Paul Lukas picture...

I got this with a lot of old paperwork from the 1930s. Inside the pile I found this picture of Paul Lukas. This appears to be an original picture of the actor from the 30s. On the reverse, it states that he is casted in a documentary film "Coffessions of a Nazi Spy". It appears that the word LIST was written on the back, I'm assuming that this is an original picture of the actor before the official picture was published. If you notice that some typing was X out on the reverse. On the front, there's also some numbers.

The part X out looks like it reads:
PAUL LUKAS WHO WILL BE SEEN IN "BY CANDLE LIGHT" A FILM COMING TO THE RAND SHORTLY.

 

Given the typewritten information on the back, my best guess would be a publicity photo (of which many would have been made) sent to local newspapers where his films were to be shown by the film studio. In this case, the same photo may have been used twice by the same paper, with the two different captions. The theater references would be unique to the town or city and not something put out by the studio. Since this photo is not autographed, there isn't anything particularly special about it.

In case you didn't know already, Confessions of a Nazi Spy was released in 1939. Lukas' IMDB bio features a number of films in which he appeared, but this one is only listed with the 1939 date.

 

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I am a little confused with the mentioning of "By Candle Light" coming to the Rand shortly. That movie came out in 33 or 34. Some of his movies were produced from plays that were shown before the movie came out. It states that he is cast as an actor in a documentary, now in its 3rd successful week. Makes me wonder if this was done as a play, prior to it being a movie in 1939?

 

I really couldn't say, other than it doesn't look like a "documentary" in the way in which we use the term today. It's listed as a drama. I suspect, given its subject matter (the activities of the "German-American Bund") and the times, that the person who wrote the caption was mistaken about the truthfulness of the story presented. Just my humble interpretation.

You don't think it's possible that a local newspaper might keep a years old publicity photo on file to use when the next occasion arose? I do.

 

I do think it's probable that this is a publicity photo for "By Candlelight" that was used later instead for "Confessions of a Nazi Spy." The IMDb plot summary for "By Candlelight" to me indicates that he might have worn this type of clothing in that film (Paul Lukas plays the character Josef):

Josef is the valet for Count von Rommer and well trained in the philandering ways of his master. Mistaken for the Count by a maid, Marie, whom he thinks is an aristocrat, Josef shows her a merry time in the Count's Monte Carlo villa. Meanwhile, the Count escapes a situation with Countess von Rischenheim, when her husband Count von Rischenheim makes an unscheduled appearance, by posing as the butler.

 

I just scrolled through a page of publicity stills of Paul Lukas and I must say, most of his film posters show him draped over some dame on a couch. Pretty hot stuff for those days!