Judging from what’s going on, or likely to go on soon, in this picture, I’d say Careful would be a more apt title. I would like to have a more in depth explanation of just what’s the big idea here, besides the obvious. That hussy is certainly trying to get his attention, which she finally manages to do but probably only because he couldn’t find a red six to put on that seven of spades. His drink hasn’t been touched either. What in the world is he doing in that room with this married woman, anyway? Did she say to him “Hey Big Boy! Let’s go to your place and you can play solitaire while I writhe on the sofa!”? He does look utterly surprised when he turns around and sees her in that thin negligee while tossing him a rather spicy yoga position. He hasn’t even untied his tie yet!
Maybe it’s a set-up and he’s soon to get rolled by her husband who is lurking behind the curtains. I’ve seen that happen more than once in old film noir flicks so it appears that was a way to make a living back in those days.
When do you think those “old days” were? Early 50s is my guess. You couldn’t get a more panderingly effective cover than this one with which to sell your pulp. I’d have been too young to take it up to the drug store counter myself and I’m sure they wouldn’t have sold it to me anyway. But I probably would have stood there rifling through something considerably less lurid (like Boy’s Life) while surreptitiously eyeballing this one.
I’d sure like to have a copy of it now! Actually, I’d like to have a complete collection of Careless Magazine - who wouldn’t? This one is marked No. 32 so there has to be a few others floating around out there, even though I couldn’t find a one on eBay, which is generally a good indicator of whether or not something still exists.
I found nothing whatsoever searching on Bing; even it’s new AI chatbox came up a cropper. Google, however, was a different story but still all I found was this same cover there and not a clue about the magazine itself. Shoot! I’m dying to know what happened!
New Old Photo of the Week
I’ve scanned hundreds of old slides in the last few months and continue to find a gem here and there. This week I moved on to California, a state I know well and have explored thoroughly. Let’s see what pops up . . .
The 2-Sentence Novel
© David Ryan 2023
I’ll Wait Until We Get Home
George figured he had the best outhouse in the county.
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