Movie Profiles & Premiums Volume 3, Number 2.  November 30, 2004
Brought to you by things-and-other-stuff

FIRST REEL: 
Wow, these newsletters sure come up on me quick these days, but I'm going to continue to do my best to get them out.  There's a little break after the next one at least, so I'll have a chance to work on the site even more.  I just updated all of the Prices Realized lists last night, including links to images of the Marilyn Monroe and Carole Lombard photos (of which there are still a couple available for sale).

Hope all of you here in the U.S. had a great Thanksgiving, and are looking forward to the Holidays in December.  I guess I should knock on wood when I say this, but I really wonder when the Long Island air is going to feel as chilly as it should this time of year!  Last time I requested subscribers to send in their list of favorite Christmas movies, and I want to thank Candy Danaher for responding (and quick!).  Candy sent along what she referred to as her "well thought-out list of 5 movies that mean Christmas time to me," and here they are:

1. The Bishop's Wife (1947)
2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
3. Prancer (1989)
4. A Christmas Carol (1984) with George C. Scott
5. White Christmas (1954)

I'd actually never seen The Bishop's Wife, that is until Candy sent along her list and I picked up a used copy of it on eBay.  Got to say, great flick, Candy, thanks for the recommedation!  My family has always been big on It's A Wonderful Life (1946), and two different versions of A Christmas Carol, the 1951 version with Alastair Sim which is actually kind of creepy in spots and 1970's Scrooge, the musical version with Albert Finney.  These three would definitely top any personal list.

If anyone else has a few Holiday favorites or even just wants to add to Candy's list like I did, please feel free to send your thoughts along to things@things-and-other-stuff.com.

One more bit of business before we get to this issue's articles, and I’ll give it another mention in the next issue as that is the true anniversary, but just so you know beforehand this December 15^th marks the 50^th anniversary of Voluptua, the TV Love Goddess.  Voluptua (Gloria Pall) is actually a subscriber to our newsletter and she wanted to be sure to invite you all to visit her web site in anticipation of this event.  Gloria started out as Miss Flatbush 1947, beginning a career which eventually led to her 7-week gig as ABC romance movie host Voluptua along with a pin-up career spanning the 1950’s and into the 60’s.  She’s worked with legends ranging from silent comedian Harold Lloyd, a shutterbug for whom she posed for 3D photos in 1954, to the King himself, Elvis Presley.  As Voluptua, she made her debut on ABC at 9:30 PM, December 15, 1954.  Apparently her act was a little too hot for TV at the time; she was cancelled just seven weeks later due to viewer’s complaints, leading to headlines such as “Voluptua Fired for Being Too Torrid for TV!”  To read all the details of Voluptua, as well as Gloria’s other projects over the years, please visit her site.

I'm embarrassed to say, but out of the thousands of images I have in storage I have not one of Kirk Douglas, and thus Scott's article goes without accompanying photos (sorry Scott!).  That really surprised and disappointed me, first time I come across any I will update that page of the site!  Stephen Schochet returns with an entry to his Hollywood Stories grouping concerning the aforementioned It's A Wonderful Life and Tammy Stone is back adding Ann Harding to The Silent Collection (as Tammy immediately points out, Ms. Harding doesn't really fit the boundaries of The Silent Collection, however I really didn't want to take away Tammy's regular byline, so The Silent Collection it is!).  The Way Down East piece I wrote myself.

The first grouping of MAR-VA Theatre Programs ended tonight on eBay, I have batches of those up tomorrow night and Thursday as well.  They pretty much cover the 1946-1955 period of film, so if that's your collecting specialty please be sure to check it out.  I have another group I still need to scan on these which runs into the 60's and has some cool titles like Psycho and Dr. Strangelove, and I hope to get those up later this week.  There will also be some duplicate programs available.  Ending Friday night are a collection of Fan Photos, which while a little the worse for wear do spotlight a few images which I have not run across as of yet.  Be sure to check in anytime after tomorrow night for twelve individual lots of beautiful Promotional Photos from the 1920's & 30's including both of the Gish girls.  I'll continue to hunt down as many new and unusual collectibles that I can find for you!  As for now, here are our active eBay auctions:

All eBay Auctions

Oh, they were running a special this evening with free "Buy it Now" attached to it, so I relisted a number of pre-existing items in auction format but with the "Buy it Now" option as well.  I believe that the eBay link that I provide here and all over my site only lists items as auction items (this keeps you from seeing all of the non-movie items in my eBay store upon first glance), but you'll see the "Buy it Now" option offered on those items that have it once you click on the item.  That was a mouthful, hope it was clear.

As usual, the Catalog  carries many additions, please have a look at your convenience. 

And now, at long last, to the time tunnel we go!
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KIRK DOUGLAS
By Scott D. O'Reilly
Of all the stars from Hollywood's golden age few have shone brighter or longer than Kirk Douglas.  Born into abject poverty as Issur Danielovitch in Amsterdam New York on December 9th 1916 the future actor decided early in life that he had nowhere to go put up.  Viewing acting as a ticket out of poverty Douglas' early interest in the theatre was interrupted by WWII and service in the Navy, but after the war a friend named Lauren Bacall recommended Douglas for a Hollywood screen test and the rest, as they say, is history.
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This is just a teaser--check out Scott's entire column with pictures!
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Scott D. O'Reilly is an independent writer with degrees in philosophy and psychology.  His work has been published in The Humanist, Philosophy Now, Intervention Magazine, Think, The New Standard, and The Philosopher's Magazine. He is a contributor to the book The Great Thinkers A-Z (Continuum, 2004) and is working on a book called Socrates in Cyberspace that examines traditional conceptions of the soul in light of the latest neuroscientific findings
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Photo ID Guide:
1934 Lux 9x12 Black Bordered Premiums
Click the link above for images & details!
I've updated this page because I just put up a bunch of new Lux Premiums on eBay tonight (ending December 7th).  The page now includes an alphabetized checklist of the 21 premiums I've managed to identify from past and present stock.  The set contains 33, so if you know who I'm missing feel free to let me know!  While I was at it, I also created a price guide (sorry, just for myself that one's not on the site) creating values for these premiums by both grade and personality concerned.  I was a little surprised to see how overpriced I had some of these in the catalog (not entirely my fault, a lot of my pricing is based upon what I pay for items).  So I adjusted the pricing, made it uniform, and I think you'll now find some bargains there as well.  The ones up on eBay will start out a little cheaper with the minimum bid, but the ones in the catalog are now lower in price by as much as half and up to $10.00 less from what I had them priced at.  Enjoy!
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Hollywood Stories: It's A Wonderful Movie
By Stephen Schochet
Its A Wonderful Life (1946) began as a short story called “The Greatest Gift”. Writer Philip Van Doren Stern was unable to sell it to a publisher, so he sent the tale out as a long Christmas card to friends.  His agent subsequently sold the fable to RKO pictures, where it went through several transformations.  In one version a losing political candidate contemplated suicide, only to have an angel convince him to stick around and do good works.  Finally it fell into the hands of Director Frank Capra who cried when he read it, said it was the story he had been looking for all his life, and purchased it to be the first project for his new production company, Liberty Films. 
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This is just a teaser--check out Stephen's entire column with pictures!
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Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks Fascinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hollywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says,” these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining.” Hear RealAudio samples of these great, unique gifts at http://www.hollywoodstories.com.
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Photo ID Guide:
1930's Mexican Needle Books
Click the link above for images & details!
Five different cards are featured in this brand new ID Guide.
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Way Down East: A Retrospective Review
D.W. Griffith’s Way Down East is best remembered for the climactic ice floe scene featuring Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess.  Having never watched the entire film before, I sat down knowing only of those few minutes, a very small portion in what is a 149 minute film

This is just a teaser--check out the rest of Way Down East with pictures!
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The Silent Collection by Tammy Stone
Ann Harding
In many ways, Ann Harding’s story is a familiar one. A child not of the silent but of the studio era (though she started her career precisely at the transition between silents and talkies), Ann became an instant star – under the protection of the studio bosses, it could hardly have been any other way. But her trajectory was not as illustrious as many of her peers’ were; for some, typecasting works like a charm, but it makes others old news fast. While she was at the top of her game, she was making movie after movie, reaching her dedicated and wide fan base, and for this, she becomes an indelible fixture in the history of the motion picture.

This is just a teaser--check out Tammy's entire column with pictures!
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Tammy Stone is a freelance writer and journalist based in Toronto. Watch for her regular column on the greats of the Silent Screen here in each and every issue of ASTOS.  Tammy invites you to write her at tammystone444@yahoo.ca with any questions or comments on her column.
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Just another 15 days until we're back at you again, December 15th.  Last year that was a double-issue, this year it will honestly be what time permits me, but I'll do my best.  I'll try to make it a good one, because after that we're not back until January 15th.  Until next time, get some of that shopping done (that command is mostly a reminder to myself).

As always feel free to e-mail any thoughts or ideas to us at things@things-and-other-stuff.com, we're always willing to listen. 
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