VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967) Dir. Mark Robson ― Costume Design By William Travilla

“There where it smells of shit it smells of being.”

— Antonin Artaud, To Have Done with the Judgement of God

Elizabeth Taylor, Harper's Bazaar, 1959

Harold Lloyd’s iconic moment in Safety Last! (1923)

"As Cora, Lana was costumed throughout in a stark white wardrobe. Her hair was a snowy white as well, and against a deep suntan she acquired for the role, the effect was startling. At the time, Life predicted Lana's all-white wardrobe would 'become historic.' More recently, director Garnett recalled the incentive for this striking conversation piece: 'The white clothing was something that Carey (Wilson) and I thought of. At that time there was a great problem of getting a story with that much sex past the censors. We figured that dressing Lana in white somehow made everything she did seem less sensuous. It was also attractive as hell. And it somehow took a little of the stigma off everything that she did. They didn't have 'hot pants' then, but you couldn't tell it by looking at hers.' "The 'hot pants' referred to by Garnett was actually a two-piece playsuit designed by MGM's Irene and her associate, Marion Herwood Keyes. It was so effective at the time that it helped popularize the vogue for women's shorts. This is the outfit that Cora is wearing when she makes her first breahtaking entrance into the film. The scene begins as a lipstick rolls across the floor. Frank Chambers (Garfield) stoops to retrieve it and his eyes hit upon a figure in the doorway. At first glance, it appears to be an apparition. The camera slowly scans the figure from her white high heels, up her slim naked legs, to her white form-fitting shorts and well-filled blouse. Finally, it settles on her face and her lush, platinumed hair, so perfectly encased in a white turban." -Lou Valentino

LANA TURNER in THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE — 1946

Bette Davis celebrates her 33rd birthday with a 100 pound cake in Littleton, New Hampshire, April 5, 1941

The Phantom of the Opera (1925), dir. Rupert Julian

very late 50s early 60s movies are some of the most fascinating historical texts on earth i stg. like they can finally talk almost explicitly about sex, and they’ve finally thrown out the pair of twin beds for a normal queen or whatever, and they can talk about heterosexuality (inherently implies homosexuality)(like in auntie mame). they’re ALMOST there. you can literally feel the film industry grasping and clawing it’s way out of the hays era with every successive movie. it’s pretty incredible actually. and if you really want to feel that exertion just pick a couple of movies from various points in the decade and watch them in chronological order and the change is so astounding. can you imagine being there for that. can you imagine living through 40s movies and suddenly after wwii, the studios start collapsing and a huge tonal shift happens, and things get darker and grimmer and suddenly movies are talking about racism and women’s postwar discontent. and then oh my god it’s 1952 and censorship is suddenly kind of up in the air for the first time but you can’t even focus on that because marlon brando just swaggered onto your silver screen in his sweaty tee, chewing with his mouth open, and you see blanche get raped. and then immediately after that, deborah kerr is lying on top of burt lancaster and really really making out with him like they might as well have been having real sex up there. and don’t look now but dorothy dandridge was just nominated for an leading oscar!!!! what!!!! and all the girls are crazy for sidney poitier and harry belafonte ETC ETC ETC ETC until like the mid 60s when the whole everything is just completely utterly unrecognizable

"I decided I was not going to be one of these people. I wasn't going to mind if I gained weight or got wrinkles, because I could use my brain. And as long as I could use my head, it wouldn't matter how I looked." - Thelma Todd

(Original caption) Actors Louise Brooks, Nancy Phillips, James Hall, Doris Hill, and Josephine Dunn play marbles at the movie studio in 1927