DOLORES DEL RÍO IN WHITE WIG (1928) Photo

[Los Angeles: William Fox, 1928]. Vintage original 6 1/2 x 8 1/2″ (16 x 22 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Margins show signs of trimming for publication, near fine.

This mysterious photo with an attached typed blurb on the verso describes this image as simply Dolores del Río in a white wig, and is number 2 in a series. Research did not reveal a known film character in del Río’s resume but there are some clues which indicate that it could be from her lost 1928 film No Other Woman. This silent film was directed by Lou Tellegan, the actor/director who led a tempestuous life and who would re-edit some of the footage into a 1930 film called The Sculptor’s Dream in which he played an artist who dreams his artworks come alive. This film, too, is lost.

Giving credence is that the image seems to be from a later silent film due to the costuming and wig, but there is also a N.E.A. ink date stamp for April 29, 1930, on the verso, and perhaps this odd sized photo was used to promote the later film. The photo has an additional odd component, a portion of a San Francisco address printed into the photo above del Río’s head. The photo may have been duplicated in some way, but it is an original issued photo from 1930.