1939. After her success in Algiers, Louis B Mayer (head honcho at MGM) envisages Hedy Lamarr following in the footsteps of Marlene Dietrich. So he gets Josef von Sternberg to direct her next movie, A New York Cinderella, to which a caption on the back of the photo refers:
STATELY GRECIAN LINES…Make this black dinner gown worn by Hedy Lamarr one of the season’s outstanding creations. Its intricately draped bodice, and full dolman sleeves gradually slimmed at the wrist accent the closely fitted floor length skirt. A collar with bib front in heavy gold relieves the somberness of the gown. Miss Lamarr, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s newest star is currently appearing opposite Spencer Tracy in “A New York Cinderella.”
But production of A New York Cinderella is a catalogue of disasters, not the least of which are the resignation of Josef von Sternberg and an appalling screenplay. When it is finally released in 1940 as I Take This Woman, it tanks. This shot is published in the April 1939 issue of Silver Screen.
Photo by Laszlo Willinger.
Back
