Old Hollywood Secrets Revealed In Colorized Photos

Hollywood has always been so good about keeping us fed with plenty of delicious scandals, that it’s no wonder we enjoy internet articles full of all the juiciest rumors. But before there was the online portal of information, we were able to glean just as much (if not more) intrigue and secrets from just an old photo.

Mamie Van Doren (1954)

Stories about unseemly set-ups with Rock Hudson weren’t unusual from the lips of Mamie Van Doren. Mamie was one-of-a-kind: a Marilyn Monroe lookalike with a brash bluntness about her and no fear of what people thought. She was who she was and never tried to hide it. Mamie was a sex symbol of her day, too, and she was most famously known for her close-to-real-life role in the movie, Untamed Youth. She even starred alongside Clint Eastwood in one of his first films before he became famous.

Ann Margret and Elvis Presley on the set of Viva Las Vegas (1964)

Ann Margret and Elvis Presley were more than just lovers on-screen in Viva Las Vegas. In real life, Ann and Elvis engaged in a love affair that would span over a year after filming, and it would only end because of the press’s constant hounding that Elvis had to fulfill his commitment to marry Priscilla. Ann recalled later that their affair had been a heartwarming one, and it never would have ended had the pressure from the media not been overwhelming for Elvis to save his career. When Elvis died, Ann was the only friend that attended his funeral.

Marlon Brando Directing 'One-Eyed Jacks' (1961)

He may be widely remembered for his pivotal part in The Godfather franchise, but Marlon Brando was knee-deep in Hollywood films decades before that—he just wasn’t doing a very good job at it. Attempting a directorial debut starting with the terribly run film, One-Eyed Jacks.This swollen, over-budget, over seven hours of bad film work was all under Marlon’s direction, and several other bad movies with Marlon’s lead would follow throughout the entire 60’s. No one wanted to work with him afterwards, so his Godfather role was an extremely high luck of the draw.