Peggy was the female lead opposite Leslie Howard in the Broadway stage version of The Petrified Forest in 1935, shown here backstage. When the play was adapted for film the following year, Howard and Humphrey Bogart kept their roles but Peggy’s went to Bette Davis.
Peggy came to Hollywood in 1934 but made only five films. She’s here with Ginger Rogers (L) and Lucille Ball (R) for her last screen effort: Having Wonderful Time (1938).
Trivia: In an earlier studio ad announcing The Brat (1931), Maureen O’Sullivan was announced to play the lead and Myrna Loy was in the supporting cast. Only Frank Albertson ended up in the finished production.
This pre-Code RKO photo shoot presents Jean at her most sultry and provocative. Needless to say she didn’t stick with this image but I think it’s fun to see her in this light.
Two more of Jean and Linden as featured in a 1933 issue of Film Fun, a humor/film magazine aimed at men that often featured photos of scantily clad Hollywood ingenues.
Louise sports an interesting hat in a photo for King of Gamblers (1937). Director Robert Florey promised Louise a minor role but all of her scenes were cut. She always remained bitter at what she thought was Paramount humiliating her as revenge for her being “difficult.” (Thread)
Louise with another King of Gamblers actress looking for a comeback: Evelyn Brent, her co-star years earlier in Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em (1926). Evelyn struggled with the “has been” aspect the press was eager to portray while Louise just kept quiet. The cover of Piccola, 1937 (R):
Publicity shot for King of Gamblers (1937) with Robert Florey, Louise, Akim Tamiroff and Evelyn. Louise once said that Florey “specialized in giving jobs to destitute and sufficiently grateful actresses.”
In 1965, Louise wrote a letter that noted her experience with Florey and making King of Gamblers (1937): “this St. Francis of the destitute actresses expected to get laid. When I would not cooperate he treated me like a criminal.”
