skip to main |
skip to sidebar
As mentioned in an earlier post, American cinema suffered a decades-long drought in sexual content, lasting from the mid-thirties to the late sixties. Intended to preserve the moral climate of the movie industry, the Hays Code forbade the depiction of practically all sexuality from the silver screen, even those delicious bra-and-panty scenes the public had grown to love during the Roaring Twenties.
Many film historians have theorized that this hardline censorship was inspired by the austerity of the Great Depression, but the plain truth is that the Code's designer, William H. Hays, was a puritanical jackass. OK, maybe that's being a trifle unfair, but let's face it: who in their right mind would consider Betty Boop a threat to the youth of the nation?
Mind you, Betty's animated shorts could get pretty steamy at times, but when cartoon characters are being censored over the length of their hemlines, you know someone has few screws loose upstairs. Prior to 1934, movies could still emphasize the inherent beauty of the female form with luscious underwear, bare thighs and stocking tops. Following the institution of the Code, revealing close-ups and gratuitous stripteases were strictly verbotten.
The Hays Code was the Hollywood equivalent of Prohibition, only in this case the killjoys were battling the sins of the flesh. Girls had to be sweet, chaste and well-covered at all times. Hemlines were lowered, garters were hidden, and the very mention of women's intimates was banned from big screen (hence the word 'unmentionables').
It was a sad day for human civilization: audiences around around the world were forthwith denied the spectacle of Carol Lombard's satin underwear no matter how innocent the context. Disrobing had to take place off screen when it occurred at all, as everybody knew there was nothing more shocking than the sight of a pretty young woman in her stockings and panties.
Idiots.
Lingerie scenes were less common in US cinema than in its British counterpart, although occasional 'boudoir' imagery sneaked in under the radar every now and them. Sexual elements were generally toned down in accordance with the Hays Code, a censorship board which demanded - amongst other things - that underwear be of the neck-to-knee variety so popular in the late 19th century.
The results were amusing to say the least. Navels were a taboo subject on both film and TV, meaning that costumes frequently had to be redesigned to cover the tummy-button. In addition, American actresses were rarely depicted on screen in stocking-tops and garter belts - presumably because such uninhibited sexuality would cause riots in the streets.
There were, however, a few notable exceptions to the rule, usually B-grade thrillers that somehow made it past the censors. It's also interesting to note how overtly sexual themes surfaced in American horror flicks (in contrast to Britain's 'naughty' comedies).
The 1964 schlock masterpiece The Strangler featured two gratuitous stripteases (unusual for the time) between assorted acts of mayhem and violence. In both cases, the girls were shown stripping down to pristine white bras and panties before peeling off their stockings.
By contrast, 1959's Attack of the Giant Leeches may best be described as a horror in its own right. Take my word for it, this has to be one of the biggest turkeys this side of Plan Nine from Outer Space, and that's being as generous as humanly possible. Even the brief panty-scene near the start couldn't save this humongous lemon.
Ok, let's get this thing out in the open.
Everyone loves panties. Don't try to deny it; panties are an almost universal passion, one which crosses social and cultural boundaries without exception. You can see them virtually everywhere you look; billboards, magazines, window displays and every known form of electronic media. Which would, of course, include the television and film industries, both of which enjoy a major presence on the web.
Oddly enough, despite the proliferation of cinematic blogsites on the intertubes, there is comparatively little information available on the bra-and-panty genre (if that's the right word). While you can find reams of data relating to petticoats, corsets or even opera gloves in mainstream film, the net seems to have developed a blind spot when it comes to unmentionables.
To demonstrate my point, I ran a Google search for "underwear scenes in film and TV" a few nights ago. I expected to find references to Edison's 'Black Maria' or Vitagraph's 'Mlle Elegantine', but the historical landscape could best be described as an uncharted wasteland. Aside from a few blogs similar to this one, no one seems to have attempted a comprehensive history of lingerie in western cinema.
Most of the sites I consulted listed perennial favorites such as Melanie Griffith in Working Girl or Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels, but very few mentioned the unsung heroines the classic era. A strange oversight indeed, considering that the Celebrated Lingerie Shot has a rich and colorful history stretching back beyond the memory of the present generation - even as far as the long-forgotten era of Monochrome Filmstock.
Contrary to popular belief, gratuitous panty shots didn't begin with Body Double. As most native Brits can tell you, panty-gags were a well-loved staple of 'bawdy' comedy during the 60s and 70s - and that's to say nothing about classic TV shows like Benny Hill, Doctor at Large or The Two Ninnies.
Images: Carry On Regardless (1961) and A Stitch in Time (1963).
