Seraphic Secret

Robert J. Avrech: Emmy Award winning screenwriter. Religious Zionist. Republican. Movie fanatic. Gun owner. Helplessly and hopelessly in love with my wife since age nine.

Friday Fashion: The Female Animal

by 7 Comments

George Hurrell's legendary photo of Jean Harlow on a bearskin rug is the iconic image of the female animal.

In last week’s Friday Fashion post we observed that designers frequently clothe women utilizing fur, feathers and animal patterns.

For as long as fashion has existed, animal metaphors have been an indispensible part of the designer’s lexicon. Hollywood, during its golden age, a leading arbiter of taste, heightened and refined the animal analogy with brilliant costume designers turning ravishing movie stars into expressions of animal desire.

Joan Bennett in the 1930's looks like a bird with ruffled feathers. As an ingenue Joan was just another beautiful blonde, her natural color. But her career took off when she turned into a brunette and gained megastardom as a femme fatale in two Fritz Lang classics: “The Woman in the Window” (1944) and “Scarlet Street” (1945). Our favorite Joan Bennett movie is “The Reckless Moment” (1949) opposite James Mason.

 

Joan's older sister Constance Bennet directs some of her animal heat towards Clark Gable in “After Office Hours” (1935). Costumes by Adrian.

 

Marlene Dietrich rocks a hat that makes her look like a some unnamed species of bird ready to take flight.

 

Lupe Velez came to Hollywood as a sexy Latina. In fact, the gifted but tragic—she committed suicide while pregnant—Mexican actress was a wonderful comedienne. Here, wrapped in fur, photographer George Hurrell once again extends the animal metaphor.

 

In “Joy of Living” (1938) Irene Dunne wears a leopard accented outfit that projects a witty, slightly wicked demeanor. Costumes by Robert Kalloch and Edward Stevenson.

 

Milliner gone wild. Ava Gardner as a bird of prey in repose.

 

An effort to turn Martha Hyer into a sexy symbol fails miserably. Hyer was always a perfect lady who projected classic beauty, breeding and brains. In her autobiography “Finding My Way” (1990) Hyer chronicles her harrowing descent into debt to low-life loan sharks.

 

Gene Tierney in a leopard print skirt. She looks ready to go to a high school dance. Like Hyer, Tierney transcends the animal print.

 

Karen, Mrs. Seraphic Secret, favors a leopard print skirt that is modest and just plain cute.

Karen and I wish all our friends and relatives a lovely and fashionable Shabbat.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Martha Hyer projected that ladylike demeanor in The Sons of Katie Elder. In that she was entirely disgusted with the behavior of the brothers compared with the love she had for their mother.
     
    It is widely believed that Agatha Christie based her plot in The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side on the story of how Gene Tierney contracted rubella that ravaged her daughter. What amazed me was that her daughter was born in 1943, yet in 1944 she made Laura, my favorite of her roles.

  2. The picture of Harlow and the bear is great. But even though she’s not a Hollywood beauty, the picture of Palin siting on a couch with the grizzly bear her father shot is classic. 

     

  3. Another wonderful selection of photographs, Robert.  I particularly like the shot of Martha Hyer, she’s so gosh-durned CUTE!  Her outfit and overall look remind me of girls I knew in my early 20s.  (Add lace-up high-heel knee boots and a leather jacket for the after-dark look.)

  4. Gene Tierney was quite an attractive actress, but the story of her oldest daughter’s birth (and life) was a hopelessly sad affair. Supposedly, Tierney appeared (only 1 time) at the Hollywood Canteen while she was pregnant. She contracted Rubella (I believe) which cause her daughter to be born prematurely and VERY underweight. If memory serves me, the daughter was deaf, legally blind and (what they categorized back then as) severely retarded. Some time later Tierney met a woman who said she had slipped out of quarantine (with Rubella) just to go meet her hero (Tierney) at the Hollywood Canteen. Reportedly, Gene Tierney said nothing to the woman, but later said at that point in time, she never again cared if she was anyone’s favorite actress.
     
    I believe mega-millionaire Howard Hughes (an old friend of Tierney’s) made sure that her daughter had the best medical care and paid the bills himself. One last tidbit, Gene Tierney was supposedly linked to JFK and they dated, but he broke if off because of his political ambitions. After he was elected President, Tierney admitted that she voted for Nixon because she felt he would make a better president.

    • Agreed Barry – – but I was referring to Huston having these stars under his control and wanting extra curricular activities. As to Martha how sad to fall to the clutches of Loan sharks – There were a few big stars who fell to that level I think –
       
       

  6. Robert – I am trying to picture these formidable Hollywood starts of the 30s-50s meeting PETA today – I think Dietrich alone would steamroll them 😉
     
    On Martha Hyer – still trying to digest John Huston wanting to bed his leading ladies – that the stuff women had to put up with working with some of these Hollywood figures.
     
    As your wonderful Hollywood history lessons have taught me being a star does not always equate to happiness.

Leave a Reply