… photographed by Harold Lloyd.
The Harold Lloyd? The silent film star?
I like that picture. It has a strange candid feel to it. Ceci? Anything to add, o Marilyn Monroe expert?? Where is she? Is it candid? I love the comment over there to that post that Marilyn Monroe is always 3-D without the audience having to put on the goggles. Ha!
More of my obsessive sickness below the fold:
I do realize that I am all about Rocky right now, I am aware that I am very sick in the head – and that all roads do NOT actually lead back to Rocky Balboa, but for me, right now, they do. So. About Harold Lloyd. (Who was also Cary Grant’s inspiration for the character in Bringing Up Baby – those silly round glasses.) I just bought the 2 disc collector’s edition of Rocky – which just came out, on the heels of Rocky Balboa – and the entire thing has audio commentary from Stallone. I’ve only listened to a bit of it – but he was talking about the black hat Rocky always wears, and how it was kind of a battle with the studio to allow him to wear it. They didn’t “get it” and didn’t like what he looked like with the hat on – but Stallone felt it was important that Rocky be all armored up, and that he look … well, like a thug. But Stallone also said in the commentary, “And there was kind of an homage there, too, that I liked – to Chaplin – the tramp – and Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton – those little guys who took on the big guys …”
I get the feeling that Sly (despite many bad movie choices) is a lot smarter than many would credit. How many contemporary movie ‘stars’ would name check Chaplin, Keaton etc?
The commentary track is fascinating, I can’t wait to listen to more of it. He’s very intelligent. Rocky being a “dumbbell” is a character choice – Stallone wasn’t playing himself.
I’d like to hear the commentary as well; I’m hoping the Rocky DVD I queued on netflix has one.
I think there’s one that has commentary from the producers, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers and one of the cameramen – but then they re-released it in this fancy schmancy new collector’s edition, to coincide with the release of Rocky Balboa – and this one has just Stallone doing commentary by himself.
Fantastic. Not to be missed, if you like Stallone. Really interesting character analysis – like: why it made sense to him that Rocky wouldn’t go for glamour girls, or sexy girls – because he’s too awkward, and he also has this weird compassion thing for small creatures, weaker creatures (the turtles, etc.) And he looks at Adrian thru the bird cage – she needs to be set free, blah blah – but it’s not heavy-handed the way it’s filmed. It’s delicate.
Also when he and Adrian go out to go on their first date (after the horrible throwing-turkey-out-window moment) – they stand on the porch together of her house, awkward, silent … and then Rocky tries to let her go down the stairs first – you know, to be a gentleman. But she just stands there. Awkward. So he goes first. Then he opens the gate and kind of waits for her to go thru … but she is so hesitant that he ends up going thru.
Very funny little awkward date-dance there.
Stallone, on the commentary, starts laughing at that point and says, “Look at Rocky trying to do manners … but … he’s never been on a real date before … he has no idea what to do … and we rehearsed none of that, we didn’t plan that out – it just happened naturally.”
I love that.
Interesting photo – the time is early 1952, and it was actually taken as Marilyn was doing a photoshoot for a different photographer, Philippe Halsman. The photos from that session were used for a cover story in Life magazine (the April 7, 1952 issue, to be exact…) and the cover pic by Halsman is pretty famous. I would provide a link to the pic if I remotely knew how to post it correctly. :P
IIRC (have to check my books!), Harold Lloyd was there at the time and took a couple pics himself, and I think he IS the actor you link to, Sheila. But as I said… need to check the details!
Lloyd also took 3-D pics of Marilyn the next year; this time he got her to pose in a red swimsuit by a swimmingpool – talk about not needing the 3-D goggles, hahahaha!
BTW, thanks for the “Marilyn Monroe expert” title — you couldn’t have made me a better compliment! ;)
Yep, it is indeed the Harold Lloyd. He was really into photography in his later years.
Mark is right; I just checked, and Harold Lloyd is indeed the silent film actor.
As for the location of the photoshoot, it was in Marilyn’s apartment. Or rather, in the hotel where she lived at the time. Need to check which hotel that was… probably the Beverly Carlton.
It never ceases to amaze me at how WOMANLY she was. She had curves. She had flesh. She was substantial. And how she is the antithesis of what is considered “Hollywood beautiful” today.
It’s indeed true that Harold Lloyd had a big interest in photography, especially in the somewhat obscure pursuit of 3-D photography. And although Lloyd (possibly my favorite silent film comedian) played wholesome characters in his movies and was a devoted family man in real life, he used a lot of his 3-D film shooting portraits of nude women. In fact, there’s a book that’s available for purchase (I think it’s probably remaindered by now) that collects a number of Lloyd’s 3-D shots.
I imagine that by shooting 3-D poses of at least a few of Hollywood’s most protruding starlets you’d risk putting an eye out. But maybe they used long 3-D lenses to protect against that.
This page has the Life cover. And aliens.
In comparing the two photos, I dare say the picture of Marilyn leaning back against the wall (not the Life magazine cover) is the better one. She looks more desirable just resting with her head against the wall. Her profile and neck look as if they were sculpted.