Black and White Movie Man Dresses as Woman
There is nothing like a black and white movie to bring on nostalgia for old Hollywood glamour. Some of these vintage movies brought more than just entertainment to the screen. Their epic costume designs influenced fashion in a big way. Here are the top five black and white movies that changed fashion forever. Here's looking back at you, kid…
- Casablanca
Ingrid Bergman looked fabulous no matter what. It's difficult to believe that her refreshing look was almost altered by Hollywood movie execs who hoped to transform the Swedish import into a typical Hollywood starlet. She stood her ground and wouldn't cap her teeth, pluck her eyebrows or change her name. Bergman was an immediate success in the States. However, it was the movie "Casablanca" from 1942 where she made her greatest style impact. This classic movie with Humphrey Bogart that is set with exotic Morocco consistently ranks near the top of lists for the greatest movies of all time. It also impacted the fashion sense of women during World War II. In Casablanca, Ingrid Bergman looks flawless in her classic skirt suits, luxurious hats and majestic gowns designed by Orry Kelly. Her look is simple, elegant and perfect for the Moroccan heat. She is even noted for bringing back the nautical trend.
2. Some like it hot
When Some Like It Hot was released in 1959, the Orry Kelly costumes offended so many puritan moviegoers that it prompted a statewide ban in Kansas and an "adult entertainment" restriction in Memphis, Tennessee. The movie was centered around the taboo of two men cross-dressing, and the star Marilyn Monroe wore a dress that is so revealing that it stopped just short of granting the actress her first nude scene, according to viewers.
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon played alongside Marilyn Monroe, when all three actors were at the top of their games. The two comedians play Joe and Jerry, musicians who witness a mob murder and then disguise themselves as women to catch a ride out of town with an "all-girl" band. Curtis and Lemmon were given clothes from the stockpile at Western Costume and ended up with hand-me-downs from Debbie Reynolds and Norma Shearer, respectively. The outdated frocks were altered to fit the men and the 1920s setting of the film, though somewhat generously. The baggy, dropped-waist dresses paired with cloche hats acted as demure disguises. But even cross-dressing for laughs was too disturbing for the residents of Kansas.
Monroe's played Sugar Kane, the band's gold-digging singer/ukelele player; it is often cited as her best role. Top costume designer Orry Kelly was so skilled in designing the costumes, that audiences didn't notice the actress was pregnant or apparently mind that she was 10 years older than her character's 24 years. In its review of the film, the New York Times admitted, "[Monroe's] figure simply cannot be overlooked." In his 2003 book The Great Movies, Roger Ebert describes a scene in which Monroe drops jaws while singing "I Wanna Be Loved By You" in a nude-colored cocktail dress as, "a striptease in which nudity would have been superfluous."
The dress in question looks like Monroe is not wearing a dress at all. Monroe wears other fantastic dresses throughout the film, including a black, fringed number in which she shimmies through a kicky song, and an equally revealing, black version of the "naked dress" worn for a heartfelt performance of "I'm Through With Love." The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, but Orry-Kelly was the only one to walk away with a statuette for Best Costume Design, Black and White.
3. Shanghai Express
Marlene Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. Hollywood movies such as Shanghai Express and Desire capitalized on her glamour and exotic looks, cementing her stardom and making her one of the highest-paid actresses of the era. Shanghai Express is a 1932 movie directed by Josef von Sternberg. The movie was based on a 1931 story by Harry Hervey. Hervey's story was, in turn, loosely based on the May 6, 1923 incident in which a Shengdong warlord captured the Shanghai to Beijing express train, taking 25 westerners and 300 Chinese hostage.
The film is memorable for its stylistic black-and-white chiaroscuro cinematography and the fabulous costume designs by designer Travis Banton. But the 1930s were Banton's era. Banton's designs were generally more subtle and in gray shades; he preferred textural contrast over sharp contrasts in tone. But the costumes Banton created for Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express, are some of his finest.
The slinky black velvet number swathed in feathers worn by Dietrich's character, the notorious Shanghai Lil, during her train journey up the China coast, is so iconic it was selected to go on tour in "Icons of Costume," an exhibition organized last year by the James A. Michener Art Museum. Banton's use of coq feathers for the gown's collar and cuffs, as well as a cap, gave Lil, a tarnished dove bumming in the Far East, an exaggerated touch of glamour. Other costumes throughout the film feature Banton's trademark use of texture and textiles to make a statement: Everything from dressing gowns to day dresses feature subtle touches that make each garment memorable.
4. Mildred Pierce
Mildred Pierce is a Warner Brothers film noir classic. It's based on the 1941 novel by noir master James M. Cain. The story is set in the midst of the Great Depression and its topics are eerily on point even today; the strain on a family during that extreme economic crisis, a working single mother, an entitled and rebellious teenager, and a woman with an entrepreneurial mind. Even though the storyline is amazing, the story of Mildred Pierce showcases the best fashion—the introduction of Mildred shows her dressed in fur ready to jump off the Malibu Pier, a mystery right from the start and told in flashback complete with main character voiceover.
Joan Crawford brings great glamour and style to the movie. Her character Mildred evolves from a poor to professional woman and Warner Brothers' head costume designer Milo Anderson provided a slightly more subtle glamour for their leading lady. He managed to sneak in the strong shoulders, a style that Adrian began in order to create the illusion of height for her petite frame (reported as being anywhere from 5' to 5'4"). That design continued its magic here since Joan always seems 6 feet tall. The pinstripe suit for women was featured as stylish work attire for women. The power suit was born.
5. Gilda
Gilda is a 1946 American black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale. The film was noted for cinematographer Rudolph Mate's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis' wardrobe for Hayworth (particularly for the dance numbers), and choreographer Jack Cole's staging of "Put the Blame on Mame" and "Amado Mio", sung by Anita Ellis.
Gilda became a woman that every man wanted to love. With Rita Hayworth starring as Gilda she became one of the top glamour girls and pin-ups of the 1940s, beloved by service men all over the world due to this role. Co-star Glenn Ford also confessed his own affection years later, which explains why their on-screen chemistry was so strong. She once famously said, "Men fell in love with Gilda, but they wake up with me."
This black and white classic featured the lovely Hayworth in an array of sexy and glamorous dresses. The looks that became popular after this movie were the strapless gown, the Grecian style and the feminine pinstripe suit.
That was the top 5 black and white movies that changed fashion forever. These vintage flicks not only brought entertainment to the screen, but it also inspired and influenced fashion for years to come. True classics never die.
Source: https://fashionbi.com/newspaper/top-five-black-and-white-movies-that-changed-fashion
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