Month: November 2020

Adored by women, one of the biggest stars of the 50s and 60s, and secretly gay, Rock Hudson has never really been able to live his love in broad daylight. Until his death, in the midst of the “AIDS years”. Death of AIDS on October 2, 1985, Rock Hudson has all his life maintained an illusion that only Hollywood studios knew how to create: that of his heterosexuality. A key figure in American cinema of the 1950s and 1960s, Rock Hudson is now one of the main characters in a show, signed by Ryan Murphy and available on Netflix since 2020. Far from the smooth image of the Californian stars of at the time, the actor is shown at the start of his career, as he tries by all means to make a name for himself.

The story of Rock Hudson is that of an illusion, such as Hollywood knew how to make them. The “favorite leading man” of the 1950s, the pretty heart of comedies with Doris Day, the suave actor of 70 films, could not play, sing, dance, or desire a woman: all activities he was forced to do to do, on screen. He was acting on and off the stage. Barely out of the studios, still wearing makeup, he was flirting in shady clubs, was part of L.A.’s gay nightlife network and was the subject of countless blackmailing. At the time, the slightest public suspicion of homosexuality could cost a career, the smallest scent of femininity ruined lives. Discretion was mandatory.

One day, he has trouble reciting his dialogues. He is losing weight. The year is 1984: Rock Hudson learns he has AIDS. At the time, it was a new disease, totally shameful (called “gay cancer”) and absolutely deadly. He died on October 2, 1985. For the first time, a homosexual star has tragically emerged from the shadows. This is the signal for an unprecedented mobilization. While the public contributes millions of dollars to medical research, the former lovers tear each other apart for the inheritance.

Directed in 1950, Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s film All about Eve is undoubtedly the one that most brilliantly condenses what has made the filmmaker’s reputation: incisive dialogues, a quality interpretation, but also a real sense of construction, which handles flashbacks with ease, and elegance. The film entangles narrations – and subjectivities – in a particularly brilliant way. Also in this movie, several very famous actresses did an incredible performance which made the film even more legendary.

I will talk about the image of Eve in the movie. The mechanisms of the narrative are however at the service of the construction of an imaginary object. If All about Eve can appear as an investigation of a character whose essence one seeks to capture, this investigation is also, and perhaps above all, a construction; the character of Eve, as it is evoked by those who revolve around her, becomes a character in our eyes. In this patient and progressive construction, it is essentially a question of going beyond the image, of accessing what is beyond the appearances. This is what the subtle cinematographic use seems to confirm in the last sequences: the final speech of Eve, which she presents, with a hypocrisy that the whole audience now measures after what it has seen for two hours, appears as the mirror inverted of that, initial, of Addison DeWitt. Where the voice-over allowed DeWitt to express a sincerity – sometimes odious with cynicism and assurance, but real -, the voice, which, for Eve, could only be external and belong to the domain of appearing, cannot maybe associated with nothing but lying. The irony is measured here in particular by the discrepancy between the speech and the images which show us the faces of those Eve evokes with feigned emotion. The film seems to offer us an illustration of Eve’s speech, in that it follows the order of the characters mentioned. But this adhesion is belied by the expressions of the characters in question, who ostensibly display their incredulity, even their contempt for the one who seems to idolize them. This gap between image and speech, the first pretending to adhere to the second, constitutes a truly ironic mechanism. It seems to be at the service of the quest to go beyond appearance.

But Eve’s presence can only come about through the words of others. The figure that falls into place, summoned by memories that create an image before the viewer’s eyes, is a woman of fiction, who only exists through the stories that are made of her. It is made like the stars are made, those ideal or adored human beings who only exist through the fictions that stage them. It is here, without doubt, that the mise en scene is played with the most subtlety: by posing as being-seen, and which only exists as long as fictions elaborated by others bring her to life, Eve incarnates what is the fate of most of the stars, human beings made of fictions and fantasies, that only the staging can provide a semblance of existence.

 

 

“I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men.” – Marlene Dietrich

After her theatrical debut in Germany in minor roles, it was on the big screen that she became world famous. First in Der blaue Engel in 1930 and, the same year, in another film by Josef von Sternberg, Morocco, in which she was nominated for the Oscar for best actress. Lola-Lola, the cabaret singer played by Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel is the very definintion of what a femme fatale is. Marlene gives us  her wry humor, with an ounce of cynicism and a lot of melancholy. Marlene Dietrich also marks her time with her style and elegance during her public appearances, dressing with great fashion designers, especially French.

This German celebrity committed very early against Nazism, until being nationalized American in 1939. Marlene Dietrich flew to the European front, in England and in Italy, where she sang for the soldiers during the World War Two. This femme fatale is also a singer. Her cover of the song, Lili Marleen, was used for Nazi propaganda purposes and then by the Allies. In 1949, she performed La vie en rose by Edith Piaf in London where she was filming for an Alfred Hitchcock film. She then sings all over the world during tours in the United States, the USSR but also in Germany.

This strong and reckless character is affirmed by the outfits she wears. Glamorous and androgynous icon, Marlene Dietrich marked her generation with her pants and iconic tuxedos. It was in 1930 that the actress and singer struck everyone’s mind when she appeared in a two-piece suit and a top hat in the film, Morocco. She plays a cabaret singer alongside the famous Gary Cooper. She appears in a black tuxedo, consisting of a jacket with a silk satin lapel and trousers with a satin band worn with a white shirt, a bow tie of the same color and a black top hat. Marlene does not hesitate to show off as a men’s pantsuit in civilian life as well. At that time, pants were strictly reserved for men. Throughout her public and cinematic appearances, Marlene has built an image of femme fatale, while playing on a certain sexual ambiguity. She regularly appears in male clothes and exerts her charm on both men and women. She was one of the first to understand and use the seductive power of a man’s tuxedo worn by a woman.

Her boldness makes it a symbol of the emancipation of women. Her taste for typically masculine clothes that convey an idea of ​​authority, of being able, makes her even more powerful. By appropriating the pants and daring to wear tuxedos in public, Marlene Dietrich claims the power of women. Even today, Marlene Dietrich remains a strong symbol of “female empowerment” often cited by women committed to gender equality. Symbol of glamor and commitment, the actress remains one of the big stars of the big screen and of the song of the XXth century.

Marilyn Monroe, absolute Hollywood icon and archetype of the blonde and glamorous woman, died more than 50 years ago, but her fame does not die out. Marilyn was not Hollywood’s first pin-up. She wasn’t even really blonde. However, if we were to retain only one Hollywood icon, it would certainly be Marilyn Monroe! She is best known for her pin-up style, thanks to luscious measurements: wide hips, slim waist and generous chest. Symbol of a whole generation, of the Hollywood actress, and a star who became a sex symbol, Marilyn was and still remains today, an icon.

This seductive figure and her natural grace earned her a reputation of sex symbol early in her career. The first cover of Playboy magazine in 1953 at 27 proves it. Queen of glamor, she turned heads of men around the world in “Some Like it Hot” or ” Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ”, especially that of President Kennedy with whom she will have a secret affair. Indeed, her colorful personality and her devastating curves will earn her a very chaotic personal and sentimental life. The actress was indeed going to marry 3 times, but it was especially her extramarital affair with President John Fitzgerald Kennedy that gave her this reputation. Marilyn Monroe has been torn all her life between the image of a sex object forged by her impeccable body shape and her desire to prove her acting skills.

Finally, one last thing that made Marilyn Monroe eternal is her death. Indeed, doubt also surrounds the circumstances of her death. Tortured by her problems with the studios and her romantic failures, Marilyn alternated between soothing and exciting – abusing alcohol as well. On the morning of August 5, 1962, she was found dead, lying naked on her bed at her home in Los Angeles, next to an empty barbiturate tube and an off-hook phone receiver. If the official version concludes with a suicide, voices rise quickly to denounce a disguised assassination and more or less fanciful theories flourish, attributing the death of the star to the Mafia, the CIA or the FBI, his psychiatrist or to the Communists . Even now, speculation is still alive.

Thanks to her strong personality and admirable physique, she marked the spirits of millions of fans around the world. She has also inspired Andy Warhol, famous pioneer of “pop art” of the twentieth century. Marilyn Monroe had the innocence, youth and charisma of the greatest. That many years after her death, she still captivates crowds as much and continues to inspire many people. the image of the young woman first known as Norma Jean Baker has invaded America and the world. His escapades and marriages have overshadowed her relatively small list of films, but his image as a sex symbol is still revered by every stars, actresses and the fashion world. Provocative but also sensitive, the image that Marilyn Monroe left in the culture today is indelible. Finally, what we like about Marilyn Monroe is that she represents women in their diversity, their desire and ability to be who they want without worrying about the eyes of others.