curious
On May 6, 1933, the "Rambling Reporter" column of the Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Carole Lombard may sign up with Columbia." It didn't turn out that way, of course -- Lombard remained at Paramount, a larger studio, through 1937 -- but few would have blamed her for making the move.
Carole made five films for Columbia. One, "Twentieth Century," turned out to be the pivotal movie of her career. Another, "Virtue," is rapidly gaining favor as Lombard's best performance prior to that film, and arguably her best work in the pre-Code style. The other three movies made for Harry Cohn's company weren't classics, but all were superior to what she was making at her home studio.
One of them was "Brief Moment" (above, with Gene Raymond), released in the fall of 1933. Two other original stills from that film are now available via eBay from Hollywood Paper, which has been selling or auctioning many rare and wonderful Lombard photos of late.
Carole portrayed a torch singer in "Brief Moment" (although all of her short "singing" scenes were dubbed), and here's a picture of her plying her trade, as well as the back of the photo:
This is listed as in "very good-" condition, meaning there is some wear as well as a few flaws. You can buy it straight up for $119.95 or make a bid beginning at $107.95; if the latter option kicks in, the auction ends at 10:39 p.m. (Eastern) Monday. Buy, bid or learn more at http://www.ebay.com/itm/SEXY-GLAMOR
The other pic shows Lombard with Raymond, who plays a wealthy, drunken playboy that marries Carole's character but refuses to change his fallow ways, despite her pleading:
This photo was property of Culver Pictures, which filed it under "kissing"; perhaps it was occasionally used as an illustration of osculation in addition to a general photo of either Lombard or Raymond. Whatever, this has a few more flaws than its counterpart, and as such is merely rated in "good+" condition.
Unlike the other photo, you can only buy this one, not bid on it -- the price is $59.95. Interested? Go to http://www.ebay.com/itm/SEXY-CAROLE-LOM
Had Carole ended up at Columbia, might Cohn (whom she actually got along with, something that couldn't be said of his relationship with virtually every star actress of that era) have given her the "queen of the lot" treatment, as he did with Rita Hayworth in the 1940s? Or would she have tired of his crassness, too? We'll never know...but as this part of a "Brief Moment" poster proves, Columbia gave her the full glamour treatment:
