Chester Morris – Signed Vintage Original 1932 Photograph by Gene Kornman For Sale

Chester Morris Signed Vintage Original Photograph by Gene Kornman, boldly signed, inscribed, and dated by him in black fountain pen ink across the lower left. The full inscription reads: \"To Charlie — wish they were all just as considerate! Gratefully, Chester Morris. \'Red Headed Woman,\' 1932.\" Item measures at approximately 10.5 x 13.5. Might have been slightly trimmed on the right and upper bordering (hard to tell).
Morris has identified both the production and the year in his own hand, which is unusual and makes this piece directly datable to 1932. Red-Headed Woman was the MGM pre-Code drama starring Jean Harlow, with Morris in the male lead, adapted by Anita Loos and released in June 1932. The film was a scandal on release and became one of the pictures cited in the drive that produced enforcement of the Production Code two years later. The inscription is addressed to Charles \"Charlie\" Dorian, an assistant director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Morris\'s thanks for Dorian\'s consideration indicates the two worked together on the production.
This photograph is in nice condition for its age, but has some age related creasing and wear to the upper corners, chipping and small loss to the lower left corner, edge wear along the borders, light soiling to the reverse, and light surface handling marks throughout. The image itself is sharp.
Photographer: The photograph was taken by Gene Kornman (1897–1978), whose credit stamp appears on the verso reading \"GENE KORNMAN PHOTO.\" Kornman began shooting stills in 1922 and served as Harold Lloyd\'s personal photographer at the Hal Roach Studios into the mid-1930s before joining Twentieth Century-Fox as a portrait photographer. The presence of the original photographer\'s credit stamp on the verso supports this as a Type 1 photograph, meaning a first-generation print made from the original negative at the time the image was taken.
Provenance: This photograph comes from the personal collection of Charles \"Charlie\" Dorian (1891–1942), an assistant director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Dorian began in pictures as an actor, appearing in twenty-six films between 1915 and 1920, before moving behind the camera. He worked as assistant director on The Last of the Mohicans (1920), The Goose Woman (1925), Flesh and the Devil (1926), and The Trail of \'98 (1928), and served as Clarence Brown\'s regular assistant on most of Brown\'s pictures. In 1933 he won the Academy Award for Best Assistant Director. He died on October 21, 1942. Dorian was married to Hazel Page, and a number of pieces in this collection are inscribed to her as well as to him. Their son, Patrick \"Pat\" Dorian, worked in Hollywood as an actor and surfer and doubled for Elvis Presley in his Hawaii-filmed pictures.
The material in this collection was recovered from the attic of the Dorian family\'s former vacation home in Hawaii and acquired first-hand from a source now living there. Every item carrying this provenance in their listing descends directly from this collection, and the inscriptions throughout are addressed to Charles or \"Charlie\" and Hazel personally as well as their son, \"Pat,\" reflecting working relationships and friendships in MGM.
DISCLAIMER: The starting offer for this has been intentionally set low to provide potential buyers with an opportunity to offer at an affordable price. However, please be aware that in the event this item does not sell in sale, it may be subsequently listed with a \'Buy It Now\' option at a higher price, typically 2-3 times the initial offerding price. We aim to offer fair and competitive pricing to accommodate a variety of budget ranges.