Hungarian Beauty Ilona Massey 1947 Vintage Roman Freulich Hollywood Photograph

Description

ITEM: This is a 1947 vintage and original silver gelatin photograph from Republic Pictures of Hungarian-born actress Ilona Massey. Photographed by Roman Freulich. This is a wonderfully composed studio portrait with exquisite lighting that perfectly captures Massey's beauty and allure. Massey made two films for Republic Pictures during her career, "Northwest Outpost" (1947) and "The Plunderers" (1948).
A film, stage, and radio performer, Ilona Massey first sang and danced in chorus lines before appearing in a handful of Austrian films. When she arrived in Hollywood she was billed as "the new Dietrich" and acted opposite such stars as Nelson Eddy, Lon Chaney, Jr., and the Marx Brothers. As her film career waned, she found steady work in radio and on television, even hosting her own weekly musical variety show.
Photograph measures 8" x 10" on a glossy single weight paper stock with studio ink stamps on verso.
Guaranteed to be 100% vintage and original from Grapefruit Moon Gallery.
More about Ilona Massey:
Sultry, opulent blonde Hungarian singer Ilona Massey survived an impoverished childhood in Budapest, Hungary to become a glamorous talent both here and abroad. As a dressmaker's apprentice she managed to scrape up money together for singing lessons and first danced in chorus lines, later earning roles at the Staats Opera. A Broadway, radio and night-club performer, she appeared in a couple of Austrian features before coming to America to duet with Nelson Eddy in a couple of his glossy operettas. In the first, Rosalie (1937), she was secondary to Mr. Eddy and Eleanor Powell, but in the second vehicle, Balalaika (1939), she was the popular baritone's prime co-star. Billed as "the new Dietrich," Ms. Massey did not live up to the hype as her soprano voice was deemed too light for the screen and her acting talent too slight and mannered. She continued in non-singing roles in a brief movie career that included only 11 films. For the most part she was called upon to play sophisticated temptresses in thrillers and spy intrigues. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) and Love Happy (1949) with the three Marx Bros. are her best recalled. She appeared on radio as a spy in the Top Secret program and, on TV, co-starred in the espionage series Rendezvous (1952). In the mid-50s she had her own musical TV show in which she sang classy ballads. She became an American citizen in 1946. Married four times, once to actor Alan Curtis, Ms. Massey died of cancer in 1974. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh
More about Roman Freulich:
Roman Freulich was born in Poland and at age 14 immigrated to the United States to join his brothers. Freulich trained with New York photographer Samuel Lumiere. In the mid-1920s Freulich moved to Hollywood, where his brother Jack was a portrait photographer at Universal Pictures. Roman Freulich became a still photographer at Universal, shooting many of their major stars. He remained at Universal until 1944 when he was offered a position at Republic Studios as head of its still department. In the late 1950s, after Republic ceased production, Freulich freelanced, mostly for United Artists, until the mid-1960s. – MPTV Images