Hayes Code – BEGUILING HOLLYWOOD

April 10, 2016 / Vickie Lester

“I know for some women, men are a household necessity; myself, I’d rather have a canary.” Ruth Chatterton

Ruth Chatterton, at the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Ennis House during the shooting of “Female.” When she retired from the screen she started writing. I found this copy of her book, “Homeward Borne” along with several others I had salvaged from the parental attic. Unlike the rest of the old…

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April 7, 2016 / Vickie Lester

Jean Harlow – Dinner at Eight

A defining role: Reading sides on a leaning board. Jean Harlow chats with visiting director Edmund Goulding. To her left is cast member Edmund Lowe and director George Cukor. Photograph by George Hurrell of Jean Harlow in a gown by Adrian designed for “Dinner at Eight”.

October 27, 2015 / Vickie Lester

“Learn your lines, find your mark, look ’em in the eye and tell ’em the truth.” James Cagney

Cagney played a supporting role to Edward G. Robinson’s lead – I’ve never seen it but there’s supposed to be some pre-code naughtiness – a Warner Bros. gangster film from 1931 – when they used real gunfire on set. I shudder to think.

October 27, 2015 / Vickie Lester

“I’m no actor and I never have been. What people see on the screen is me.” Clark Gable

This was a racy (for the time) movie previous to the Hayes Code wherein a single bumpkin gal is kept by a divorced attorney who transforms her into an elegant socialite. When he ends up running for governor she gives him up for the sake of “the people” – but…

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July 23, 2015 / Vickie Lester

The Women – receiving guests in the bath

July 23, 2015 / Vickie Lester

A bath that brought on the Hayes Code – no nipples on screen – no double beds: one of the most popular posts on Beguiling, I wonder why?

Colbert landed her famous role as a femme fatale in Cecil B. DeMille’s films where she wore fetishistic costumes which lose layer after layer of clothing. In the 1932 historical epic, The Sign of the Cross, she starred opposite Fredric March as the Roman empress Poppaea. For an instant, glimpses…

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July 23, 2015 / Vickie Lester

Tag: Hayes Code

“I know for some women, men are a household necessity; myself, I’d rather have a canary.” Ruth Chatterton

Jean Harlow – Dinner at Eight

“Learn your lines, find your mark, look ’em in the eye and tell ’em the truth.” James Cagney

“I’m no actor and I never have been. What people see on the screen is me.” Clark Gable

The Women – receiving guests in the bath

A bath that brought on the Hayes Code – no nipples on screen – no double beds: one of the most popular posts on Beguiling, I wonder why?

Blonde Crazy – in the bath