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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 7h

The full image of Ava by Willinger for MGM, 1944.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 7h

Ava Gardner from a photo by László Willinger, 1944.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 8h

Louise with Speedy Schlichter in a still from Diary of a Lost Girl (1929).

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 18h

Carole Lombard in a still for The Racketeer (1929).

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 19h

Another take of Jeanne. Trivia: Wilhelm’s son László would follow in his portraiture footsteps and emigrate to the United States in 1937 at the invitation of Paramount’s Eugene Robert Richee.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 19h

Dancer Jeanne de Lande by Wilhelm Willinger, Vienna mid-1920’s.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting question! I wish I knew the answer.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

And lastly, Willinger used another interesting backdrop for this 1937 portrait of Clark Gable:

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

Myrna and Jack Carson in Love Crazy (1941). The way she says “perfect” is just perfectly Myrna.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

“Every one who worked on the picture must have trained rigidly on a routine of old slapstick comedies and a diet of loco-weed, for most of the whacky tricks ever used have been tossed into it, "Love Crazy" is one of the craziest love stories ever spread on a screen.” — NY Times

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

Of note: Willinger had Myrna pose with another equine backdrop in more MGM publicity portraits for Love Crazy (1941).

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

The divorce discussion scene with Myrna, Powell and Blackmer (as the lawyer) in Love Crazy (1941). Trivia: the following year Myrna filed for divorce from her husband Arthur Hornblow.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

Myrna in Love Crazy (1941) stills with William Powell and Sidney Blackmer. The film featuring Myrna and Powell — their tenth together — was generally well-received by critics and proved to be a money-making hit for MGM.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

And one more of Myrna and Willinger’s interesting zebra backdrop. The costume designer is not noted or credited but was likely Robert Kalloch who replaced Adrian at MGM in early 1941.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

Another lovely take of Myrna by Willinger for her role opposite William Powell in MGM’s Love Crazy (1941), a screwball romp of marital discord and misunderstanding. The session’s playful animal setting is a bit of a mystery and has no relation to anything in the film.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

Myrna Loy by László Willinger, 1941. (Thread)

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

The scene from Pandora’s Box (1929). Louise later said she was aware of director G.W. Pabst’s symbolism of Lulu swinging happily on an erect male muscle. Pabst also portrayed the characters of Schigolch and Quast as two more men greedily exploiting the innocent Lulu.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 1d

Louise as Lulu feels the impressive biceps of strongman Rodrigo Quast (Krafft-Raschig) after an introduction by her original “patron” — and perhaps, her former pimp — Schigolch (Carl Goetz). A publicity still from Pandora’s Box (1929).

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Reposted by Forever Louise Brooks

Marie Ruiz-Vidal @ruizvidal7.bsky.social · 2d

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 2d

I remember when WaPo was one of the best newspapers in the world.

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Reposted by Forever Louise Brooks

Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 2d

💔

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 2d

The extraordinarily talented and versatile Diane Keaton in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). RIP

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 2d

Trivia: following his 1930 divorce from Maria and resettling in London, Alexander Korda would find greater success with Charles Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) which he co-produced and directed.

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 2d

Something tells me the First National publicity department wasn’t aiming for the sophisticated highbrow crowd with this lobby card for The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927).

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Forever Louise Brooks @foreverlouiseb1.bsky.social · 2d

After successful films in Europe, Maria and her director husband Alexander Korda were signed by First National in 1927. Unfortunately, Helen of Troy wasn’t successful and Maria’s heavy accent kept her out of the “talkies.” Here with Troy co-stars Ricardo Cortez and Alice White:

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