34 Stunning Portraits of a Very Young Romy Schneider as Empress Elisabeth of Austria on the set of “Sissi”

Romy Schneider was only 16 years old when director Ernst Marischka cast her as Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Sissi (1955), followed by Sissi – The Young Empress (1956) and Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress (1957). On set, her presence was defined by a striking contrast between the opulent visual spectacle on camera and the intense physical and personal pressure behind the scenes.

Filming took place in authentic imperial settings across Austria, including Schönbrunn Palace, Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl, and the Hofburg in Vienna. Schneider moved through real palaces surrounded by hundreds of extras in period dress, filmed in rich Agfacolor. Schneider had to wear massive, heavy ballgowns complete with steel crinolines, structured corsets, and intricate wigs adorned with star-shaped hair jewels to mirror Sisi’s famous cascading floor-length hair. The wardrobe was so unwieldy that moving between set setups required constant assistant support.

Schneider’s real-life mother, Magda Schneider, co-starred in the trilogy as Sisi’s mother, Duchess Ludovika. Magda exercised tight control over Romy’s career during production, managing her schedule, press appearances, and onset interactions.

Production moved rapidly to capitalize on the massive success of the first film, churning out three major feature films in just over two years. Schneider worked grueling hours under heavy studio lighting while balancing international press tours.

While the films catapulted Schneider to international superstardom, she quickly began to feel trapped by the overly idealized, fairytale image of “Sissi.” The sugarcoated portrayal bore little resemblance to the actual, complex historical Empress, nor did it reflect Schneider’s own ambitions as an actress. By 1958, director Ernst Marischka offered Schneider 1 million Deutsche Marks to return for a fourth installment, an extraordinary sum at the time. Schneider flatly refused, choosing instead to break away from West German cinema and move to France to pursue dramatic, modern roles with directors like Luchino Visconti and Claude Sautet.

Decades later, in 1972, Schneider returned to the role of Empress Elisabeth one last time in Visconti’s masterpiece Ludwig, this time insisting on playing Sisi as the complex, melancholic, and reclusive figure she actually was in life, stripping away the fairytale glamor of her teenage set days.

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Candid Photographs of a Teenage Joan Jett Taken by Neil Zlozower in 1976

In 1976, acclaimed rock photographer Neil Zlozower captured a series of candid portraits of a 17-year-old Joan Jett on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Taken during the early days of her pioneering all-female punk/hard rock band, The Runaways. The session famously captured a raw, rebellious teenage Joan Jett giving the camera the middle finger while posing in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The photographs prominently feature her iconic razor-blade necklace and signature shag haircut.

Formed in late 1975 by rhythm guitarist Joan Jett and drummer Sandy West (alongside producer Kim Fowley), The Runaways released their self-titled debut album in March 1976. Zlozower was among the key Los Angeles photographers capturing the Sunset Strip rock scene as the band gained momentum. Renowned for his candid, raw, and visceral music photography (later photographing major rock acts like Van Halen, Motley Crue, and Guns N’ Roses), Zlozower captured Jett’s intense, rebellious demeanor before her solo success with the Blackhearts.

These early 1976 sessions feature Jett with her distinctive shag haircut, embodying the raw proto-punk and hard rock energy that defined the mid-1970s L.A. music scene.

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35 Lovely Studio Portraits of Dogs in the 1980s

These lovely studio portraits capture dogs of various breeds posed in formal photographic settings during the 1980s. Taken against typical studio backdrops of the era, the images showcase everything from small companion dogs to larger purebreds, often carefully groomed and positioned for the camera.

The photos reflect both the popular styles of professional pet portraiture at the time and the enduring appeal of dogs as beloved subjects. They offer a charming and nostalgic look at canine portraits from the decade.

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Eva Peron’s Embalmed Body and Its Strange Afterlife

On July 26, 1952 when Eva Peron died, her husband was at her bedside along with Dr. Pedro Ara. Ara was a well known anatomist and very skilled at the preservation of the body. He came to Argentina in 1925 to organize the anatomy museum for a medical college. He had learned embalming from some of the best physicians in Europe. It is believed he had preserved through embalming hundreds maybe thousands of human remains.

Eva Peron was embalmed in the room she died in. President Peron gave him complete control and privacy while engaged in the operation. At the completion of the preparation the President expressed his satisfaction. She was washed, dressed, her hair prepared by her own hair dresser. Her nails were polished by her personal maid. The casket was a fully open mahogany with a glass top. Her remains were moved to the Ministry of Labor where she would lie in state until her state funeral on August 9. Millions of people came to pay there respects to her during the interval. For his final treatment Dr. Ara had her remains moved to a laboratory the day after her funeral. He immerses the body in a chemical solution in the belief that it would provide a permanent preservation. It would remain there until the construction of her monument was complete.

The embalmed body of Argentinian politician Eva Peron, 1952

Political unrest gripped Argentina and President Peron was forced to flee to Paraguay on September 20, 1955. However, the new President believed he must rid the country of the Peron’s affection. He ordered the military with the help of a famous German commando leader to seize her remains.

The story continues, that her remains were sent to Bonn, Germany in 1956. Pope Pius XII gives consent for it to be buried near Rome but was moved one more time to Musocco Cemetery in Milan in 1957 under the name Maria Maggi.

Back in Argentina during this time it was not clear where her remains were taken. Those loyal to the Peron’s would begin a long search for it. The Peron loyalist, kidnapped the current president of Argentina in 1970 with the hopes of having him to tell them where she was. He was found dead several days later.  The end came in September 1971 when a “man” appears at the Milan cemetery claiming Maria Maggi was his sister and he wished to have her disinterred. This was accomplished with extraordinary speed. The remains arrived at the residence of Juan Peron in Madrid a few days later.

The embalmed body of Argentina’s Eva Peron is seen in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires after it was returned from Italy in 1974. The body was taken out of Argentina three years after her death from cancer following a 1955 military coup which ousted her husband Juan Peron.

Dr Ara wiith the preserved corpse of Eva Peron.

Dr. Ara also lived in Madrid and the following day began repairs of the body that was now 16 years since being viewed and 19 years since embalming. A new coffin held Evita with it being placed in the Peron home dining room, where the current Mr. and Mrs. Peron ate dinner each evening. Juan and his wife returned to Argentina to lead the country but without Evita in 1973.

Political unrest there led to the return of her remains the following year and she was placed next to her husband in the Presidential residence. Her coffin was open for viewing while his was closed. Evita’s post death travels end in October 1976 when she returned to her family in Recoleta Cemetery. Her husband was buried in his family cemetery in Buenos Aires.

(via The Morte Girls)

The Amazing Story of Joseph Schleifstein, a Four-Year-Old Jewish Boy Who Survived Buchenwald

Joseph Schleifstein (born March 7, 1941) is one of the youngest known survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp. His remarkable story of survival at just four years old is a profound testament to parental devotion, inmate solidarity, and a rare series of anomalies in the machinery of the Holocaust. His harrowing experiences later served as a primary inspiration for Roberto Benigni’s Oscar-winning 1997 film, Life is Beautiful (La vita è bella).

Joseph Schleifstein in the liberated Buchenwald camp, after 19 April 1945.

Joseph was born Josef (Janek) Szlajfsztajn to Israel (Izrael) and Esther Szlajfsztajn in Sandomierz, Poland, during the German occupation. In late 1942, the Nazi regime forced the family into the local Jewish ghetto. When the ghetto was dissolved in January 1943, Joseph and his parents were moved to the HASAG arms factory labor camps in Częstochowa. It was here that Joseph spent over a year hidden in dark corners and crawlspaces, as children were systematically targeted for immediate extermination.

In January 1945, as Soviet forces advanced, the Nazi camps in Poland were evacuated. The family was torn apart: Joseph’s mother, Esther, was deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, while Joseph and his father were sent to Buchenwald in Germany, arriving on January 20, 1945. Knowing that a four-year-old would face instant death during the camp selection process, Izrael took a desperate gamble. He placed Joseph inside a large leather-working tool sack, leaving enough opening for the child to breathe. Izrael carried the sack past the SS guards undetected.

Initially, Joseph was kept out of sight with the crucial assistance of two anti-fascist German prisoners who helped Izrael hide the boy and smuggle food to him. Eventually, however, the SS guards discovered the child. Instead of executing him, a highly unusual turning point occurred. Izrael was a highly skilled leather craftsman, making him valuable to the camp administration. The SS guards took an eerie liking to Joseph. They had a child-sized, striped prison uniform made for him and treated him as a camp mascot. Joseph was forced to attend morning roll calls, where he had to salute the guards and rigidly declare, “All prisoners accounted for.”

Despite this superficial favoritism, Joseph’s life was constantly in peril. He later recalled a terrifying moment when he was lined up for execution, only for his father to step forward and desperately intervene at the last second to spare his life. He also spent a significant portion of his time hidden away in the camp hospital due to severe illness.

On April 11, 1945, the US Sixth Armored Division liberated Buchenwald. Among the 21,000 survivors was little Joseph. Photos taken by American journalists shortly after liberation, showing a solemn four-year-old Joseph in his custom-tailored striped uniform, became iconic historical artifacts.

Following the war, Joseph and his father were taken to Switzerland for medical rehabilitation. Miraculously, his mother Esther survived Bergen-Belsen. In 1946, the family reunited at a displaced persons camp in Dachau, Germany, and emigrated to the United States in 1947, settling in New York.

Like many young survivors, Joseph buried the trauma deep within. For over 50 years, he did not speak about his wartime experiences, keeping them private even from his own children. His identity was officially brought back to public view in 1999. Following the release of Life is Beautiful, researchers tracked him down, leading to his first comprehensive public newspaper interview detailing the truth behind the extraordinary story of survival.

Joseph in a group of children and adolescents from the liberated Buchenwald Concentration Camp in the Rheinfelden quarantine camp in Switzerland, June 1945.

Joseph with his father Israel at the German- Polish border, May/June 1945.

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Patricia Ellis: Bright Star of 1930s Hollywood

Patricia Ellis (1918–1970) was an American actress known for her lively performances in 1930s Hollywood films.

Signed by Warner Bros. as a teenager, Ellis was selected as a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1932 and quickly progressed from supporting parts to leading roles in light comedies and other genre pictures. She appeared opposite stars such as James Cagney and became a familiar face in the studio’s B-movie and mid-budget productions of the decade.

With her blonde good looks and energetic screen presence, Ellis embodied the bright, youthful style of 1930s popular cinema before retiring from acting in the early 1940s. These vintage photos capture the charm, energy, and classic 1930s glamour of Patricia Ellis, a bright star of Warner Bros. Hollywood.

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1957 Daimler Conquest Drophead Coupé: Rare British Convertible Elegance

The 1957 Daimler Conquest Drophead Coupé is a rare and elegant British convertible from the mid-1950s.

Part of Daimler’s Conquest range, this three-seater drophead version featured a distinctive design with a side-facing rear “buddy” seat and stylish coachwork. Powered by a refined 2.4-litre straight-six engine producing around 100 horsepower in Century specification, it combined comfortable grand-touring qualities with open-top motoring.

Produced in very limited numbers (only around 50 to 60 examples), the model remains a desirable classic for its rarity, understated luxury, and distinctive Daimler character. These elegant photos capture the rare style and refined British charm of the 1957 Daimler Conquest Drophead Coupé.

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