The Golden Age

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).