Coral Deluxe

This variation of the Deluxe doll was made for the Lone Star Soiree Convention in 2006 and titled Coral Deluxe.



I would have to say that I prefer this peach colored concoction over the original! Kiss, kiss!



Even a girl as pretty as Gene gets pensive at times.



See more Gene Marshall photos at my website.

Madra: Silhouette of the 1920s

Released in 2009, Silhouette of the 1920s is modeled by Madra Lord.



Looking like the quintessential flapper, Madra is dressed to kill. Knowing her, probably literally.



Not sure she really would approve of this pose, but I made her do it anyway.



See more Madra Lord photos at my website.

Tornado

Based on a 1939 design by Jeanne Lanvin, Tornado was released by Integrity in 2009.



Whether it is a slightly different sculpt or the face paint, I am not crazy about this Gene doll, but the outfit is pretty incredible with its intricate detailing.



Lanvin was a French haute couture fashion designer who founded the Lanvin fashion house and the beauty and perfume company Lanvin Perfumes. Oh, and have you seen the shoes on this one?!?



Gene, rubbing her hands in glee as she thinks about her next shoe purchase!



See more Gene Marshall photos at my website.

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Plum Role

I avoided this 2008 Gene Marshall doll from Integrity because of the pixie haircut; not a fan of it on Gene. But…I do like the outfit; especially the shoes, so recently I caved in and dipped into Gene's purse to buy it.



From the IT website:

Gene nabs the plum role in this three-piece satin finish cocktail suit. Styled with an abbreviated bolero jacket sporting three-quarter sleeves and an expansive circular collar, our trim suit is a lovely exercise in three-color harmony. The jacket and skirt are cut of the deepest shade of plum and paired with sparkling white in the satin blouse and accessories of white ‘leather’ gloves (note: the actual gloves that came with the outfit were satin) and smart pillbox hat.



White, trimmed in black shoes and bag complete the accessories and a nosegay of small white blooms is pinned to the jacket or perhaps at the waistband of the skirt. Gene’s brunette pixie-cut is punctuated by gold earrings. It’s a smart girl in a smart suit that catches the plum role.



From the Star File Script:

Gene was on Cloud Nine -- maybe Cloud Ten!

It seemed like only the other day that Dr. and Mrs. Marshall had bundled her off to New York for a holiday and to see the long-running, ever-popular play "Green Eyes." And now, here Gene was, in Hollywood, starring in the movie version as Nora, the little innocent in the Big Bad World of publishing.

In a way, it was a little like Life reflects Art!

Standing on a small box in the costume shop, expected to be still while the fitters flittered around her with tape measures and pins, Gene had time to stop thinking about playing Nora and reflect a little on herself and how much she and Nora were alike.

"After all," Gene thought, "I AM still pretty naive when it comes to the game playing and politics of the Movie Biz."

But over teh short time she'd been in Tinsel Town, she'd come to know who to trust, whome to doubt — and who was actually a sheep in wolf's clothing (aka, Madra Lord).



And just like Nora, she knew that she was where she should be. And she also knew that she would continue to succeed-and she smiled in anticipation of what she hoped would be a long and lustrous career as the thing she'd always dreamed of being -- a REAL movie STAR!

"There, finished!" said the head fitter, just as the costumer came through the door of the shop to survey the work that had been done.

"Perfect, as usual." said the costumer. Bit then again, Gene, you are indeed one of my favorite stars to dress -- you were MADE for the mvoies, and for the role of Nora!"

At that, Gene smiled a glorious smile.

"What are you thinking?" asked the head fitter.

"Just that I feel a little like Jack Horner," giggled Gene. "But I've pulled out a Plum... Role!!"



In other Gene news, it's definitely not too early to register for May 2016's Jamieshow Convention in Chicago. There are a limited amount of tickets available, and those who snooze…will definitely lose!

For more information and registration, visit the 2016 Hollywood Canteen Convention site.

See more Gene Marshall Integrity doll photos on my regular website.

Follow my Gene Marshall, Madra Lord, Zita Charles, Violet Waters, Trent Osborn, Poppy Parker, and other classic movie star doll updates on Twitter.

Meet Bette Davis

This particular Tonner doll has grown on me. The resemblance to the real Bette Davis was even more apparent to me when I started photographing the doll. My initial wish on this particular line was that Tonner would concentrate on a more mature Bette Davis; the first Bette Davis dolls seemed to be more of a 1930’s era rather than the classic 1940’s/50’s star that was more popular. The recent additions of this doll ("The Woman is Certain") and the most recent “Sealing the Deal" (extremely reminiscent of "Now Voyager") seems to be a step in the right direction.



Here's Bette in front of a New York City brownstone looking for a light.



To see more Gene Marshall & Friends photos, visit my regular website.

Liz Taylor: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Another one for Liz Taylor fans, this time Elizabeth is shown on the porch of Oak Alley in New Orleans, wearing a dress from the movie “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958). This particular doll also had a new hairstyle modeled after the one Liz wore in the movie. Even more so than with the "Giant" fashion, this bareshoulder ensemble shows that this doll needs some more meat on her bones to have the Boticelli beauty of its subject.

Here’s a publicity still from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” showing the outfit that the FM doll is wearing here. Note how well the Franklin Mint replicates her necklace!



To see more New Orleans photos, visit my regular website.

To see more Gene Marshall and Friends photos, visit my regular website.

Lucy: LA at Last by Mattel

"I Love Lucy" is still one of my favorite TV shows, and "L.A. at Last" ranks as one of my all-time-favorite episodes.



After a particularly grueling cross-country car trip for the Ricardos and the Mertzes, the gang finally arrives in Hollywood where Ricky is to film a movie. Anxious to see all of the movie stars, Lucy goes to their "watering hole": The Brown Derby. There she encounters her ultimate dreamboat, William Holden. Tired of being stared at by too many fans, a playful Holden turns the tables and focuses his gaze on Lucy. Unable to handle the situation, Lucy promptly leaves the restaurant, but not without repercussions: she runs into a waiter who accidentally dumps a pie onto Holden’s face.



Wanting to please his wife, Ricky decides to bring his new Hollywood film-star friend home to meet her: William Holden. Lucy is terrified to leave her bedroom to meet him, so she dons an outlandish disguise: fake rhinestone glasses, a turban, and a large putty nose, which continues to change shape as Lucy itches her nose.



When Holden lights her cigarette, her nose catches on fire and Lucy's ruse is over. All ends well as Holden graciously changes the story from their previous encounter so that Ricky won't be angry with her.



This episode must be seen; words just can't describe the comedy. The facial expressions (of which Lucille Ball had a mastery), the lines, the story...it is absolute perfection.

Speaking of perfection, Mattel's version of this particular show is also perfection. Not only is the costume the most accurate one ever done, it captures the comedic beauty of Lucille Ball. My one regret is that the nose is not removeable. Other than that, they have captured just about every other detail, including the sparkles on her waistband and necktie.





Kudos to Mattel on a job well done, which is even more astounding at this small scale. And yes, the coffee cup is included!

To see more I Love Lucy doll photos, visit my regular website.

Tonner Scarlett: My Mother's Portières

In my opinion, Vivien Leigh is one of the most timeless beauties I have ever seen. For this reason, I am somewhat critical of the sculpts that I have seen of her. Tonner does a good job of capturing her beauty (I still prefer the Franklin Mint version though), but there is an "edge" to her features that they seem to have missed, and as many have noted before, the hair is definitely the wrong shade. This is quibbling though when it comes to this particular doll, as the fabric, drape, and accessories are very well done. The feathers on the hat are ridiculously large, but if one wanted to fix/trim them, it could probably be done with ease.



This particular outfit is pretty much the standard whenever a doll company attempts to do Scarlett, and I would say this is for three reasons. First, it is obviously a beautiful dress; not very complicated, it is rather simple yet elegant. The two shades of green, the soft velvety fabric...costume designer Walter Plunkett knew his stuff! Reason #2 is because of how it was 'created' according to the book and movie. Way before Maria Von Trapp yanked her curtains down for playclothes in the movie "The Sound of Music," Scarlett O'Hara was pulling down her mother's portières for a much more dire reason: survival. Reason #3: this signifies a turnaround in Scarlett's maturity. She has fulfilled her father's early prophecy that eventually her "love of the land" will overtake her. Misguided as it is to sell herself in marriage to a man she doesn't care for (Frank Kennedy) to save Tara, it is a far cry from her first marriage (attempting to make Ashley jealous).



To see more Scarlett O'Hara doll photos, visit my regular website.

Franklin Mint Vinyl: Scarlett & Christmas with Ashley

Just in time for Christmas, Scarlett arrived yesterday. And although her new price tag was mighty steep (thankfully I was able to get a discount!), she really does look fantastic...even better than the publicity shot on the Franklin Mint’s website. For her first shot, I pulled out the black coat that she wore to the depot to greet Ashley (expertly tailored by Alana Bennett!) and added the Paris Hat that Rhett bought for her.

And for the rest of the shots, it’s just plain ol’ Scarlett. The detail is amazing; beautiful fabric (albeit a little sticky), the tiny buttons down the front of the top, the lace collar and cameo, and the hairdo...wow. As if she just stepped out of the movie. I have retouched her glowing green eyes in some of the photos. Yikes!







Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season, whatever you may celebrate!

To see more Scarlett O'Hara doll photos, visit my regular website.

Franklin Mint Vinyl: Scarlett in Muslin

One of the reasons collectors love the Franklin Mint & Tonner Scarlett O’Hara portrait dolls is because Scarlett had so many fantastic outfits to wear in the movie. However, for a good portion of the film she was stuck in a plain old muslin dress. She tended to the wounded, evacuated Atlanta, and even worked on the plantation of Tara with her bare hands while wearing this worn out dress. It is to the credit of the Franklin Mint that they went to the trouble of releasing this outfit, complete with 3 different hats and an apron that are very faithful to the film. Of course on screen, the dress was aged and worn to look authentic to the storyline; the Franklin Mint’s is crisp and clean as the day Scarlett first put it on. Who could fault them for that?





For these photos, I retouched the eyes to make them less saturated, as well as move the pupils so that they didn’t have quite as much of a Stepford look as they sometimes do! On another topic, I have finally begun the art of dollpainting. My first attempts have been at 2 extra Franklin Mint porcelain Scarletts. I have always felt that the large-sized Franklin Mint dolls were dressed exquisitely, but the faces were absolutely awful. Armed with chemicals, the face paint just did not come off on the porcelain dolls (much different from vinyl!). So, with extremely fine-grit sandpaper, I removed the paint that I was not going to cover up. I like this Scarlett better, but it still needs a lot of TLC and finessing. More to come...



More Gene Marshall, Franklin Mint, and Tonner Vinyl Doll photos at my website.

Franklin Mint Vinyl: Bridal Scarlett

Franklin Mint first did a porcelain version of Scarlett in her wedding dress, and then eventually a cheaper version for the vinyl portrait doll. The dress for the porcelain doll is exquisite; the vinyl one...not so much. Especially in the detailing of the silk leaves, which almost seem like a cheap paper with the vinyl doll. With the 3 marriages that Scarlett has in the movie of “Gone with the Wind,” we only see her wedding day for her first marriage to Melanie’s brother, Charles Hamilton. Walter Plunkett, the talented designer behind the dress, was quite proud that he had the dress made oversized, to reflect the fact that Scarlett wore her mother's bridal gown but didn't have time to have it taken in. The vinyl Franklin Mint Scarlett Bridal outfit fits perfectly on the doll...not very true to the book or movie. I’m also not sure what is up with the Mint and the green that they paint Scarlett's eyes with. Sure, her eyes are famous for their green color, but the Mint uses a shade so vibrant and glowing that it really cheapens the final product.



To see more Gone with the Wind doll photos, visit my regular website.

On The Veranda, Pt. 1

Of course I couldn’t prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but this outfit surely seems to have been inspired by the dress & hat Grace Kelly wore at her wedding to Bing Crosby’s character in “High Society” (1956). The date that Odom gave this particular doll (1955) doesn’t rule out the possibility, either. Designed by Lynne Day in 1999, this particular story is about a famous Italian director hosting a party in Italy to charm Gene into doing his next film. Instead, she convinces him to direct her film, “Bitter Snow.” What a vixen. And what an outfit.

Compare and contrast with Ms. Kelly:





From the storycard:

Gene is the guest of honor at an afternoon fête hosted by an internationally renowned Italian director. The lavish hors d’oeuvres, champagne, music, dancing, and the breathtaking view of the fabulous gardens from the veranda, are all part of his elaborate Machiavellian plot to woo the talented American movie actress into staying in Italy and starring in his next film. He had seen a number of her pictures, and was highly impressed by her talent. His intuition—that innate sense that made him such a brilliant director—whispered to him that their collaboration would be electrifying, all but ensuring the movie’s success.

Once he met her though, the best-laid plans all went to dust. Thus were the charms of Miss Gene Marshall. To see more Gene Marshall photos, visit my regular website.