30 Amazing Photographs From the Set of “A Night at the Opera” (1935)

Released in November 1935, A Night at the Opera is widely considered one of the Marx Brothers’ greatest films and was their first production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Sam Wood, it marked a significant shift for the comedy troupe as their first film without Zeppo Marx and their first to feature a more structured, sympathetic narrative under the guidance of producer Irving Thalberg.

The film follows the brothers, Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho), Fiorello (Chico), and Tomasso (Harpo), as they attempt to help two talented but struggling opera singers, Ricardo and Rosa, find success. To do so, they must outwit a pompous opera director and travel from Italy to New York, eventually wreaking havoc on a live performance of Il Trovatore.

A Night at the Opera is famous for several sequences that have become staples of American comedy. Possibly the most famous bit of physical comedy in film history, where an absurdly high number of people (manicurists, stewards, engineers, etc.) cram into Groucho’s tiny ship cabin. The brothers systematically dismantle a high-brow opera performance using pulleys, costume swaps, and a baseball game played in the orchestra pit.

Producer Irving Thalberg insisted the brothers include a “straight” romantic subplot and musical interludes to make the films more appealing to a wider audience. While some fans missed the pure chaos of their earlier work (like Duck Soup), this formula made the film a massive commercial hit.

Before filming, the Marx Brothers took the script’s comedy sketches on a live vaudeville tour to test which jokes got the biggest laughs, ensuring the timing in the film was perfect. In 1993, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” 

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The Amazing Story of Outlaw John Shaw’s Last Drink in 1905

In the early hours of April 8, 1905, two men, John Shaw and his partner William Evans (who also went by the alias “Bill Smythe”), robbed a saloon in Winslow, Arizona, making off with at least $200 in silver coins. Both men were young, in their twenties, and well dressed in suits when they walked into the Wigwam Saloon. Their drinks were still sitting untouched on the bar when they wandered over to a dice table where the glitter of silver dollars caught their eye. They pulled their guns on the players and fled into the night with the takings.

Navajo County Sheriff Chet Houck and Deputy Pete Pemberton, the owner of the saloon, pursued the bandits. The lawmen had a train stopped a couple of miles past the ghost town of Canyon Diablo, about twenty-five miles west of Winslow, and walked back on foot, arriving near sunset. They made contact with Fred Volz, a local trading post owner, who told them two well-dressed men had been loitering suspiciously outside. Moments later, Shaw and Evans rounded the corner and were spotted heading toward the train depot.

When Sheriff Houck confronted the pair and demanded a search, they refused. All four men drew their weapons at nearly point-blank range, no more than four to six feet apart. Shaw ran out of bullets mid-fight, and when he turned his head to reload, Houck shot him in the head. In total, twenty-one shots were fired in a matter of seconds. Shaw was killed outright, Evans was badly wounded and later captured. A bullet grazed Sheriff Houck across the stomach but he survived.

Shaw was buried in a shallow grave in a pine coffin provided by Volz. Evans was taken to a hospital in Winslow, recovered, and was sentenced to nine years in Yuma Territorial Prison. $271 in silver coins was found in their possession.

This is where the story takes a truly strange turn.

Word of the shootout traveled fast, and by the following night it was the talk of the Wigwam Saloon. What truly shocked the cowboys gathered there was that Shaw had died without ever getting to enjoy the drink he had ordered at the bar.

A discussion followed, and the men agreed that every man deserved to finish his drink. When a train whistle blew, a mob of about fifteen drunken cowboys rushed outside to hop the westbound freight. They arrived at Canyon Diablo at dawn, pounded on Fred Volz’s door, and despite his irritation, borrowed shovels and even his Kodak box camera to document the event.

Two men jumped into the grave, lifted Shaw’s body out, and propped him up against a nearby fence. His eyes were open, and his face was frozen in what appeared to be a smile. The men put bottles to his teeth, pouring whiskey down his throat, John Shaw finally got his last drink.

Shaw in his casket.

Throughout the entire ceremony six photographs were taken by an unknown cowboy in attendance. When the camera was returned to Volz, he unloaded the film and handed it to cowboy Lucien Creswell, instructing him to give it to Sheriff Houck upon his return to Winslow. However, cowboy Sam Case had other ideas. Case had a grudge against Sheriff Houck’s brother and along the way back to Winslow, Case confronted Creswell and took the film from him stating “Houck ain’t gonna get no pictures.” From here the roll of film passed from hand to hand, carrying the story of John Shaw along with it.

Finally, a month after the impromptu funeral at Canyon Diablo, Case handed the roll of film to Winslow attorney “Judge” Burbidge, who then passed it along to his son Ted. The photographs would not see the light of day until years later when the film came into the possession of a man named Gladwell Richardson who wrote an article about them in a 1965 issue of Arizona Highways magazine.

Today four of the photographs taken at the last drink of John Shaw belong to the Arizona Historical Society as part of their John Shaw collection. One photograph was allegedly kept by Ted Burbidge but several years after his death in 1955, the photograph went missing. Along with the Burbidge photograph, the location of the sixth image taken that bizarre morning is also unknown.

Canyon Diablo is a place filled with myths and legends of the Wild West, many of which are horrific. Although mostly debunked we have photographic proof that one of the gory stories did happen, the tale of the corpse that was dug up to have one last drink.

Goodbye to Nedra Talley, the Last Surviving Original Member of The Ronettes

Nedra Talley-Ross (1946–2026), the last surviving member of the iconic 1960s girl group The Ronettes, passed away on Sunday morning, April 26, 2026, at the age of 80. Her daughter, Nedra K. Ross, shared that she died peacefully in her bed at home, surrounded by family.

Talley-Ross was a founding member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trio alongside her cousins, Ronnie Spector and Estelle Bennett. The group was fundamental to the “Wall of Sound” era, producing timeless hits such as “Be My Baby,” “Baby, I Love You,” and “Walking in the Rain.”

The Ronettes broke down racial barriers at a time when three young women of Puerto Rican and Black descent performing pop music on television was a rarity, and they cast a wide influence across the sound of the 1960s and every pop era that followed. They were the only girl group to tour with The Beatles, opening for them during their final 1966 U.S. tour.

After leaving the group in 1967, she became a born-again Christian and released the contemporary Christian album Full Circle in 1978. In her later years, she worked in real estate in Virginia Beach.

Her passing marks the end of an era for the group, following the deaths of Estelle Bennett in 2009 and Ronnie Spector in 2022.

 

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France in the Mid-1950s Through Amazing Vintage Photos

Life in France in the mid-1950s was a captivating blend of deep-rooted tradition and the rapid pulse of post-war modernization.

Known as part of the Trente Glorieuses (Thirty Glorious Years), this era saw the country blossoming with a renewed sense of optimism. In the bustling streets of Paris, the air was filled with the aroma of freshly baked baguettes and the sounds of jazz drifting from cellar clubs, while the philosophy of existentialism thrived in Left Bank cafes.

Meanwhile, the countryside remained a picturesque tapestry of slow-paced village life, where horse-drawn carts still shared the roads with the iconic Citroën 2KVs. From the rise of “New Look” fashion to the simple joy of a family picnic along the Seine, mid-50s France was a time of elegance, resilience, and a legendary joie de vivre that defined a generation.

Take a look at these amazing vintage photos to experience the timeless charm and quiet elegance of French life in the mid-1950s.

Autun. La Fontaine Saint-Lazare, 1955-56

Beaune. Basilica of Our Lady, 1955-56

Beaune. Hôtel-Dieu, 1955-56

Château de Gy, France, 1955-56

Dijon. 50 Rue de Forges, 1955-56

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40 Vintage Portraits of Jennifer Jones on the Set “Duel in the Sun” (1946)

The portraits of Jennifer Jones on the set of the 1946 technicolor epic Duel in the Sun capture a pivotal moment in Hollywood history, showcasing her dramatic transformation into the fiery and tragic Pearl Chavez.

Under the intense production of David O. Selznick, these photos highlight Jones’s raw emotional range and her striking, sun-kissed beauty that defined the film’s sultry atmosphere. Dressed in her iconic Western attire, the images provide a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the grueling yet glamorous process of creating one of the era’s most controversial and expensive “super-westerns.”

Take a look at these vintage onset portraits to see how Jennifer Jones brought the bold and spirited character of Pearl Chavez to life in 1946.

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30 Amazing Black and White Photographs From Stanley Kubrick’s “Killer’s Kiss” (1955)

Killer’s Kiss (1955) is an American film noir that serves as the second feature-length production directed by a young Stanley Kubrick. Clocking in at a lean 67 minutes, the film is widely recognized as a technical exercise that showcases Kubrick’s burgeoning visual style and resourcefulness on a “shoestring” budget of approximately $75,000. The film stars Jamie Smith, Irene Kane (the stage name of journalist Chris Chase), and Frank Silvera. Kubrick’s wife, Ruth Sobotka, also has a small role as Gloria’s sister and served as the art director.

Kubrick famously acted as a “one-man film crew” for much of this production, which was financed largely through loans from his family and friends. He functioned as the director, cinematographer, and editor. Because he couldn’t afford synchronized sound equipment, the entire movie was shot silent and the dialogue was dubbed in post-production.

The film’s climax, a surreal shootout in a warehouse full of mannequins, is widely considered the highlight of the movie. It showcases Kubrick’s early obsession with lighting, shadows, and uncanny visuals. The film offers a raw, authentic look at 1950s New York, featuring now-lost landmarks like the original Penn Station and the gritty side of Times Square.

While Kubrick later disowned much of it, Killer’s Kiss is a fascinating early glimpse of his talent. It’s not considered among his masterworks, but cinephiles treasure it for its visual ambition and its place in the Kubrick canon, right before he broke through with The Killing (1956).

 

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Hanoi Residents Waiting for All-clear Siren in Sidewalk Manhole Shelters During Air-Rawid Alert, 1967

This image captures a stark reality of daily life in Hanoi, North Vietnam, in 1967 during the Vietnam War. The photo shows residents sheltering in narrow, chest-deep individual air-raid bunkers (often called “turtle-shell” shelters) dug directly into the sidewalks. These bunkers were a critical part of the city’s civil defense strategy during the U.S. bombing campaign known as Operation Rolling Thunder. The photograph was taken by Lee Lockwood, an American photojournalist for Life magazine. He was the first American reporter permitted to document daily life in North Vietnam since 1954.

(Photo by Lee Lockwood/Getty Images)

These pits were prefabricated concrete cylinders just large enough for one person. Every 20 meters, they were staggered on both sides of major streets so that anyone caught in the open during an alert could find safety within seconds. Each bunker had a lid, made of concrete, thick bamboo, or straw, which users would pull over themselves once inside to protect against shrapnel and debris.

By 1967, air-raid sirens were a frequent occurrence, often sounding multiple times a day. Residents would wait in these cramped spaces until the “all-clear” signal was given.

Hanoi’s sidewalk bunkers became an enduring symbol of the city’s civilian resilience and adaptation to the constant threat of aerial warfare. Most of these shelters were filled in and removed shortly after the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973.