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Nana, the 1934 Dorothy Arzner & George Fitzmaurice romantic melodrama ("Passion Flower of New Russia!"; "Idol of Europe...and actress of transcendent beauty and captivation allure! A breathless world -- after two years of waiting -- now beholds her first American appearance -- as Zola's voluptuous daughter of the pavements!"; "A bright New Star from Red Russia shooting Westward to kindle the American Screen with a new Fire!"; based on the novel by Emile Zola) starring Anna Sten (in the title role as Nana), Lionel Atwill, Richard Bennett, Mae Clarke, Phillips Holmes, Muriel Kirkland, and Lucille Ball (in a bit part). Note that Phillips Holmes had made an impression in some movies in the late 1920s. In 1931, he would get the lead in the first version of "An American Tragedy", which made it seem like he would become a major star, but that didn't materialize. He had a major affair with Libby Holman, but that was certainly complicated, and when they broke up, she immediately married his brother! Oddly, years later, Holman would have another very complicated affair with Montgomery Clift, who played the same part in the remake of "An American Tragedy", retitled "A Place in the Sun". Sadly, Holmes died in a plane crash in 1942. I am very surprised no one has made a movie about his life, or a joint movie about him and Libby Holman! Like most of director Arzner's movies, this one dealt with a very independent woman who "goes her own way" in life! Also note that Dorothy Arzner was a director from the 1920s to the 1940s, and she was the only woman director during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood ('20s to '40s) and she was the first woman to join the Directors Guild of America. Arzner was a lesbian at a time when almost no females openly were, and she was surprisingly open about it, often dressing in "men's clothes" and wearing her hair short. She made many "women's movies" and movies with a "feminist" theme. After making "First Comes Courage" in 1943, she made training films for the U.S. Army WACs, and she never returned to making Hollywood movies, becoming a film teacher of directing and screenwriting, teaching at UCLA until her passing in 1979.
NOTE: Click on linked names to see a biography.

Important Added Info: Note that this still has been trimmed and it now measures 7 1/4" x 8 1/2" [18 x 22 cm].

Note that this still likely has a stamp on the back in the form of a diamond that has the letters "TRR". One certainly might wonder who placed this stamp there and why. The answer is that 160 of the stills in this set of auctions come to us from a still collector who has collected for many decades, and long ago he began stamping the back of almost his stills with this stamp, and "TRR" is his initials! Each of those stills is stamped lightly, and the stamp does NOT affect the front of the still. He is a VERY advanced collector, and he has consigned many wonderful stills to us!

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