Cinco de Shirley

Six years ago, I did a Cinco de Mayo themed Temple Tuesday post; one pitiful photo that is new to my collection is what I have to offer today. Scanned from a badly faded transparency, this undated image is most likely from 1949. The chopped caption on the sleeve states, “Ektachrome by Arnold Johnson. Shirley Temple shops for imported Mexican fabrics in the Maya de Mexico shop in Beverly…”
 
Deductive reasoning would conclude that the shop was in Beverly Hills. I did the usual internet deep dive and came up with very little about the shop itself, however, I did find an Etsy listing for a skirt that has a Maya de Mexico label as well as some eBay listings for similar items. Perhaps the caption was off and the shop was a different name but carried these colorful and vibrant fabrics. Any vintage Beverly Hills aficionados know the story?



It would appear that based on the decor in her 1949 home, Shirley was no stranger to bold prints!



Above and below, Shirley poses with then husband John Agar and her first child, Linda Susan.



These were shot for the April 1949 issue of Modern Screen, shown below in full color!



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Modern Screen, August 1955: Disneyland

For the August 1955 issue of Modern Screen Magazine, actress Pier Angeli graced the cover. Inside, the gossip mag gave three full pages of coverage for the recently opened Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. The first spread included a color photo of the Sleeping Beauty Castle model:



The historic model was on display at the Disneyland Opera House when I shot it in February 2007:



…and in June 2008:





One can “assume” that while the article came out one month after the Park opened, the feature was put together while Disneyland was still under construction, thus the model shots. A photo of Walt with a colt  from April 1954 was also used. Here’s the uncropped version from my collection:



The article features two “young stars,” Marla English and Larry Pennell, who posed for pictures at the Walt Disney Studio in Burbank, where the rides and vehicles were being construction/refurbished. Below are trees from the Snow White attraction and the Horse-Drawn Chemical/Fire Wagon:



A shot of the Chemical Wagon from 1956 taken in the Park:



The second page of the spread included color shots of the Main Street, Adventureland, and Mark Twain models:



A closeup of the Main Street model, which still had the bandstand situated in Town Square:



An August 1955 black and white closeup of the same model:



Closeups of the other models:





A closeup of one of the Stagecoaches, with Marla and Larry looking very lovey-dovey:



An August 1954 image from my collection of the same stagecoach, also shot at the Disney Studio in Burbank; note the corrugated wall, visible in many of the images from the Modern Screen article:



The last page of the feature included a map and other studio-shot photos of more vehicles and animals (both real and fake):



You might recognize Pennell from “The Beverly Hillbillies,” where he played Dash Riprock. Marla’s claim to fame was being cast opposite Spencer Tracy in “The Mountain” (1955), and then deciding to withdraw from the project. Marla told the columnists that she left as a result of hospitalization due to a recently administered smallpox vaccine. According to the St. Petersburg Times, September 18, 1955, this was the real reason, according to a close relative of Marla:

Said she: “Marla has fallen in love with a young Paramount player, Bud Pennell. She desperately wanted the studio to give him a part in “The Mountain.” Then the two of them could have gone off to France together. When the studio refused, she blew her top. A woman in love will do anything.” This, a Paramount executive conceded, was basically correct. “Only an actress in love,” he added, “would give up a picture with Spencer Tracy.”

At least they had Disneyland…

See more Disneyland brochures and map photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley in Modern Screen

Although she didn’t make the cover (that honor went to WWII pinup favorite, Betty Grable!), Shirley earned a featured article in the October 1943 issue of Modern Screen Magazine. Her next picture, David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away” was in production and the heat was turning up on Shirley’s career for the first time in years. Titled, “Senior Miss,” the article by Jeanne Karr caught fans up on the now teenage Shirley Temple. According to the article, she was dating a “…young scion of San Francisco’s upper crust.” Karr also claimed that Shirley had rented the Temple bungalow to Cab Calloway, asking that his payment for the service be “one autographed record a week.”



For the photo above, the caption read, “Doll house, outside kitchen window, is sandbagged, set aside as family shelter. Shirley, caught in Colton, California, sweet shop during recent blackout, autographed in pitch dark, chatted with mayor.” For the photo of her brushing her dog’s hair in the foyer of her Brentwood home, the caption was, “Shirley owns one real jewel, saves it for the best. Nothing-to-it Dept.: Rumors that she’ll quit school, wear upswept hair shades blonder.” What a relief to know those two rumors weren’t true!



The overhead shot below didn’t make the cut for this issue.



Most of the article was about Shirley’s upcoming new film:

Mrs. Temple came home one day and told Shirley that David O. Selznick wanted her for a picture. “My goodness!” said Shirley at 15, much as she used to say it at five. “I guess that’s about the tops.” There’d been several deals on the fire. Gone from the films for 18 months, Shirley’s far from forgotten.  Her fan mail continues at the rate of 3,000 a week. Then Mr. Selznick called Mr. Temple. He was going back into production with a picture called “Since You Went Away,” the story of a woman’s life while her husband was at war. Claudette Colbert was to play the woman, Jennifer Jones her elder daughter, Monty Woolley another prominent part. Selznick wanted Shirley for the younger daughter. It would be no starring vehicle for her—but it would be a good part in a good story with a good cast. That was enough for the Temples—and the name of David O. Selznick was producer. They had agreed, however, that from now on, Shirley was to make her own decisions. So Mrs. Temple went home from the preliminary conference and told her about it. And she guessed, it was about the tops. “You’d like to do it then?” “Who wouldn’t?” chuckled Miss Temple of the movies.




Between childhood and womanhood she’s still the kid you loved. The qualities you found endearing are her own. She’s suffered from poor pictures. But we have an idea that Selznick will give you Shirley as she is. Take it from us, you couldn’t ask for anything nicer.

The last tip from the magazine can found on the back cover; ladies, all you need is ONE CAKE of Camay soap for softer, smoother skin!



See more teenage Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Rock in Malibu

Oh how things have changed. Today, celebrities do their best to avoid the paparazzi, especially when they are exercising. In this 1955 photo shot by Bob Beerman for Modern Screen Magazine, movie star Rock Hudson is actually cooperating with the photographer and allowing his photo to be taken. This is not so much a spontaneously captured moment, but rather a staged situation that the movie studios helped to arrange. Back in the day, it all worked pretty smoothly. The movie studios allowed the magazines and photographers access to the stars as long as what was published was flattering. Everybody was a winner.

Here Rock poses with his dog, who seems to be worn out from all the running.



Once the studio system ended, the stars were on their own. Privacy became a thing of the past.

See more Rock Hudson photos on my Rock Hudson web page.