(1954 and 1955)
I will write something something slightly more substantial next time, but I couldn't resist doing a short blurb on two camp classics I received in the mail and viewed a couple of days ago: "Varietease" and "Teaserama" - 1954 and 1955 short burlesque-type films featuring clips of beautiful '50s pinup icon Bettie Page.
Bettie loses some "coolness points" when she dances, but if you go into frame-by-frame mode on your DVD player it's obvious that each frame of her dancing would have made a great still shot in and of itself. Proof that she was a great poser, and a lousy dancer, but as she has said herself, she was "far from being a professional dancer". She is very appealing despite the fact that neither my husband nor myself could contain our raucous laughter during her dance scenes. Her sparkle and sense of fun are evident throughout, she is in great shape, and her ever-changing and playful facial expressions are absolute treats to see.
Plus! You get to "Hear Bettie speak!" in addition to seeing her jump around - uhhm I mean dance.
The best part of the DVD is a silent, black and white arcade film loop of Bettie created for those old-time coin-activated peep-show viewers....Bettie gyrates up to a point, then the screen is suddenly blocked out with a caption telling the viewer to insert coins to see more of the film. This of course occurs at a regular basis during this particular short, as it did when those types of films were originally shown. Classic camp!
There are also appearances by a rather famous, albeit scary-looking drag queen from the time, and some professional strippers who could have passed for drag queens...but I bought these really just for the Bettie Page segments; these two DVD's are a must-have for Bettie Page fans.
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