Joan Crawford, ca late 1930s

Took a short sabbatical from online posting, thanks in great part to a down PC that took some time to repair. Returning now with a post of a colorized photo of Joan Crawford in a rare find. It is undated but I figure it was taken early 40s. 

Greta Garbo (1905 - 1990) colorized from a late 1930s photo

Came across a rather different looking Greta Garbo without the deep-set eyes and the artificial eyelashes that have become her signature copied by several a actresses during her time and after. 

Elizabeth Taylor at 15 in a promotional photo of MGM, 1947

When Taylor turned 15 in 1947, MGM began to cultivate a more mature public image for her by organizing photo shoots and interviews that portrayed her as a "normal" teenager attending parties and going on dates. Film magazines and gossip columnists also began comparing her to older actresses such as Ava Gardner and Lana Turner. Life called her "Hollywood's most accomplished junior actress" for her two film roles that year. In the critically panned Cynthia (1947), she portrayed a frail girl who defies her over-protective parents to go to the prom, and the love interest of a stockbroker's son in the period film Life with Father (1947), opposite William Powell and Irene Dunne.

They were followed by supporting roles as a teenaged "man-stealer" who seduces her peer's date to a high school dance in the musical A Date with Judy (1948), and as a bride in the romantic comedy Julia Misbehaves (1948), which became a commercial success by grossing over $4 million in the box office. Taylor's last adolescent role was as Amy March in Mervyn LeRoy's Little Women (1949). While it did not match the popularity of the previous 1933 film adaptation of Louisa M. Alcott's novel, it was a box-office success. The same year, Time featured Taylor on its cover, and called her the leader among Hollywood's next generation of stars, "a jewel of great price, a true sapphire".

Greta Garbo (1905 - 1990)

Colorizing vintage shots of Hollywood legends is always a pleasure. There are just so few vintage photos of Philippine movie greats with good enough resolution to colorize. But not so with Hollywood greats. Even during the silent pictures of the 1920s and the first talkies of the 30s, screen legends like Myrna Loy, Lilian Gish, Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo, and Joan Crawford benefitted from excellent b&w photos, thanks to camera artists who were employed as glamour photographers by the studios. Here's one from a 1930 - 31 photo of Greta Garbo. This photo has been overused as a hairstyle sample in beauty salons and online hairstyle resources.

Greta Garbo (1905 - 1990) a Swedish-American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. Garbo is ranked as fifth on the AFI list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. She became famous with her first feature film “Torrent” (1926), impressing the head of production Irving Thalberg who would shape Garbo’s distinctive image as an enigmatic, often tragic young woman who had lived many lifetimes and suffered in spite of, or perhaps because of, her incredible beauty.

Garbo would make just a handful of movies over a 15-year period, during the 20s and 30s,  regarded as among the shortest for any Hollywood actress but left a legacy that inspired younger actresses to reach or exceed her fame.  Greta Garbo’s impact on the industry and on audiences — was unparalleled while her potent magnetism and allure defy the ravages of time. Only Joan Crawford and Bette Davis would exceed her fame but they lasted far longer in the industry. At the height of her career, she retired and returned to Sweden, disgusted with the studio system, the glitz and blatant artificiality of tinsel town.

Grace Kelly (1929 - 1982) Colorized from a 1953 photo.

Here was Grace Kelly in a 1953 photo holding a pet kitten to her face.  Not entirely sure why she used a silk scarf to hold it, but it made a nice photo composition.

Bette Davis circa 1924-25

If taken in 1924, this would put Bette Davis in her late teens.