#174 The
Bi-Weekly Bombshell: Vintage Pinup
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First impressions matter, and as film
makers know, one way the ultimate way to make
a woman attractive, is to give her a
dramatic, well produced entrance.
When a
sexy woman enters the room, for the first
time in a film, she can’t just come in.
Sensuous close ups and leering long shots
must be exercised to their fullest,
preferably with a singing number and over the
top sexual innuendo. Today we take a look at
gorgeous women first appearing on the screen
and the men that gawk at them.
Uma Thurman as Venus - Renaissance
Pinup
It seems appropriate to start with the mother
of all desirable women, Venus. In The
Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a fresh faced
Uma Thurman makes for one of the most
ethereal and soft entrances in cinema.
Heavily based on Botticelli’s version of
venus, the painting comes alive with sound
and motion, leaving the audience and the men
struck by a pure, but not un-sensual beauty
of a time long ago.
Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson -
Double Indemnity
From one classic to another; Double Indemnity
is classic film noir, introducing the classic
femme fatal, with a classic femme fatal
entrance. Scantily clad, raspy voice and well
lit, Mrs. Dietrichson reduces the
protagonist, Walter Neff, to a giggling,
innuendo spouting buffoon.
Kim Basinger as Lynn Bracken as Veronica
Lake
We’ve done vintage, now let’s try retro. Set
in 1950’s Los Angeles, L.A. Confidential is a
neo-noir film, and as such, must have a neo
femme fatal. Lynn Bracken makes her dramatic,
yet casual entrance (8:20) into a liquor
store, while officer Bud White is checking
her out, and we- the viewer- get to see her
through his eyes: Mysterious, beautiful and
tough.
Cyd Charisse - Dragon
Lady
One of the most leggy entrances in cinema,
flapper feme fatal, Cyd Charisse, shakes her
groov thang and gives Gene Kelly a run for
his money. Befitting a whole sordid affair,
which manages to unfold in about 3 minutes,
her entrance is dramatic, grabbing and
sexually explicit as the times would permit.
Jane Fonda as Barbarella - Sexual
Revolution Raunch
Barbarella was a rather ridiculous film, that
left very little behind by way of legacy.
Which brings us to the topic at hand; The
very leggy opening sequence, in which
Barbarella, the oversexed space crusader,
returns from a mission and casually strips
off her uniform, in zero gravity. One of the
most obvious things, all these first
appearance scenes have in common is the fact
that the woman is desired by the male
character, and we- the viewers- are seeing
her through his eyes. In this scene there is
no male spectator, thus this is truly
pornographic- the only one coveting the sexy
space cadet, is us.
Ursula Andress as Honey Rider Vs. Halle
Berry as Giacinta “Jinx”
Johnson
One of the most famous entrances in cinematic
history is Ursula Andress emerging from the
sea. It’s been homaged by the Bond film
creators, with Halle Berry. It’s interesting
to compare the two moments. While the
original Andress moment is much more natural
(if a woman, collecting seashells with a
knife in her bikini is in any way natural),
while the Berry moment is set up like a
sports illustrated shoot, and yet much more
remenicent of film noir quick whips and
innuendo:
Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane - Some Like
it Hot
Another character suffering a “bond girl”
name is Sugar Kane, played by Marilyn Monroe
in the Billy Wilder comedy, Some Like it Hot.
Befitting a wilder comedy, Marilyn’s entrance
is mid action and not spotlighted, thus more
realistic. Sugar may be an object of desire,
but her entrance is much more meaningful, as
she serves as an antithesis to the frumpy
men, disguised as women. Beautiful,
voluptuous and- what was considered at the
time- all woman:
“Like jello on springs.”
Scarlett Johansson as Nola Rice -
Aggressive Entry
The devil-angel Nola Rice enters the scene
victorious, victimizing and yet visually
angelic. Unlike most femme fatal entrance
scenes, Chris, the protagonist (played by the
equally gorgeous Jonathan Ryes Meyers),
doesn’t miss a beat and matches her
confidence and risk factor.
Jessica Rabbit - Lounge Singer
Classic
The lounge singer entrance has been done to
death in film, but none perfectly drawn up as
Jessica Rabbit. Without a doubt, the viewer
is set up from the get go, to adore this
femme fatal. The spotlight, the leg, the
howling wolves. Jessica was drawn to seduce
and just like Eddie Valiant, this scene lives
our jaw on the floor.
Rita Hayworth as Gilda - The Ultimate
Entrance
Probably the most famous hair flick in
cinema, this scene embodies the
quintessential feminine cinematic entrance:
She sings, she flirts, she flicks, she’s got
a dark side.
To many more stunning pinup entrances,
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