07 August 2021

25 times Bromofoto

In 2018, EFSP had a post on postcards by Bromofoto. Since 1950 this Milanese publisher produced hundreds of postcards in 'real photography' in the factory of Via San Maurilio 19 in Milan. We love the glamorous black and white film star portraits and the great film scene stills. So today we have another post with 25 Bromofoto postcards. But whatever happened to Bromofoto? The production later moved to Via dell'Assunta 67 with the company name Cartaria Rag. Giuseppe Garanzini-Bromofoto. The printing business stopped in the mid-1990s. In 2015 the building in Via dell'Assunta was auctioned.

Ava Gardner
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 224.

American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990) was signed to a contract by MGM in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers (1946). She became one of Hollywood's leading stars and was considered one of the most beautiful women of her day. 

Rita Hayworth in Gilda (1946)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 237. Photo: Robert Coburn / Columbia Pictures. Rita Hayworth in Gilda (Charles Vidor, 1946).

Sultry Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) was an American dancer and actress whose beauty catapulted her to international stardom in the 1940s and 1950s. She hit stardom as an unfaithful wife opposite Cary Grant in Only Angels Have Wings (1939). 

Dana Andrews in Deep Waters (1948)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 250. Photo: RKO Radio Films. Dana Andrews in Deep Waters (Henry King, 1948).

American film actor Dana Andrews (1909-1992) was a major Hollywood star during the 1940s. He continued acting in less prestigious roles into the 1980s. He is remembered for his roles as a police detective-lieutenant in the Film Noir Laura (1944) and as war veteran Fred Derry in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), the latter being the role for which he received the most critical praise. 

Carla del Poggio
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 312.

Italian actress Carla Del Poggio (1925-2010) was the female star of Federico Fellini’s bittersweet film debut Luci del varietà/Variety Lights (1950). In the 1940s and 1950s, she also starred in films by other famous directors such as Vittorio De Sica and her husband Alberto Lattuada.

Humphrey Bogart
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 317. Photo: Warner Bros.

Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) is an icon of Hollywood cinema. His private detectives, Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Phillip Marlowe in The Big Sleep (1946), became the models for detectives in other Film Noirs. 

Jane Russell in Son of Paleface (1952)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 378. Photo: Paramount Films. Jane Russell in Son of Paleface (Frank Tashlin, 1952).

American film actress Jane Russell (1921-2011) was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s.

Raf Vallone
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 389. Photo: Dear Film.

Athletic Italian actor Raf Vallone (1916-2002) was an internationally acclaimed film star, known for his rugged good looks.

Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie in The Prince Who Was A Thief (1952)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 400. Photo: Universal International. Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie in The Prince Who Was A Thief (Rudolph Maté, 1952).

American film actor Tony Curtis (1925-2010) played a variety of roles, from light comedy, such as the musician on the run from gangsters in Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959), to serious dramatic roles, such as an escaped convict in The Defiant Ones (Stanley Kramer, 1958), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. 

Piper Laurie (1932) is an American stage and screen actress known for her roles in the films The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976), and Children of a Lesser God (1986), all of which brought her Oscar nominations. 

Nadia Gray
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 467. Photo: Dear Film.

Romanian-born actress Nadia Gray (1923–1994) was an elegant and seductive star of European films of the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps she is best known for her striptease scene in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960).

Marina Berti in Febbre di vivere (1953)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 471. Photo: Atlantic Film. Marina Berti in Febbre di vivere/Eager to Live (Claudio Gora, 1953). The film, Gora's second film as director after a rich career as an actor, was based on a play by Leopoldo Trieste called 'Cronaca'.

Italian actress Marina Berti (1924-2002) was a popular starlet of Italian films in the 1940s and early 1950s.

Marlon Brando
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 565.

American film star Marlon Brando (1924-2004) was a cultural icon, most famous for his Oscar-winning performances as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954) and Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972). 

Renato Baldini in La grande speranza
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, no. 706. Photo: Minerva Film. Renato Baldini in Oceano amaro/Bitter Ocean, the back of the card says. This title lacks in IMDb but it is probably the film La grande speranza/Torpedo Zone (Duilio Coletti, 1953), in which Baldini plays the lead as the commander of an Italian submarine during WWII. The film was based on true events.

Renato Baldini (1921-1995) was an Italian actor who appeared in 87 films between 1950 and 1983 and specialized in the genres 'en vogue' in Italian cinema.

May Britt in La nave delle donne maledette (1953)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 716. May Britt in La nave delle donne maledette/The Ship of Damned Women (Raffaello Matarazzo, 1953).

Blonde, blue-eyed Swedish actress May Britt (1933) had a brief career as a film star in the 1950s, first in Italy and later in the United States. She retired from the screen after she married Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1960.

Terence Morgan in Dance Little Lady (1954)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1004. Photo: Rank Film. Terence Morgan in Dance Little Lady (Val Guest, 1954).

Tall, dark, and charming English actor Terence Morgan (1921-2005) played many attractive villains and criminals in British films. But he is probably best remembered for his starring role in the TV historical adventure series Sir Francis Drake (1961-1962), about the first Englishman to sail around the world. After this success, parts started to dry up as Morgan was no longer seen as ‘the bad guy’.

Mamie van Doren
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1088. Photo: Universal-International.

Voluptuous American actress Mamie Van Doren (1931) was a sex symbol of the 1950s and 1960s. Van Doren starred in several exploitation films such as Untamed Youth (1957), loaded with rock 'n' roll and juvenile delinquency. Her onscreen wardrobe usually consisted of tight sweaters, low-cut blouses, form-fitting dresses, and daring swimsuits. 

Gloria Grahame in Naked Alibi (1954)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1190. Photo: Universal-International. Gloria Grahame in Naked Alibi (Jerry Hopper, 1954).

American stage, film, television actress, and singer Gloria Grahame (1923-1981) was often cast in Film Noirs as a tarnished beauty with an irresistible sexual allure. She received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress nomination for Crossfire (1947), and would later win the award for The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). 

Marilyn Monroe
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1195. Caption: Italy's News Photos.

By 1953, Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars, with leading roles in three films: the Noir Niagara, which focused on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a 'dumb blonde'. 

Gérard Philipe in Gérard Philipe in Monsieur Ripois (1954)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1197. Gérard Philipe in Monsieur Ripois/Lovers, Happy Lovers! (René Clément, 1954).

The legendary idol of the French cinema Gérard Philipe (1922–1959) was adored for his good looks, but he was also a very talented actor. He played roles as diverse as Faust and Modigliani and he was sought out by France's preeminent directors for his versatility and professionalism.

Donna Reed
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1213. Photo: Edizioni Economiche Romana.

Donna Reed (1921-1986) was an American film, television actress, and producer. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her role as Mary Hatch Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946). She received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lorene Burke in the war drama From Here to Eternity (Fred Zinnemann, 1953). 

Marisa Allasio on the border
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1228. Italy's News Photos.

Italian actress Marisa Allasio (born 1934) was a glamorous starlet who appeared in nearly twenty pictures in the 1950s. She was nicknamed ‘The Italian Jayne Mansfield’. In 1958 her career stopped abruptly when she married and became a countess.

Alessandra Panaro (1939-2019)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1310.

Alessandra Panaro (1939-2019) was an Italian film actress of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is best known for Luchino Visconti's crime drama Rocco e i suoi fratelli/Rocco and His Brothers (1960).

Brigitte Bardot
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1435. Photo: Cineriz.

Beautiful French actress Brigitte Bardot (1934) was the sex kitten of the European film industry. BB starred in 48 films, performed in numerous musical shows, and recorded 80 songs. After her retirement in 1973, she established herself as an animal rights activist and made vegetarianism sexy.

Joi Lansing
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1618. Photo: Paramount.

Joi Lansing (1929-1972) was a voluptuous, peroxide-blonde American model, actress, and nightclub singer. She was noted for her pin-up photos and roles in B-movies often cast in roles similar to those played by Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Remarkable was her prominent role in the opening tracking shot in Orson Welles' classic Touch of Evil (1958).

Jacqueline Sassard
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1724. Photo: Distr. Euro International Films. Jacqueline Sassard in the Franco-Italian coproduction Le donne sono deboli/Faibles femmes (Michel Boisrond, 1959).

Charming and beautiful Jacqueline Sassard (1940-2021) had a short but successful career in the European cinema of the late 1950s and 1960s.

Mara Berni in Il vigile (1960)
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1731. Photo: Cineriz. Mara Berni in Il vigile/The Traffic Policeman (Luigi Zampa, 1960).

Blonde, shapely, with fresh and sensual beauty, Mara Berni (1932) took part in about forty films made between the 1950s and 1960s, mostly in the comical genre, alongside big names such as Alberto Sordi and Totò.

And please, check out our Bromofoto album on Flickr.

No comments: