Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Liselotte Pulver at Disneyland

Years ago my pal "Mr. X" gave me a copy of a vintage publicity still of a young woman who happened to be at Disneyland. I thought it would be fun to share it with you today!

The young woman is Liselotte ("Lilo") Pulver, a Swiss actress who went on to have a long, successful career, mostly in Europe. She was featured in many German movies, especially in the 1950's and 1960's. Wikipedia says, "One of her most recognizable roles in American cinema is that of James Cagney's sexy secretary in Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three. For her role as a Russian woman in A Global Affair she was in 1963 nominated for the Golden Globe Award as best supporting actress". It also said that she was often cast as a tomboy, and was known for her "hearty and joyful laughter".  Just like me! The laughter part, I mean.
She is still with us at the age of 87, living in in an exclusive part of Switzerland on Lake Geneva.


As I may have mentioned, I've been a fairly rabid collector of vintage Disneyland postcards for many years, so the cards that Lilo is looking at have a lot of interest for me. Hopefully for you too, since I went ahead and ID'd all of the cards and provided color scans for you to match up. 

There are some nice ones here, I've always particularly loved that one of the Moonliner at night. The Tinkerbell card (from the Art Corner) also comes with a blue background.


The postcard with Walt's portrait is unusual; and that one of the Clock of the World might be the first photo I had ever seen of that now-familiar Disneyland landmark.


We've got two more nice Art Corner character cards, as well as the very rare card showing the interior of the Art Corner itself. This one can easily fetch over $100! 


When I first composed this post, I could not identify postcard #15 (above); but I finally cropped way in, adjusted the angle in Photoshop, and was able to recognize the little barn that was part of the old Midget Autopia. Eureka! Postcard "D-12", for those who care.



10 comments:

K. Martinez said...

Man, that's devoted matching those cards up.

If you purchased that Pecos Bill character card at Disneyland today it would probably and unfortunately have his cigarette removed. Hell, maybe even his gun. Such nonsense! I believe everyone should smoke and pack a gun at Disneyland!

Seeing your postcards makes me itchy for buying more. I still don't have #17 or #18. Today's really a cool and creative post. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks, Major.

Nanook said...

Major-

"D-12" - my favorite-! Well, I have many favorite Disneyland postcards. What a nice job you did matching-up those on the rack with the real things in your collection.

I believe the delightful Lilo is holding a Cine-Kodak Eight Model 25, 8mm Movie Camera in her right hand.

Thanks, Major for this mini-postcard display.

TokyoMagic! said...

What a fun post today, Major. And yes, you did an incredible job of matching up those postcards!

Chuck said...

Major, this is an absolutely fascinating post. We get a multifaceted historical record from a nearly throwaway publicity photo of an actress largely forgotten by American audiences. I'm positive the photographer had no idea of the potential for the photo at the time he or she snapped the shutter button. Thanks for taking the time to ID the individual postcards.

Nanook, I think you're right on the camera ID. Produced from 1933 to 1946, this camera was at least ten years old at the time the photo was taken based on some of the postcard subjects.

How many of us today are still using a 10-to-23-year old video camera on our vacations? How many of us are still using the same motion-media recording format we were using 10 to 23 years ago? How many of us will still be able to access our motion-media records in 10 to 23 years? Who still has a laser disk player or Betamax machine? While we enjoy many benefits of technological change, there's always the danger of losing our past in the process.

"Something's lost and something's gained in living every day." - Joni Mitchell, "Both Sides, Now," 1967

Gnometrek said...

Thank you Major. You did an incredible amount of work to identify each and every postcard in the rack. I visited DL only once in my youth. I remember see actual animation cels for sale at the Art Corner. Alas they were wat out of my price range. I think they started at $30. Outrageous.

Yukari said...

How very charming!
I´m German, and Lilo Pulver is still a big star here, although she is mostly known from reruns of her old movies from the 1950s - 1960s and many younger people may not know her at all any more.

To most of us who have been children in the 1970s, she is also a dear familiar face as one of the presenters of the German version of "Sesame Street" (now that the Muppets belong to Disney, we are sort of coming full circle with this post).

I also associate her closely with Disney´s "Mary Poppins" because long before there was home video, I had the audioplay (the German version of one of those Disneyland vinyl albums with the lavishly illustrated booklets - I spent hours poring over that) and she was the narrator. The Uncle Albert scene just isn´t the same watching the movie without her dear chuckle.





Unknown said...

Nice work, Major. You must own on of those computers from movies or TV where you hit the keys while chanting, "Enhance. Enhance. Enhance." and magically the photo resolves to a breathtaking level of detail.

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, I will go to any lengths to make my readers happy! You’re right, there is no way a modern depiction of Pecos Bill would include his cigarette or gun. So stupid. Meanwhile, card #17 can be had for not too much, if you get lucky. The Art Corner card, on the other hand… $$$.

Nanook, I like the D-12 a lot, but man, it would be hard to pick my favorite Disneyland postcard. There are so many great ones! So funny, I barely even registered that Lilo was holding a camera.

TokyoMagic!, thanks!

Chuck, it’s so funny, you can barely see the camera, but that’s what gets all the attention! Maybe Lilo had an old camera because Europe still had difficulty getting certain items even years after WWII? I knew a German woman who said it was hard to get butter or sugar (and other staples) for more than a decade after the war. I like technological advancement, but there is just something about old film cameras - a romance, if you will. Digital cameras are a miracle, but they lack that “romance”.

Gnometrek, can you imagine finding Disney cels for $30 these days?? My mom’s cousin has an “Alice in Wonderland” cel that she bought in the early 60’s - I think she said it was under two dollars at the time.

Yukari, thanks for the info about Lilo! Sounds like she is like many old stars here in the U.S… younger folks just don’t see their work anymore. Interesting that she hosted a children’s program, was it really a German version of “Sesame Street”, or something similar to it? I can imagine how her voice has made such a big impression - there are two Disneyland record albums that I listened to so often that even today I can practically recite them!

Patrick Devlin, I do own one of those computers. My entire home is dark, with only blue lights and the occasional monitor to provide a scientific vibe. I also recreate murder scenes using holograms, just a hobby!

DrGoat said...

I doff my deerslayer cap to you Major. Great post. Your forensic work is beyond reproach with #15.

walterworld said...

Major: Thank you!

The Postcard match-up exercise went above and beyond the call of 'duty'. You deserve a Blogger Medal of Honor lol.

And to quote Luke Skywalker: "I care." :D