Intimidades cinematograficas

Ivo Blom loves to collect small Spanish collector cards from the 1910s and 1920s. They present many film stills of little-known and famous films of the era. One of the series which he collects is 'Intimidades cinematograficas' from the mid-1920s. The 20 minicards in the series I of 'Intimidades cinematograficas' offer unique and, yes, intimate glimpses of what happened on Hollywood sets in between filming.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 1 of 20. Caption: Jackie Coogan's signature.

In the presence of his parents and Sam Goldwyn, Jackie Coogan signs a contract for his first film with Metro-Goldwyn.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 2 of 20. Caption: Adam's rib and Dino's rib.

Milton Sills during the production of Adam's Rib (Cecil B. DeMille, 1923). The woman next to him is Jeanie MacPherson, screenwriter of the film and DeMille's regular collaborator, for whom she worked for 24 years.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 3 of 20. Caption: A break during the work of Fitzmaurice.

Director George Fitzmaurice, discussing with his wife Ouida Bergère the production of the prestigious film The Man from Home (George Fitzmaurice, 1922), shot in Italy. It was based on a novel by Booth Tarkington.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 4 of 20. Caption: The difficult moment.

Cecil B. DeMille has a difficult moment directing The Golden Bed (Cecil B. DeMille, 1925), based on a novel by Wallace Irving, as it is difficult to combine the set of characters that should appear on the screen. DeMille and his cinematographer look tense, and only one of the assistants has a smile on his face.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 5 of 20. Caption: The difficulties of filmmaking.

Rex Ingram and cinematographer John Seitz during the shooting of Scaramouche (Rex Ingram, 1923).


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 6 of 20. Caption: Free spectacle.

According to the minicard, the photo is taken during a break in the shooting of Beyond the Rocks (Sam Wood, 1922), starring Gloria Swanson. In the background, curious spectators are visible. A beach in California is the stand-in for the Sahara.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 7 of 20. Caption: Spanish art in Hollywood.

Rudolph Valentino and Helena d'Algy in A Sainted Devil (Joseph Henabery, 1924).


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 8 of 20. Caption: The preparation of a film (scene).

Director Reginald Barker explains his film to his actors of the Metro production Pleasure Mad (Reginald Barker, 1923), based on a novel by Blanche Upright. Left to right, the actors Winifred Bryson, Huntley Gordon, Mary Alden and Norma Shearer. Behind them were the cinematographers Alvin Wyckoff and Norbert Brodin. Next to Barker, the scriptwriter Andrew Percival Younger.


Spanish minicard (collector's card). Series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 9 of 20. Caption: Filming in a stormy area.

Here, Thomas Meighan and director Alfred Green during the making of The Ne'er Do Well (Alfred Green, 1923), shot in Panama. The director, holding the film's script, points the actor to where he needs to go to, the door of the local Teatro Tivoli. Next to them, is the camera which cannot wait to get set in motion by the cinematographer, who is just finishing lunch.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 10 of 20. Caption: At the borders of the Sahara.

Rex Ingram, Alice Terry, Ramon Novarro, and many others posing for a group photo during the making of The Arab (Rex Ingram, 1924).


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 11 of 20. Caption: The happy girls from Hollywood.

For The Dressmaker from Paris (Paul Bern, 1925), Paramount organised a beauty contest. In the end, Leatrice Joy played the female lead.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 12 of 20. Caption: Pola Negri documents herself.

Pola Negri and Ernst Lubitsch during the preparation of Forbidden Paradise Ernst (Lubitsch, 1924).


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 13 of 20. Caption: One minute, if you please!

Victor Schertzinger directs Eva and Jane Novak in The Man Life Passed By (1923). Mark the female violin player on the right.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 14 of 20. Caption: Filming in the natural world.

Léonce Perret directs Madame Sans-Gêne (1925), with Gloria Swanson in the title role.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 15 of 20. Caption: The redskins from Peter Pan.

This minicard refers to Peter Pan (Herbert Brenon, 1924), starring Betty Bronson. On this card in the middle Ernest Torrence is visible as Captain Hook, while the director stands on the right. The little person may be Bronson.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 16 of 20. Caption: The modern Cleopatra.

Nita Naldi in an intermezzo with the director at the set of Lawful Larceny (Allan Dwan, 1923).


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 17 of 20. Caption: Filming in the mountains

Filming in the mountains, far from Hollywood. Group photo taken during the shooting of the Metro film The Eagle's Feather (1923), directed by Edward Sloman and J. J. Hughes and cinematography by Georges Rizard, although IMDb gives other names. The film was based on the eponymous novel of Katherine Newlin Burt, adapted by Winifred Dunn. The actors James Kirkwood, Mary Alden, Lester Cuneo, and Charles McHugh are all visible on the photo.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 18 of 20. Caption: The handshake of Betty Compson.

The handshake of Betty Compson to real Indians who work as extras in cinema. According to the card, the photo was taken during the making of the Paramount film La horda maldita (The cursed horde = The Thundering Herd (William K. Howard, 1925), but Compson isn't in that film. It is more likely this minicard refers to Compson's film The Pony Express (James Cruze, 1925).


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 19 of 20. Caption: Interesting reading.

Lewis Stone and Nita Naldi on their knees next to director George Melford, during the making of the Paramount film You Can't Fool Your Wife (George Melford, 1923). Behind them, the cinematographer Charles G. Clarke.


Spanish minicard (collectors card) in the series Intimidades cinematograficas, series I, card 20 of 20. Caption: A rain of pearls!

On the set of the silent Hollywood film Empire Builders (E. Mason Hopper, 1924), produced by Goldwyn. The leading actor Cullen Landis and director E. Mason Hopper closely inspect a huge collection of original pearls, worth millions of dollars (the card claims).