SALOMÉ (1922) Oversized photo

Vintage original 14 x 11″ (36 x 28 cm) double weight black-and-white photo, USA. Diagonal creases at top left, one tear on left mended with archival paper, very good+.

The notorious and flamboyant Alla Nazimova (actor and uncredited co-director, along with Charles Bryant), who had initially captivated Broadway with her interpretations of Ibsen, was lured to Hollywood with a then-unheard of salary of $13,000 a week. She had a vogue which lasted for several years.

“In her few films that survive, what’s preserved for all time is lesbian passion — passion that breaks rules, defies tradition, reverses gender roles, challenges assumptions — lesbian passion, even though it’s ostensibly directed at a man.” (Mann, p. 60)

In this rare image from her Oscar Wilde adaptation, she is with Mitchell Lewis (as Herod); the scene is from late in the film, as she demands that Herod give her the head of John the Baptist.

Out of stock