Screen Book - July 1929

Screen Book Magazine was an interesting publication. As its name might suggest, they took the "book" of one film and made it the dominant subject of the issue. This July, 1929 edition, brought its readers The Broadway Melody through about 50 pages what was really a novella with images. The film was the first all talking, all singing, all dancing motion picture. It won the Oscar for Best Picture (1930).

This particular issue was 114 pages, so there were shorter narratives (see table of contents) of other films, reviews and so forth, including a picture section of on and off screen couples. The tag line for the magazine was "Love Stories From The Movies".

I have included the opening spread for The Broadway Melody, two pages showing a typical text and images layout, all the on and off screen couple images, and some ads. All that and more was available for 25 cents, one quarter of a dollar, get your issue today.

Double click on the images for a larger view.

Screen Book Magazine, July 1929.
Cover image of Bessie Love by: John Ralston Clarke

Table of Contents

Page one of the opening spread for The Broadway Melody.


Page two of the opening spread for The Broadway Melody.


Typical pages telling the story.
This was back when reading something more than 140 characters was in vogue.

Ronald Colman and Joan Bennett
Bulldog Drummond

Pick up the latest hit records from the film.

Conrad Nagel and Leila Hyams
The Idle Rich

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Joan Crawford
Our Modern Maidens

Billie Dove and Rod La Rocque
The Man And The Moment

Mary Brian and Charles Rogers
Released as River Of Romance

Gilbert Roland and Norma Talmadge
Released as New York Nights
It was Norma's penultimate film.

Back Cover.
Ciro Perfumes were available from 1923 to 1961, if my research is correct.

Covers, Touched And Untouched.

Here are some more wonderful covers from film magazines of the 20's and 30's. When I get these magazines, they often show their age with stains, tears, creases, fading, etc. I always clean them up before posting, as I have done here. However, I have left (for now) the June 1931 New Movie Magazine cover unretouched so you can see what I see before it goes under my Photoshop knife. To make up for the cover, I have included a number of inside pages, including a spread on swimwear our female readers may want to consider for this summer. Enjoy.

Click on the images for a larger view.

Marion Davies
Motion Picture Classic - February 1926
This issue is tabloid size. By the 1930's the publication was standard size.
Cover Artist: Leo Kober (1878-1931)

Olive Borden
Picture Play - February 1928
Artist: Modest Stein (1871-1958)

Bessie Love
Screen Book Magazine - July 1929
Artist: John Rolston Clark

Marion Davies
The New Movie Magazine - February 1931
Artist: Jules Erbit (1889-1968)

Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell
Photoplay - April 1931
Artist: Earl Christy (1883-1961)

Lupe Velez
Picture Play - October 1931
Artist: Modest Stein

Barbara Stanwyck

The New Movie Magazine - January 1932
Artist: Penrhyn Stanlaws (1877 - 1957)

Greta Garbo

Modern Screen - April 1934
Artist: Rolf Armstrong (1899-1960)

Gloria Stuart
Picture Play - June 1934
Artist: Victor Tchetchet (1891 - 1974)

Constance Bennett

The New Movie Magazine - June 1931 (As purchased, awaiting restoration.)
Artist: Rolf Armstrong

Summer swimwear, 1931 style.

Carole Lombard
"...been getting a number of prominent roles lately." Ya Think?

Kay Francis
Has a contract with Warner Brothers that will eventually make her a star. A bold prediction.


An early shot of Marlene in the German film, Ships of Lost Men.
She had the lead female role.

Portrait of the perfect couple, at least from June 1929 to May 1933.

Kay Francis

Kay Francis was a "superstar". While not as readily known today as other superstar actresses of the 30's era, her name was box office gold and she was the highest paid actress at Warner Bros. There are a number of web sites and blogs dedicated to her, detailing her life and films, and I leave it to them to provide the career details. A quick overview can be found here.

As with my other superstar actress posts, we concentrate on the images. Our random collection of film magazines of the period includes nine with Kay on the cover, another indication of her popularity. I also feature images from those magazines that Kay fans may not have seen before. Lastly is a little montage of her 30's films and publicity stills. Enjoy.

Click on the images for a larger view.

Screen Play, February 1931 - Artist: Henry Clive

Picture Play, February 1931 - Artist: Modest Stein

Silver Screen, March 1931 - Artist: John Rolston Clarke

Photoplay, July 1932 - Artist: Earl Christy

Cine-Mundial, June 1933 - Artist: Jose M. Recorda

Modern Screen, December 1933 - Artist: Uncredited

Picture Play, February 1934 - Artist: Albert Fisher

Photoplay, February 1934 - Artist: Earl Christy

Screenland, March 1934 - Artist: Charles Sheldon

Movie Classic, September 1932

Modern Screen, November 1933

Movie Classic, April 1933 - 2 page spread.

Modern Screen, December 1933 - 2 page spread.

Picture Show Annual, 1933

Movie Classic, June 1934

Here is my montage of film title screens and publicity stills. All the films are from the 1930's with the exception of The Cocoanuts (1929), the first film for the Marx Brothers, and for Kay as well.

Kay Francis - What do you think - Allure?

Greta Garbo - First of 5 postings

We all know her full name, but to fans and the general public from the twenties through today, it is simply Garbo. No other actresses so quickly garnered the attention that grew around Garbo. Some thought her too aloof, others worshipped her on screen presence and performances, all wanted more information about her private life than she was willing to share, and time has not lessened the enigma that continues to fascinate to this day. Those who want her biography need only enter Garbo into their search engine.

This series of posts will simply contain images of Garbo along with quotes she made throughout her career. I should add that when I post images of actresses from our postcard collection, I often pick the images I feel are the most alluring based on my own bias. In Garbo's case, none were deselected.

Click on the images for a larger view.

I never said, 'I want to be alone.' I only said, 'I want to be left alone.' There is all the difference.

I'm afraid of nothing except being bored.

There is no one who would have me - I can't cook.

Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it.

Movie Mirror, December 1931 - Artist: John Ralston Clarke

Greta Garbo - What do you think - Allure?