Garbo wears elaborate headpieces throughout the film, but only does one sexy dance.
This woman is magnetic – this poor general buys her a fancy ring (pictured) AND blows out the flame he has burning for the Virgin.
He’s blinded in an airplane mission, and does not know that Mata Hari goes to jail to await execution.
The nuns look on.
He is blind in this scene. The ending was very sweet. I cried a lot!!

“I love you as one adores sacred things…”

• Taking the dog on long walks in the August heat to get zucchini tacos at El Chilito.
• Listening to John Waters read his new book “Role Models” on my iPod everywhere: on the bus, on long walks, and passing endless hours at the DMV. In this, Waters recounts nearly everything, from his friendship with Leslie Van Houten and her life in jail to the brand and color of the pencil that he uses to draw on his signature pencil thin moustache. In honor of John Waters, I created a sundae this week called “Pink Flamingo,” which includes two tiny toy flamingos, pink sprinkles, and a Fingerstache temporary tattoo. So far only girls under 8 years of age have ordered it, which I think is kind of funny.
• I hope I’m like Vivienne Westwood when I grow up. Tangerine hair included.
• This is important: You must know about the Harlem James Gang! Snappy dressers, magic acts, catchy songs, and THE most handsome men I’ve ever seen! I hope they plan to come to Texas sometime in the future… but for now I’ll be jealous of all y’all who get to Huff with them.
• Speaking of other male performers that I’m smitten by, I hope everyone was cheering for Prince Poppycock’s performance on America’s Got Talent yesterday.
• In other reincarnation/timetravel news, I recently found out (via Darla Teagarden’s facebook feed) that my MOST favorite song from when I was a kid was not originally by Trout Fishing in America, as I had previously thought, but written in the 1930s and sung by a British radio and variety entertainers, Sovell and Wheldon. Warning! It’s a tongue-twister song that will be stuck in your head for days. Proceed with glee:

“Proper Cup Of Coffee” sung by Scovell & Wheldon 1934

Favorite filmstill I snapped this week: Marlene Dietrich, 1935 with teacup and upside-down heart kiss curls.

Prince Poppycock’s Striptease at Dances of Vice – be sure to watch until the end! Yow!

1. Alfred Cheney Johnson, Woman with Face Obscured by Fan 2. Dia De Los Muertos 3. Alfred Cheney Johnson Woman with White Mask
4. Prince Poppycock 5. Prince Poppycock 6. Roxanne Carter
7. Heart Lips 8. Glitter Lips 9. Cupid’s Bow Lips

I’ve captured some quiet, overlooked snippets of the 1930 French film “Prix de Beaute.” The majority of these were panning shots or captures from a series of montages:

Louise Brooks mournfully listening to her phonograph (pictured in the foreground).
A random audience shot of this girl and her adorable spit curls
The woman on the left reminds me of my grandmother. Also, doesn’t this man look like carved marble? What a jaw!
I love  close-ups of the 1930s pointed manicure.
Makeup montage before the Beauty Queen promenade. What a perfect cupid’s bow.
A woman having her knees powdered. When I was first nursing my flapper obsession in 2001, I was in disbelief that women would actually roll their stockings down to rouge and powder their knees. Here is cinematic proof!
Mystery woman at the carnival.
Women in a crowd listening to a loud speaker announce the Beauty Prize.

This was a difficult movie to watch, as the boyfriend was unfairly possessive.

But Louise could always be persuaded into an embrace.

This pose says “Knock me a kiss.”

“You’re mine forever.”

For my 28th birthday, we attended a showing of The Thin Man at the Alamo and then went out for fancy cocktails at East Side Show room. Meghan from Sugar Tooth Bakery made me Red Velvet Cupcakes and they were divine!

This is Tony, my birthday twin. I am 3 hours older than he is! We always try and run into each other on our birthdays.

Last week I watched Prix de Beauté (1930) with Louise Brooks. This film was planned as a silent, and Brook’s voice was dubbed by a French actress. I suppose one could refer to it as a “Creaky Talkie.” Brooks plays a secretary in a paper, her boyfriend is a typesetter. They fulfill the typical Parisian fare: eating in cafes, bathing on beaches, and beat up on their nerdy friend/sidekick.
Along with being a story about a beauty contest, this film examines Brooks as a trapped bird guarded by an angry boyfriend.
One motif that occurs over and over is that his hat shields her face from the camera.
He is possessive. We can tell by the way he greedily grabs her face. He also won’t let her sing in public.
Here, he grabs her face again.

Of course, Louise won the prize of Miss France and went on to gagne Miss Europe. Her boyfriend was so angry!

This film had a lot of kisses, so stay tuned for pt 2 next week!

The third is a bit hidden in this image. Someone is about to enter the room and discover the lusty smooch.