Publisher's Synopsis
Thelma Todd was the perfect combination: a beautiful and funny actress, a great onscreen comedienne. Today's audiences may best remember her for her memorable supporting roles in films of Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers. But Todd's film career was so much larger. In the 1930s, she starred in a successful short subject series with Zasu Pitts and later with Patsy Kelly for Hal Roach Studios. During the Depression, she was more popular than say Goldie Hawn or Farrah Fawcett. In all, she appeared in 115 films, with her first being --at 21 years of age-- as Lorraine Lane in Fascinating Youth (1926). a silent romantic comedy. (She even worked opposite the legendary Gary Cooper in the silent western, Nevada (1927).) Given her beauty and talent, Todd's name would have been a household word, if she lived long enough to continue making films and even appearing on television shows. Unfortunately, in 1935, at the age of 29, she was found slumped over the wheel of her Lincoln convertible. Her death was ruled a suicide because of carbon monoxide poisoning, Then and now those who knew her believe she was murdered. Her sudden death was a tragic, sad end to a bright, promising career. As a tribute to her great talent and legacy, the Thelma Todd Movie Poster Art & Stills Book presents a mixture of 75 vintage color and black and white illustrations from 45 of 115 of her films. They include one sheet posters, poster art (such as lobby cards), still photos and screen images from a sample of her film appearances, from Nevada (1927) to The Bohemian Girl (1936) with Laurel and Hardy. The Thelma Todd Movie Poster Art & Stills Book is not a complete collection, nor does it contain any biographical information about Todd or any information about her films. Instead, it's a pictorial tribute to a beautiful, funny actress who was a class act all her own. (The following is a list of movie poster art and stills contained in this book: Ads: Vamping Venus (1928) and Speak Easily (1932), Insert: The Devil's Brother (1933). Lobby Cards: Nevada (1927), The Gay Defender (1927), The Haunted House (1928), The Noose (1928), Seven Footprints to Satan (1929), The Bachelor Girl (1929), Aloha (1931), Corsair (1931), Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932), Air Hostess (1933), Cheating Blondes (1933), Counselor-at-Law (1933), The Devil's Brother (1933), Babes in the Goods (1934) and One Horse Farmers (1934), One Sheet Posters: Vamping Venus (1928), Corsair (1931), Cheating Blondes (1933), Hips Hips Hooray (1934), I'll Be Suing You (1934), One Horse Farmers (1934), Opened by Mistake (1934) and Hal Roach 20th Anniversary (1934). Stills: Nevada (1927), The Gay Defender (1927), The Noose (1928), Vamping Venus (1928), Seven Footprints to Satan (1929), The Snappy Sneezer (1929), Sky Boy (1929), Brats (1930), Her Man (1930), The Shrimp (1930), The Hot Heiress (1931), Chickens Come Home (1931), Monkey Business (1931), On the Loose (1931), The Maltese Falcon (1931), Call Her Savage (1932), Horse Feathers (1932), Speak Easily (1932), The Nickel Nurser (1932), This is the Night (1932), Strictly Unreliable (1932), Son of a Sailor (1933), The Devil's Brother (1933), Bottoms Up (1934), Maid in Hollywood (1934), Cockeyed Cavaliers (1934), Babes in the Goods (1934), The Poor Rich (1934), Palooka (1934), Two for Tonight (1935) and The Bohemian Girl (1936). Screen Images: Another Fine Mess (1930), Chickens Come Home (1931), Call Her Savage (1932) and The Bohemian Girl (1936).)
