I am trying to identify the movie that this still image comes from. I
bought this 8 x 10 image in Havana, Cuba in 2000. It has the numbers 1746 -
96 (could be 1946 - 96?). Please look at the image here:
http://www.humanfauxpas.com/temp/unknown_movie.jpg
I am looking for the name and as much information (actors etc) as you
can find on this movie, but most importantly are its name (in English
as well as original language if other than English) and the country of
origin. If you need a higher-resolution image let me know at
onlineATadadhannah.com (replace AT with @).
Thanks.
Adad

Hi Redkimono,
I am pretty sure that is Jack Lemmon down front, and it looks to me
like a photo from the fifties or sixties.  There is a photo of Jack
with such a cap on google pictures relating to Irma la Douce, street
scene with Billy Wilder (but I would have thought Jack was more
slender then, and the blonde dancing doesn't fit in my recollection of
the film.)
I don't think the photo is a from a film scene.

I wanted to think the girl is Kim Novak, but that is just a guess, and
does not seem to fit in with the films Jack made.

Can anyone take it from there?
Myoarin

And the plot thickens...at least this makes me think that an answer is possible;-)

Thanks for your efforts.

Looks to me to be Ricardo Montalban playing guitar. Definately not
Jack Lemmon (sitting in front) or Kim Novak (blond).
Seamed fishnet stockings for the dark haired female dancer & T-strap
shoes for the blond woman were worn until early 1960's. The man in the
background seems to be dancing with the manaquin. Man with cigarette
playing bongo. The pole in the center of the room apparently holding
the sheer curtains up as if they were on a stage of sorts ... in this
film.

Wow, I can smell an answer coming, thanks for your comments about
Ricardo Montalban I will look into that...

The long haired blond makes me think of Jayne Mansfield or Mamie Van
Doren. The feel of the picture brings to mind Melina Mercouri or Anita
Ekberg.

http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=img&cs=utf8&q=jayne+mansfield&rys=0&itag=crv&o=72

http://images.google.com/images?q=mamie+van+doren&svnum=100&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&start=0&sa=N

http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=img&cs=utf8&q=Melina+Mercouri&rys=0&itag=crv

http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=img&cs=utf8&q=anita+ekberg&rys=0&itag=crv&o=120

Yes, I would have to agree, there are a couple favorable points for
suggesting that the blonde is Mamie, Anita, or Jayne.

That is definitely Ricardo Montalban playing guitar. I would start here:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001544/

It looks like the 50's to me.

The man sitting up front wearing a beret looks to me like Noël Coward.
Compare the facial features to this photo of Coward:

http://www.born-today.com/Today/pix/coward_n.jpg

Cynthia-ga,  that's great site.  If that is Ricardo, then the blonde
is none of the four suggested, ditto if the chap down front is Jack
Lemmon.

Sorry guys, but I have to disagree across the board.  These look like
four very obscure actors to me, taking part in an equally obscure
production of some sort.

Still...one never knows...!

It must be a good question if it stumps four GARs  (and not just any four!).  
I bet Noel Coward never owned a sweatshirt, much less one with cut-off sleeves.

I thought maybe the numbers would be a good clue? Would it help if I
posted some facial close-ups?

Hi,
I doubt that the numbers can help.  1746 or 1946,  the latter cannot
be a year from everything else we agree on about the clothing and
scene.

I still think the chap with the cap is Jack Lemmon, even after trying
to compare ear shape.  You wouldn't believe how relatively few photos
of him are from this ( his left side).  He must have thought he looked
better from the other side.

And while I'm here again, a couple of thoughts:
8 by 10 photo or print, obviously stapled or pinned up somewhere a
couple of times, but still in pretty good condition, considering that
it may be over 40 years old.  From Cuba  - out of touch with much of
the world since then.
Whoever put it on his pinboard and repinned it there, or some
subsequent person must have found the picture especially interesting,
and there is not enough of the blonde to see to let it qualify as that
kind of pinup,
So I expect that one, two, or three of the people are not obscure nobodies.

A close look at some elements suggests a southern ambiente:  the fine
bamboo pole and bamboo framed screens in the right background with
what seems to be woven split bamboo filling, the (I think) fan under
the round dance podium.
What does "Jack" have in his right hand?
Ricardo came from Mexico, if it is he.

As I mentioned, I think the photo is from a rehearsal break, not from
an actual film scene  (and my comment about "Jack" wearing such a cap
was wrong, Billy Wilder was wearing it).

I hope someone can help us.
Myoarin

I have looked before at the item under the short table, and think it
might be an oar (?) which would then make the thing in the older man's
hand the matching oar. I am not sure the two poles match, or whether
the stripes on the one under the table are shadows, when the stripes
on the item in his hand are certainly part of the object.

I also just noticed a small black shape over the shoulder of the older
man. At first it seems like the top corner of a chair, but there is no
chair, he is sitting on the floor or a pillow and leaning against the
table. This makes me think that there is an object put behind the
older man so that the woman on the table can better hold her pose by
resting her foot on this shoebox-sized dark object (I think they call
them appleboxes in the film industry). The photographer changed angles
and the object was captured (probably by accident) in this photo. If
this is true, then it is certainly a staged photograph (which I
believe it is anyway).

I think the staple marks are from being stapled to the coming
attractions wall in a movie theatre.

This is getting fun. Again, if anyone needs a clos-up of a particular
area let me know.

Try this:

Star Links
http://www.cs.virginia.edu/oracle/star_links.html
I entered Ricardo's name and about 4 women so far. No hit yet, wanna try?

~~Cynthia

What a tantalizing question this has turned out to be. Here are some
further thoughts to tease you.


I agree with Pink that the man in front is Noel Coward. I propose
further that the picture is from a stage production of his play ?Nude
with Violin.? It seems to be a rehearsal shot.

http://www.networktheatre.org/prevshows/default.asp?page=nude
Nude with Violin - Sept 2000
Network?s September 2000 show was a confection from Noel Coward?s late
period. It deals with the problems that arise when a world famous
artist dies, revealing as a final joke on his family that he has
painted none of the works with which he is credited. The family has
not been in contact with him for 25 years and their concerns about how
to cover up this potential disaster increase dramatically when the
people who did paint the works appear. It is a distinctly light and
highly amusing piece, with the characteristic Coward edge beneath the
front.
 

Note that the picture you posted has a large painting on the wall that
seems to be a collage of several musical instruments. The torso being
carried in the background could be a prop for a painting. (It also
reminds me of an abstract painting but I haven?t been able to identify
it so far.) The more I look at the picture the more I?m convinced that
the blond is not anyone well known ? despite my previous suggestion of
some famous blonds.

Noel Coward Photos
http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=36502
http://www.coolmoviestuff.com/blim_photo1.jpg
http://www.coolmoviestuff.com/blim_photos.htm
http://www.davidhouston.net/Noel%204%20reduced%20x%204.jpg
http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/asset/exhibit/214_img_anchor_home.jpg
http://www.publications.bham.ac.uk/birmingham_magazine/b_magazine1996-99/b99_10.jpg

http://www.noelcoward.net/
1956 
Coward became a tax exile, giving up residence in England and moving
to Bermuda. He made his Carnegie Hall debut narrating Carnival of the
Animals. Nude With Violin (1954) produced at the Globe (now the
Gielgud) Theatre. Sir John Gielgud understudied Coward and later took
over the role. Appeared on American television in Blithe Spirit and
This Happy Breed. Revised Home and Colonial for British production of
South Sea Bubble.
1957 
Starred in American production of Nude With Violin.



If you?re still not convinced about Noel Coward, I think the man in
the front could also be Jose Ferrer.

Jose Ferrer
http://www.born-today.com/Today/pix/ferrer_jose.jpg
http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3048
http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=img&cs=utf8&q=%22Jose+Ferrer%22&rys=0&itag=crv&o=0


I hope someone comes up with an answer soon. This is driving me nuts.

Jose Ferrer and Noel Coward are not linked to Ricardo Montalban in the
Star Oracle database. (All movies in the IMDB).

This is the closest result:

The Oracle says: Ricardo Montalban  has a Noel Coward  number of 2.

Ricardo Montalban was in Madame X (1966) with Keir Dullea.
Keir Dullea was in Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) with Noel Coward.

I don't think the guy in the striped shirt is Ricardo Montalban. Here
are some young pictures of him.

http://www4.district125.k12.il.us/faculty/ttomaso/WD/WDimages/ricardomontalban.jpg
http://scrapbooksofmymind.com/images/image37sombrero.jpg
http://scrapbooksofmymind.com/images/image95.jpg
http://www.derbydeadpool.co.uk/images/celebs/montar.jpg
http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/ricardomontalban.html