Marcello Dudovich: Master of Italian Poster Art

Marcello Dudovich (1878–1962) was one of the most important Italian poster artists and illustrators of the early 20th century.

Born in Trieste, Dudovich rose to prominence designing elegant and colorful advertising posters for major brands such as Borsalino, Mele, and Pirelli. His refined style, influenced by Art Nouveau and later Art Deco, combined sophisticated figures, bold compositions, and a distinctive sense of modern elegance.

Over a career spanning more than five decades, Dudovich produced hundreds of iconic posters that helped define the visual language of Italian commercial art. These vibrant vintage posters showcase Marcello Dudovich’s elegant style and lasting influence on the golden age of Italian advertising art.

Bitter Campari, 1900

Smalti, circa 1904

"Rapid", Nuovi inchiostri da scrivere sopraffini, circa 1905

Filli Sanguinetti, Milano, 1905

A. E. Mele &Ci, Napoli, 1906

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Before Becoming “Hollywood’s Mermaid,” Esther Williams Was an Elite Swimmer in the 1930s

In the 1930s, Esther Williams was an elite, record-breaking competitive swimmer long before she became Hollywood’s famous “Million Dollar Mermaid.” Training out of the Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC), she dominated regional and national competitions as a teenager, culminating in multiple titles and a spot on the United States Olympic team.

Williams was enthusiastic about swimming in her youth. Her older sister Maurine took her to Manhattan Beach and to the local pool. Esther took a job counting towels at the pool to pay the five-cent entry fee, and while there, she had swimming lessons from the male lifeguards. From them she learned the “male only” swimming strokes, including the butterfly, with which she would later break records.

Her medley team set the record for the 300-yard relay at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in 1939 and was also the national AAU champion in the 100-meter freestyle, with a record-breaking time of 1 minute 9.0 seconds. By age 16 Williams had won three U.S. national championships in breaststroke and freestyle swimming.

By late 1939, 17-year-old Williams had officially qualified for three berths on the U.S. Olympic Swim Team. She was scheduled to compete at the 1940 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. However, the outbreak of World War II in Europe forced the permanent cancellation of the games, instantly shattering her dreams of an Olympic medal.

With amateur sports sidelined by war, Williams took a job as a department store stock girl before turning professional in 1940. Her local swimming fame caught the eye of showman Billy Rose. She was hired to star alongside Olympic champion Johnny Weissmuller in Billy Rose’s Aquacade, a massive musical swimming spectacle at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. It was her performance in this pool that drew Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) talent scouts, launching her iconic movie career.

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30 Amazing Photographs of Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega on the Set of the 1973 Film “Papillon”

In the 1973 prison drama Papillon, Dustin Hoffman delivered a memorable performance as Louis Dega, a frail, intellectual counterfeiter. Playing opposite Steve McQueen’s Henri Charrière, Hoffman portrayed Dega with trademark thick, round spectacles and a vulnerable demeanor, acting as the financial backing and close friend to McQueen’s character during their brutal imprisonment in French Guiana.

To portray Dega, Hoffman wore thick, distorting round spectacles, which impaired his vision during filming and emphasized the character’s physical vulnerability in contrast to the harsh jungle penal colony. Dega relies on the rugged, escape-obsessed Henri “Papillon” Charrière for physical protection, while Dega provides Papillon with financial backing and resources to fund their escape attempts. Known for his immersive preparation, Hoffman deliberately adopted a hesitant, nervous demeanor and soft-spoken delivery to contrast McQueen’s stoic intensity.

Papillon was filmed at various locations in Spain and Jamaica, with the cave scenes filmed beneath what is now the Xtabi hotel on the cliffs of Negril. The town scenes near the beginning of the film were shot in Hondarribia, Spain. The St-Laurent-du-Maroni penal colony scenes were filmed in Falmouth, Jamaica, and the swamp scenes were shot near Ferris Cross. Interior scenes were shot in Montego Bay, while other scenes were filmed in Kingston, Ocho Rios and Savanna-la-Mar.

Most of the French prisoners on the island were portrayed by German-Jamaican extras. The Prison of St-Laurent-du-Maroni, where Henri Charrière was held, and where most of the action takes place, was faithfully recreated using the original blueprints.

Papillon was a major commercial success in 1973, grossing over $53 million on a $12 million budget, and earned praise for the dynamic screen pairing between McQueen and Hoffman.

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18 Photos of a Very Young Connie Stevens in the late 1950s

In the late 1950s, Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia; August 8, 1938) was a rising young actress and singer, transitioning from bit parts and vocal groups into feature films, a recording contract, and her breakthrough TV role. She had moved to Los Angeles around 1953 to live with her father and soon performed with groups such as the Three Debs and the Fourmost (whose male members later formed The Lettermen). By the mid-to-late 1950s she was doing extra and supporting work while building a singing career.

Feature debut in Young and Dangerous (1957), followed by Eighteen and Anxious (1957), Dragstrip Riot (1958), The Party Crashers (1958), and a supporting role as the love interest in Jerry Lewis’s Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958). The Lewis film was a significant early break after he spotted her in Dragstrip Riot.

Released her debut album Concetta in 1958 on Warner Bros. Records (she was among the early artists signed to the label). She recorded standards and other material; later in 1959 she scored a major novelty hit with the duet “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)” alongside Edd “Kookie” Byrnes (tied to his character on 77 Sunset Strip). In 1959 she signed a multi-year contract with Warner Bros. and was cast as Cricket Blake (a photographer/singer) on the new detective series Hawaiian Eye, which premiered in October 1959 and quickly made her a teen idol.

By the end of the decade she was established as a pert, energetic blonde ingénue with a distinctive voice—working steadily in Hollywood’s teen-film and TV pipeline and on the cusp of wider pop success (her biggest solo hit, “Sixteen Reasons,” came in 1960–61). Her image mixed cute/tomboyish appeal with singing talent, and the Hawaiian Eye role cemented her early fame.

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Trisha Noble: From Australian Pop Star to International Actress

Trisha Noble (1944–2021), born Patricia Ann Ruth Noble, was an Australian singer and actress who rose to fame in the early 1960s as the teenage pop star Patsy Ann Noble. Known for her hit single “Good Looking Boy” and regular appearances on the Australian television show Bandstand, she later moved to the United Kingdom and then the United States, transitioning into acting.

Under the name Trisha Noble, she appeared in numerous television series and films, including roles in American shows and later as Jobal Naberrie in the Star Wars prequels. With her vibrant personality and versatile talent, she remained a familiar face across music, television, and film for several decades.

These vintage photos capture the youthful charm and vibrant energy of Trisha Noble, the Australian star who successfully moved from pop music to international acting.

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1938 Delahaye 135 MS Coupe: French Art Deco Masterpiece

The 1938 Delahaye 135 MS Coupe is widely regarded as one of the most elegant French automobiles of the prewar era.

Powered by a powerful 3.6-liter inline-six engine producing up to 160 horsepower in MS specification, it combined sporting performance with extraordinary coachbuilt design. Many examples were bodied by the legendary Figoni et Falaschi, whose dramatic teardrop styling and flowing Art Deco lines made the car a true automotive sculpture.

With its refined engineering, exclusive craftsmanship, and striking aesthetics, the Delahaye 135 MS Coupe remains one of the most desirable classics of the 1930s. These beautiful photos capture the flowing Art Deco elegance and timeless beauty of the rare 1938 Delahaye 135 MS Coupe.

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50 Amazing Photographs From the Set of “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984)

Once Upon a Time in America (Italian: C’era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime drama directed by Sergio Leone, marking his final film before his death in 1989. Based on Harry Grey’s novel The Hoods, the film serves as the grand culmination of Leone’s thematic “Once Upon a Time” trilogy (following Once Upon a Time in the West and Duck, You Sucker!).

The filming of Leone’s 1984 masterwork was a legendary multi-continental production that took over 13 years of development and 10 demanding months of principal photography. Unlike almost all modern film productions where music is composed and recorded post-filming, Ennio Morricone composed and recorded the film’s iconic score before shooting began.

Leone insisted on setting up large loudspeakers on set during filming to blast Morricone’s haunting score, such as “Deborah’s Theme” and “Cockeye’s Song,” while the camera rolled. Because the film was shot without live sound recording, the actors moved, walked, and paced their performance directly to the rhythm of the music.

To prepare for the older 1968 version of Noodles, De Niro requested a private meeting with real-life crime figure Meyer Lansky to study his mannerisms and body language. Lansky declined, but the request was classic De Niro method preparation.

Leone spent weeks casting child actors who possessed exact physical mannerisms matching their adult counterparts. During rehearsals, he made the older actors study footage of the younger actors, and vice versa, to synchronize their body movements. Makeup artist Manlio Rocchetti spent hours applying fine latex appliances on De Niro and Woods for the 1968 sequences to achieve natural-looking aged skin rather than heavy prosthetics.

Leone originally envisaged two three-hour films, then a single 269-minute (4 hours and 29 minutes) version, but was convinced by distributors to shorten it to 229 minutes (3 hours and 49 minutes). The American distributors, The Ladd Company, further shortened it to 139 minutes (2 hours and 19 minutes), and rearranged the scenes into chronological order, without Leone's involvement.

The US edit was a critical and commercial flop in the United States, and critics who had seen both versions harshly condemned the changes made. While sometimes considered one of Leone’s most overlooked films, the original European cut of Once Upon a Time in America has remained a critical favorite and frequently appears in lists of the greatest films of all time, especially in the gangster genre.

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