The Ladies of Noir

It's the perfect time of the year to celebrate our favorite femme fatales of film noir from Monolithic Studios.

Miss Violet Waters

Costume Credits:  Dress, fur, and jewels are from Ashton Drake. Hat is from Integrity. Cigarette holder from Mystyna.
Heat Wave Violet Waters [re-coiffed] is from Integrity.

Miss Madra Lord

Costume Credits:  Dress and gloves are from Sandra Stillwell. Hat, handbag, and jewels are from Ashton Drake.
Spotted in Manhattan Madra Lord is from Jamieshow.

Miss Gene Marshall

Costume Credits:  Suit and handbag are from Robert Tonner. Hat, blouse, gloves, and bracelet are from Ashton Drake. Belt and earrings are from The Couture Touch.
Spring in Central Park Gene Marshall, enhanced with an Integrity articulated body, is from Ashton Drake.

Dangerous Curves

Miss Gene Marshall

What every 1940's femme fatale needs in her wardrobe is a little black dress with fabulous black and white striped sleeves.  An optional purchase outfit from the 2007 Gene Marshall Rare Deal convention, Dangerous Curves is a surprisingly versatile fashion.  With just a simple change in accessories, this stylish dress can go from a film noir look to chic sophistication.

Ivy Jordan

Miss Jordan shows a delightfully flirty side of Dangerous Curves punctuated with pops of color.  Accessories include the belt from Embassy Luncheon [Ashton Drake] and lace gauntlet gloves [Integrity].  Hat, cigarette holder, and styling are from The Couture Touch.  Color Deal Ivy Jordan is from Integrity.  

Gene Marshall

From the Monolithic Studios' costume vault, a still from a 1940's film noir starring Gene Marshall.  For her femme fatale look, the dress is accessorized with sumptuous fur and a pearl brooch [both from Integrity].  Shoes and handbag are from Robert Tonner.  Tilt topper, gauntlet gloves, and styling are from The Couture Touch.  Spring in Central Park, enhanced with an Integrity articulated body, is from Ashton Drake.


Header Photo Credits:  A Lady Knows Gene Marshall, enhanced with an Integrity articulated body, is from Ashton Drake.  Her original bangs have been removed.  Dress and fur from Integrity.  Hat from Greene & Lam.  Jewels, gloves, cigarette holder, and styling are from The Couture Touch.

A Night for Noir

It's the perfect time for a mystery thriller featuring our favorite femme fatale as a conniving spoiled rich girl.

Credits:

Rich Girl Madra Lord is from Integrity.

The Noir Style of Gene Marshall

The darling of Monolithic Studios, Miss Gene Marshall, is no stranger to playing a femme fatale. Her first screen appearance as a feisty gangster's moll in the 1944 film "Red Venus" was a huge success. For her role in "The Shanghai Affair" (1947), Miss Marshall pairs the jacket from Ashton Drake's The Perfect Gift with a black skirt from Robert Tonner's Brenda Starr Collection. Accessories include a fabulous turban, matching gloves, and jewelry from The Couture Touch. Fur is from miniature furrier PD Root, and belt from Integrity. White Orchid Gene Marshall is from Mel Odom and JamieShow.

Seductive and sultry, Miss Marshall wears a sleek, black wool crepe, cocktail sheath accented with a beaded collar for her role in "Pick Up on 47th Street" (1951). Embassy Luncheon was designed by Laura Meisner exclusively for Ashton Drake's Gene Marshall Collection. Fur is from Mattel. Earrings and cigarette holder are from The Couture Touch. Bracelet is from Facets by Marcia. Phoenix Gene Marshall is from Mel Odom and JamieShow.

More ladies of noir with incredible style.

Valerie Hobson, Shadows of the Underworld (1940).

Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce (1945).
Photo courtesy glamamor.com

Gale Sondergaard, Sherlock Holmes & the Spider Woman (1944).
Photo courtesy famousfix.com

Noir-inspired fashion ad from Lord & Taylor (1941).

Miss Marshall plays the merry widow in true noir style wearing her favorite suit from Robert Tonner's Brenda Starr Collection. Blouse is from Integrity, purse from Madame Alexander, hat from Ashton Drake, and fur from PD Root. Color-blocked suede gauntlet gloves are from The Couture Touch. Symphony in G Gene Marshall, enhanced with an Integrity articulated body, is from Ashton Drake.

And for those noir evenings.....

Lizabeth Scott (with Bogie), Dead Reckoning (1947).
Photo courtesy alisonkerr.wordpress.com

Miss Marshall turns heads in the glamorous Ransom in Red gown designed exclusively for Gene by Tim Kennedy. Evening ensemble and Destiny Gene Marshall are all from Ashton Drake. Miss Marshall's hair has been styled by The Couture Touch.

Fedoras, Furs & Femme Fatales

It's the perfect night for shadowy alleys, a hard-boiled detective, and a dangerously alluring femme fatale.

Violet Waters wears the circa 1946 cocktail ensemble, "Lunch at the Green Parrot" from Ashton Drake with the fabulous hat from Integrity's "Ooh La La" Gene Marshall costume. Cigarette holder is from Mystyna.  The restyled "Heat Wave" Violet Waters is from Integrity.

There's a New Femme Fatale in Town

And her name is Gene Marshall!  With those smoldering eyes and come hither look, this latest BJD femme fatale is ready to give rival Madra Lord a run for her money.  J'Adore Gene Marshall is FDQ's exclusive BJD by Mel Odom and JamieShow.  Her blond wig cap borrowed from Phoenix Gene Marshall has been restyled.  She wears a luscious suit from Sandra Stillwell's Golden Gate Glamour Event called "Bandolier Morado".  Cigarette holder from Mystyna, and hat from Ashton Drake's "Blonde Lace" ensemble.

1940's Film Noir Style

Madra Lord shows her film noir style as only she can do.  Here is a still from Miss Lord's new film Strange Encounter, Monolithic Studios, 1944.

Costume Credits:  Dress and fur from PD Root, hat from Ashton Drake's "Fashion Plot", snood from "Fascination", purse from Robert Tonner's Brenda Starr Collection, and gloves from The Couture Touch.  The restyled Siren in the Night Madra Lord from Ashton Drake has been enhanced with an Integrity articulated body.

The Scarlet Lady

In an homage to 1940's film noir, Miss Gene Marshall embraces her inner femme fatale to play the protagonist in The Scarlet Lady.

Miss Marshall wears a seductive red dress and jacket ensemble accented with a matching dramatic hat from PD Root.  White leather gloves (Integrity), fur muff (A Touch of Hospitality), and necklace (The Couture Touch) complete the look.  A restyled Caribbean Kiss Gene Marshall is from Ashton Drake.

Beauty lurking in the shadows

Dressed To Kill

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One of my favorite Sherlock Holmes film is "Dressed To Kill" (Universal, 1946) that featured Patricia Morison as the last villain encountered by Holmes (Basil Rathbone).  Because of her exotic looks, she was often cast as the femme fatale and sadly either starred in "B" movies or had smaller supporting roles.  However, she achieved her greatest success on the Broadway stage in Cole Porter's "Kiss Me, Kate" (1948).  The following photos of Patricia Morison are courtesy of FanPix.net.

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I just love this photo of Patricia and her mini me!   And that gets me to thinking, who is the greatest miniature femme fatale at Monolithic Studios?  Well, Miss Madra Lord, of course!



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 Ashton Drake's "Siren of the Night" Madra Lord (with a new hairstyle) is the ultimate femme fatale dressed to kill in "Le Petit Ensemble Noir" from Robert Tonner's Theatre de la Mode Collection.  The fabulous fur is borrowed from Greene and Lam's "A Woman of Means" Adrian-inspired suit.  OOAK hat, earrings, and cigarette holder are from The Couture Touch.

Weekend Noir

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This week's Femme Fatale is a seductive Lingerie Silkstone Barbie from Mattel's BFMC on loan to Monolithic Studios to star in "Bothwell Street".  For this scene, her black crepe sheath and fur stole are from the design studio of Dressmaker Details, hat borrowed from Mattel's Cruella de Vil's "Power in Pinstripes" ensemble, purse from Madame Alexander, and jewelry from Mattel. 

Weekend Noir

How to dress like a femme fatale.

Think old Hollywood glamour with a darkside.  Integrity's Shadow Song Gene Marshall looks sultry yet sophisticated in the impeccable cut, pinstriped, double-breasted suit from Tonner's Brenda Starr Collection.  Her fur wrap is borrowed from C'est Moi Madra Lord, and the dramatic hat from Ashton Drake's Fashion Plot (I added the feather accent).  Additional must-have accessories include "leather" gloves from Marceline by Integrity, purse from Ashton Drake's Star Wardrobe Black Accessory Set, and OOAK cigarette holder from The Couture Touch.  Table from CED.

Weekend Noir

It's Dangerous Curves ahead for the impetuous son of a prominent U.S. Senator, who is ensnared by a notorious gangster's floozy, gun-moll girlfriend.  This week's femme fatale is played to the hilt by "A Lady Knows" Gene Marshall from Ashton Drake.  Costume credits:  Dress from Integrity's "Dangerous Curves", fur borrowed from "Postcards from Cannes" Madra Lord by Integrity, hat from Greene & Lam's "A Woman of Means" suit ensemble, OOAK jewelry, gloves, and cig holder from The Couture Touch.



Publicity still for Gene Marshall in Dangerous Curves



Weekend Noir

Zita Charles is armed and dangerous and out to avenge her mother's murder.  This femme fatale (French for fatal or deadly woman) looks the part in the grey suit from Integrity's "Daily Threads Gift Set".  Her muff neatly conceals her gun (borrowed from Madame Alexander's Betrayal ensemble).  A must have for any femme fatale is a fabulous hat, this one borrowed from Ashton Drake's "Lucky Stripe".  Table from CED, telephone from Ashton Drake's "A Hot Day in Hollywood" accessory set, 1920's picture of Zita's look-alike mother from the Monolithic Press Archive Dossier Star File.  This week's femme fatale is City Sleeker Zita Charles from Integrity.




An old photo of Zita, circa 1940's



Dial N for Noir

What is Noir?  It's the French word for Black.  It's dark, mysterious, and moody with a distinctive visual style.  It's murder and mayhem, gangsters and detectives, and oh, yes......the femme fatale!

Publicity poster for "So Evil My Love" starring Rich Girl Madra Lord

Weekends in August are all about those 1940's femme fatales of Monolithic Studios with a special appearance from a sultry and Silkie Lingerie Model on loan from another studio.  Look for Weekend Noir every Saturday this month.