January 11: Million Dollar Mermaid. Esther Williams stars in this biopic of Annette Kellerman, the Australian swimmer who pioneered synchronized swimming. She was also arrested in Boston for wearing a one-piece suit that revealed her arms and legs, if the movie is to be believed. Victore Mature plays her love interest/manager (what is Victor Mature doing in a movie with no lions?) and Walter Pidgeon is her dear old dad. The movie features a spectacular water ballet sequence at the Hippodrome.
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This page contains a single entry by Sarah published on January 26, 2009 10:41 PM.
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A period detail of the 1930s that I've only encountered in one work of fiction (Nathanial Dusk, a 1980s detective comic set in 1933-34) is that in 1934 there were mass protests by and arrests of men who went to the New York City beaches wearing topless swimsuits. Until that point, it was considered "indecent exposure".
Really! Was it an organized protest, or just a new fashion that got a little too far ahead of the curve?
It seems like indecency laws are usually enforced against women. Good thing we've outgrown all that and don't legislate morality anymore.