'Bettie Page': The Making of a Pin-Up Sensation

Fresh Air

Published April 12, 2006 at 11:00 AM EDT

Director Mary Harron says of 1950s pin-up queen Bettie Page, "She's like Betty Crocker coming out with a tray of cookies, and yet she's posing with a whip. She's so wholesome and at the same time she's very sexual." Harron explores this dichotomy in her film about the icon, The Notorious Bettie Page.

Page, who grew up in a religious family in Tennessee, became a sensation via her photos in men's magazines such as Wink, Beauty Parade and Titter. But she also appeared for private clients in photographs and short films that featured her in S&M scenarios. Her sexually charged poses eventually led to her being targeted by a Senate pornography investigation.

Harron's film opens in theaters Friday.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

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