American Negros in the Great War (Leslie's, 1920)

A First World War article listing many of the patriotic commitments that the African-American community devoted to the 1917 -1918 war efforts:

"The war has transformed the American Negro into the Negro American. Because he has been doing big things for his country his sense of national unity grown; his citizenship became a living reality."

"They have contributed 300,000 of their young men to the American Army. Of these 1,000 are commissioned officers of the line...One entire regiment was decorated for bravery and several individual soldiers have been cited for deeds of great valor."

Edith Head on Paris Frocks (Photoplay, 1938)

A telegraph from Hollywood costume designer Edith Head (1897 – 1981) to the editorial offices of Photoplay Magazine listing various highlights of the 1938 Paris fashion scene.

"Paris says: Long waistlines, short flared skirts, fitted bodices, tweeds combines with velvet, warm colors..."

Click here to read about physical perfection during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

D.W. Griffith Joins With Chaplin, Pickford and Fairbanks to Form United Artists
(Film Cavalcade, 1939)

A printable history of United Artists spanning the years 1919 through 1939 which also outlines why the organization was so original:

[United Artists] "introduced a new method into the industry. Heretofore producers and distributors had been the employers, paying salaries and sometimes a share of the profits to the stars. Under the United Artists system, the stars became their own employers. They had to do their own financing, but they received the producer profits that had formerly gone to their employers and each received his share of the profits of the distributing organization."

Color Trends in Men's Suiting 1935 - 1950 (Men's Wear, 1950)

Although there is black-out during the war years, the attached charts will give you a sense of the preferred suiting colors both before the war and upon it's immediate conclusion. The pointy-headed soothsayers who attempt to predict which colors men will buy were very surprised to find that in the aftermath of World War II, American men were quite eager to buy browns and khaki-colored suiting after all.

Marlene Dietrich Did Her Bit (Yank Magazine, 1945)

A post-game interview with Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich (1901 – 1992) concerning all the many places throughout the European Theater of Operations that she performed before Allied audiences, at times performing very close to the German front line.

Shortly before her 2005 death, Marlene Dietrich's daughter, Maria Riva Dietrich (b. 1924), wrote that her mother, feeling a deep sense of pity and gratitude, made love to a very large number of front line soldiers.

Absolute, Total Morons on the W.W. II Home Front (Collier's Magazine, 1943)

If you're one of those types who tend to feel that Americans aren't as smart as they used to be, this is the article for you: attached is a collection of quotes generated by eight home front dullards who were asked the question, "Do you know what you are fighting?". They all understood that their nation had just finished it's second year fighting something called "Fascism" but were hard-pressed to put a thoughtful definition to the term:

"A Kansas cattle raiser defined Fascism as '...the belief in a big industrial enterprise. Anyone who thinks that way is Fascist-minded."

Additionally, it is fun to see the pictures of all the assorted noobs who made such ridiculous statements.

United Artists Makes 'Stage Door Canteen' (Charm, 1943)

During the Second World War there were two prominent "canteens" where the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines could go to see and be seen with the glamorous actor types of their day: the Hollywood Canteen in Los Angeles and the Stage Door Canteen in New York City. It was in these two locales that the stars of both stage and screen could be found both waiting and busing tables, preparing food and cracking wise with their Selective Service clientele. With a back-drop like that, thought some United Artist executive, the script practically writes itself! That said, they pulled off the lens cap, picked-up some second-hand uniforms and trucked-in a load of Hollywood celebrities and started filming.
Attached is the printable movie review of "Stage Door Canteen" as it appeared in the July, 1943 issue of Charm magazine.

The Silent Film Producers of 1919 (Vanity Fair, 1919)

In three short columns this article outlines the growth of the film industry beginning in 1909 to the time of printing, in 1919.

Click here to read a 1939 article about an alumni organization for the pioneers of silent films.

Irving Thalberg: Hollywood's Boy Wonder (Collier's, 1924)

An article covering the early career of twenty five year-old Irving Thalberg (1899 – 1936): legendary Hollywood executive and movie producer, whose natural abilities in the Dream Factory catapulted his meteoric rise to greater power, leaving a long string of hits and well-admired film productions in his wake before pneumonia got the better of him twelve years after this article went to press. Thalberg's unique understanding of film and instinct for talent set him heads above his peers; through the years he has been the subject of a number of books and continues to be discussed to this day. Upon his passing it was widely recognized that there would never be another Thalberg and their never has been.

Profile of Robert Benchley (Stage Magazine, 1934)

"New Yorker" theater critic, columnist, actor and Algonquin wit Robert Benchley (1889 – 1945) was interviewed for "Stage" magazine and photographed by theater shutter-bug Ben Pinchot:

"Mr. Benchley, who looks exactly like the Gluyas Williams' cartoons of him, sits all day in the delightful, cluttered gloom of his rooms at the Royalton, and reads hi papers. He likes that. Sometimes he writes digests of the news which "The New Yorker" calls "The Wayward Press" and signs them Guy Fawkes for some quaint reason..."

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