Gene Marshall: A Touch of Hospitality, Pt. 2

As promised many moons ago, here is part 2 of A Touch of Hospitality, this time featuring the outfit that Gene wears when she initially shows up at the Ladies Auxiliary. The rest of the story card:



So with excited chatter, the Ladies Auxiliary headed down the hall to a bright sunny room, where a large group of children wearing casts, bandages and hospital gowns sat playing. When the visitors entered, the children grew quiet. Then suddenly, Gene stepped into the room, dressed in a jolly holiday costume, holding a telephone. “Yes, Santa,” she said into the receiver, “I’m there now. And I have all the presents you sent. What? Yes, I’ll tell them all you said hello!” With that, she hung up and said, “Does anyone here want a present from Santa?”



The hubbub that followed will long be remembered. Surrounded by young patients, Gene had soon passed out presents, and gotten one and all laughing—which everyone knows is the best present of all!



To see my Gene Marshall photos, visit my regular website.

Request Day: Gene & Scarlett

This post is catch-up for a few requests that I've had. First one is a closeup of the embroidery of Gene’s “wings” on her uniform for “Champagne Flight.” It really is a shame they didn't do an airline pin instead of the embroidery.

Next are a few shots of Scarlett’s hairdo from the recent Christmas with Ashley release from the Franklin Mint:







Hope that covers it! To see more Gene Marshall & Scarlett O'Hara photos, visit my regular website.

Gene Marshall: Pierrette

Yes, the shocking pink hair of Pierrette is a little strange, but I do like this particular Gene doll. I thought that in her outfit, she would look perfect with a few scenes from the 1952 Gene Kelly classic “An American in Paris” in the background. These scenes are from the Black & White Ball sequence; naturally Gene needs a little pink to help her standout from the rest! From the storycard:

It was a romantic classic; a Cinderella story for modern times.

It was Gene's film, Lover in Disguise,-and even though there was no glass slipper to try on, Gene got her Prince Charming in the last reel (played by everyone's favorite leading man, Trent Osborn).

In “Lover in Disguise,” Gene stars as a hardworking shop girl at a dress shop run by a society woman (Madra Lord at her haughtiest).

The shopgirl becomes enamoured of one of the shop's regular customers, a dashing (and apparently well-to-do) older man. Even though they're at a distance in social standing, the two click, and just as the shopgirl thinks she has a chance at happiness, into the picture walks her Prince Charming's fiancée-none other than the haughty store owner.



What to do? Should the shopgirl sit back and let her Prince Charming get away? Or should she take matters into her own hands? No time to wait for a fairy godmother-knowing that the man of her dreams will be attending a charity masquerade ball that evening, she spies a perfect costume in the shop's window display: a pretty Pierrette.

Leaving behind a now naked mannequin, our Pierrette dashes off in disguise to the ball and to the arms of her lover.

Will he recognize her? Will he admit to his true feelings? Even though they were sure of the outcome, audiences held their breath, as Pierrette made her way down the ballroom stairs.

To round out the post, here are a few other scenes from the MGM Musical:









And a painting I did a few years ago commemorating the same sequence, which is the trigger for Gene Kelly’s legendary ballet:



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

Gene Marshall: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is one of my favorite movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood. A classic cast (Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell), memorable songs (“Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend”), a light and breezy script (Charles Lederer, Joseph Fields, and Anita Loos) all boxed together in glorious Technicolor. What a treat! And it holds up very well some 45 years later. In this special edition, Gene is modeling one of Marilyn’s gowns, worn during a hilarious scene where her voluptuous curves get caught in a porthole window. It takes the quick-thinking of a pint-sized hero (played by George Winslow) to save her. I love his line to Marilyn here: “You've got a lot of animal magnetism!”



Jane and Marilyn never looked lovelier (I almost sound like Louella Parsons):



For this photo, I used a screen shot from the movie as the background. Looks like Piggy (played by Charles Coburn) is about to find Gene! From the storycard:



1955. It was the 20th anniversary of 20th Century Fox, and they were celebrating with a gigantic gala. All Hollywood was invited to attend, wearing a costume from any of the 20th Century Fox's many successful films to the gala event.

Monolithic arranged to borrow some prints of some of 20th Century Fox biggest hits so that their roster of stars could pick and choose their favorite 20th Century Fox costumes. There, in a private screening room on the Monolithic lot, Monolithic’s best and brightest huddled in the darkness, costume department personnel close at hand, eager to see which costumes would suit them best.

“Hmmmmmm,” thought Gene Marshall, as the rest of the viewers laughed as the beautiful Lorelei Lee ever-so-clumsily-on-purpose spilled her drink on her co-star’s suit in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” “That's my dress – sexy and smarter than anybody would guess – just like Lorelei! I could get away with that! I know what I prefer—thanks ever-so!”

And with that, she was off to the hairdresser’s to change her hair to a breathless shade of blonde…

As a side bonus, here are some costume tests of Marilyn herself wearing this outfit, designed by Travilla. You’ll note that there is no jacket in these photos, even though it appeared in the final movie.





A publicity shot with Gilbert Roland at the piano accompanying Marilyn and Jane Russell:



To see more Marilyn Monroe photos, visit my regular website.

To see more Marilyn Monroe 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.

Gene Marshall: Champagne Flight

Champagne Flight came in three versions, and all are very hard to come by now: a light blue and a light green uniform with blond hair, and the one pictured here featuring a tan color outfit and a red-headed Gene. I love the uniform, expertly designed by George Sarofeen, but the hair...Good Lord it is awful! I believe this doll is going on ebay and the uniform will be modeled on a different doll very soon. Even if the permed auburn mess is authentic to the circa 1952 era that this outfit hails, I just do not care for it. And true to fashion, the shoes also annoy me; I’m sure it was a cost-saving measure, but Ashton-Drake sure did skimp on this area for poor Gene. The color choice (black) definitely does not match well with the tan colored uniform, and besides that, they are very cheaply made. Onto more positive things...she really does look spectacular with her hat, bag, and crisp uniform—ready to give directions to passengers. For this post, I have put Gene in front of a vintage photo that hangs on the wall of the popular attraction “Soarin’ Over California” at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim. From the story card:

1952’s “Somewhere Summer” starred Gene in the story of a stewardess whose dreams flew high enough to reach the stars.

It all started in New York City on a flight layover. The stewardess sat in the automat, leafing through an old copy of “Posh Living” magazine. Sundely, a voice roused her from her daydream. “Is this stool taken?” She looked up, only to see a handsome stranger by her side—with incredible hazel eyes. Moments after he’d put down his coffee and picked up the conversation, she knew she was in love.





To see more Disney’s California Adventure photos, visit my regular website.

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

Franklin Mint Vinyl: Vivien Leigh as Mrs. Kennedy

The Franklin Mint seems to have ceased selling outfits for Scarlett and only releasing fully dressed dolls. On one hand, it sucks for the wallet; on the other, at least each doll comes with a hairdo that matches the one we see in the film, saving us nit-picky collectors from having to attempt to restyle her hair!

For the scene in the film where Vivien Leigh wears this outfit, she is inspecting the lumbermill and learns from the foreman that he is using convict labor. What a juxtaposition to see Scarlett’s finery and the tattered uniforms of the convicts.



And just how true to the film is the Franklin Mint version? Here are a few scenes from the film for comparison's sake:





When I first saw the costume, I thought the orange color of the fabric was a little garish; however, it is very true to the film; much more so than the Tonner version of the same outfit (more on that at a later date). Even the book is a faithful replication of the one that Scarlett holds. Thumbs up to the Franklin Mint on this one!

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