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November 1999, Week 3

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Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 16 Nov 1999 22:27:11 -0500
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From:
Peter Warren <[log in to unmask]>
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To: paul wiener <[log in to unmask]>
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Paul; Yes, female sexuality has always been a feature of the movies, even
in the silent days - think of Theda Bara and Clara Bow, for instance, and
the Roaring Twenties films. But that was long before the Production Code
was introduced in 1934, which was the point I was trying to make. Also,
male sexuality (beefcake) has also been a long standing feature of the
movies, long before Brando. He just had a different, more animalistic
version of it, that's all. In the silents there were  Rudolph Valentino
(the greatest "heartthrob" of them all), Ramon Novarro and John Gilbert.
Clark Gable and John Wayne were "tough guy" lovers, there was the
sophisticated William Powell, and actors like James Stewart and Gregory
Peck in their early films were considered "sexy".
Peter Warren
> From: paul wiener <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: QUERY:femme fatales of 90's
> Date: Tuesday, November 16, 1999 9:42 AM
>
> I don't seew how you can say this. Female sexuality - long before West
and
> Marlene - has always been visible, exploited, enacted and expected in
> films. It is MALE sexuality that almost never appeared before Brando.
>
> At 05:57 PM 11/15/99 -0500, Peter Warren wrote:
> >Louie: As some of the replies to your query have indicated, the major
> >difference between classic and current film noir femmes fatales was the
> >Hollywood Production Code, which was finally abandoned in the mid
sixties.
> >While it was acceptable to show greed (allowing for "compensating moral
> >values") overt sexuality was not allowed - particularly female. After
all,
> >it was the aggressive, if comical, sexual come-ons of Mae West  - and
the
> >androgony of Marlene Dietrich - which finally made the Hays Office
> >implement the Code - thanks mainly to the Catholic Church's Legion of
> >Decency  and its threat to boycott all Paramount Studios movies. (Both
Mae
> >and Marlene were under contract to the studio). Also, social movements
such
> >as female equality helped the neo-noir females to show their sexuality,
as
> >well as their classic-noir greed and manipulation of the often weak male
> >protagonist. A worthwhile exercise is to compare the 1946 and 1981
versions
> >of THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, particularly the seduction scenes.
Also,
> >DOUBLE INDEMNITY in 1944 and BODY HEAT (a virtual remake) in 1981.
> >Peter Warren
> >
> >----------
> >> From: louie reayner <[log in to unmask]>
> >> To: [log in to unmask]
> >> Subject: Re: QUERY:femme fatales of 90's
> >> Date: Monday, November 15, 1999 6:22 AM
> >>
> >> Hi,
> >> I am researching the change between the femme fatales of the early
noir
> >> period and those of the nineties. In particular, I am searching for
any
> >> tit-bits on the femmes of the 90's. If anyone can provide any examples
> >> of how the new femme differs to that of the old then I would be
indebted
> >to
> >> them.
> >>
> >> Thankyou.........Louie Rayner.
> >>
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> >
> Paul B. Wiener
> Special Services:
>    Anglo-American literature, Gifts, Film &
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> SUNY at Stony Brook Library
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