Gene in Casablanca

Gene steps in for Ingrid Bergman during the pivotal climax scene of the classic 1942 film “Casablanca.” Red-dy for Love Gene dons a Madame Alexander “Casablanca” ensemble to look the part. Doing this photo shoot made me wish that this particular Gene had more articulation!



Bogie holds up the chin of a tearful Gene.



The Alexander outfit is a fairly decent recreation of what Bergman wore, with a few minor gripes...buttons on the wrong side of the jacket...no purse...and a hat that just doesn’t have the rakish angle of the original.







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Gene Marshall: “Red-dy For Love”

Another case of me buying a doll with an outfit with every intention of just keeping the outfit...and then deciding to keep both. The hairdo/paint of “Red-dy For Love” is reminiscent of Destiny, but with a more mature appearance. This doll (dressed in a circa 1944 red peignoir designed by Lynne Day) stands alone...no need for fancy backgrounds.



From the story card:

1944’s “Red Venus” caused many a jaw to drop. Here was sweet Gene Marshall, “Our All-American Girl” as a gangster’s moll—a lady whose repute might not have been ill, but was certainly ailing!

Gene was having the time of her life, playing the Bad Girl usually portrayed by the likes of Madra Lord. The lights on the set dimmed as Gene’s lighting stand-in moved out of the “boudoir” and into the cool darkness. Gene took her place at the dressing table, picked up her hand mirror and brush and began to absent-mindedly brush her hair.



This was the big scene. Having been forced into a marriage to stifle a “stoolie” by her gangster boyfriend, she was in a provocative peignoir, waiting on their wedding night for her “husband” to come back from an “appointment.”




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