30 Portraits of Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary, the Princess With the Sad Eyes, in the 1950s and 1960s

Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary (1932–2001) was the second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Queen of Iran from 1951 to 1958. Their marriage suffered many pressures, particularly when it became clear that she was infertile. In March 1958, their divorce was announced. After a brief career as an actress, and a liaison with Italian film director Franco Indovina, Soraya lived with her brother in Paris until her death.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary transformed from the “Persian Cinderella” and Queen of Iran into a glamorous, yet melancholic, European socialite and actress. Often called “the princess with the sad eyes,” her life during these decades was defined by a high-profile royal marriage and a heartbreaking exile driven by dynastic duty.

At age 18, she married Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, in 1951. Her Christian Dior wedding gown, featuring 27 yards of silver lamé and 20,000 feathers, became legendary. As Queen, she became an international fashion symbol, frequently appearing on magazine covers and being compared to Hollywood stars like Ava Gardner.

By the mid-1950s, the marriage faced immense pressure as Soraya was unable to conceive. Despite seeking medical treatments across Europe, she remained infertile. Refusing to allow the Shah to take a second wife to produce an heir, she agreed to a divorce “for the welfare of the people.” The Shah reportedly wept when announcing the separation on national radio.

After her divorce, Soraya was granted the title of Princess and settled in Europe, primarily living between Rome and Paris. In 1965, she attempted to reinvent herself as a film actress. She starred in the Italian film I tre volti (The Three Faces) and appeared in the adventure film She. During the filming of I tre volti, she became the companion of Italian director Franco Indovina. However, after Indovina died in a plane crash in 1972, she largely withdrew from public life and the arts.

Throughout the 1960s, she remained a fixture of the “Jet Set,” frequently photographed at cafés and social events in Paris and Rome, though she was often characterized by the media as a lonely figure.

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Shirley Anne Field: The Radiant Icon of British Cinema

Shirley Anne Field (1936–2023) was a captivating figure of British cinema and a defining face of the “New Wave” movement in the late 1950s and ’60s.

Known for her luminous beauty and effortless charm, Field transitioned from a successful career as a photographic model to become one of the most sought-after actresses of her generation. She delivered standout performances in iconic films such as The Entertainer, where she starred alongside Laurence Olivier, and the gritty kitchen-sink drama Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.

With her refined features and emotive screen presence, Field embodied the shifting cultural landscape of post-war Britain, blending classic Hollywood-style glamour with the raw, modern realism of the era. Explore these vintage portraits to witness the magnetic charm of Shirley Anne Field, a star who perfectly captured the spirit of the 1960s.

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Chéri Hérouard: The Architect of Parisian Glamour

Chéri Hérouard (1881–1961) was a prolific French illustrator who became a defining figure of the “Golden Age” of French magazine art. He is most famously associated with the iconic publication La Vie Parisienne, where he contributed breathtaking illustrations for over 40 years.

Hérouard was a master of the Art Deco style, known for his incredible precision, elegant line work, and a distinctively playful, often mischievous, sense of storytelling. His work often featured ethereal, doll-like women in elaborate, imaginative costumes or whimsical, flirtatious settings.

Beyond mere fashion, his illustrations captured the “Joie de Vivre” of early 20th-century France, blending high-society glamour with a dreamlike, theatrical aesthetic that remains highly collectible today.

La Vie Parisienne, "Madelon", circa 1915

La Vie Parisienne, April 3, 1915

La Vie Parisienne, circa 1915

La Vie Parisienne, May 1, 1915

"La Casque d'un Poilu de 1417", La Vie Parisienne, 1917

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40 Amazing Photos of Al Pacino on the Set of “Serpico” (1973)

Al Pacino’s time on the set of Serpico (1973) was characterized by his intense immersion in the role and a unique production schedule that required the film to be shot in reverse chronological order. This was done to accommodate his facial hair; Pacino began filming with a full beard and long hair, which were gradually trimmed for each scene until he appeared clean-shaven for the beginning of the story.

Director Sidney Lumet noted that Pacino stayed in character throughout the day. His mood on set reflected his character’s state in the scene; if the scene was happy, he was joking; if it was tense, he was angry and lashed out.

To better inhabit the character of a plainclothes officer, Pacino often roamed New York City neighborhoods in character. In one famous incident, he was so deep in the role that he actually pulled over a truck driver and threatened to arrest him for exhaust pollution. Pacino spent significant time with the real Frank Serpico to prepare, even inviting him to stay at his home in Montauk. However, Serpico was eventually asked to stay away from the set by producer Martin Bregman to avoid making Pacino self-conscious or becoming a distraction. 

The production was incredibly rushed, with only five months between the start of filming and the film’s release. Despite the film’s focus on police corruption, the NYPD was surprisingly cooperative. Two officers were assigned to the production and reportedly became more helpful once they saw that Lumet was aiming for an authentic, non-Hollywood portrayal.

Filmed entirely on location in New York, the production captured the raw energy of the city during the early 1970s, contributing to the “gritty realism” for which the film is known.

On its release, Serpico became a critical and commercial success. At the same time, the film drew criticism from police officers. It received nominations at the Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards. Pacino earned the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, while Salt and Wexler received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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40 Vintage Postcards of Camilla Horn From the 1920s and 1930s

Camilla Horn (April 25, 1903 – August 14, 1996) was a prominent German dancer and film star who successfully navigated the transition from silent films to “talkies,” working in Hollywood as well as throughout Europe. She is most famous for her “angelic” blonde look, which helped her land one of the most iconic roles in silent cinema.

She was “discovered” by legendary director F.W. Murnau. After serving as a stand-in for Lil Dagover, she was cast as Gretchen in the silent masterpiece Faust (1926). This single role made her an international overnight sensation. Following her success in Germany, she moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. She starred in several major United Artists productions, most notably opposite John Barrymore in Tempest (1928) and Eternal Love (1929).

Unlike many silent stars, she maintained her popularity into the sound era. She returned to Europe and became a staple in German, British, and Italian cinema. Some of her notable later works include The Great Desire (1930) and the award-winning Schloß Königswald (1988), which was her final film.

Horn’s life was as dramatic as her films. She was married four times and was known for her independent spirit; during the Nazi era, she reportedly refused to strictly follow the official party line and was eventually prosecuted for monetary offenses. In her autobiography, she detailed her interactions with figures like Joseph Goebbels and her time in Hollywood. She is remembered today as one of the most striking faces of the Weimar-era cinema.

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Charles Spencelayh: The Master of Microscopic Realism

Charles Spencelayh (1865–1958) was a master of English genre painting, renowned for his extraordinary attention to detail and his sympathetic portrayal of everyday life.

Often described as a “microscopic” realist, Spencelayh specialized in domestic interiors, typically featuring elderly men surrounded by a lifetime of cluttered possessions: clocks, antiques, and curiosities. His works are more than just paintings, they are intimate time capsules that capture the quiet, contemplative moments of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

With a touch of gentle humor and a profound sense of nostalgia, Spencelayh turned the mundane corners of a dusty room into a rich narrative of human history and personal memory. Step into the cluttered, cozy, and incredibly detailed world of Charles Spencelayh, where every object tells a story and every brushstroke defies the limits of the human eye.

The Old Dealer (The Old Curiosity Shop)

Time on His Hands

A Bargain

A Broken String

A Chelsea Pensioner

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Michael J. Fox and Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles in 1986

Michael J. Fox and Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles had a brief romantic relationship in 1986 at the height of their respective fame. Fox has publicly stated he does not remember dating Hoffs, citing memory loss associated with his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 1991. This period represents a notable 1980s pop culture coupling.

They dated for a short period when Fox was starring in Back to the Future and Hoffs was rising to fame with The Bangles. In a 2023 interview with The Sunday Times, Fox mentioned, “I mean, I dated Susanna Hoffs from the Bangles, and I can’t even remember it.”

By 1988, Fox married his Family Ties co-star Tracy Pollan, and they have been together ever since. The “Manic Monday” singer married Austin Powers director Jay Roach in 1993.