We all know 'Hollywood' chews 'em up and spits 'em out, but this is truly frightening...

July 28, 2009
Posted by Noah

I know that the truism in vintage movie poster collecting is that classic horror holds sway - and some of those posters are indeed still mighty creepy - but I have to say that little can compare in sheer sinister menace than the top lot in our just finished July 23-25 movie poster auction, a 1923 gem for the movie Hollywood. You can see it there and I dare you not to be at least just a little bit creeped out.

The strange thing is that it is indeed an apt metaphor for Hollywood even today, and a bold and beautiful print, truly as much a great piece of art as is a fantastic piece of early American cinema and Pop Culture. It's just so… I don't know… Eeewww…

The movie itself was not of much remark, nor is it particularly remembered. The poster is a true rarity, and one look can attest to its appeal and popularity. It does little, however, to convey the story of Hollywood, one of hapless wannabe actress Angela. She comes to L.A. – her Grandpa in tow – and fails to find any work in Tinsel Town. As this cruel fate befalls her, and on her rounds through the town and to the office of every casting director, Angela's Grandpa gets signed to a contract and becomes a big star. The rest of the family soon comes to L.A., ostensibly to bring their relatives back home. Once in Tinsel Town, though, they all also become movie stars, all as Angela is forced to sit and watch. Short on story, the movie was more importantly a showcase of virtually every major movie star of the silent era, as Angela encounters star after star in her own unsuccessful bid for a slice of fame’s pie. From “Fatty” Arbuckle, to Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Zasu Pitts and Gloria Swanson; you name the star and they made a cameo.

While the movie really cannot be said to even approach the idea of lurid, there is something distinctly lecherous and lustful in this image, even as it's comical and absurd, stylish even, with its Deco feel, outstanding lines and audacious coloring. This poster borrows heavily of the commercial illustration palate of the day, and bears more than a little resemblance to a lot of great advertising posters of the era, minus, of course, the Big Creepy Head devouring a daisy chain of young maidens…

I also have to wonder if an image like this would even stand a chance if released as part of a PR push for a major film today. We have a bevy of sallow-faced, empty-eyed kids with raven hair crawling out of TVs and slashing through cinemas everywhere, outer space robots with American brand vehicle names on them and a host of other disturbing imagery, but this - in these hyper-sensitive-desensitized times - would drive people out of their minds… In fact, I think I've gone a little mad just looking at it.

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-Noah Fleisher

A Rat Pack Rarity: Sammy Davis Jr.’s 10 Commandments Money Clip

Feb. 17, 2009
Posted by Noah

We’re coming up on this weekend’s Music & Entertainment Auction, Feb. 21-22, which I’ve pointed to in other posts about Chet Atkins’ guitars and the amazing Eddie Kovacs and Edie Adams Archive in the auction. I like to spend a bit of time going through each catalog when it comes online, and this was no different. It’s no stretch the say that the M&E auction is deep, and features many a tasty treat for most any level of collector, but as I did last week with “The Reign of Superman” in the Comics auction, I wanted to point out a particularly special and intriguing lot in this weekend’s M&E festivities: Sammy Davis Jr.’s Ten Commandments money clip, lot 49053.

From the catalog description:

“An ornate 14k gold money clip featuring a Star of David over a menorah, with a total of eight settings of small diamonds, mounted over a pair of scrolls representing the Torah. The scrolls open on hinges to reveal the Ten Commandments underneath. The back side of the clip is engraved: "To -- Sammy Davis Jr. Good Luck Always/Jack Entratter/1957."

As you can see for yourself in the picture above, it’s a gorgeous piece of jewelry and a superb piece of Judaica, but wait! That’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as this thing goes. If I had somewhere between $6,000 and $12,000 I would go to town on this thing. It’s got the aforementioned gold and Jewish angle – Sammy converted to Judaism in 1954, after the car crash that left him with one eye – but more important is its connection to Davis himself, the Rat Pack in Vegas in the 1950s and 1960s and the various characters who populated the city in those crucial few decades. Most notably the man who gave the clip to Davis, Jack Entratter.

Entratter was a notorious Vegas booster and philanthropist, with decided mob ties, who ran The Sands Resort. He was and is a towering figure in the history of the town. It is also the stuff of Hollywood legend that he was able to “persuade” Columbia Studios honcho Harry Cohn to cast Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity, for which ol’ Frankie won an Oscar. Think Don Corleone, Johnny Fontaine and Producer Jack Woltz from The Godfather and you know just what I’m talking about. You factor in the Entratter connection, the Rat Pack Connection and the Mid-Century Vegas connections and you’re about one degree away from every single entertainer of the Golden Age of both Hollywood and Vegas.

It does also need to be said that the Sammy Davis, Jr. memorabilia in this auction is pretty amazing stuff, including one of his beloved cameras – the man was an accomplished photographer – though not much of it touches on the role he was most proud of: Civil Rights Crusader. Davis was almost singularly responsible for helping America integrate its club and theater policies regarding integration in the racially charged 1960s. Who would think twice of seeing Davis, were he still alive, playing an all white room these days? This money clip, for my bet, is the sleeper of the auction.

The undeniable legacy of Ernie Kovacs

Jan. 28, 2009
Posted by Noah

Ernie Kovacs is one of those guys who everybody should know about, though so many don’t. If you’ve ever watched a late night talk show, a sketch comedy show or a variety show then you’ve felt the impact of his television greatness. If you’re scratching your head right now, wondering who he is, or clicking quickly to Wikipedia, then the true greatness of the man will be lost on you, as will the amazing grouping from the Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams Estate Archive that we have coming up as part of the February Music & Entertainment Auction. I suggest going to YouTube, entering his name, and watching a few of the clips that come up. Even if you’ve never seen Kovacs, there will be something vaguely familiar about what you were seeing.

Ernie Kovacs was a hard living comedian, and a true giant of early American television comedy. His comedy still ranks as some of the greatest to hit the small screen, especially such classic bits as Percy Dovetonsils and The Nairobi Trio, the latter of which is so absurd and nonsensical that you can’t help but laugh at the broad physical nature of. I won’t describe the Nairobi Trio to you, instead insisting you watch a clip, but suffice it to say that Kovacs’ audience never tired of it, nor did the parade of stars that donned the monkey masks and manned the mallets.

The real question is: would this same kind of sketch play as well today? I seriously doubt it given how much the medium has changed. Still, Kovacs’ imprint is everywhere, from SNL, to Letterman to Steven Colbert and beyond, and they all know it. There’s also a good chance that a lot of them will be bidding on the Kovacs props, documents and awards.

Check it out. Bask in the glory of Golden Age TV. You know you want to…