Robert Mitchum — opinions, please

I bought this picture frame from a U.K. charity shop (thrift store), in September 2019, for just £5.00. In the corner is a small scrap of blue paper with what I believe to be a genuine Robert Mitchum autograph. I suspected that the scrap had been cut from an autograph book, so I took the frame apart when I got home. On the back was another, partial autograph from an unknown person.

Obviously, this came to me from outside the usual collecting channels. There is no provenance, but, on the positive side, there is no financial incentive in someone faking a signature like this only to give it away to a charity shop.

Mitchum would sometimes sign his first name as Bob, and I have seen examples online where the trailing line from the second B would curl down into the M of his surname.

Any Mitchum experts here willing to give an opinion on its authenticity?

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Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on June 13, 2021 at 1:05pm

Good to me from what I can see - David Lewis should know. Or JoeW.

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Permalink Reply by David Lewis on June 13, 2021 at 4:10pm

An autograph from the very start of his career 1943-45. Looks like a winner.

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Permalink Reply by Stepeanut on June 13, 2021 at 10:55pm

Wow, thank you!

I had assumed it to be from toward the end of his career, perhaps on a visit to the U.K., but this is even more interesting. Sadly, we’ll never know the story of how it ended up in a Manchester charity shop, but Lady Luck was certainly smiling on me that day.

I do wish the signature hadn’t been cut so tightly, as it really deserves to be reframed in a more sympathetic fashion. I’ll give it some further thought.

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Permalink Reply by David Lewis on June 15, 2021 at 1:31pm

Stepeanut, My research tells me his autograph changed by 1946. By WW2's end he had been it a couple of good movies. Only a thought…..WW2 British soldiers and sailors were able to collect Mitchum in NY. at the the Canteen or movie premier and then crossed the pond and took them home.

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Permalink Reply by Stepeanut on June 15, 2021 at 2:16pm

That’s interesting how his autograph changed by 1946. Thanks for the additional information, David.

I had already considered that a British serviceman may have picked up Mitchum’s autograph whilst in NYC. Equally, it could have come from a U.S. serviceman who eventually settled in the U.K. after the war. We’ll never know for sure, but it’s fun to speculate.

Given the unusual circumstances of its finding, we’re lucky the autograph ended up in the hands of a keen film collector like me. It could just as easily have been thrown away by someone who just wanted the frame. As it is, I treasure it and have it on display in my home office.