Today, thankfully, cigarettes are looked upon as unhealthy and a “filthy” habit, no disrespect to the bloggers who still smoke. My mom smoked for over 50 years and, when I was little, I remember my dad giving me $5.00 to go buy a pack of cigarettes for him and mom while he filled up the car with gas. Yes, I was, maybe 6 or 7 when I went up to the cashier, my eyes barely over the counter, asking for a pack of cameo and a pack of export A. This is when a pack cost a little over a buck. During the heyday of Hollywood, just about everyone smoked and the haze one sees in the bar scenes are real. Often, the cigarette was used as a sexual precursor to something more alluring which just made the genes public want to smoke more. This was also when doctors said smoking was healthy and calmed ones’ nerves. I believe it does including calming pain but at a price…greatly increasing the risk of getting heart disease, stroke, COPD, and cancer. Anyways, here are 3 films showcasing 3 great stars known for their smoking…
1. BLONDE VENUS-1932
This is one strange film that stars Marlene Dietrich, directed by her Svengali paramour, Josef Von Sternberg. She plays a cabaret singer married to Herbert Marshall, who is dying from Radium, with a young son, thinking their only hope is to me this physician in Dresden who can cure poor Herbert. The trip is not cheap so Marlene goes back to the stage billed as the Blonde Venus where she meets up with a rich politician, played by Cary Grant. They have an affair, her marriage crumbles and there is a lot of soap opera going on. We see Marlene smoking with a cigarette holder, a sophisticated look to smoking that was an extra gem to have along with earrings, broaches etc… This film is most famous for Marlene’s one performance in a gorilla suit where she takes off the gorilla head to show her in an absurd blonde afro. This is a pre-code film which is a fun watch.
2. NOW, VOYAGER-1942
What can one say, when women swooned over Paul Henreid, when he took 2 cigarettes in his mouth, lit them and handed one to the mesmerizing Bette Davis, who never looked so good. This is considered one of the sexiest moments on screen. The film, starring Bette Davis plays a downtrodden spinster bullied and put down by her shrew of a mother played so well by Gladys Cooper. Enter the ever great, Claude Rains, as a psychiatrist who brings Bette to a sanitarium to heal her mind and soul. He does and the next time we see Bette, she is dressed in one of the best outfits I’ve seen on film…love the hat! She is taking a cruise where she meets Paul Henreid and has an affair shown by the classic cigarette scene(s) plus sharing a sleeping bag. When Bette returns home, she meets up with her mom, confronting her and overcomes the negativity her mom spews forth. This is a classic woman’s picture, well acted and directed with a wonderful score.
3. TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT-1944
This film stars Humphrey Bogart( who did die from throat cancer most likely from his smoking) as a boat captain on an island taken over by the Vichy French during WW2. Bogart doesn’t want to get involved with politics only wanting to make a living. He meets up with Slim, played by Lauren Bacall, who sings a little ditty while draped around a piano. Of course, Bogie is holding a cigarette in his mouth looking alluring to us and Bacall. In fact, this is the film where Bogie and Bacall meet, falling in love and marrying. The cigarette seems to be, yet another, sexual metaphor where Bogie lights a cigarette and hands it over to Lauren Bacall. The bar has a constant haze of smoke which lends to the feel of this film about the free French trying to escape from the Vichy. This is a must see film and the 1st of four they made together.
Which films can you think of with cigarettes taking a dominant role?
Hi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteYessum, I remember a smoky haze hanging in rooms when I was young, including in the dance hall of the Shady Dell. My mother smoked. In her social circle, it was actually considered rude if one person lit a cigarette and the others didn't follow suit. I smoked for nearly 30 years before I wised up and quit.
I had to smile at the swelling orchestra, sensational hype and huge graphics across the screen in the trailer for Now, Voyager, including the line: "from a girl aglow with the rapture of her first kiss to a woman fighting for her right to love." Great stuff!
The most relevant film to this topic that I can think of is David Lunch's Wild At Heart (1990) starring Nic Cage and Laura Dern. It is illuminating to read what the Google AI says about the production:
"Wild at Heart (1990) features intense, stylized smoking as a key texture, embodying David Lynch's view of cigarettes as "sacred" and cinematic. Actress Laura Dern reportedly passed out during a scene after being asked to smoke four cigarettes at once, highlighting the extreme, almost ritualistic, smoking portrayed by Sailor and Lula.
Key Details of Smoking in the Film:
Intense Production: Director David Lynch demanded heavy, stylized smoking from actors, leading to the incident where Laura Dern fainted.
Characters' Habits: Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern) smoke throughout, often using cigarettes to signify intense emotion, rebellion, or intimacy, including scenes smoking in bed.
Dialogue Highlights: The dialogue emphasizes the habit, with characters mentioning stealing cigarettes (Merits/Viceroys) and joking that they started smoking as children.
Theatrical "Cherries": The cigarette cherry (the glowing tip) is often filmed in close-up to stand out like a "meteor" in the dark, fitting the film's heightened, neon-noir aesthetic.
Lynch, a heavy smoker for decades who later developed emphysema, often described the smoke as a magical, dramatic, and essential element of his visual style."
Have a safe and happy April, dear friend BB!