European Film Star Postcards: Guess Who

29 August 2021

Guess Who

A while ago I bought a large set of small black and white cards with starlets. They must date from the early 1960s. I guess someone took quite bad photos of magazine pictures. According to the seller at the Dutch version of eBay, Marktplaats, the photos had been published in Dutch Oh-la-la magazines like De Lach, in English 'The Smile'. Why the pictures were taken and what was done with them is unclear. Anyhow, we like them. I uploaded the cards at Flickr and asked our followers to Guess Who the portrayed starlets were. Many stars have been guessed, but the last three are for you to guess.

Anita Ekberg.

Elsa Martinelli.

Jackie Lane a.k.a. Jocelyn Lane.

Barbara Nichols.

Chelo Alonso.

A Dutch weekly for men with scantily clad female movie stars

De Lach (The Smile) was, together with De Piccolo, a Dutch weekly for men that appeared from 1924 to 1972. The magazine contained many photos of scantily clad female movie stars in bathing suits, bikinis, etc., very daring for that time, especially in the early days. The magazine took its name from the many humorous pages with jokes and cartoons and it also contained stories. However, the interest of the readers went mainly to the ladies in bikinis. The magazine was for sale in newsstands and was read at the hairdresser.

The first volumes of the magazine focused on the family, with features such as "What Fashion Says" for women and "For our toddlers" for the children. In 1925, photos of American movie stars started to appear in the magazine. In the early years, these were portraits that illustrated stories about the latest films, but in the 1930s more and more actresses could be seen in bathing suits. The photos were gradually getting more blotchy and daring.

It is not really possible to speak of a sex magazine, it was mainly about covert eroticism. It was only in the last years of the magazine that more photos appeared of completely undressed ladies. De Lach has never posted "action photos" and the stories also had little porn-like, but could be called 'naughty'. The magazine was not allowed to appear during the war years, the reason is unclear.

In the late 1960s, after the sexual revolution, De Lach had a hard time because other magazines emerged in the Netherlands that showed much more. The real sex magazines arose such as Chick and Candy, and former family magazines like Panorama suddenly also contained nudity. De Lach tried to participate but could not survive. The last issue was published in 1972.

A little anecdote: as young kids in the 1960s, Truus and I read 'De Lach' at home. My parents received these magazines from our grandmother. Grandma never read them, but out of pity for the man who sold the magazines, she refused to cancel the subscription and gave the magazines to my father. As young kids, Truus and I loved the magazines too, and like serious beauty-contestant judges, we gave all the models numbers for who we liked best.

Marilyn Monroe.

Angie Dickinson.

Julie Newmar.

Dorothy Malone.

Pamela Tiffin.

Nancy Sinatra.

Shirley MacLaine.

Mamie van Doren.

Carole Lesley.

Claudia Cardinale.

Miss Xmas 1954: Belinda Lee.

Happy New Year: Myrna Hansen.

Ann-Margret.

Mylène Demongeot.

Martha Hyer.

Jacqueline Jones.

Connie Francis.

Brigitte Bardot (barefoot) and her father Louis Bardot at Maxim's restaurant during a "Mic Mac" party in April 1967.

Brigitte Bardot at the dancefloor of Maxim's restaurant during a "Mic Mac" party in April 1967.

Brigitte Bardot and her then-husband Gunter Sachs leaving Maxim's restaurant after a "Mic Mac" party in April 1967. "Mic Mac" was Sachs's fashion brand.