Picture of the day: hand tinted card

Nils Asther, hand tinted (colorised) film star card by Ross Verlag, Berlin

Original photograph by Clarence Sinclair Bull for MGM Studios, c 1920s

Picture of the day: photo by Clarence Sinclair Bull

Nils Asther, photo by Clarence Sinclair Bull for MGM Studios c 1928

Picture of the day: kissing her feet

 Nils Asther and Loretta Young in Laugh, Clown, Laugh, 1928

Detail of a lobby card

 

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Picture of the day: by Clarence Sinclair Bull

Nils Asther

Photograph by Clarence Sinclair Bull for MGM Studios, 

probably taken late 1920s or early 1930s.

Picture of the day: Caribbean sponge diver, 1930

Raquel Torres and Nils Asther in The Sea Bat, 1931

Torres cradles her brother, Asther, who has come a cropper while diving for sponges off the West Indies island of Portuga.

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Picture of the day: the spaghetti-addicted composer

Nils Asther in Mary Names The Day, 1941, MGM (also known as Dr Kildare's Wedding Day).

In this movie, Asther plays an Italian orchestral conductor, Labardi, who presents the medical staff with an unusual complaint - he is losing his hearing due to eating too much spaghetti. I really have no words on the surreality of this storyline.

picture of the day: amazing

Nils Asther by Clarence Sinclair Bull for MGM studios, probably c1927

I think I've posted this picture before but I don't care. It's amazing and timeless.

Nils Asther and dogs

I noticed that there are quite a few pictures of Nils Asther with dogs.

German cigarette card, Ross Verlag

MGM publicity shot by Ruth Harriet Louise, probably 1927.
This appears to be the same dog, but older, so perhaps it was his own.

Asther's first American film, Topsy and Eva, 1927. Asther is top left.

The St Bernard at the front took part in the film and belonged to Vivian Duncan, later Asther's wife, middle left.

Storm at Daybreak, 1933

'Nils Asther takes time out to play with his new pet, eight month old Great Dane, Eric.'

 Son of Lassie, 1945

Laddie (son of Lassie), Nils Asther, Peter Lawford

Asther spent most of his scenes in this film playing against the lead canine star, supposedly rescuing Laddie from the Nazis, and then tending to the dog, spoon feeding him and generally lolling around on the floor of their Norwegian hut together (actually filmed in Banff National Park, Canada). Asther seemed right at home.

picture of the day: modern love in 1929

Greta Garbo and Nils Asther 

a publicity still from The Single Standard, 1929

This is one of my favourite Nils Asther films. 

His character is an idiot, but the direction is skilful, Garbo is radiant,

and the themes are surprisingly fresh and modern even though it's a silent movie.

I'm going to write a review soon.

More posts about The Single Standard.

picture of the day: fun with Marion Davies

Nils Asther and Marion Davies in The Cardboard Lover, 1928


I found some more stills from this film. It looks pretty fun.

This would be the scene at the start where she asks him for his autograph.

more posts about The Cardboard Lover

picture of the day: publicity stills 1932

Nils Asther, MGM publicity stills (by George Hurrell?) for the upcoming film Letty Lynton, 1932

picture of the day: with Lon Chaney and Loretta Young, 1928

Lon Chaney, Loretta Young and Nils Asther 

in Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928) MGM


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Nils Asther: 1933 publicity by Clarence Bull

Nils Asther, publicity photographs by Clarence Sinclair Bull for MGM.

On the reverse of the photos is text about his upcoming film, Strange Rhapsody, which by the time of release had been retitled Storm at Daybreak. 

This was the last film Asther did before he left his MGM contract and went freelance.

Nils Asther in Storm at Daybreak, 1933

picture of the day: postage stamp, Nils Asther & Marion Davies

Marion Davies and Nils Asther on a postage stamp from Benin, 2009, 

in a scene from the silent comedy The Cardboard Lover, 1928.

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Storm at Daybreak (1933) - posters

Storm at Daybreak (1933) 

 In 1914, after the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand by a Serb, a Hungarian soldier (Nils Asther) gets involved with the wife (Kay Francis) of a Serbian mayor of a Hungarian town (Walter Huston).

Walter Huston, Kay Francis and Nils Asther with Richard Boleslavsky, director

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