Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 8. Photo: Universal.
Vivacious blonde June Clyde (1909-1987) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She was known for roles in such pre-Code films as A Strange Adventure (1932), Tess of the Storm Country (1932) and A Study in Scarlet (1933), with Reginald Owen as Sherlock Holmes. In 1934, Clyde moved to England with her husband Thornton Freeland and appeared in several British films and stage productions.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 11. Photo: Fox.
American actress and Ziegfeld Girl Peggy Shannon (1907- 1941) was promoted as 'the New Clara Bow'' but her Hollywood career was soon over and she moved to Broadway. A serious drinking problem finished her career and ended her life at only 34.
German postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 15. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Charming American model, vaudeville and film actress Leila Hyams (1905-1977) was one of Hollywood's top leading ladies of the early talkie pre-code years. She had spark, personality, charisma, and a touch of down-to-earthness and naturalness that won over movie fans; they could relate to her. She is best known for her roles in the classic horror features Freaks (1932) and Island of Lost Souls (1932). Her career lasted little more than a decade.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 18. Photo: United Artists.
American actor Chester Morris (1901-1970) was a Broadway star who billed himself as "the youngest leading man in the country". With his dark, good looks and chiselled jaw, he became a film star in the sound era. Morris was Oscar-nominated for Alibi (1929), but his greatest success was The Big House (1930). However, his star dimmed and by the end of the decade, he was appearing in B-pictures, From 1941, the Boston Blackie series at Columbia Pictures revived his career. In all, he appeared in 14 films as a detective.
French-born actress Yola d'Avril (1907-1984) arrived in Hollywood at the end of the silent era. She became close friends with Gloria Swanson, who guided her career. First National dropped her due to her French accent. Still, she co-starred with Joan Blondell in God's Gift to Women (1931) and worked with Spencer Tracy in Sky Devils (1932). Although she appeared in more than seventy films, she never became a major star.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 19. Photo: Universal. Harry Carey in Law and Order (Edward L. Cahn, 1932).
American actor and cowboy Harry Carey (1878-1947) was one of the silent film's earliest superstars. He was the father of Harry Carey Jr., who was also a prominent actor.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 21. Photo: Paramount. Ernesto Vilches.
Spanish artist, theatre director and actor Ernesto Vilches (1879-1954) worked in Spain, Argentina, Mexico and other Latin American countries. He had his own company and was one of the first Spanish actors who became a star in Hollywood.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 22. Photo: Universal.
Blue-eyed, dark-haired Rose Hobart (1906-2000) was an American stage and film actress and a Screen Actors Guild official. She appeared in more than 40 films. Her career screeched to a halt after she was questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee and black-listed in 1949.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 24. Photo: Fox.
Marian Nixon (1904-1983), aka Marion Nixon, was an American actress, who acted in over 70 films.
Spanish postcard by PD / Imp. Cinematograficas Dümmatzen, no. 32. Diana Karenne in Le Collier de la reine/The Queen's Necklace (Tony Lekain, Gaston Ravel, 1929).
Polish actress Diana Karenne (1888-1940) was one of the divas of Italian silent cinema. Between 1916 and 1920, Karenne fascinated audiences with her eccentric dresses and make-up, and with her primadonna behaviour. Afterwards, she had a career in German and French silent cinema.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 38. Photo: Columbia.
Spanish-American film actress and Flamenco dancer Maria Alba (1905-1999) was one of Hollywood's Latin stars. She appeared in Hollywood films between 1927 and 1935.
One of the most beautiful and mythologised of Spanish postcards
Paul Dümmatzen was born around 1878 in Hamburg, Germany. At the beginning of 1900, he settled in Malaga, Spain, where 'Pablo' Dúmmtazen began to manufacture and distribute canned fried anchovies. How this business went is unknown, but that same year, he had a series of lithographic postcards printed in a German graphic arts workshop with Spanish views.
Remarkable was that when viewed against the light, the transparent views became night scenes, in which the moon, the windows and the illuminated street lamps stood out. This patented system was known as ‘meteor’. Carlos Pascual del Cose considers Dümmatzen 's initial series of eleven postcards, as "one of the most beautiful and mythologised of Spanish postcards". The views are from the cities of Madrid, Seville, Tangiers (with two views each), Malaga, Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz and Jerez de la Frontera. The postcards are of course in great demand.
In 1903 Pablo Dümmatzen made a major professional turn. Although he continued to produce postcards of cities, he devoted himself mainly to fantasy, beauty, greetings, humour, etc. from then on. He also moved his business to Barcelona, first in Calle Conde de Asalto number 7, and finally, around 1910, in Plaza de Tetuán number 4.
In 1907 he married Emma Hauke from Hungary, with whom he probably had no children. In 1922, Pablo Dümmatzen placed an advertisement in the newspaper La Vanguardia that explained how he worked. In the advertisement, he called for postcard models: ‘Children in military costumes, nurses, barmaids and others of great luxury. Please contact Pablo Dümmatzen. Plaza Tetuán, 4, dressed in costume, from 10 to 12.'
In Barcelona, Pablo Dümmatzen produced hundreds of thousands of postcards, including the film star series series. It is an interesting series that presents several Spanish and Mexican actors like Ernesto Vilches and Maria Alba who starred in Spanish-language versions of Hollywood films during the early sound era. Dümmatzen published the series from around 1931. 394 was the highest number we could find. The star on this card is Alice Faye and the photo was made for Fox. Fox only offered Faye a contract in 1934. So the series must have continued for several years. In 1971, Pablo Dümmatzen passed away in Barcelona, at the age of 93.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 63. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
Karen Morley (1909-2003) was an American film actress whose career was broken in 1947 by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 68. Photo: United Artists.
Estelle Taylor (1894–1958) was an American actress, singer, model, and animal rights activist. With "dark-brown, almost black hair, and brown eyes", she was regarded as one of the most beautiful silent film stars of the 1920s.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 72. Photo: Universal.
George Sidney (1877-1945) was a Hungarian-born film actor and comedian with long vaudeville experience. He starred in the popular The Cohens and Kellys comedy series opposite Charles Murray.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 84. Photo: Columbia. Lupita Tovar and Ramón Pereda in Carne de cabaret (Eduardo Arozamena, Christy Cabanne (as William Cababa), 1931). They read the magazine L'ecran. Carne de Cabaret was the Spanish-language version of Ten Cents a Dance (Lionel Barrymore, Edward Buzzell, 1931).
Mexican-American actress Lupita Tovar (1910-2016) was best known for her starring role in the Spanish-language version of Drácula (1931). It was filmed in Los Angeles by Universal at night using the same sets as the Bela Lugosi version but with a different cast and director. She also starred in Santa (1932), one of the first Mexican sound films, and one of the first commercial Spanish-language sound films. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living actress and among the last surviving stars of the Golden Ages of both Mexican cinema and Hollywood.
Ramón Pereda (1897–1986) was a Spanish-Mexican actor, screenwriter, film producer and film director. He appeared in the Spanish-language version of the Revue film Paramount on Parade (1930).
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 90. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Anita Page in Our Blushing Brides (Harry Beaumont, 1930).
Beautiful Anita Page (1910–2008) was one of the most popular leading ladies of Hollywood during the last years of the silent screen and the first years of the sound era. According to MGM, she received the most fan mail then and her nickname was "the girl with the most beautiful face in Hollywood".
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen no. 103. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
Jimmy Durante (1893-1980) was an American singer, pianist, comedian, writer, and actor. His famous nickname was 'The Great Schnozzola', referencing his big nose. He was also known for his deep raspy voice when he said "Ha-Cha-Cha-Chaaaaa!". He won an Emmy Award in 1952.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 111. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still of Imperio Argentina, Manuel Russell and Pepe Romeu in Su noche de bodas/Her Wedding Night (Louis Mercanton, Florián Rey, 1931).
Imperio Argentina (1906-2003) was a singer, dancer and actress, who appeared in more than 30 films. Although she was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and was successful all over South America, she was a Spanish citizen. Besides in Spain and South America, she also worked in France, Italy and Germany.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 112. Photo: United Artists. Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes in Arrowsmith (John Ford, 1931).
English gentleman-actor Ronald Colman (1891-1958) was a top box office draw in Hollywood films throughout the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. ‘The Man with the Velvet Voice’ was nominated for four Academy Awards. In 1948 he finally won the Oscar for his splendid portrayal of a tormented actor in A Double Life (1947).
American film and stage actress Helen Hayes (1900-1993) had a long and successful career in American show business. She won the 1932 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in The Sin of Madelon Claudet, and another Academy Award for her supporting role in the disaster film Airport. She also won several Tony Awards for her theatre work, the Emmy Award and the Grammy. This makes her one of the few people to win all four major awards in the US entertainment industry.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 118. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
Charming American model, vaudeville and film actress Leila Hyams (1905-1977) was one of Hollywood's top leading ladies of the early talkie pre-code years. She had spark, personality, charisma, and a touch of down-to-earthness and naturalness that won over movie fans; they could relate to her. She is best known for her roles in the classic horror features Freaks (1932) and Island of Lost Souls (1932). Her career lasted little more than a decade.
German-American competition swimmer and actor Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984) is best known for playing Tarzan in films of the 1930s and 1940s and for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. Weissmuller was one of the world's fastest swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals for swimming and one bronze medal for water polo. He won fifty-two US National Championships, set sixty-seven world records and was purportedly undefeated in official competition for the entirety of his competitive career. After his swimming career, he became the sixth actor to portray Edgar Rice Burroughs's ape man, Tarzan, a role he played in twelve films.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 394. Foto: Fox. Collection: Marlène Pilaete.
In the second half of the 1930s and the first half of the 1940s, Alice Faye (1915-1998) was a name to reckon with in the world of Hollywood musicals. Her compelling voice, her remarkable ability to put over a song and her endearing screen persona made her a top star.
Source: Carlos Pascual del Cose (El Cartofilo Empedernido - Spanish), Wikipedia (Spanish and English) and IMDb.
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