Posts in Category: Collection Spotlight
If It’s Not Uncomfortable, It’ll Be a Lousy Picture
Year of Jane Russell: Day 8
Here’s another portrait from the stash of original 8×10″ negatives I recently obtained, showing Jane circa 1953. It’s a great photo, and that she was able to maintain the unnatural pose in a tight dress shows what a professional she was. Jane learned to model while working with photographer Tom Kelley in 1940. His mantra, “If it’s not uncomfortable, it’ll be a lousy picture,” was one Jane understood to be true and photographers loved working with her.
Subdue Portrait
Year of Jane Russell: Day 7
Here’s a interesting portrait of Jane, wearing a simple coat and high-necked knit but still looking completely glam. As great as Jane looked in the custom designs of the movie studios, she much preferred blue jeans to the trappings of a Hollywood film star.
Jane’s RKO Dressing Room
Year of Jane Russell: Day 6
This week, we’ve been exploring a collection of original 8×10” negatives I recently acquired. Most of them are portraits, but then there’s this candid(ish) shot of Jane which I absolutely love. It’s during the filming of The Las Vegas Story and she’s shown in her RKO dressing room typing a letter, with a publicity photo of her with co-star Victor Mature strategically placed in the foreground. On the RKO lot, Jane was given the full star treatment and had the dressing room painted a pale pink.
Fashion Shot from “The Las Vegas Story”
Year of Jane Russell: Day 5
Here’s another scan from an original 8×10 negative, this one showing Jane Russell in a costume for The Las Vegas Story (1952). Michael Woulfe had originally been assigned to design the costumes for the film, but was instead moved to a different production. Howard Greer, who had designed Jane’s clothes in His Kind of Woman, got the assignment instead. Woulfe, who adored Jane, remained bitter about this for years and claimed two of his designs did make it into the film, uncredited. Since Woulfe’s costumes tended to be more flashy, I’m guessing this one is Greer. While Greer’s designs are more understated than Woulfe’s, Jane still looks fabulous in The Las Vegas Story.
More from “Macao”
Year of Jane Russell: Day 4
To start the week off, let’s return to Macao for this stunning portrait of Jane in another of Michael Woulfe’s designs, which she wears on the poster art for the film. This image is also from the recently acquired stash of original 8×10″ negatives, and had I obtained these a few months earlier this is another one that may have been in the running for the cover of the book!