Did women of the 40's and 50's not realize that stripping in the bushes for a little sun-bathing or a skinny-dip would lead to disaster? Men are scoundrels and will think nothing of stealing your clothes so they can oggle and laugh.
Those cads!
Not only that but artists seemed to be lurking in every shady copse, waiting for comely young things to disrobe so they could "paint their portrait".
James R. Bingham wasn't alone in this pursuit - Coby Whitmore was at it, and even up here in Canada, our own Bruce Johnson was out hiking through the bush, doing some not-so-still life drawing. And here I thought streaking started in the 70's!
If the "Mr. Mason" the unrobed woman in the lifeguard stand is talking to is Perry Mason, then I can easily relate to your story.
ReplyDeleteJust because the TV and the movies were governed by fairly strict moral codes doesn't mean that everyone was squeaky clean. I recently was reading through some old Perry Mason novels and, contrary to the TV series, the books were filled with sex, drinking, gambling, pornography, adultery, drugs, etc. Of course, even in the books, the language was clean and circumspect, but there were clearly a lot of unsavory things going on (including comments, rumors, and double entendres about Perry and Della that would do James Bond and Miss Moneypenny proud).
Also, the movie version of The Big Sleep is completely confusing due to rewrites, reshoots, and censorship. I had to read the book to find out what was really being portrayed on the screen.
That is indeed Perry Mason being refered to here, Chris. James R. Bingham was the regular artist on The Saturday Evening Post's decade-long serialization of the Perry Mason novels. I can't say I've more than ever glanced at the copy, though... I would guess it was toned down for the Post's family audience.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteDo you want to develop a certain skills in you? go here and you will learn about critical thinking!
ReplyDelete