Publicity Photo Déjà vu

I was browsing Deanna Durbin photos online when my eye was drawn to a small thumbnail. Just based on the pose and not looking at the faces at all, I thought it was a close-up version of a Because of Him publicity photo I'd seen before. Then, I realized, "Wait, that man has a mustache!" and "Deanna wasn't a blonde in that film!" The publicity photo I was seeing was actually for Lady on a Train, a 1945 film starring Deanna Durbin and David Bruce. It looks so much like the Because of Him publicity photo Deanna would pose for just one year later.

 

In both photos, Deanna is wearing a short-sleeve black dress with a sheerness at the top. Below her to the left in both photographs is her male costar in a nice suit looking "captured" by Deanna. Deanna has a fistful of his hair in her hands ("his" being David Bruce in 1945 and Franchot in 1946). I know that many costumes, poses, and filmed footage were recycled and reused in Hollywood, but I was still surprised that they would take such a similar publicity photo within one year of the first one.

Deanna and David Bruce in a Lady on a Train publicity photo, 1945
Source: www.doctormacro.com

The pose reused with Deanna and Franchot in a Because of Him publicity photo, 1946
Source: www.tcm.com

  

Lady on a Train is a 1945 crime-based comedy starring Deanna, David, and Ralph Bellamy. Deanna's character witnesses a murder from her train window and seeks the help of a mystery author.

Because of Him is a 1946 romantic comedy starring Deanna, Franchot, and Charles Laughton. In this film, Deanna's character is a waitress who schemes her way into an acting role opposite her thespian idol.