Posted: 04/24/2006

The Notorious Bettie Page

(2006)

by Hank Yuloff

Whip it. Whip it good.

On my way home from watching The Notorious Betty Paige, I called my dad (age 79) to ask what he thought of her. He said he could not recall ever hearing her name. Interesting. The most famous pin-up girl of her time and my Ivy League educated couldn’t recall? Could it be that my dad had a faulty memory? Or worse yet, was not telling me, his only son the truth?

Actually, he was probably right. In the 1950’s when Ms. Paige was the darling of the pin up world, there was no Internet, nor E! Channel, or even MTV to publicize an original ‘Material Girl.’ Even Playboy was in its infancy. There were “special” small circulation men’s magazines that showed women in various sensual poses—with their clothes on. Very risque for the time.

So what made Ms. Paige special? In the latest big screen film from director Mary Harron (American Psycho, L-Word, 6 Feet Under), Betty Paige is shown becoming one of these models whose sensuality and innocence shined through even though her particular kind of boutique photos dealt mainly with bondage. It is a movie that is very worth seeing and explains why 50 years later, many women like to describe themselves as a Betty Paige style instead of using some more contemporary woman.

Gretchen Mol (Attraction, The Shape of Things) is the contemporary woman portraying Betty Paige. All I can say is Wow! She is fantastic. She took the main stages of Paige’s life and portrayed them incredibly.

OK, so the 34 year old has a rockin’ body for the nude scenes, too. In looking at Mol’s list of credits, I see someone who is not getting enough roles. Time to change representation, Ms. Mol.

Also very good in the cast are Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under, High Fidelity, Live From Baghdad), and Chris Baur (High Fidelity, Third Watch, Tilt) play Paula and Irving Klaw, siblings who set up a business providing these special photos to an interested clientele who will, in a few years discover Playboy.

Betty Paige was a pin-up sensation who shocked the nation. My guess is that Madonna learned a lot from her and (gulp) women like Brittney and Christina and Lindsey are learning a lot from the Material Girl. This film shows where a lot of it all started.

Hank Yuloff is a film critic and entrepreneur in Los Angeles.

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