By Mark McConville
INCREDIBLE images have emerged that reveal what Hollywood and its main players looked like during World War Two.
The wartime pictures show famous actresses of the day on set including Dorothy Lamour, Rita Hayworth and Paulette Goddard.
Other retro snaps show Hollywood buildings in the 1940s through to the 1960s as well as typewriters, which had recorded scores of screen stories, being donated to the war effort.
The stunning shots provide a rare insight into the glitz and glamour of Hollywood in the 1940s as war raged around the world.
Rita Hayworth was an American actress and dancer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era’s top stars, appearing in a total of 61 films over 37 years.
The press coined the term “love goddess” to describe Hayworth after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She was the top pin-up girl for GIs during WW2.
The other actresses pictured were stars in their own right with Dorothy Lamour best remembered for appearing in the Road to… movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.
Paulette Goddard was a child fashion model who became a major star of the Paramount studio in the 1940s.
Her most notable films were her first major role, as Charles Chaplin’s leading lady in Modern Times, and Chaplin’s subsequent film The Great Dictator.
The images of typewriters being donated reveal a US government policy during WW2. During WWII the US government solicited typewriter donations. A few were used in the field while others were melted down to manufacture ammunition.
Hollywood also played an important role during WW2 as the film industry worked with the Office of War Information to record and photograph wartime activities and display the war in a positive light.
With the growth of the film industry came the growth of the influence of Hollywood celebrities.
Hollywood stars appeared in advertisements and toured the country to encourage citizens to purchase war bonds to support their country in the war.
