L is for Lingerie!
The Notorious Bettie Page (Picturehouse Entertainment, 2006)
Before the Camera:
Gretchen Mol (US TV's Life on Mars)
Chris Bauer (TV's True Blood)
Cara Seymour (American Psycho)
David Strathairn (Freedom Song) <-----I worked on that one!
Lili Taylor (Say Anything)
Austin Pendleton (The Great Smokey Roadblock)
Norman Reedus (The Boondock Saints)
Kevin Carroll (Being John Malkovich)
Michael Gaston (TV's Nathan Dixon - unsold pilot) <----I worked on that one!
and
Sarah Paulson (TV's American Gothic) <-----I worked on that one!
as Bunny Yeager
Behind the Camera:
Directed by Mary Harron
Produced by Lori Keith Douglas, Mary Harron, Pamela Koffler, Katie Roumel, Guinevere Turner, Christine Vachon, and John Wells
Written by Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner
Thigh high silk stockings. Black leather bustiers. Insanely high heeled pumps. Millions of women (and men) have worn them over the years, but never did anyone pull them off quite as well as the incredible Bettie Page. Bettie was a unbelievably popular pinup model of the 1950's whose pictures went from innocent bathing beauty shots to record covers, playing cards, and even intricate fetish clothing and bondage and discipline photos and nudie loops. The movie tells her story, starting out with her childhood in Tennessee, through her first marriage in the late 40's to Billy Neal (Reedus), her fateful meeting with photographer Jerry Tibbs (Carroll), that led to her employment by the brother/sister team of Irving and Paula Klaw (Bauer and Taylor), and eventually through to the Senate subcomittee investigation of the rather tame business of pornography in those days. Through it all, Bettie remains a sweet, loving and innocent woman, fully aware of what she is doing, but never seeing anything wrong with it.
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| This is just practice, right? There's no film in the camera? |
Let's Get Out of Here ?
Around 1:20:00, Bettie's boyfriend is ready to go.
Eye Candy ?
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| Duh. |
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| And lest we forget, the real Bettie was scorching hot too. |
Buddha Man's Capsule Review
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| Buddha Man says "The Notorious Bettie Page. An hour and a half of a beautiful woman in lingerie telling you nudity is okay. Yep, that's exactly what a movie should be." |
I'll say it is! Thanks, BM, and til next time, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!
She really was very beautiful. I remember watching part of a "true Hollywood story" on her once. Kind of a sad life she had.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how a few details can ground you in another time and place. I saw the--dare I say cheeky? Cheeky. There. Dare I said it--poster art, and I thought, "This is Rosie the Riveter, after hours."
ReplyDeleteSo I had to do the breakdown on how I got there.
There was the vintage pinup feel of the poster, the throwback hair style, and the name Betty.
And that was it. I'd never heard of the woman, and that's all it took to teleport me back a half-century or so. Granted, I would have guessed 40s, while the 50s were her heyday.
But still. Interesting. I think this brand of art requires further study.
Finally, I'm curious: When a pilot goes unsold, and you've worked on it, do you get a copy to show friends and neighbors?
Seems there'd be a direct to DVD market for pilot episodes that didn't make the cut...
Best,
Joe
l: Your Library: A Tale Not Told in Books
Wow! Bettie Page. What an old-time beauty (or more flatteringly, a timeless one). The pin-up photos are classic! She may be the reason I love brunettes, perhaps subconsciously because she was well before my time.
ReplyDeleteAnother great post! And the Buddha's resounding verdict is perfectly apt.
Jennifer - she was - and although she tried to stay out of the limelight in her later years - she was pleased she still had fans - so she ended up happy, I think. And I saw a picture from the latter part of her life - she was still amazing looking!
ReplyDeleteJoe - She captures your eye in a way few of the more generic pinups of the time did - and she did thousands of photos - so you can see G rated Bettie all the way up to R rated Bettie! I do recommend some research - you'll like what you see. And sadly, no, I've seen few of the pilots I worked on - even Touched by an Angel - though it went to series, our pilot was shelved - the series was completely reworked before airing - and I've never gotten to see it. Thankfully I do have my memories of my birthday kiss(es) from Roma Downey!
Mattthew - Yeah, she's been on my radar for a long time - glad I could include her this month! And thanks for the love for Buddha Man - he appreciates it!