Sally Eilers

Sally was born Dorothea Sally Eilers in New York City on December 11, 1908. She studied dance in NYC before moving to Hollywood in her teens, where she attended Fairfax High School. After auditioning for a time she found work in several Mack Sennett comedy shorts. Exposure in those early films attracted notice and in 1928 she was voted a WAMPAS Baby Star.

A very popular actress, Sally was in 29 films from 1930 to 1935. These include Quick Millions (1931) opposite Spencer Tracy, A Holy Terror (1931), Bad Girl (1931), Disorderly Conduct (1932), also opposite Spencer Tracy, Made on Broadway (1933) with Robert Montgomery, and Alias Mary Dow (1935) with Ray Milland. Sally remained busy through the 1930s, and moved into character roles in the 1940s, the most intriguing of which was her characterization of Jimmy Lydon's mother in Strange Illusion (1945). Sally retired from moviemaking in 1951 after 68 films and (for all trivia fans) four husbands, all whose first names started with H; Hoot, Harry, Howard, and Hollingsworth.

During her final years, Eilers suffered poor health, and died from a heart attack in Woodland Hills, California on January 5, 1978, at the age of 69.

Click in images for a larger view.

Stars of the Photoplay - 1930 edition

Motion Picture Magazine - March 1930

Ross postcard - circa 1931

John Player & Sons cigarette card - from the Film Stars series

Bad Girl Poster - Version 1

Bad Girl Poster - Version 2

This is the book on which the movie is based. The dust jacket is kind of cheesy, but I love the typeface on the cover itself. It is a decent read, considering when it was written, but definitely of the time. Here is the text from the inside of the dust jacket.

Dot lived in the Bronx and Eddie in Harlem. He worked in a radio shop and she was a typist. They met on a Sunday night excursion on the Hudson, and immediately fell in love.

The story of Dot and Eddie is told with such amazing candor and vitality that it becomes the story of any two young people who live in one of our great cities - a world in which movies, Chinese restaurants and bare hallways provide the background for love and seduction and the impulse to marriage.

Here is a novel that presents a true American scene, caught with a fresh and undeceived eye by youth and for youth.

Publicity still for Quick Millions

Photoplay - February 1932

Publicity Still

Publicity Still

Screen captures from three films where Sally is the female lead.
The Black Camel (1931) - Central Airport (1933) - Pursuit (1935)

Sally Eilers - What do you think - Allure?

Asides - Smoke 'em If Ya Got'em

Cigarette ads have been a source of magazine revenues since before the turn of the 20th century, and the tobacco companies realized an endorsement from a Hollywood star would be golden. Lucky Strike exploited this like no other brand during the twenties and thirties. The other major brands like Old Gold, Camel, Chesterfield, and Spud were represented in the various movie magazines, but only Lucky Strike regularly featured stars or starlets in their ads. What follows is a sampling of those Hollywood tie-in ads and a couple of others I just think are fun/interesting/bizarre. Click on the images for a larger view - enjoy.

Sally Eilers - Movie Mirror, February 1932
The lower right paragraph notes that Miss Eilers was not paid one cent for this endorsement. I'm wondering of course if wasn't the Fox publicity department that paid The American Tobacco company to feature her.

Edmund Lowe - Photoplay, February 1932

Of possible interest is that Mr. Lowe was also under contract to Fox during this period.

Jean Harlow - Photoplay, March 1932
Jean states: "It's a real delight to find a Cellophane wrapper that opens without an icepick.

John Gilbert - Photoplay, September 1929
John keeps his masculine physique by reaching for a Lucky instead of a sweet.

Lupe Velez - Photoplay, April 1932
This ad appeared on this blog before under a different context.
Lupe seems to like the Cellophane wrapper as well and was not paid for her endorsement either.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - Photoplay, June 1932
Man, what's with that wrapper, it sounds like all other brands were
impossible to open and that is why people HAD to smoke Luckies.

Some nice lady from Bronxville, NY. - Photoplay, August 1931
She hopes you will consider your Adam's Apple.

The New Movie Magazine - December, 1932
It may just be me, but I think Chesterfield was implying that if males smoke their brand, they will grow to almost twice the size of a normal human, or you will attract very small women.