Movieland Mystery Photo — Updated

  Nov. 13, 2010, Mystery Photo  

I often wonder why people in movie stills sometimes have such dilated eyes. Then I found this very freckled mystery guest with about the most extreme example I’ve ever seen.

  Nov. 15, 2010, Mystery Photo  
  Los Angeles Times file photo  

Updated: Our freckled mystery guest with the dilated eyes is Mary Astor!

This week’s mystery guest was Diane Baker (with a surprise appearance by Valerie Gearon!)

There’s a new photo on the jump!

 

  Nov. 14, 2010, Mystery Photo  
  Los Angeles Times file photo  

Here’s our mystery guest – in the kitchen!

  Mary Astor, Return to Peyton Place  

Update: This is a problematic photo for me. It’s from “Return to Peyton Place,” a movie I had never seen until I got the DVD for comparison (shout out to Videotheque in South Pasadena!)  Like many movie stills, it’s slightly different from the actual scene.  I pulled the photo from Mary Astor’s file, it’s labeled “Mary Astor” on the back and Mary Astor is in the scene. And that is co-star Luciana Paluzzi. But I wasn’t sure that this lady was Mary Astor, even on a bad day.

  Mary Astory, Return to Peyton Place  

Here’s Mary Astor in a frame grab from “Return to Peyton Place.”

Mary Astory, Return to Peyton Place Nov. 14, 2010, Mystery Photo

At left, a frame grab from “Return to Peyton Place” with Mary Astor. At right, the publicity photo for “Return to Peyton Place.” Opinions?

  Mary Astor, Return to Peyton Place  

And here’s a bonus shot:  Mary Astor using a Chemex!

  Mary Astor, Return to Peyton Place  

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times
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16 Responses to Movieland Mystery Photo — Updated

  1. Dewey Webb's avatar Dewey Webb says:

    Mary Astor (or Golda Meir)

    Like

  2. Steve Stoliar's avatar Steve Stoliar says:

    Mary Astor?

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  3. Gregory Moore's avatar Gregory Moore says:

    Mary Astor?

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  4. Mark Heimback-Nielsen's avatar Mark Heimback-Nielsen says:

    Is it Mary Astor?

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  5. normadesmond's avatar normadesmond says:

    looks a teeny bit like vanessa redgrave.

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  6. Rosalyn's avatar Rosalyn says:

    Deborah Kerr?

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  7. fibber mcgee's avatar fibber mcgee says:

    Sunday’s photo sh0ws why folks like her have the zombie-like eyes — too much coffee!

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  8. Native Angeleno's avatar Native Angeleno says:

    Judy Garland’s stuntdouble.

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  9. Shellie Lewis's avatar Shellie Lewis says:

    Mary Astor

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  10. Steve Stoliar's avatar Steve Stoliar says:

    Well, even though the black-and-white shot is admittedly awkward, it’s hard to believe they’d dress up another similar-looking actress in the identical robe, pull her hair back in the identical way, and have her hold the same large coffee cup in the same hand! So I’m guessing both Miss Astor and the photo had been “touched up” to some degree, hence the odd appearance.

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  11. Mary Mallory's avatar Mary Mallory says:

    Maybe that’s just not one of her good sides, and we all take a bad photo now and then.

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  12. william's avatar william says:

    Re dilated pupils….In olden times, Ladies in Europe would use an extract (atropine) of a common plant to dilate their pupils thinking it would give a more youthful appearance. Children have larger pupils than the elderly due to ageing of the ocular iris muscle tissues. Thus the term, in Italian, “Belladonna”, “beautiful lady”. DO NOT TRY THIS BY YOURSELF! Can cause extreme medical damage, even systemically. I had never imagined this would be used in photography in modern times.

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  13. Barbara's avatar Barbara says:

    Yeah, the minute I saw it I thought “Mary Astor”. She did not age well.

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  14. Periwinkle's avatar Periwinkle says:

    Yep. All the pictures are Mary Astor. However, in the second photo wearing the simple dress with the small collar and broach doesn’t she seem to be channeling Auntie Em from the Wizard of Oz wondering where Dorothy has gone?

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  15. william's avatar william says:

    I see what I believe to be differences in Mary Astor & a possible “double”. Just for kicks, I will guess the other lady is Seena Owen

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  16. Stacia's avatar Stacia says:

    I thought it was Mary Astor until I saw the 2nd photo (before your comparisons were posted) and then I decided it wasn’t her. The eyes in the B&W photo look like Astor’s, but otherwise it doesn’t look like her at all.

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