My previous post was a bit of a strain on my emotions. To change the tempo and get in a lighter mood, I wanted to dwell on something pleasing and refreshing.
What better than to recall "oomph" girls of Hollywood of my boyhood days! If Julio Iglesias could boldly sing "To All The Girls I've Loved Before", I may be permitted to hark back in time to recall the faces and figures of the gorgeous girls whose pictures I used to feast my eyes upon in my adolescent years.
Nearing my first teen year, I had just joined St. Xavier's School, Jaipur, where English pictures were screened on weekends. Chosen by Jesuit fathers, the pictures were scrupulously clean but did have an occasional lip-lock not then seen in Indian movies. Interest in Hollywood developed and older friends advised me to read a monthly magazine called "Photoplay" available at A.H.Wheeler bookstall at the Jaipur railway station. Apart from news about Hollywood, the magazine had its share of voluptuous photos of glamorous actresses. I was told these were 'pinups.'
The term 'pinup' implying a flirty photo of a beautiful woman was popularised by lonely American soldiers and sailors deployed far from home on war fronts in the Second World War with no female company for long spells of time. So they had to be content with looking at pictures of attractive women which they would pin up on notice boards or just plain walls. Hollywood actresses duly obliged with seductive poses.
Leading them was Marilyn Monroe who, though she passed away 64 years ago at the young age of 36, is still remembered fondly as a legendary sex symbol, an icon of American culture and "the most photographed person of the 20th century". Initially, unwilling but in need of money, she posed in the nude for some calendars but stopped as soon as she could. She became a popular actress by playing the part of a comic 'blonde bombshell' and I recall seeing her in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", "How to Marry a Millionaire", "River of No Return" in which she sweetly sang the title song, and "The Seven Year Itch". In the last-named film, there was a scene in which Marilyn, decently dressed in white, stood on a subway grate with the air billowing her skirt up exposing her legs and panties and an embarrassed Marilyn desperately trying to keep the skirt down. That scene acquired an iconic status and Marilyn would probably be remembered for it more than any other scene.
She was also famous for singing “Happy Birthday Mr. President” for John Kennedy amidst rumours that she was having an affair with him. Alas, her personal life was not happy and she died due to an overdose of sleeping pills officially declared as suicide though some suspected foul play.
Snapping at Marilyn's heels was Jane Russell, a brunette popular for her voluptuous figure and bold poses. The publicity poster for her first film, "The Outlaw", showed her lying in a haystack with a sultry, come-hither look. Her provocative attire in the movie subjected it to censorship issues but earned her vast popularity. She acted in more than 20 films prominent among them being "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" with Marilyn Monroe and "The Paleface" with Bob Hope in which she sang "Buttons and Bows". That won her an Oscar nomination for Best Song in a movie and set the stage for a singing career as well.
Her buxom figure made her ideal for pinups. Here are two famous quotes about her`- Bob Hope: "Culture is the ability to describe Jane Russell without moving your hands", and "Outlaw" Director Howard Hughes: "There are two good reasons why men go to see her. Those are enough". In 1943, the US Navy voted her as "the girl we'd like to have waiting for us in every port."
I move on to another Jane but with a 'y' thrown in- Jayne Mansfield. Like Marilyn Monroe, she was a 'blonde bombshell' and with her official 40” and maybe more, out busted both Marilyn and Jane Russell. Her life was sadly cut short at 34 by an automobile accident but by that time she had done enough to become a most wanted pinup model. She was in her prime when the Playboy magazine was launched and promptly featured her pictures including as a Centrefold. She acted in a few films the most famous being the musical treasure chest "The Girl Can't Help It" which had a number of my favourite songs including Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-a Lula", Fats Domino's "Blue Monday", Julie London's "Cry Me A River" and many by Little Richard including the title song.
Add to the list Betty Grable, actress, pinup girl, dancer and singer. Her pictures included "How to Marry a Millionaire" with Marilyn Monroe and "My Blue Heaven." She also acted on stage in musicals "Hello Dolly" and "Guys and Dolls". But her most famous assets were her legs which were insured for a million dollars! She herself said,"I became a star for two reasons and I'm standing on them".
A leading actress of her time, Rita Hayworth was much wanted for her pinups and was the second favourite pinup girl for American sailors during WW II. A sensual redhead, her lips were voted best in the world by the Artists League of America and earned her a modelling contract with Max Factor. The press gave her the name "The Love Goddess". She was also a good dancer and the doyen of male dancers, Fred Astaire, regarded her as his favourite dance partner.
A movie of Rita's which I vividly remember was "Blood and Sand". It was about a famous bullfighter (Tyrone Power) who leaves his wife for a sultry socialite played by Rita Hayworth. She in turn junks him for an upcoming matador (Anthony Quinn). The movie had a captivating scene with Rita and Quinn passionately dancing a tango much to the mounting jealousy of husband Power who eventually walks out in a rage. Rita in the scene was at her seductive best.
Hollywood was money and fame for foreign actresses too. Here are some that I fancied.
Hedy Lamarr, an Austrian, was seen by some as the 'most beautiful ever' and was ravishing as the heroine in "Samson and Delilah".
Hungarian Zsa Zsa Gabor, star of "Moulin Rouge", was more famous for her nine marriages than her acting. When asked how many husbands she had had, her reply was, "Other than my own?"
Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida were two Italians winning many hearts with their well-made movies. Sophia was at her charming and witty best in "The Millionairess" playing the part of the world's richest woman who falls in love with an ascetic Indian doctor played by the delightful comedian Peter Sellers. The song, "Goodness Gracious Me", which they sing together when the lady goes to see the doctor must be perhaps the funniest ever both for its lyrics and the way the two deliver it. Remember her complaint of her heart going "Boom boody-boom boody-boom boody-boom boody-boom boody-boom boody-boom-boom-boom' whenever she went close to the doctor till his heart started 'jumping too'!
Gina Lollobrigida was another contender for "the most beautiful woman in the world". A high profile actress, her films were many but I shall always remember "Come September" with its catchy theme song. Gina starred in the movie along with Rock Hudson, Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin and won a Golden Globe award.
Ingrid Bergman was arguably the best Swedish actress ever while Anita Ekberg was the top sex symbol with her beauty and curvaceous figure. She was a much desired pinup girl featuring frequently in the Playboy magazine. Among Hollywood films she was known for "War and Peace" after which she went to Italy for Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" in which she played Marcello Mastroianni's 'dream woman'. The scene where she goes cavorting with Marcello in Trevi Fountain will forever be one of cinema's most iconic and I recalled it when Akhila and I visited the Fountain in summer this year. Of course, we wished and threw coins but kept ourselves dry.
A Swiss actress, Ursula Andress, acquired fame following an iconic scene in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No. In the scene, Ursula rises out of the sea in a white bikini with a large diving knife strapped to her hip. That made her the first of the Bond girls with many to follow. Ursula herself attributed her success in films and as a model to that white bikini scene. Playboy promptly got her to pose for it many times.
And I had become an adult.
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