Joan Crawford, portraits for "Letty Lynton", by Hurrell, 1932

Letty Lynton is one of classic Hollywood's most famously unseen major films; it's been locked away since 1936, when MGM lost a plagiarism case to playwrights who claimed the screenplay followed their playscript much too closely.  Even after years of legal wrangling, other than the rare bootleg copy, the film remains unavailable.

Interesting, too, considering the total disappearance of the film, that Crawford's Hurrell portraits and her costumes by Adrian are among the most famous of her entire career.  The white cotton ruffled organdy "Letty Lynton" dress, alone, started a major fashion trend at the film's debut; Macy's made an inexpensive replica of the dress and claimed to have sold more than half a million copies nation wide.

Most of Hurrell's portraits for Letty Lynton were done on the set of Grand Hotel, a film Crawford had just completed.

The original "Letty Lynton" dress.

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George Hurrell (1 June 1904, Covington, Kentucky – 17 May 1992, Los Angeles), one of the most important of the classic Hollywood portrait photographers.  His images of now legendary film stars, especially those taken during the Thirties, are iconic.