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Hollywood Glamor Portraits: 145 Photos of Stars, 1926-1949
145 striking, black-and-white photos capture famous actors from 1926 to 1949 — Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Hedy Lamarr, Marlene Dietrich, Robert Montgomery, Marlon Brando, Veronica Lake — 94 stars in all. Portraits do not duplicate those found in Kobal's Movie Star Portraits . Introduction. Captions.
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1976
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About the author
John Kobal
46 books10 followersJohn Kobal was an Austrian-born British based film historian responsible for The Kobal Collection, a commercial photograph archive related to the film industry.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 28, 2008
The reasoning behind the rating: Hedy, Brooks, Garbo, Leigh and ... no Audrey Hepburn. A point each.
*grins*
*grins*
November 2, 2023
A visual treat! This is, after all, the inspiration behind Madonna's "Vogue" video... but you probably knew that already....
May 5, 2024
Beautiful book of old Hollywood portraits.
Well written pieces about old-time Hollywood photographers, with some really nice personal quotes about some of their experiences, what influenced them, their early days working, what they loved, and why they enjoyed doing what they did.
I really enjoyed reading about the old photographers and what an exciting time it was for them with photography and what was going on with film, both motion picture and still photography at the time. Because we are so insta-gratified and digital and color-based now, people have no concept of what it took with the actual artistry.
It’s good to revisit older days and times, to explore and investigate who the predecessors were, what and how they did, and to refresh our own ideas with regard to portraiture and composition.
This was a great exploratory for this precise purpose.
Well written pieces about old-time Hollywood photographers, with some really nice personal quotes about some of their experiences, what influenced them, their early days working, what they loved, and why they enjoyed doing what they did.
I really enjoyed reading about the old photographers and what an exciting time it was for them with photography and what was going on with film, both motion picture and still photography at the time. Because we are so insta-gratified and digital and color-based now, people have no concept of what it took with the actual artistry.
It’s good to revisit older days and times, to explore and investigate who the predecessors were, what and how they did, and to refresh our own ideas with regard to portraiture and composition.
This was a great exploratory for this precise purpose.
December 15, 2021
Una exquisita colección de fotografías de actrices y actores del antiguo y sofisticado Hollywood. Una pena que la calidad de las imágenes y papel no las acompañe.
Muchas fotografías "quemadas", oscuras o demasiado blancas.
Luego de comprar al menos 4 libros del antiguo Hollywood, principalmente de la época precode, me sorprende que ninguno haga ni la mínima alusión a una actriz famosísima de aquella época como lo es Sylvia Sidney; por lo que me sorprendió de buena manera encontrar al menos una foto de ella en este libro, aunque como mencioné anteriormente, de muy pobre calidad.
Muchas fotografías "quemadas", oscuras o demasiado blancas.
Luego de comprar al menos 4 libros del antiguo Hollywood, principalmente de la época precode, me sorprende que ninguno haga ni la mínima alusión a una actriz famosísima de aquella época como lo es Sylvia Sidney; por lo que me sorprendió de buena manera encontrar al menos una foto de ella en este libro, aunque como mencioné anteriormente, de muy pobre calidad.
June 21, 2021
I loved the portraits!
February 25, 2023
Finally found a used version of this; amazing inspiration ✨ 📷
February 4, 2014
Allure of Beauty: Unforgettable faces of 1930s/40s movie stars
The lost divas of 1930s and 1940s Hollywood are beautifully illustrated in this book. Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard and other legendry figures. They were the most stunning beauties, and their personalities were even bigger. They lived in the lap of luxury that only money and prestige could buy. They were elegant and pompous, and in this book, the author has given the glamour portraits that show the style and beauty of these unforgettable women of Hollywood. These portraits could have donned the cover page of modern magazine like Vanity Fair, Elle, Vogue, GQ, etc., if they were active in Hollywood now.
Famous pairs like Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are also seen in this book. Other portraits include; Gloria Swanson, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Hedy Lamarr, Marion Davies, Irene Dunne, Ginger Rogers, Norma Shearer, Kathryn Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, Tallulah Bankhead, Buster Keaton, Robert Montgomery, Marlon Brando and many more.
The author discuses the style, fashion, and the technical side of the photography that essentially captured the mood and persona that generated the magical appeal for an average moviegoer. The job of the photographers those days were to treat their subjects as gods of love & allure, and reincarnation of perfection. Every care was taken to highlight the glazed lips parting seductively; poses that help expose the breasts, waved hair spilling over a bed of fur that came out of an exotic animal. They were iconic and movie bosses expected that they are to be adored and pictures collected like work of arts and follow their work in films. These were central to the idea of glamour pictures both from the point of the studio and also the leading ladies of Hollywood. Norma Shearer hired photographers like George Hurrell to portray her as sensual and sexy woman to earn more appealing roles in an industry that was fast becoming highly competitive place.
There are numerous poses to look and enjoy. My personal favorites are the pictures of Greta Garbo (1928 & 1931), Mary Pickford (1931), Jean Harlow (1932), Joan Crawford (1932), Marlene Dietrich (1934), Carole Lombard (1935), Mae West showing her beautiful legs (1932), Tallulah Bankhead in a pensive mood (1932), Ann Harding (1933), Miriam Hopkins (1932) and Greer Garson (1938). If you are a fan of 1930s movies, I think you would like to treasure this book and it also makes a great book on your coffee table.
The lost divas of 1930s and 1940s Hollywood are beautifully illustrated in this book. Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard and other legendry figures. They were the most stunning beauties, and their personalities were even bigger. They lived in the lap of luxury that only money and prestige could buy. They were elegant and pompous, and in this book, the author has given the glamour portraits that show the style and beauty of these unforgettable women of Hollywood. These portraits could have donned the cover page of modern magazine like Vanity Fair, Elle, Vogue, GQ, etc., if they were active in Hollywood now.
Famous pairs like Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are also seen in this book. Other portraits include; Gloria Swanson, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Hedy Lamarr, Marion Davies, Irene Dunne, Ginger Rogers, Norma Shearer, Kathryn Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, Tallulah Bankhead, Buster Keaton, Robert Montgomery, Marlon Brando and many more.
The author discuses the style, fashion, and the technical side of the photography that essentially captured the mood and persona that generated the magical appeal for an average moviegoer. The job of the photographers those days were to treat their subjects as gods of love & allure, and reincarnation of perfection. Every care was taken to highlight the glazed lips parting seductively; poses that help expose the breasts, waved hair spilling over a bed of fur that came out of an exotic animal. They were iconic and movie bosses expected that they are to be adored and pictures collected like work of arts and follow their work in films. These were central to the idea of glamour pictures both from the point of the studio and also the leading ladies of Hollywood. Norma Shearer hired photographers like George Hurrell to portray her as sensual and sexy woman to earn more appealing roles in an industry that was fast becoming highly competitive place.
There are numerous poses to look and enjoy. My personal favorites are the pictures of Greta Garbo (1928 & 1931), Mary Pickford (1931), Jean Harlow (1932), Joan Crawford (1932), Marlene Dietrich (1934), Carole Lombard (1935), Mae West showing her beautiful legs (1932), Tallulah Bankhead in a pensive mood (1932), Ann Harding (1933), Miriam Hopkins (1932) and Greer Garson (1938). If you are a fan of 1930s movies, I think you would like to treasure this book and it also makes a great book on your coffee table.
January 13, 2015
Here is a beautiful book with some breathtaking photos of some the hottest Hollywood film stars of the golden era. The quality of the first and oldest photos are not the best, but one can see an improvement as the years go by. What makes these photos so special are the talented actors who can portray just about any emotion the photographer calls for and his ability to capture it on film. The best ones at this is Joan Crawford and Marlene Dietrich.
My favorite is one of Carole Lombard on page 40. It will knock your socks off. I too wish these books came in hardcover, but then it wouldn't be as affordable. A wonderful addition to your library and for anyone who loves the old movie stars.
My favorite is one of Carole Lombard on page 40. It will knock your socks off. I too wish these books came in hardcover, but then it wouldn't be as affordable. A wonderful addition to your library and for anyone who loves the old movie stars.
July 4, 2016
Fabulous collection of photographs from the glamorous golden era of Hollywood. Smouldering looks, sexy side profiles and some of the most photogenic stars of all time grace these glossy pages. I found it very interesting seeing just how different some of the stars looked from picture to picture (depending on body position, lighting, costume etc). I like the fact that there is comment from the photographers themselves. Very interesting reading about photographs back then being airbrushed and edited. Something you might think was a very modern/recent technology state of affairs. Not at all!
July 23, 2008
This luscious book showcases the epitome of Hollywood fantasy, the Golden Age when the studios carefully controlled every image of their stars put on public view. I love every frame, every photo, even the ones with obvious retouching. For years I studied this book as if it were the Rosetta Stone, or the Dead Sea Scrolls, whatever those things are.
November 2, 2012
This is my favorite Kobal book, featuring full-page, beautiful, black and white photos of: Louise Brooks, Frances Farmer, Clara Bow, Jean Harlow, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth, and on and on. There are some gentlemen too but who cares when the ladies are this gorgeous?
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews