photoboothBensamon

This is another in the series of photobooth photo, file cards from a Parisian acting agency. Each photo attached to the card is of a client who was looking for work in the acting profession in the 1950s or 60s.

Monsieur Bensamon, above, looks to me to be perfect for any role as a valet or butler. Which brings me to a film Murder by Death (1976), which is one of my favourite comedies from childhood. It has an all-star cast which included, bizarrely, author of In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote.

Maggie Smith and David Niven play an aristocratic couple, Dora and Dick Charleston (See dialogue below) who are invited with a group of other guests, to a spooky house where a murder is subsequently committed. The house of course had a butler. It is an affectionate spoof of the work of numerous crime writers of the era but most particularly of the stories of Agatha Christie. All this is by way of explaining why I bought the above photo, as the butler in Murder by Death is Bensonmum.

Bensonmum is a ridiculous but very funny character, played by Sir Alec Guinness. The similarities in the two names and my affection for the film were enough to make this, less than exciting photo, a must for my collection. There are no details on the back of the card, so all we know of Monsieur Bensamon is his surname and address at the time. If he had been cast in Murder By Death, I am sure he would have had great fun with the following dialogue from the film –

Dora Charleston: Thank you. You are?
Jamesir Bensonmum: Bensonmum.
Dora Charleston: Thank you, Benson.
Jamesir Bensonmum: No, no, no, no, no… Bensonmum. My name is Bensonmum.
Dick Charleston: Bensonmum?
Jamesir Bensonmum: Yes, sir. Jamesir Bensonmum.
Dick Charleston: Jamesir?
Jamesir Bensonmum: Yes, sir.
Dick Charleston: Jamesir Bensonmum?
Jamesir Bensonmum: Yes, sir.
Dick Charleston: How odd.
Jamesir Bensonmum: My father’s name, sir.
Dick Charleston: What was your father’s name?
Jamesir Bensonmum: Howard. Howard Bensonmum.
Dick Charleston: Your father was Howard Bensonmum?
Dora Charleston: Leave it be, Dickie. I’ve had enough.

There are some other great photos in this series, so stay tuned to Photobooth Journal for more posts.

photoboothBensamon02

The Actors’ Agency – Part 5

March 3, 2016

The Actors' Agency, Vintage Photobooth

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photoboothactorArotce

Here is another one of a series of photobooth adorned file cards from a Parisian acting agency. I had previously thought that all the photos in the series were from the 1960s, however the seller has told me that some come from the 50s as well. This one looks to me to have a definite 50s feel to it.

Each card shows an actor in a pose which they hope will entice someone to give them work. Along with Rose Marie Arotce’s address and telephone number on the front of the card, there are details listed on the back. Rose Marie’s height in metres is recorded as 1.68. She was a model (not surprising due to her height, sophisticated style and beauty) and also a comedienne. I am very impressed that she is listed as a comedian, as even now it is a difficult field for a woman to work in. I imagine it would have been much harder some 60 years ago. The abbreviation GRC appears on this card and some of the others. I have still not worked out what it might be short for.

None of the actors, in the cards I procured, ever made it big in the acting profession, however I have set myself the task of searching IMdB to discover if any of my new photobooth friends worked at all in film and televison.

If you would like to see some of the other cards in this series, please click here.

photoboothactorArotce 1

The Actors’ Agency – Part 4

December 14, 2015

The Actors' Agency, Vintage Photobooth

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photoboothHenriGilbert

This is Henri Gilbert. He is looking for acting work in roles such as;

the romantic lead
a creative yet misunderstood, young (insert type – artist, writer, architect) trying to make his way in the world
a studly surf life-saver
an agile song and dance man

He has been waiting all his life for his big break. He doesn’t realise he grew old whilst waiting.

This is one from a group of file cards from a Parisian acting agency. The back of the card is blank. According to the seller, none of the actors in the cards I procured, ever made it big in the acting profession. The ones that did, were too expensive for me to buy!

There are some wonderful photos in this series, so stay tuned to Photobooth Journal for more updates

photoboothHenriGilbert02

The Actors’ Agency – Part 3

November 28, 2015

The Actors' Agency, Vintage Photobooth

14 Comments

photoboothJacquesBrieulle

Jacques, the aspiring actor, had a pretty mean hairdo and moustache. I wonder if this was perceived as cool and rebellious in 1960s France? I imagine him being cast as the cool younger side-kick of some streetwise old con man. Or as a jazz musician. Both generally had the same unsalutary reputations, so either/or will do.

This is another one of a series of file cards I have from a Parisian acting agency. The photos in the series are mostly from the 60s. Each card shows an actor in their best actory/actorish pose. Most show the applicant’s address and telephone number. The back of this card is totally blank, so one wonders if Jacques ever inquired why he never got any work?

None of the actors, in the cards I procured, ever made it big in the acting profession. The ones that did, were too expensive for me to buy!

There are some more great photos in this series, so keep watching for more updates!

photoboothJacquesBrieulleDetail

The Actors’ Agency – Part 2

November 3, 2015

The Actors' Agency, Vintage Photobooth

18 Comments

Hi! I’m Helene, Helene Bouix! You might remember me from Don’t Worry, We’ll Think of a Title. I was the ditzy blonde. No? Well, I also had a speaking role as the (dead) flaxen side-kick in The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. Oh, you’re not familiar with that one? Okay then. Hmm. Oh, yes! I was recently cast as the platinum bombshell in The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?. Oh, you didn’t catch that either? Never mind. I want work with your agency. I feel I may be getting type-cast.

This is one of a series of file cards from a Parisian acting agency. The photos in the series are all from the 1960s. Each card shows a young actor in their best Hollywood pose (à la française, bien sûr!!), along with their address and telephone number. The back of this card shows Helene’s height in metres (1.66), the year of her birth (1924) and GRC. I have no idea what that could stand for. Anyone out there have an idea? For some reason it also needed to state that she is blonde. Oh, really?

None of the actors, in the cards I procured, ever made it in the acting profession. The ones that did, were too expensive for me to buy!

There are some great photos in this series, so stay tuned to Photobooth Journal for more updates!

All titles in this post are from genuine 1960s movies.

The Actors’ Agency – Part 1

October 22, 2015

The Actors' Agency, Vintage Photobooth

5 Comments

The whole file card, with arty background.

This is Leon Roger in one of a series of file cards from a Parisian acting agency. The photos in the series are all from the 1960s. Each card shows a young actor in their best Hollywood pose, along with their address. The back of this card shows Leon’s height in metres (1.75) and the year of his birth (1936). None of the actors, in the cards I procured, ever made it in the acting profession. The ones that did, were too expensive for me to buy!

There are some great photos in this series, so stay tuned to Photobooth Journal for more updates!

Close-up of the photo of Leon. The imperfection on the surface is caused by glue residue.

Photobooth Signage

September 17, 2015

Photobooth Signs, Vintage Photobooth

11 Comments

I bought this and two other original photobooth display panels from the USA. They date to the late 1960s. These would have been placed on the sides of the booth to show off the quality of the images you could make of yourself. None of the strips are true booth photos, having been copied from the originals for use in multiple locations. As there is some overlap in the models and photographs used, I have chosen this, the best one, to share with you.

I wonder where the booth was located, as none of the models were male? I guess it could have been in an area dominated by hairdressing salons or another type of business with a predominantly female clientele. I love the variety of classic 60s hair and make-up styles.

Sign Detail

Sign Detail

Small Town Noir by Diarmid Mogg

July 27, 2015

Random Posts

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My own piece of photobooth small town noir.

I don’t normally publicise books about mugshots on this blog but as a minor part of my collection, they hold a level of fascination for me in much the same way as photobooth photos.

For some time now, I have been an avid follower of Small Town Noir a mugshot blog by Diarmid Mogg. Since 2009, Diarmid has collected over 1,500 mugshots, all from the same small American town, New Castle, Pennsylvania. His collection is an extraordinary set of photographs covering the middle of the 20th century, from 1930 to 1960.

Meticulous research goes into each post which shows the original police mugshot, often accompanied by newspaper clippings, birth and death records plus details of the alleged crime. Anything that can be discovered about the life of the person beyond the day of their incarceration is also included. If you love to time travel through photographs, are interested in vernacular American history or just love a good yarn, this is a blog for you. Hopefully, very soon, it will be a book for you, too.

Diarmid has for a long time wanted to pursue a published hard copy edition of his work. He has teamed up with an innovative publishing company called Unbound, which uses a crowd funding model to

produce books by proving that there’s a demand for them before the publication process starts. Diarmid continues the story –

“We’ve worked together on a proposed outline for the book, which is exactly what I’d dreamed about: 150 full-page photographs on good paper, with 70,000 words of text; the pictures arranged chronologically from 1930 to 1960, so the passage of time is evident as you flick past changing hairstyles, fashions and types of photographic film stock; with the stories building up one after the other into a fractured portrait of a particular place and time that there’s really no other way to access.”

If enough people pledge to buy the book, he can do this, so please get behind this wonderful project by clicking on this link to make it happen:

http://unbound.co.uk/books/small-town-noir

My apologies for the last post which was accidentally sent due to my inexperience with using WordPress on my iPad. Hopefully now that I am back on my desk-top, I will be more successful.

Lori and Me – Part 1

July 10, 2014

Lori and Me, Vintage Photobooth

17 Comments

On the back – “…over cute in all these pictures”

1969 Donna

On the back -” I love you. Do you love me? No or yes?”

This bubbly young woman is probably named Donna although that piece of information has been deduced from a single dedication on a photo, presumably given to the owner of the album from which all these and many other photobooth photos came. She is identified only as “me” in the rest of the pictures. Given the vagaries of this process of deduction, it may not be the name of the girl who most frequently appeared in the album, but I think it is likely, and thus she will be Donna to us.

Donna is photographed with many boyfriends and girlfriends, over a period of 4 years from 1969 to 1973, in a large series of photobooth photos which I will share with you in coming weeks.

For me, finding a series of photos of the same person over a period of years, is one of the highlights of collecting photobooth photos. It is particularly fascinating to see someone, in the formative years of their life, grow-up before our very eyes.

As with another long series that I posted last year, Becky and Friends, I will be adding highlights of this series to my Photobooth Time Machines category. In the category files, each post is shown in reverse order of date of publication, so to see the photos chronologically, you need to start at the bottom of the page and work upwards.

In this first instalment we have blondie Donna in the photobooth with friends Carlos and Bessie. All the photos were taken on the same day in 1969, somewhere in the USA.