15 New cards from G.D.I.: Hollywood stars of the early 1950s

For our monthly post on the Geoffrey Donaldson Institute postcard collection, we selected 15 cards from a little black album called 'Cine Stars'. Bart Vermeer donated the album to the GDI in 2020, but the original owner was Henri Pauwels in Leuven or Louvain, Belgium. His album was published by the Chocolate Factory Kwatta and had the MGM lion on its cover. In an introduction, 'Kwattina, the Kwatta mascot' writes: "You are familiar with the lion that adorns the cover of this album. He has been roaring on screen for years. You know that he announces the best current films, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films, which feature the best stars. They are the stars, your stars, whose photos you will collect in this lovely album". How ironic that Henri mainly collected cards of stars from other Hollywood studios. He was particularly fond of Doris Day. Most of the postcards were probably made in Belgium.


Vintage postcard, no. 193. Photo: 20th Century Fox.

By 1953, Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars, with leading roles in three films: the Film 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". Although she played a significant role in shaping her public image throughout her career, she was disappointed by being typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project, but returned to star in one of the biggest box office successes of her career, The Seven Year Itch (1955).


Vintage postcard, no. 352. Photo: Warner Bros. Doris Day in It's a Great Feeling (David Butler, 1949).

Legendary actress and singer Doris Day (1922-2019), with her blonde hair and blue eyes, performed with several big bands before going solo in 1947. In the 1950s, she starred in a series of popular film musicals, including Calamity Jane (1953) and The Pajama Game (1957). 'Que Será, Será!' became her theme song. With Rock Hudson, she starred in the box office hit Pillow Talk (1959). On TV, she appeared in the sitcom The Doris Day Show (1968-1973).


Vintage postcard, no. 352. Photo: Warner Bros. Doris Day in It's a Great Feeling (David Butler, 1949).


Vintage postcard, no. 352. Photo: Warner Bros.


Vintage postcard, no. 160. Photo: M.G.M. Tony Curtis and Mona Freeman in Flesh and Fury (Joseph Pevney, 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. From 1949, he appeared in more than 100 films and made frequent television appearances.

American actress Mona Freeman (1926-2014) was the perennially young bobbysoxer of post-war Paramount. She played teen roles long after she had outgrown them, and this later stifled her adult career, although she became a competent actress.


Vintage postcard, no. 120. Photo: M.G.M. Tony Curtis and Mona Freeman in Flesh and Fury (Joseph Pevney, 1952).


Vintage postcard, no. 551. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Lena Horne (1917-2010) was an American singer, dancer, actress, and human rights activist. She is known as one of the most popular African American entertainers of the twentieth century. She starred in the film musicals Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Stormy Weather (1943).


Dutch postcard, no. 1080. Photo: Warner Bros. Doris Day and Kirk Douglas in Young Man With A Horn (Michael Curtiz, 1950).

Cleft-chinned and steely-eyed American superstar Kirk Douglas (1916-2020) made his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Douglas soon developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1950s, known for serious dramas, including Westerns and War films. Our favourites are the two classics he made with Stanley Kubrick, Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). During his long career, he appeared in more than 90 films.


Vintage card, no. 951. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Mario Lanza and Kathryn Grayson in The Toast of New Orleans (Norman Taurog, 1950). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.

Mario Lanza (1921–1959) was an American tenor, actor and Hollywood film star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. His masterpiece was The Great Caruso (Richard Thorpe, 1951), the top-grossing film in the world in 1951. Lanza's voice was so dazzling that an awestruck Arturo Toscanini called it the "voice of the century".

American actress Kathryn Grayson (1922-2010) was a pretty, petite brunette with a heart-shaped face. During the 1940s and early 1950s, she starred in several MGM musicals with Gene Kelly and Mario Lanza. Her best-known musicals are Show Boat (1950) and Kiss Me Kate (1953).


Dutch postcard, no. 252. Photo: Warner Bros. Doris Day and Gordon MacRae in On Moonlight Bay (Roy Del Ruth, 1951).

With his handsome boy-next-door looks, deep baritone, and glorious smile, Gordon MacRae (1920-1986) was successful as a singer and musical actor. He was best known for five films with Doris Day and his roles in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956).


Dutch postcard by DRC, no. F 99. Photo: Warner Bros. Doris Day and Gordon MacRae in On Moonlight Bay (Roy Del Ruth, 1951).


Vintage postcard, no. 565.


Vintage postcard, no. 1151. Photo: Warner Bros. Doris Day and Gene Nelson in Lullaby of Broadway (David Butler, 1951).

American actor and dancer Gene Nelson (1920-1996) is best known for his role as cowboy Will Parker in Oklahoma! (1955), where he would twirl the lasso to the tune of 'Kansas City'. After graduating from high school, Nelson joined the Sonja Henie Ice Show and toured for 3 years before joining the Army in World War II. After he was discharged, he appeared on screen with Debbie Reynolds in The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950), Doris Day in Tea for Two (1950) and Virginia Mayo in She's Working Her Way Through College (1952). After his dancing days ended, he turned to directing TV and films.


Dutch postcard, no. 1051. Photo: Warner Bros.


Vintage postcard, no. 76. Photo: Sam Lévin.

In the early 1950s, cute and pretty French actress Françoise Arnoul (1931-2021) was presented as the new French sex symbol. Soon she was overshadowed by the spectacular Brigitte Bardot, but Arnoul had enough talent and range to forge a decent film career for herself.

All postcards in this post are from the collection of the Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.