Identify this picture?

[Hester]

Can anyone identify the source of this picture?

It looks like a movie still. Is it Billy Dove in The Black Pirate from 1926?

And can anyone identify the original source of the picture in my sig line? It looks like it might be from a Vaudeville production, I think.

Chole, what did you discover in your Googling?

Cheers, Hester

[Captain Jim]

Jean Peters, Anne of the Indies, 1951.

And the lady in the Sig is Lotte Lenya, performing "Pirate Jenny" from A Threepenny Opera" (I think)

[Hester]

Thank you, Cap'n Jim!

From this write-up it sounds like something I'd like to see:

http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movi...html?v_id=83773

Alas, it doesn't seem to be available on DVD!

[Hester]

And the lady in the Sig is Lotte Lenya, performing "Pirate Jenny" from A Threepenny Opera" (I think)

Hi, Cap'n Jim:

I found that picture illustrating an MP3 of Lotte Lenya singing "Pirate Jenny" (in German) ... but I don't think the woman pictured is actually her.

Very worthwhile listening to the song, btw! Here's the link to the audio file:

http://rattengift.vox.com/library/posts/ta...brecht/atom.xml

Here's a couple pics of Lotte Lenya playing the role of Jenny Diver in Threepenny Opera (from the 1954 broadway production, I think):

I haven't been able to find earlier pictures of Lenya in the role of Jenny in the original 1928 German version, Die Dreigroschenoper, but I believe this well-known portrait of her is from that era:

Facial recognition isn't my strong point, but I don't think the woman in my sig line is actually Lotte Lenya.

Happy to hear any more definite info, though...

Cheers, Hester

[Hester]

I haven't been able to find earlier pictures of Lenya in the role of Jenny in the original 1928 German version, Die Dreigroschenoper,

Oh, wait, I think this pic of her is from the 1928 production:

Hmmm... I still think her features are a bit harsher than the woman in my sig line (although it could be her). The blonde wig and costume don't seem to fit with any of the other "Three Penny" production photos, though.

So... still a mystery, I guess.

[Hester]

Wait, I just remembered, apparently in the original German version, the song "Seerauber-Jenny" ("Pirate Jenny"), was sung by the character Polly Peacham, during her wedding feast. Later, the libretto was changed to give the song to the character Jenny Diver, the prostitute, played by Lotte Lenya (Kurt Weill's wife).

http://classicalnotes.net/classics/threepenny.html

So, could the woman in my sig line be the actress who originally played Polly Peacham in the 1928 production, Roma Bahn?

Here's a picture of Roma Bahn:

And here she is on the right in this photo from the 1928 production:

Hmmm... yes, I think she makes a better facial match to the woman in my sig line than Lotte Lenya.

Still an open question, though... my sig photo might not actually have anything to do with the Threepenny Opera, and be from some Vaudeville show instead.

[Caraccioli]

Rosa Klebb as a pirate femme fatale?! I'd have to agree that that is not Lotte Lenya. (Did you know that her husband was one of the composers of The Threepenny Opera? She married 'im twice!)

[Captain Jim]

OK, I agree, not Lotte. How about Carola Neher, who played Polly in the original production and sang the song Pirate Jenny?

Then again we may be all wrong and this picture has nothing to do with Threepenny.

[Hester]

Hi, Cap'n Jim:

Yes, Carola Neher looks like a possibility. Did she play Polly in the 1931 movie? Or was that Roma Bahn? (I've come across webpages that claim both.) Lenya was definitely Jenny.

Apparently, the 1931 film version (with sound) is available in German and French on DVD. I'd like to see that, but I've only been able to find the European region code so far (and my DVD player only does the North American format):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Georg-W-Pabst-Thre...a/dp/B00069WA7Q

Cheers, Hester