Les Girls

This photo was discovered and posted at the Adelphe Tumblr blog:

http://adelphe.tumblr.com/post/35187880568/les-girls-lilliput-magazine-january-1941

The caption there says it came from Lilliput magazine.

I reblogged it at Tumblr, but thematically it belongs here, so this is another repost.  (Besides black and white photos from the classic period that haven't already been widely seen are not easy to find.)

 More about Lilliput magazine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilliput_(magazine)

Gullivera's Travels?

I'm not sure just what's going on here, but it does make for a cute photo as the Lilliputian girl adjusts "Gullivera's" stockings.  I believe this came from the Tumblr blog of Music Babes:

http://musicbabes.tumblr.com/

A direct link to the photo is:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lbz6fdegOt1qbhve1o1_500.jpg

Hall of Shame - The Merry Widow 1952

It had all the ingedients for a great cancan, Gwen Verdon, The Merry Widow Maxim's scene, Lana Turner.  What could possibly go wrong?

A mangled script for starters.  I could almost have forgiven that if the cancan was any good.  But it isn't really a cancan at all, and then there are the dancers' costumes!  Where are the petticoats?  And who had the bright idea to dress the dancers in those black see-though pantalets?  (The same pantalets problem plagued "Can-Can" a few years later, although there they at least had the sense to have the dancers in conventional cancan dresses.)

A missed opportunity of the first order.

This photo is from:

http://www.zapitano.de/images_epg/tntfilm/Die_lustige_Witwe_124512_0.jpg

http://www.zapitano.de/tnt-film/spielfilme/die-lustige-witwe.html

Amateur Smiles

Six unidentified ladies, probably French, strike a teasing pose in this classic photo that was offered in a DelCampe auction:

http://www.delcampe.net/page/item/id,199608138,var,6-danseuses-de-French-Cancan--carte-photo-a-dos-non-separe,language,E.html

Chair-Borne

As the photos indicate, the young woman demonstrating just what creative uses can be put to a chair is Janet Neil.  These photos are courtesy of Dave Elton, who has an eye for such things and who passed them on some years ago.  I am not sure where they originated.  One of the picutre mentions "Pep" or they could be from "Spick" or "Span" or "Beautiful Britons".   Wherever they are from, they make a great set of photos.

Modern photos in the same style can be obtained from Dave.  One of the charter members of the online cancan community, Dave has taken a lot of really fine glamour style cancan photos and videos over the years.

Dave’s work, which includes other styles of glamour photography and videos as well as the cancan, can be viewed at his Oh La La sites, where you can purchase his work:

http://www.ohlalaglamourgirls.com

http://www.ohlalacosplay.com

You can see other examples of his work here and at Club CCD and at my Tumblr site.

Frontier Fiesta - a postscript

Back in March I posted a message about the Frontier Fiesta at the University of Houston that was held  in the 1940s and 1950s, with some photos from the University's collection:

http://classiccancan.blogspot.com/2013/03/frontier-fiesta.html

A nice new photo from another source has surfaced, which is definitely worth a look for its perfectly executed and photographed royal flash:

http://houstonlifestyles.com/frontier-fiesta-days/

I believe the costume may have been in pink:

http://www.facebook.com/SloaneGallery/photos_albums#!/photo.php?fbid=474929305894263&set=a.117714821615715.22085.117711848282679&type=3&theater

The photos originated at the Sloane Gallery, which is worth a visit for a great collection of nostalgic photos of Houston's history:

http://www.sloanegallery.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SloaneGallery

http://www.facebook.com/SloaneGallery/photos_albums#!/SloaneGallery/photos_stream

The Hagens

Mother and daughter, Eva-Maria and Nina Hagen, collaborate on a performance in "Can-Can" circa 1971.  The photos are from the Eva-Maria Hagen website:

http://www.eva-maria-hagen.de/start.shtml

http://www.eva-maria-hagen.de/Nina/Nina-CanCan.shtml

http://www.eva-maria-hagen.de/Schauspielerin/080614_Dessau.shtml

Bios in English:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva-Maria_Hagen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Hagen

Hot Pepper

I've posted this photo before, but it deserves a place of honor at this site too.  It is from the aptly-named 1933 film, "Hot Pepper".  This was a pre-Code film as the stockings, panties, bare thighs and angle of the shot demonstrate.  It is available on DVD if you look around, but don't buy it for its dramatic and acting quality before reading the review at the Pre-Code.com website.  Pre-Code.com, which is where this photo originated, is definitely worth a visit:

http://pre-code.com/hot-pepper-1933/

Pioneer City

Another photo of the cancan dancers at Pioneer City offered on EBay by argenta-images04 at:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1966-Pioneer-City-Parees-Can-Can-Press-Photo-/400411499593?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item5d3a629c49

Unfortunately Pioneer City had a very short run:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_City

Living the music

This photo is from the 1952  farewell party for conductor Pierre Monteux of the San Farncisco Symphony and, according to the description, this cancan was performed by the women of the symphony.  I'd call that experiencing Offenbach's music to the fullest.

See the story at SF Gate:

http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/Farewell-to-Pierre-Monteux-in-1952-3741045.php

Moline Milestones

Pure nostlgia.   These 1950s homegrown cancan girls grace a float in a Centennial Parade in Moline, Illinois.  See the Retro Quad Cities Facebook page (May 1):

https://www.facebook.com/RetroQuadCities

Barclay Girls

The Barclay Girls prepare to perform at the Seafair in Seattle.  See more about the Barclay Girls at the "Things I Vacuumed Today" Blog:

http://thingsivacuumed.blogspot.com/2013/04/and-nowhere-are-some-can-can-dancers.html

The Case of the Eiffel Tower

A video capture from an episode of the 1950s TV series "Sherlock Holmes" entitled, "The Case of the Eiffel Tower".  This is from the collection of pstlpkr at

http://s872.photobucket.com/user/pstlpkr/media/Misc%20II/TheCaseoftheEiffelTowerCanCanGirls7.jpg.html?sort=3&o=111

More about the Sherlock Holmes series:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0699415/

Australian Dancers

This period photo is from the site of the Australian Dress Registry and can be found as one of the photos as you click through this album at their site:

http://www.australiandressregister.org/garment/199/

One of the dancers is identified as Pauline Harvey, who had a long career as a dancer and dance teacher.  This photo probably dates from her career with the Tivoli Theatre in Sydney in the late 40s and early 50s.  The photographer is not identified.

The Red Cross lifts skirts and morale

 

This photo is very nice in and of itself, but it is even more remarkable when you read the caption and realize where and when it was taken.  The dancer is June Sabel, a Red Cross worker who was with the troops in Kunming, China in July 1945.

This is from the E-Archives collection at the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports at the University of Texas at Austin.  The main website is:

http://www.starkcenter.org/

The clipping with the original of this photo is at:

http://archives.starkcenter.org/handle/11048/6473

http://archives.starkcenter.org/bitstream/handle/11048/6474/CC_2a_i_0103_%2879%29_sabel_web.jpg?sequence=2