

"OK SO CAROL BURNETT. Genuinely my first crush on a woman was probably her as Miss Hannigan in Annie bc I remember being really fixated on her, which, with foresight is INSANE but also? Incredibly prescient. Discovered her later work w/Sondheim in the past couple years, as well as her solo vocal albums and The Carol Burnett Show, and she’s SO funny and SUCH a great actor and vocalist and she’s so hot and I love her so much" - @idontpostanythingignoreme

Lucille Ball (1911-1989): Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) - Bubbles | Too Many Girls (1940) - Connie Casey | Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) - May Daly/Madame Du Barry, Ziegfeld Follies (1945) - dancer | Easy to Wed (1946) - Gladys Benton | Mame (1974) - Mame Dennis

"Long before becoming America's number one TV lady, Lucille Ball was a hard-working hoofer making her way up the ranks from uncredited chorus girls roles and bit parts in Fred and Ginger musicals to leading lady. One of my favorite movie musical performances of hers is in the underrated Dance, Girl, Dance directed by Dorothy Arzner, basically the only woman working as director in the studio system at the time. Lucille co-stars opposite Maureen O'Hara in a show-stealing role as the tough witty showgirl Bubbles, bringing comedy chops, sex appeal, and pathos to what could easily have been a one-note character. Also I'm pretty sure if you look up "camp" in the dictionary the definition is just a picture of her in Ziegfeld Follies as a feather-bedecked showgirl cracking a whip at a pack of sequined catgirls." - anonymous

This is Round 1 of the Movie Musical Divas tournament. Additional polls in this round may be found by searching #mmround1, or by clicking the link below. Add your propaganda and support by reblogging this post.

ADDITIONAL PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

Carol Burnett:

Photos and video submitted by: @mygreatadventurehasbegun | Photos submitted by: anonymous

Lucille Ball:

Photos and video submitted by: anonymous

[citizenscreen]

Clark Gable, Ted Healy and the Three Stooges during production of DANCING LADY (1933), directed by Robert Z. Leonard.

[technicolorfamiliar]

Well, it took me a year, but I watched a billion 50+ Conrad Veidt films. Some good, some great, some so bad that I hope I never have to see them again.

This post is a stand in for the entire second half of this filmic journey -- I'll link the original 5 posts that make up the first part below. But instead of reposting all of my reviews for all of these titles (the original posts for these are on Pillowfort), I'll just share some highlights below the cut.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5

Bleaker and darker than I expected, but that makes sense if it's based on a WWI memoir. What happened to Martha was legitimately awful and hard to watch. Stilted performances aside, I would have also liked a whole separate movie about the lesbian spy aunt. But Commandant Oberaertz... [redacted]. He's so hot, despite the character being absolutely awful and creepy and intimidating. I actually said "wow" out loud about his body shape in that costume. That jacket is fitted within a millimeter of its life. How many other films did Connie use this lower register in? Not many, right? It's too much, TOO MUCH. I think this movie took ten years off my life.

I Was a Spy, 1933

Dir. Victor Saville

⭐3/5

Watched Feb 18, Snowgrouse's masterpost

Connie's performance in this is more sympathetic than it has any right to be. The movie very easily could have been sensationalist garbage, and I'm so glad it was handled with relative care and humanity. I liked his whole vibe, I am not immune to party boy Rasputin's charms; "he's got the kavorca, the lure of the animal!" He looks like he stinks, which in this case may not necessarily be a bad thing. I don't even know what to make of all the cooing and baby talk he does with Alexei, or for that matter Drunk!Rasputin dancing and climbing over furniture to get at his ladies. I wish we got to see more scenes with Rasputin and the royal family, how those relationships formed and affected matters of state. We only really get to know about any of that through dialogue among other court officials. And so the emotional turn at the ending was unexpected. The way he cried out after being shot, I've never heard a sound like that come from a human being. Needless to say I did not feel great when the movie ended, but I liked it way more than I thought I would.

Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen, 1932

Dir. Adolf Trotz

⭐3/5

Watched Mar 23, Archive.org

Almost all the performances in this are pretty excellent. The stripped back, realistic style with handheld, newsreel camerawork really suits these actors and the story. Apparently this is a remake of an English film which is based on a play, and it definitely feels like a play. I'm fascinated by this little movie, it's basically an anti-war film about British soldiers in WWI produced in Germany in the early 30s… how did this even get made?? Messages about the horrors of war aside, the homoerotic undertones (overtones?) alone make this a truly unique piece of storytelling for the time and place it was filmed. And those under/overtones are treated pretty respectfully, none of these men are the butt of a joke, how they are with one another is handled with a naturalism that isn't really seen again until maybe the 1950s. And Connie. The range. Can we talk about Stanhope? He's a gruff, messy drunk, a traumatized, hollowed out husk of a man. When Osbourne says something like "you'll be alright when this is over," NO HE WOULDN'T, HE'D BE WORSE. His relationship with Raleigh is interesting too, clearly they were more than casual friends. I didn't believe for a second that the tension between Stanhope and Raleigh was about the sister/fiancée, it's weak, weak I tell you. It's one of Connie's most underrated performances.

Die andere Seite, 1931

Dir. Heinz Paul

⭐3.75/5

Watched Apr 27, Snowgrouse's masterpost

Everyone in this movie looks like a Rankin Bass stop motion character. The ending was abrupt as fuck, Werner Krauss' Jack the Ripper got a lot less screen time and I wonder if they just tacked that onto the end after they realized they spent too much time on Emil Jannings' and Connie's characters. There's a lot of fondling going on in this movie, there's the guy with the bread in the first part, then Connie going all glassy-eyed caressing his globes. Ivan the Terrible is a certified DIVA in that diaphanous, white robe, even with the hard middle part and scraggly beard. What is he doing with his tongue the whole time, though?? Love that he crashes some random girl's wedding, lets her father get murdered by assassins, kidnaps her AND her husband, and brings them both home to his sex dungeon. Connie is doing the most -- the eyes, the gestures, all the greatest hits from his silent film acting tool box, he's whipping them out for this role.

Das Wachsfigurenkabinett (Waxworks), 1924

Dir. Paul Leni, Leo Birinski

⭐2/5

Watched May 29, Archive.org

I didn't like this movie, I just wanted an excuse to post this screenshot. But it actually is a very silly little movie, with what must have been an enormous budget for costumes and sets, and it has some cute physical comedy. Sadly, Connie's in too little of the film to save it from being obnoxious. I did like the Czar's body double who just wanted to work on his needlepoint, and the Court Spanker who was clearly really into his job. And of course Metternich, that sly dog, that velvet-clad scamp. Between the all the foxy, gap-toothed grinning he does and the way he's going to town on that dialogue, he is as always a pleasure to watch. The English version is on Youtube somewhere, so I may go through that and pick out the time stamps for Connie's scenes because I don't think I could sit through this whole movie again, especially not that stupid fucking "Wien und der Wein" song, jesus christ.

Der Kongress tanzt, 1931

Dir. Erik Charell

⭐2/5

Watched Jun 23, Snowgrouse's masterpost

Apparently this movie was considered a flop, and Connie wasn't super happy with this role and others around this time. I think I must have had that info in the back of my mind somewhere going into this movie, because my expectations were pretty low. So, as usual, I actually wound up liking it more than I thought I would. It's a lot sillier than it has any right to be, but yeah it's ultimately a piece of fluff compared to some of the other heavy-hitting films on this list. I love when Connie has a comedic foil like the Marius character, but it could have been a lot better if the dialogue was snappier and the timing tighter. And Connie's character promises to be this bad bitch at the top of the movie, but all we get is one quick, poorly choreographed sword fight and a whole bunch of nothing after that. There's all this build up, I mean, the character is nicknamed The Black Death, and the movie never really lets the character live up to the name. It's a missed opportunity for sure. That said, the Puffy Shirt with the open collar "ensconced in velvet" (to risk yet more Seinfeld references), jaunty hat, knee-high boots with spurs look is really doing it for me. And THERE ARE PUPPIES. Perhaps the most delightful thing that has ever happened in cinematic history. I couldn’t believe it. Connie picked up the first puppy and said, "You big boy, you!" and I hate him, like full Madeline Kahn Mrs. White "flames… on the side of my face." I hate him so much.

Under the Red Robe, 1937

Dir. Victor Seastrom

⭐2.5/5

Watched Jul 17, Youtube

[mimi-0007]

Edna Mae Harris (September 29, 1914 – September 15, 1997), sometimes credited as Edna May Harris was an American actress and singer. Harris was one of the first African–American film actress of the late 1930s and early 1940s, appearing in films featuring mostly African–American casts.

Born in Harlem, Harris parents were Sam, a boxer and customs inspector; Her mother Mary Harris (née Walker) worked as a maid. Harris' family is noted as one of the first families to have migrated to Harlem. Settling near the Lafayette Theater, Harris was convinced into pursuing a career in show business by Ethel Waters and Maud Russell who were frequent visitors to her family home. After being coached on her singing and dancing by Waters and Russell, Harris began performing in the Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA). An African-American vaudeville circuit, Harris performed with TOBA from 1929 until 1933.

Harris attended Wadleigh High School (later known as Wadleigh High School for Girls) in Manhattan. During the summer after her sophomore year of high school, Harris worked at the Alhambra Theater doing dramatic sketches with a stock company. During this period, Harris received excellent training in diction and stage delivery through her association with veteran performers. Harris was also an excellent swimmer in high school, and in 1928 she entered the New York Daily News' Swimming Meet and won a championship.

Harris first real Hollywood break came when she landed a part in The Green Pastures (1936), portraying Zeba, starring with Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson. Harris was a leading lady in Spirit of Youth (1938), the story of the rise of boxer Joe Thomas, which paralleled the life of Joe Louis. Harris also had leading roles in Oscar Micheaux films, Lying Lips (1939), and The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940). Her film credits also include such Hollywood films as Bullets or Ballots (1936), Private Number (1936), and Garden of Allah (1936), and the independent film Paradise in Harlem in 1939. Between picture commitments she toured with Noble Sissle's Orchestra as a featured vocalist along with Lena Horne and Billy Banks. In 1942, she played fourteen weeks at the old Elks' Rendezvous as the mistress of ceremonies and announced a weekly radio show over station WMCA in New York City. She also did character dialect parts on many broadcasts for the Columbia Workshop Program. Edna Mae Harris got to tell her story in her later years in the documentary, Midnight Ramble (1994), about independently produced black films.

Harris was married twice and had no children. Her first marriage was to Edward Randolph from 1933 until 1938, then to Harlem nightclub owner Walter Anderson from 1951 until his death in 1983. Harris dated boxer Joe Louis sometime during 1939 and 1940. Harris dated Robert Paquin, who co-starred with her in the Lying Lips from 1941 until 1942. Harris died of a heart attack on September 15, 1997 at the age of 82.

[best-movie-ever-tournament]

What's your favorite musical from the bracket? Feel free to wait until it's eliminated to answer.

I'll be honest with you, I don't know a lot of musicals (kinda started this tournament to get recs, honestly). At least that's what I thought until i realised i had seen a bunch of the submissions. Now, granted, it was particularly popular ones, not the nichest ones, but still.

Anyway, I have a bunch of favorites, and I'll reblog this post at the end of every round with the list of eliminated movies I know and like.

For this round, we have, by alphabetical order:

Duck Soup (1933): It's completely silly and nonsensical, and I can't stand anyone involved in the plot, but it's also a great movie. The number of one liners I still quote, the entire jab at governments in general and dictatorships in particular... Groucho Marx being a gold digger and an asshole isn't new, Harpo having a horn and miming stuff isn't new, Chico speaking with a fake italian accent isn't new, but I absolutely love it anyway.

Into the Woods (2014): I know, i know, the stage musical is better, but consider: i haven't seen the stage musical. I do realise that most of what I love about it probably comes straight out of the musical itself, but there's also Meryl Streep so there's that. The first half is absolutely great and I don't care much for the second half even if there are still some bangers (the song about who's at fault and the Last Midnight among others)

My Fair Lady (1964): Haven't watched it since I was a child, and in the mean time I've learned how to speak english and what phonetics were, so I'm sure I would enjoy it even more. I can't remember much about it apart from what is common knowledge though.

Sing (2016): It's cute and funny and deep and not-so-deep and there's friendship and I'm not even a fan of animated musicals, anthro animals or the musical genre of most of the songs but. Consider. It's so good.

The Court Jester (1955): Absolute banger. Put it in front of a musical i had never heard of on the first round because I had high hopes for it. Well c'est la vie. Anyway you absolutely have to watch it. It aged very well I think, despite what the promotional materials show. It's got fencing and true love and torture and masked vigilantes and musical numbers and dancing and honestly this is my Princess Bride. Like everyone on tumblr is always like "princess bride is my entire childhood" and then point at a comedy swashbuckler with a prince trying to get the hero's girlfriend, his right hand man who's sinister, etc. Meanwhile The Court Jester has everything of that and MORE! It has a tender male lead, it has comedy at every corner, and more importantly, it is my whole childhood. I blame it for making me learn english in the first place (we only had it in english with subtitles).

The Inspector General (1949): Adapted from a russian play and yet it feels like preparatory work for The Court Jester in some way. It's still a banger don't get me wrong, and keep in mind that the version i have is not a very legal one and the image definition is very very bad. It still manages to pull through as great. I love it.

[justforbooks]

A lot of adjectives come to mind when one mentions Fred Astaire: debonair, poised, elegant, captivating. And nouns too, especially grace, sophistication and talent. Fred Astaire is regarded by many as the greatest popular music dancer of all time. Astaire is usually remembered for his pairings with Ginger Rogers, who starred in several films with him, including Swing Time (1936).

Light on his feet, Fred Astaire revolutionized the movie musical with his elegant and seemingly effortless dance style. He may have made dancing look easy, but he was a well-known perfectionist, and his work was the product of endless hours of practice.

Astaire started performing as a child, partnering up with his older sister Adele. The two toured the vaudeville circuit before making it to Broadway in 1917. Among their many productions the brother-sister team starred in the 1927 George and Ira Gershwin musical Funny Face. For all his early success, though, career in the movies eluded Astaire. He had done a screen test, but he failed to attract any interest. A studio executive wrote at the time, "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little."

In 1932, Astaire suffered a career setback. His sister Adele retired from the act to marry a British aristocrat. He floundered a bit professionally without his usual partner, but then decided to go to Hollywood to try once more to break into film.

Finally, Astaire landed a small role in 1933's Dancing Lady with Joan Crawford. The role opened the door to new opportunities, and Astaire signed a contract with RKO Radio Pictures. He was matched up with another Broadway talent, Ginger Rogers, for Flying Down to Rio, also in 1933. Cast as supporting players, their dance number stole the movie. Astaire and Rogers appeared in several more films together, including The Gay Divorcee (1934) and Top Hat (1935). The duo became film's most beloved dance team. Their routines featured a hybrid of styles—borrowing elements from tap, ballroom and even ballet. Katharine Hepburn once described what each of them brought their successful partnership: "Fred gave Ginger class, and Ginger gave Fred sex."

Off-screen, Astaire was known for his relentless pursuit of perfection. He thought nothing of rehearsing a scene for days, and Rogers eventually tired of the grueling schedule. The pair went their separate ways after 1939's The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle. Years later, they reunited once more for 1949's The Barkleys of Broadway.

After the split with Rogers in 1939, Astaire performed with such leading ladies as Rita Hayworth, Cyd Charisse, Judy Garland, Leslie Caron and Audrey Hepburn. Some of his most famous musicals from his later career include Easter Parade with Garland and Funny Face with Hepburn.

As his movie roles tapered off, Astaire worked more in television. He often appeared as himself for special tribute shows. Astaire had a growing interest in dramatic parts, working on such series as Dr. Kildare. He also worked with another legendary dancer, Gene Kelly, on the documentary That's Entertainment, which explored the golden era of the movie musical.

Around this time, Astaire received his only Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in the 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno. He also won an Emmy Award for his work on the television special A Family Upside Down in 1978. More accolades soon followed. Astaire received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 1981.

A few years later, Astaire was hospitalized for pneumonia. He died on June 22, 1987, in Los Angeles, California. With his passing, Hollywood had lost one of its greatest talents. Former actor and president Ronald Reagan, upon learning the news, called Astaire "an American legend" and "the ultimate dancer." Rogers said Astaire "was the best partner anyone could ever have."

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[ravingbeauties13]

Vintage Burlesque, Sally Rand's Bubble Dance, Remixed w/ New Music

Here we present the star attraction of the 1933-34 Chicago Century of Progress World's Fair. In this clip we see her doing not her famous fan dance but the sensually art deco bubble dance. We have added some special effects to the original film and added an original soundtrack by Captain Zero & the Radioactive Lovers Born Hattie Helen Gould Beck dancer Sally Rand began her career as a chorus dancer at the tender age of thirteen in Kansas City. While still a teenager Sally ran away with a carnival drifting west to Hollywood and the movies. By then Hattie had changed her name to Billy Beck and she found steady if not spectacular work, including some time working in the stock company of the great director Cecil B. Deville who gave Hattie her more famous name. Sally's movie career ended with the advent of the talkies due to her lisp. She went back to dancing which was her first love anyway. A resourceful gal looking for steady work she combined this love for dance with the average man’s desire to behold the female form and began experimenting with various forms of tease dancing. In 1932 while working at the Paramount Club in Chicago Sally developed her fan dance that would bring her fame and fortune.  She was to become the mistresses of appearing to be naked and her big splash came at Chicago's Century of Progress World's Fair held in 1933 -34. For her arrival at the gates of the fair she recreated Lady Godiva's ride that along with her ensuing performance resulted with her being arrested four times in one day. At her trial the judge threw the charges out and in his decision said. "There is no harm and certainly no injury to public morals when the human body is exposed, some people probably would want to put pants on a horse. . . . When I go to the fair, I go to see the exhibits and perhaps to enjoy a little beer.  As far as I'm concerned, all these charges are just a lot of old stuff to me.  Case dismissed for want of equity." -- Superior Judge Joseph B. David - July 19, 1933 Even after the charges were dropped powerful forces sought to keep her from performing but her popularity was so great that they couldn't stop her. Wnen the fair reopened in 1934 she   prsented the dance featured in this video the less risqué bubble dance.   Sally did more road work for a few years before returning  to southern California.  There she briefly returned to the movies before moving to San Francisco. In 1939 she presented "Sally Rand's Nude Ranch" at the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco.  It featured women wearing cowboy hats, gun belts and boots, and little more.  Afterwards she took over The Great American Music Hall and started her own burlesque house and continued to perform for many years.

[normasshearer]

for the ask game, how about 1929 through 1935 (beginning of talkies through beginning of production code)!

hi friend! oooo i love this prompt!

1929 - the last of mrs. cheyney. i totally thought i had seen more films from this year, but it turns out it was just this mediocre norma shearer film that was remade with joan crawford in 1937... the remake is better but not by much!

1930 - ladies of leisure. when barbara stanwyck cries, i cry

1931 - private lives. both norma shearer and robert montgomery are extremely hot in this one!!

1932 - smilin' through. another norma shearer film! she's gorgeous and gives a fantastic performance in this one. another dual role (similar but kinda-not-really to lady of the night) too which is insane! honorable mention to grand hotel.

1933 - dancing lady. joan crawford is so beautiful in this one.. pretty good rom-com too! clark gable angrily massages joan's knee and it's very endearing <3

1934 - it happened one night. a classic, need i say more

1935 - i live my life. have not seen many movies from this year, so i picked a mediocre joan crawford film, but she is positively radiant and she throws a fantastic temper tantrum in the last act <3

thank you!! <3

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Ruby Myers (Typist Girl, Cinema Queen)— I just recently saw a documentary about her and thought that besides being really pretty, she had a very interesting life. She was born in the early 1900s in India to a Baghdadi Jewish family, and became the first woman to act in an Indian silent film. In the 1930s she started her own film production house, Rubi Pics, way before most female producers in Hollywood broke through. More info can be found in this Golden Globes webpage on her life [link]

Ginger Rogers (Swing Time, Top Hat)—Look I’ll level with you, I’ve never seen her in a musical and I know that she’s an amazing dancer and she’ll be even hotter when I finally watch Top Hat but I’m not submitting her as a dancer I’m submitting her as an ACTRESS. Her comic timing is impeccable!!!!! She’s full to bursting with life and in every role she seems to be having FUN, you can practically feel the twinkle in her eye. With her natural warmth it’s like she’s letting you in on the joke, y’all get to have this fun together! Making me laugh is hot!!! [If you'd like to see Ginger dance, videos below the cut]

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Ruby Myers:

Ginger Rogers propaganda:

She needs no introduction! An undeniable powerhouse on the dancefloor, and no less talented an actress. I once watched a compilation of cinema's greatest dance scenes and one of her and Fred Astaire's dances was featured, and one of the talking heads said he pitied her for 'having to keep up with him' - or something to that effect. Bullshit, I cry. Ginger Rogers was his absolute equal, and underplaying her incredible skill is downright criminal. I want the 'Cheek to Cheek' sequence from Top Hat to be permanently burned into my memory.

"Backwards in high heels", as the saying goes (though the pedant in me must point out that she in fact spent her fair share of time leading or dancing side-by-side). One of the earliest twinkle-toed ladies of the silver screen, and in terms of acting/persona, her balance of wide-eyed cuteness and movie-star glamour has never quite been replicated.

we all know her beloved string of musicals with fred but ginger also has an extensive and varied non-fred filmography that she's great in! a few ginger moments that are important 2 me personally ginger singing “we’re in the money” in gold diggers of 1933, complete with a verse in pig latin bc this whole movie is kinda mocking the concept of anyone actually being in the money in 1933; ginger and una merkel singing a verse of “shuffle off to buffalo” in 42nd street, providing some statler & waldorf-esque commentary on newlyweds from the upper berth of a railway car (interesting that belly was apparently a risque word in 1933 - maybe its bc the lyric is innuendo-ing about out of wedlock pregnancies - and that panties was a term for men’s underthings!); a favorite fred & ginger number

Ginger Rogers could do everything! She could sing, dance and act. She was hilarious in comedies, moving in dramatic roles (she won an Oscar for Kitty Foyle in 1940) and absolutely gorgeous!

Listen, no shade to Fred Astaire at all, but she both kept up with him step for step and then later went on to WIN AN OSCAR FOR ACTING. (which he did not.) truly a double threat!!!

One of the best dancers in Hollywood! Her work with Fred Astaire is just incredible.

ONE LINE: "Everything Fred did, Ginger did backwards and in heels" AND THEYRE RIGHT! Rogers was a total dance badass, and a lot of movie buffs know the story, but the Never Gonna Dance number from Swing Time took almost 50 takes, and allegedly by the end of filming it her white shoes had been stained pink because her feet were bleeding. As a note, she looks crazy gorgeous in this number. Watching these two dance is insane. They match up to each other in a way my mom describes as "divine" and she's right. DANCE NUMBERS!

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (Shall We Dance, 1937, dancing starts at 3:14, they're in ROLLERSKATES)

(Ginger Rogers is the hottest woman ever to live in this number. seeing this as a teenager altered my brain chemistry)

(also watch her feet and how she moves opposite Astaire in this one. We all know our boy Freddie had that precision demon but jesus christ Miss Rogers, let a girl live!)

Pick Yourself Up, Swing Time 1936 (Everyone's seen this one but by god you are going to see it AGAIN!)

Shall We Dance, 1937 (duet begins at 2:34)

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Roberta 1935 (There's just something about Ginger Rogers in a slick black dress man)

The Continental, The Gay Divorcee 1934

God she's MAGIC in this one.

Gay Divorcee's Ending Montage 1934The infamous table and chairs spin happens at about 0:49. Pay CLOSE attention to her in this bc it looks like witchcraft and I feel lightheaded whenever I watch this movie bc shes THAT awesome.

She is a miracle to watch. Sorry for the sheer amount of clips. My entire family is like madly in love with Ginger Rogers.

[advertisesouls]

Name: Xifeng. Nicknames: Frosty Bitch, Alastor's Bitch, Uptight Cunt, Miss, Ma'am, Boss Lady Date of death: 1933. Cause of death: Suicide by cop to not only escape capital punishment that was waiting for her, but to avenge Alastor's death and take as many of the hunters that were on his trail down with her as well as the police officers. Age: 30's (physical appearance) Height: 5'4'' (human) | 7'5'' (demon) Birthplace: Los Angeles, California. Orientation: Demiromantic | Demisexual. Gender: Female (she/her.) Species: Demon. Occupation: Bookkeeper (human life) | Advertising executive for the Hazbin Hotel (currently) Parent(s): Unnamed mother (deceased), unnamed father (deceased.) Friends: Charlie Morningstar (business partner), Niffty (co-worker), Angel Dust, Sir Pentious, Egg Boiz (both were former enemies), Rosie, Mimzy. Enemies: Vox (by association), Exorcists: Adam, Lute. Others: Vaggie (co-worker), Husk (co-worker), Overlords (by association): Rosie, Vox, Valentino, Velvette, Zestial, Carmilla Carmine, Zeezi.

Likes: Alastor, her mother, wine, cooking, theater, dancing, jazz music, insulting others, progressivism, being in charge, making jokes, chicken. Dislikes: Her deadbeat absent father, those who talk badly about prostitution, Susan, being touched, being seen as weak, being talked down to, anyone hurting Alastor, Angel's sexual remarks, anyone threatening Alastor's interests.

History

Born to a lineage that originally immigrated from Nanjing, China to flee the Taiping Rebellion, Xifeng did not have an easy life growing up in a very racist America that discriminated against Chinese. Already denied citizenship, despite being born on American soil, this didn't leave many opportunities for Xifeng while she grew up. She couldn't attend school, so her mother had to home-school her. Because her father was frequently away to peddle his wares to whomever would buy them, this would leave her to be raised primarily by her mother, who had to sometimes turn to prostitution to provide for her daughter when money was low.

Unfortunately, tragedy would befall her family as her mother ended up being killed by someone who said she wasn't a good enough lay for them and with her father absent, it left her essentially orphaned. Deciding that she had enough of California, she decided to move to the South.

This was what she knew of life until she heard a rather enigmatic broadcast on one of the radios in one of the shops around. Since she couldn't really afford one yet, she spent plenty of time at the shops that broadcasted this particular radio show—with her becoming practically enamored with the host. Little did she know that it was Alastor himself. With his mastery over the spoken word, it helped to improve Xifeng's own English, which gave her more confidence that she might one day meet her idol.

And like a dream come true, that day would come when she swore she could hear someone speak very similar to him. And, as they say, the rest is history between the two of them. Xifeng fell heads over heels for him, even accepting and encouraging his serial killer ways due to her hybristophilia. She even lured potential targets that would make for particularly nourishing meals as well as endless entertainment for them to share.

Truly, it seemed like nothing could ever come between them, especially with how Xifeng worked as a bookkeeper for the station Alastor worked at so as to keep appearances up. He even asked her to be his wife as well, something that she didn't believe that would ever happen to her.

That is, until, Alastor would meet his untimely end by law enforcement, and with Xifeng knowing that she'd likely be put to death anyway, she took her fate into her own hands and killed herself before she'd be captured, but not before saying that she'd be seeing them in hell where they belonged. It's rumored that the sound of her dying was akin to that of hearing a bird cry.

Similarly to Alastor making headlines as a cannibalistic murderous radio host, so did she as his accomplice who lured unsuspecting victims in, and thus, her soul was dragged to Hell for her sins.

Because of her relationship with Alastor, she was able to become a powerful demon in her own right and because of Alastor's status as an Overlord, she knows that if any demon tries to mess with her, they'd only earn his ire. Though, that's not to say that Xifeng's antagonistic with all demons in hell. She gets along quite well with Rosie, Zestial, and Carmilla for instance, despite how her reputation in Hell is known for being a coldhearted bitch who doesn't care about anyone else except herself.

Known as Alastor's right hand woman, she runs an advertising agency that primarily uses newspapers, pamphlets, radio commercials, etc to get the word out with his radio show always being part of the advertisements. (VoxTek is always mysteriously absent from the newspaper advertisements and no one knows why.) She, too, has made deals with her fellow demons, especially those who are desperate to get their names out there.

However, seven years ago, she too mysteriously disappeared from Pentagram City. No one really knows why, but her advertising agency ran fine without her being at the helm, though. Yet, the true reason is because she had to recuperate after almost being killed by an Exorcist because she took a blow meant for Alastor instead that has left a nasty scar on her that causes her pain whenever the next extermination is scheduled to about to happen. No one, except Alastor himself, knows about this.

Still, she's never been one to show weakness around others. Usually wearing a smirk on her face, she continues to go about her unlife as if nothing ever happened. Like her partner, she's also extremely sadistic and manipulative and isn't above utilizing dirty tactics to get what she wants out of others. She, too, also doesn't believe that demons are capable of redemption and has no plans of redeeming herself and is just helping the hotel as its advertising agent to help further Alastor's goals.

Abilities: Eldritch magic, restorative magic, pyrokinesis, bilingualism, flight, draining one's yang essence out of them before sending them to their death, cooking, singing and dancing.