NORMA SHEARER | STRANGE INTERLUDE [1932] Oversized portrait by Hurrell – 2

[Los Angeles]: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, [1932]. Vintage original 10 x 13″ (25 x 32 cm) black-and-white double weight glossy silver gelatin photo. Fine.

Provocative pose of Norma Shearer to publicize MGM’s reworking of the Eugene O’Neill play Strange Interlude. Dealing with taboo pre-Code subject matter (a woman having a baby by her lover when the man she married carries a genetic disease), the film utilized a technique whereby the characters’ thoughts were revealed in voiceover.

Hurrell’s embossed stamp appears in lower right blank white margin. His ink stamp is on verso along with “Norma Shearer, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer”. Hand numbered in pencil X-369.