Warmest Wishes

Released in 1998, "Warmest Wishes" was one of my first Genes. I cannot believe it took me so long to post about her! Tim Kennedy's circa 1948 design is a favorite of mine. Part of an FAO Schwarz release, she comes with a wrapped Christmas package that has a miniature nutcracker inside.



From the story card:

Shopping for the holidays on New York City's Fifth Avenue! What a wonderful way to feel the holiday spirit, amid the festive hustle and bustle of the city. Gene happily hummed the refrain of the new carol "Sleigh Ride" as she made her way along the sidewalk, smiling at all the rosy faces smiling back at her.

The dazzling lights, colors, and whirring mechanical motion in a toy store's window enticed her to stop and stare with childlike delight at the marvels within. And that's when she saw him...a toy soldier, tall and proud, so dashing in his crisp white soldier's uniform with a red shako hat, polished black boots, gold braid, and black epaulettes. With his snowy-white hair and beard it reminded Gene of Henry, the gentlemanly doorman of the posh hotel she stayed at when in town. Over the years he had become a gallant friend, handling Gene's mail, messages, and fans with the same calm efficiency that had made him a decorated soldier in the war. A bullet in the left leg left him with a bad limp, but nothing would ever daunt his pride at serving his country. Now, wearing another uniform, he guards and serves the hotel's guests in all kinds of weather, with the same dedication and loyalty he gave to the army. What a perfect gift that toy soldier would make for darling Henry!



"Besides," Gene later thought impishly as she walked out of the store, gift box tucked under her arm, "I never could resist a man in uniform!"



See more Gene Marshall Doll photos on my regular website.

Trent is "Live"!

The Jamieshow website has now been updated to offer the incomparable Trent Osborn for sale. SO many great things to see here! Trent looks amazing in his first resin incarnation.



On top of that, a second wig cap (blonde in color) gives you TWO Trents for the price of one.



Here's our blonde haired leading man:



As if that's not enough, Trent comes in a fashionable trunk:







Other clothes are available for purchase, too, including this pinstripe suit:





A pinstripe shirt:



A coat:



A paisley robe:



and paisley slippers:





Oxford dress shoes look beautifully detailed:



Run, don't walk to JAMIEshow to order now!

See more Trent Osborn Doll photos on my regular website.

Trent in Resin!

Mel Odom and George Gonzalez of Jamieshow teamed up in 2013 to resuscitate Gene Marshall. Not just trot her out again…but in resin. Beautiful luminous resin. I held out hope that Gene's male friend, Trent Osborn, would also be produced by Jamieshow. Finally, that day is near. Today, Gonzalez announced the following:

On Sunday December 21st we will be introducing a new Character in the JAMIEshow Gene Marshall Line! Check the website Sunday the 21st at Noon Central Time for more info on Trent!

He is quite a handsome devil! Edition numbers, descriptions, and more info will be posted on the day they go live on the website!

George also let me know the following:

He can wear all the original Trent Clothing made AND he can also wear JAMIEshow Men’s clothes! There will be several other surprise regarding Trent when he is introduced, so everyone will have to stay tuned til Sunday for that! Everyone will be very pleased!

From another piece of teaser art, it would appear that Trent will have the ability to switch hair colors as well. This is fantastic news!



As if that wasn't enough, George is also offering $50 off your purchase! Here's the deal:



I can't wait to see the new articulated resin Trent. How about you?

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College Holiday

In honor of actress Marsha Hunt's 97th birthday (which was yesterday, October 17), I am posting a few shots of Gene Marshall modeling the 2007 "College Holiday" outfit.

Gene is shown at the Indiana University campus in Bloomington, Indiana.



"College Holiday" was a comedy from Paramount released on December 19, 1936. Directed by Frank Tuttle, the film starred Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, and of course, Marsha Hunt.



This summary is from imdb:

Sylvia Smith (played by Hunt) and Dick Winters (Leif Erickson) share a romantic kiss at a dance, but Sylvia is called away before Dick can learn her full name. Sylvia's father is about to lose his California hotel, the Casa Del Mar, thanks to the financial blundering of his new business partner J. Davis Bowster. The mortgage is held by eccentric heiress Carola P. Gaye, whose current fascination is with the ancient Greek-style eugenics championed by Prof. Hercules Dove. Carola plans to use the hotel as the center of her "Body Beauteous" selective mating program. Looking to raise funds with a collegiate musical show, Bowster gathers talent under the pretense of recruiting good-looking young people for Carola's eugenics experiment. Among the group are Dick Winters (still searching for his mystery girl) and Daisy Schloggenheimer (taught to resist male attention with physical force). Under strict orders to prevent any romance between the "guinea pigs", Bowster has great difficulty keeping the boys and the girls away from each other on the train ride back. Dick and Sylvia are reunited at Casa Del Mar, where Prof. Dove's daffy daughter Gracie (called "Calliope") selects the male and female pairs for the experiment. The mismatched lovers are none too pleased to learn about the eugenics program, but they rally together to put on a minstrel show in time to save the hotel for Sylvia and her father.





Happy Birthday, Marsha!

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Gene in Pin-Up

One of my older outfits, yet one that took me years to photograph! Released in 1996, "Pin-Up" is a circa 1944 design by Tim Kennedy. White Hyacinth is the model for the first few photos, and J'Adore was used in the last two shots.



From the story card:

After the impact of Gene Marshall's first pin-up for the war effort, Crimson Sun, the G.I.s demanded, "Give us more!" Now Monolithic Studios has done just that with this all new pin-up poster. And it certainly gives the troops a lot more of Miss Marshall! She appears in a sizzling black teddy and matching negligée that should get every G.I.'s immediate attention. We can already hear the wolf whistles from Corregidor to the coast of France!



Pin-up is Gene's "gift" to the troops! Black laced satin teddy is accented with pink ribbon, including ribbon lacing up the back. Complete with matching lace-trimmed negligée and laced heels. No wonder the G.I.s loved it!

As a film star in the 1940s, like everyone else you are concerned with the country's war effort, and want to do what you can to support the troops stationed overseas in Europe and the Pacific. Quietly and privately, you contribute generously to the War Bond campaign, and to the Red Cross. And when your studio sees a way for you to use your star status to boost the morale of the troops, you agree to go along with the plan.

Thus it is that Gene finds herself in front of the cameras in an outfit more daring than any she has yet worn on the screen, posing for a promotional photo to be released by Monolithic Studios to cheer up "the boys" overseas.

Gene is "dynamite" in a strapless black lace teddy and matching see-through negligée. When she poses with her back to the camera, you can see that the teddy laces up the back with pink ribbon...a small but very sexy detail!



Within weeks this photo has been distributed by the thousands to troops all over the world...and what a stir it causes on all fronts! When G.I.s are interviewed about Gene in Pin-Up, they call her a "dish", and a "gorgeous dame", and get all dreamy-eyed thinking of their own wives and girlfriends back home. So it is that Gene's photo becomes the inspiration for thousands of love letters sent back from overseas.



See more Gene Marshall Doll photos on my regular website.

Tonner Sewing Circle

For their 2014 Fall Release, the Tonner Doll company has added another Scarlett O'Hara to their "Gone with the Wind" collection. Once again, my wallet is breathing a heavy sigh of relief. Based on the outfit Scarlett wore in the sewing circle scene, it is very plain.



I am really curious if Tonner sells many of these; are doll collectors that crazy about having each doll/outfit to fork over $200?



Franklin Mint created this outfit for their vinyl doll line many years ago. In comparison to Tonner's, the fabrics seem more appropriate and this outfit also included a little embroidery hoop. Very nice touch.



A screen shot from the actual movie scene:



A publicity still:



with a detailed view of Vivien Leigh wearing the Sewing Circle outfit. Neither Tonner or the Franklin Mint chose to include the shawl that Scarlett had in this scene.



There are so many other interesting outfits that Scarlett wore in the movie that I can't figure out why Tonner chose this one, other than because it would be easy to manufacture.

If interested in finding out more about this doll, visit the Tonner website at: http://www.tonnerdoll.com/gone-wind/sewing-circle

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It's Magic: Gene Marshall goes to Disneyland, 1961

Released in 2005 at the Modern Doll Collectors Convention held in Anaheim, California, October 20-22, the story behind this Gene Marshall doll was that she was visiting Disneyland in 1961. The limited edition of 150 was something that I really wanted for my collection, mainly because of the backstory. The doll (shown in photo #1) was auctioned off, but the outfit and accessories stayed. I wasn't crazy about the paint job. The dark eyebrows just seemed a bit severe. For this post, Derby Dreams (overwhelmingly the polled favorite on Studio Commissary) stands in for the original doll. Gene begins her 1961 trip to Anaheim by lounging at the Disneyland Hotel pool in an outfit created by Diane Wagner:



What follows has been adapted from the original story card to accompany these vintage Disneyland photos:



What luck! Gene was one of the fortunate VIPs to receive a Gold Pass to Disneyland for 1961!



She'd been a Disney fan since she got her first Snow White doll when she was about 15 (and the whole set of seven little Dwarfs — 11-inch stuffed dolls with painted faces and velvet costumes.) How fortunate to run into Mickey Mouse himself at the gate!



So, with her Gold Pass and friend and co-worker Madra Lord in tow (who graciously shot all of these photos), Gene hit the park!



The obligatory shot with the Sleeping Beauty Castle in the background:



exploring the newly opened Snow White Grotto with its marble figures straight from Italy:



twirling in the Mad Tea Party Tea Cups (that made Madra a little queasy!):



Gene and Madra enjoyed a little snack on the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant in Fantasyland:



She got to pose with Peg-Leg Pete the Pirate:



At the nearby Skull Rock Cove waterfall:



What fun she had on the Matterhorn:



Getting ready to travel through "liquid space" on the Submarine attraction:



At mid-afternoon, Gene made a quick personal appearance in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.



As the dusk set in and Tinker Bell made her flight from the Matterhorn to Sleeping Beauty Castle during the fireworks show, the lights flickered on across the park. Gene took time out to change into a lovely gown, befitting a fairy-tale princess. Here's the publicity shot of Gene in her outfit:



Looking magical:



Waving to guests below from the Castle balcony:



Gene gathered an exhausted Madra and started to leave. But before she could get through the gate, she got a special farewell from Mickey himself.

See more Gene Marshall Doll photos on my regular website.