The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)

Director:

Mary Harron

Writers:

Mary Harron (written by) &
Guinevere Turner (written by)

Release Date:

21 April 2006 (Canada)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

The Pin-Up Sensation That Shocked The Nation.

Plot:

The story of Bettie Page, uber-successful 1950's pin-up model, one of the first sex icons in America, and the target of a Senate investigation (based on her bondage photos).

Plot Keywords:

Acting Lesson | Coney Island | Child Molestation | Irreverent | Bare Butt

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Aug. 5

2:35 AM

MAX

Cast

Gretchen Mol	...	Bettie Page
Chris Bauer	...	Irving Klaw
Jared Harris	...	John Willie
Sarah Paulson	...	Bunny Yeager
Cara Seymour	...	Maxie
David Strathairn	...	Estes Kefauver
Lili Taylor	...	Paula Klaw
John Cullum	...	Preacher in Nashville
Matt McGrath	...	Nervous Man
Austin Pendleton	...	Teacher
Norman Reedus	...	Billy Neal
Dallas Roberts	...	Scotty
Victor Slezak	...	Minister in Miami
Tara Subkoff	...	June
Kevin Carroll	...	Jerry Tibbs

Also Known As:

The Ballad of Bettie Page (USA) (working title)
The Last Days of Bettie Page (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for nudity, sexual content and some language.

Runtime:

USA:91 min | Canada:100 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Australia:MA | USA:R | UK:18 | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Japan:R-15

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

HBO Films

Trivia:

The characters of real-life bondage photographers Irving and Paula Klaw were actually brother and sister, not a married couple as many critics erroneously reported in reviews.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: A 1956 Pontiac convertible is seen in the pre-March 1955 beach scene where Bettie meets the young man in yellow.

Quotes:

[Bettie reacts angrily when John sings a ribald song during a bondage photo shoot]
John Willie: What's the matter, Bettie?
[John pulls the gag from Bettie's mouth]
Bettie Page: It's your language, Mr. Willie.
John Willie: Oh, it's just an old army ditty to help keep our spirits up while fighting the beastly Hun. Do you approve?
Bettie Page: I believe in Jesus.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

One Kiss Too Many

Appealing but none too Revealing look at an Icon

One of the great pioneers of Pre-XXX exploitation cinema, David Friedman, has often said that one of the main keys to his success (particularly in regards to his sexploitation films) was that he always teased the audience. Show them just enough to lure them in (and give them some of what they want), but not enough so that were satisfied and didn't have to come back (but leave them asking for more).

Certainly, Bettie Page and the Klaws knew how to tease their audience when they did their photo and film shoots. Unfortunately, the same could be said for this film and it disappoints for that reason. Harron's film is all surface and tease (and well done in that regard), but we never learn that much of the person behind the bondage.

For a low budget film Harron is quite deft in combining stock footage, set decoration-wardrobe and film stock manipulation to bring the era to life. The recreations of Bettie Page's career are handled with care and attention to detail. Were the same only able to be said about the screenplay which is banal and...ahem...only skin deep.

Judging the acting is more problematic in that Harron has chosen to go along with what seems to be the prevailing technique current filmmakers have when portraying characters of the 1950's - They seem to smile, grin and leer in a bizarre ritualistic way as if they were the members of a cult who can communicate with one another through their teeth and eyes! Mol does her best within this construct, even if she's too thin to realistically depict the voluptuous Page as she was (fortunately, Harron was wise enough to find a suitable actress without anachronistic implants).

It's not quite correct as many have contended that the film doesn't tell a linear narrative story (many have argued that it's just a slice of her life, nothing more). There IS an arc to the story. What's crucially missing are the thoughts and feelings of Bettie herself. Surely, a girl with such a strict religious background (which she returned to), would have believed something more strongly about the sexual nature of her work than "Adam and Eve were naked". When the film gets more serious towards the end, both it and Mol's performance are harmed because the audience has gotten used to the winks and the smiles, and haven't been given reason to think any more deeply than that.

In the end, it's like that glossy magazine you see on the newsstand, all bright, shiny and alluring, but you suspect that inside it will be a teasing disappointment.

P.S. Just a note on the Black & White photography. Pity that better care wasn't given to the film stocks used for the release prints. They seem to have blue tint to them, so you don't get the full dark blacks and bright whites of true B&W film stock. Hopefully, this will be corrected on DVD.

Also, because Page is such an icon, there's an odd sense that you don't WANT to know the details behind the image (even when they are so superficial as here). Of course, recent biographies and a recent L.A. Times interview with Page herself have sort of let the cat out of the bag prior to this film.