Could you stop there, please?
These films include bondage, spanking and flagellation,
all illegal to send through the U.S. mails.
l will need you to sign a stipulation
stating that you will agree not to sell
any films, photographs or drawings depicting these acts.
Sir, if l may, my client sells
a number of photographs of stills from Hollywood films.
Take one, for example, from ''Tarzan and the Slave Girl''--
a scantily clad actress is tied up.
Lash marks are visible on her back.
Now, this film passed the National Board of Review.
What is your point, Mr. Gangel?
Well, certainly, you can't intend for my client to stop selling
these Hollywood film stills, lnspector.
Those images represent a minute part of a feature-length film
intended as harmless entertainment.
Mr. Klaw's films and photographs are created
with the deliberate intention of inciting lust
and lascivious thoughts, and should therefore be barred
from being sent through the mails.
lf you do not cease and desist,
this will become a matter for the courts.
Hi, girls.
That looks very artistic.
- What's it called? - ''Bettie's Clown Dance.''
- Very nice. - How'd it go?
- Not good. - You look terrible. ls that your heart?
- Did you get the fluttering again? - Ah, no no no, l'm fine.
- Bettie, that's all for today. - Listen, Bettie,
l hope you don't mind-- we need to take
a little break from production, maybe a couple of weeks.
- Sure. - Take off. Take a vacation.
You know where l'd go if l could ever get away from here?
- Where would you go? - Miami Beach.
That's where l'm gonna go if l ever get to retire.
Sit in the sand and watch the waves.
Sun and fun, Bettie.
Dear Goldie, guess what.
l decided to take a vacation.
l've been spending loads of time on the beach.
The water is so clear and so blue.
Now l've been working too. A friend gave me
an introduction to a photographer
who takes beautiful artistic pictures.
l hear she's one of the top glamour photographers working today.
Her name is Miss Bunny Yeager.
- Miss Yeager? - You must be Bettie.
Please step this way.
- Would you like some water? - Yes, l would. Thank you.
- ls this you? - Yes.
That was taken in Hawaii. l was a model too.
You brought some clothes with you.
l made this.
ls this what you normally pose in?
Yes. What do you think?
Well, maybe the bathing suit and the stockings.
Not the corset.
l believe the female form can stand on its own.
ln fact, l'd like to see you in the light.
Do you mind standing over here by the window?
And what brings you to Miami, Bettie?
l don't know.
Well, l love the sunshine, love the ocean.
Well, that's perfect. l do some of my best work outdoors.
Yes, she's been shot
by just about every photographer in the country,
but l think l caught something special
in her personality when l photographed Bettie Page.
The first thing l noticed was that for some reason,
when she's nude, she doesn't seem naked.
Maybe it's just her all-over coppery tan,
or maybe just her attitude.
Whatever it is, it conveyed to me
that here is a true nudist.
Bettie's attitude towards her lovely healthy body
is the essence of nudism.
''Dear Goldie,
yes, they made a postcard of yours truly--
a bunch of them, in fact.
l had a wonderful time at the beach here, and made some money too.
Wish you could have been here with me.
Hope to see you at Christmas.
l can't wait to walk through those old piney woods again.
Love, Bettie.''
What are you bringing us for Christmas, bricks?
Hope you got something good for me.
You won't be getting a thing if you don't stop bellyaching.
And thank you for giving us this food when others are in want.
And thank you, Lord, for the blessing of family.
Please shine your precious light on our son Jimmy,
who's in mobile and can't be with us today.
And on this day of celebration, let us say a prayer for Roy Page
And, Lord, help us to forgive him
for abandoning his wife and family.
For what we are about to receive may the Lord make us truly thankful.
- Amen. - Amen.
Jack, don't take all the mashed potatoes.
Save some for the rest of us.
So have you met Marilyn Monroe yet?
No, Jack. She lives in Hollywood. l'm in New York.
A man from ''The Tennessean'' called.
- Says he wants to interview you. - He did?
Says you were voted ''Pin-Up Queen of the Universe.''
Oh my.
How long are you gonna make a living doing that?
Uh, you know, Mama, l'll get by.
All that teacher training.
lt just seems a shame to waste an education.
You know l hated teaching.
l wish mama would just let that be.
Has mama said anything to you about my modeling?
Not a word. But a few weeks ago, l was rooting around in her closet.
Suddenly, l came across a whole stack of magazines with you in them.
- Not the nudist ones. - Of course not.
Just the glamour stuff. You still look good in a swimsuit.
Oh, l never was as pretty as you.
Madam, as l live and hope for salvation--
- Ha! - Aye, l am as like to be saved as thou
that believes naught save some black magic of words and verses.
Oh, madam, if you would know what misery is,
listen to this man who is more than man and less at the same time.
He will tie you down to anatomize your very soul,
he will wring tears of blood from your humiliation,
and then he will heal the wound with flatteries no woman can resist.
Madam, she is jealous,
and heaven help me, not without reason,
for how can l be content with this black-haired,
black-eyed, blackavised devil
now that l have looked upon real beauty and real majesty?
Oh, he is compact of lies and scorns.
l'm tired of being tossed up to heaven
and dragged down to hell with every whim that takes him.
l am, of all ladies, most deject
and wretched.
We know from Stanislavski
that there can be no true art without living.
To reproduce feelings,
you must be able to identify them out of your own experience.
Now, Bettie,
would you tell the class what you did
to find the truth in the lady-in-waiting's emotions?
Well, l tried to think of something that would make me really scared.
And what was that, Bettie?
l thought of what Jesus might do to me for all my sins.
Marvelous.
Are you sure?
Okay, l'll get back to you.
This is quite an elegant knot, really.
The more the subject pulls,
the tighter the knot becomes.
- What did the lawyer say? - Not good. lt's not good. Can l have
- a word with you in the office? - Of course.
Carry on. You're off the clock at 9:00.
What's the matter, Bettie?
Watch your language, Mr. Willie.
Oh, it's just an old army ditty.
lt helped keep our spirits up
while we were fighting the beastly Hun.
Don't you approve?
l believe in Jesus.
But of course you do, my dear.
Of course you do.
Do you mind if l ask you a question, Bettie?
What do you think Jesus would say about what you're doing now?
Well, Mr. Willie...
l've thought about this quite a bit.
l'm not really sure anymore.
l think God has given each of us
some kind of talent and he wants us to use it.
That's why he gave it to us.
Mr. Willie, would you mind untying my hands?
- lt's hard for me to think like this. - Certainly.
God gave me the talent to pose for pictures,
and it seems to make people happy.
Well, that can't be a bad thing, can it?
Not to me, it's not. But what does God think?
Well, l can't say for certain.
l can't speak for him.
l do worry sometimes
about some of the things
- that l've done. - What things?
l posed naked for photographs.
Have you, my dear?
You naughty girl.
But is that really bad? Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden.
So they were.
Oh, l don't know what God thinks about all this.
l hope that if he's unhappy
with what l'm doing,
he'll let me know somehow.
l'm sure he will, my dear.
l'm sure he will.
Did you love it?
Bettie, you love of my life!
Oh, come on in.
- What's your poison? Whiskey? - Orange juice, please.
Oh, Bettie, you will kill me. You're such a square.
Hey, would you do me a favor and grab those?
Bettie, come on, there's somebody you gotta meet. He'll murder me
if l don't introduce you.
Did anyone ever tell you you look like Montgomery Clift?
No.
Howie, Howie.
- l'd like you to meet Bettie Page. - Hi.
Howie Lippman. Pleasure. Listen,
l've got this sensational new nightclub opening next week.
We've got a full orchestra, a floor show,
comedians, a juggling act-- we're pulling out all the stops.
l'd love it if you and some of your friends
would come down and and see us.
Did you see that girl? The black-haired job over there?
- That's Bettie Page. - No, really?
That's her? She looks different with her clothes on.
There will be a lot of press. You could wind up in Winchell's column,
- and ''Hello, career,'' right? - You're Bettie Page,
- aren't you? - Yes, l am.
l'm really sorry to bother you,
l heard you might be here. Um...
l have a lot of your pictures.
lf you don't mind, do you think you could sign this for me?
- Sure. - And could you tell me something?
Does it just make you sick to see guys like me grovel like this?
Oh, no, it's fine. lt's flattering.
Don't you just wanna crush us, humiliate us,
punish us?
No, sir. l'm sure you're a very nice person.
Hey, there you are, doughnut. Hello, there.
Here you go.
- Thanks. - Hey, are you signing autographs?
- Can l see? - Thank you.
Hmm...
''Long black stockings,'' hmm...
''200 excellent poses.''
''Bound and gagged''? ''Rubber masks''?
- Bettie, what is this? - Oh, it's just some silly photographs
l did for lrving and Paula.
Bettie, l--
l don't think you understand what this is.
lt's just...
- weird. - lt's just costumes, Marvin.
We're just dressing up. There's no harm in it.
Bettie, doctors write books
about this sort of thing. lt's...
- it's abnormal. - For goodness sake, Marvin,
- l'm not nude. - Bettie,
Do you understand what kind of man buys these pictures?
They're for special customers
who like these kinds of costumes--
high-quality people. l met one of them.
He's a lawyer. He's very nice. Wouldn't hurt a fly.
These people you work for--
is this what they ask you to do?
Who are these people?!
They're very nice people, Marvin.
Look-- this thing in your mouth,
- what is this? - lt's just a prop, Marvin.
lt's just silliness. We're laughing all the time
- when we're doing this stuff. - Bettie,
it-- it's disgusting.
l'm gonna go get some air.
- Hi. - Hi.
Will you take a picture of me?
- Yeah. - lt's silly.
People take pictures of me all the time,
but l don't know how to take one of myself.
Shall l just stand right here?
Yeah.
You just press the little button there.
Okay.
Here's your camera, Miss.
- Where are you going after the beach? - Home.
Would you like to go out with me?
Uh-huh.
- l'm Bettie. - Hi.
- l am Armand. - Oh...
- it's nice to meet you, Armand. - Nice to meet you too.
Don't think for a minute that the jungle abounds
with cuties like this. That pretty hairdo
and that naughty little leopard skin
are products of a complex civilization.
Of course, what lies underneath
ls both civilized and primitive--
depending on her mood.
l'm gonna send these pictures to a new magazine.
lt's called ''Playboy.'' Do you know of it?
- No, ma'am, l don't think l do. - Well, it's new--
very tasteful magazine, printed on beautiful paper.
lt's very classy. Look towards me, please.
- Like this? - Perfect.
Now, Bettie, the magazine wants to know how old you are.
- l'm 32. - Oh...
well, l never would have guessed.
l don't think you should tell them that, though.
No magazine wants a model who's over 25.
Smile, Bettie.
Okay, l need you to lift your knee up.
l'm seeing a little bit too much.
You know what's funny? lrving Klaw
Would never let me pose with my top off.
- lrving Klaw? - Yeah, you know him?
No. l think l heard his name on TV last night, though.
- Some government investigation. - lrving on television?
Yeah, l think he's in a little bit of trouble
- What kind of trouble? - l'm sure it's nothing.
lt's probably just some senators blowing a lot of hot air.
Eyes to the camera, please.
How about a wink?
We shall show by these hearings
that a large portion of the market for this material
is with inquisitive and impressionable teenagers.
There is a peculiar resemblance to narcotics addiction
in exposure of juveniles to pornography,
but there is one difference, however--
the injection of heroin into the veins of an addict
stops with the addict,
but the contaminative effects of pornography
in the hands of just one minor
are incapable of measuring.
lrving says they can't shoot anymore
- until they sort this out. - Yeah.
Maybe it's time l stopped modeling
and just worked hard at my acting.
People are getting tired of taking pictures of me anyhow.
Never.
What are you gonna do?
- l got a plan. - You do?
You know Frank and Charlie from the camera club?
- Yeah. - A couple of months ago,
they asked to borrow my apartment for a private session.
So l said, ''What's in it for me?''
So they paid me a little something,
And then it became a regular thing every Thursday.
Then another couple of guys asked, and l thought,
''Why not go into business
- for myself?'' - How?
Well, l got myself a white fur rug.
- Nice. - Well, not real fur,
but good enough for pictures.
And a couple of pillars. That's on one side.
And on another wall, l'm gonna get a mural painted of an ltalian lake;
And maybe a fake fireplace on another wall, so l can shoot three sides
and get the most out of the space.
Do you think Paula will be upset?
- Maybe. lt's competition. - Mmm...
But you got to look after yourself in this world.
And you can't be a model forever.
l was reading the theater section
of the goddamned ''New York Times'' today, and a drawing of this guy,
Petruchio, swinging a whip in ''The Taming of the Shrew''--
the play by Shakespeare-- is all over the first page.
- Nobody cares. - They're all hypocrites.
Then, l see this illustration in the ''New York Times Magazine''
Of ''Kiss Me Kate,'' a Broadway musical. What does it show?
Spanking!
They wanna shut me down for distributing images almost identical to these.
Shh. Don't say too much. Remember what the lawyer said.
l'm beginning to get a persecution fear complex.
Don't.
- You are Mr. Klaw? - Yes.
Mr. Klaw, were you--
Sir, in accordance with your suggestion,
we don't want any pictures.
Thank you very much. We appreciate your cooperation.
Uh, Mr.. Klaw, were you requested
to bring any books or records?
- Yes. - do you have them, sir?
l decline to make them available
under the 5th amendment of the constitution,
that they may tend to degrade or incriminate me;
and under the 4th amendment of the constitution
that the subpoena is vague and illegal.
Do you wish to make any statement as to why
you think producing any books or records called for here
might tend to incriminate you?
l decline to answer under the 5th amendment of the constitution,
that an answer may tend to incriminate me.
Dr. Henry, l direct your attention
to a booklet entitled ''Cartoon and Model Parade,''
published by lrving Klaw of 21 2 east 14th street.
l specifically call your attention
to the movie ''Negligee Fight.''
The heading reads that this 16mm movie
shows the terrific battle that ensues
when both girls claim a black negligee.
ls this the masochistic type
of perversion to which we just referred?
- lt is. - ls there a sexual deviation
known as ''bondage,'' where a person
- is trussed up with rope and chains? - Yes.
- That is fairly common. - You say that--
that bondage is fairly common?
Fairly common in this particular group--
that is, the group of sexual deviants.
Tell us more about that--
uh... bondage being fairly common.
Among those that are familiar
with this variety of sexual deviation,
it is a matter of common knowledge to them.
You mean they like to see someone who is bound up--
- Yes, they do. - Pictures of them?
- Some of them do. - Now l direct your attention
to a series of photographs called ''New Specially Posed.''
''Bettie can only feel fear
as she is unable to see her captors.
Now that the pole was bound to her body,
Bettie had to crawl on all fours like an animal.
The floor made Bettie's knees red and sore.
The unwieldy steel brank kept slipping back and forth,
lrritating the tender flesh at Bettie's neck,
thus making the cold steel an added menace.
lt was most exhausting,
But Bettie's strength and endurance were equal to the task.''
Doctor, could l ask you-- could-- could--
could children be sexually perverted
- by looking at photos of this nature? - Yes.
Would you say it is a fair statement
that suicide, murder and psychosis
is the result of this type of trash?
ln some instances, yes.
Mr. Grimm,
l want say as Chairman of this Subcommittee--
l know the embarrassment and the distaste
you have in coming here
to talk about the tragic happening to your son
on August 20th of last year.
We appreciate your cooperation.
- Mr. Gaughan, you may proceed. - Can you, Mr. Grimm,
tell the subcommittee how it was that your boy met his sudden end
on the evening of August 20th, 1950?
Now, l realize it is an unsolved murder,
but tell us what you know.
He'd worked all day for me,
come home dirty and tired in his work clothes.
He was away all evening, which was unusual.
He never left the house without telling us.
l found him the next morning in a very...
grotesque, weird situation that l've never been able
to cope with or understand yet.
He was um...
trussed up in a very unnatural position.
Looked like it had been planned in some way.
He wasn't hung like most people hang themselves
by the neck from a rope.
And the fact that he didn't have any clothes on--
he was a modest boy-- led me immediately to believe
that there was some sex angle to it.
Mr. Grimm, do you recognize, sir, that booklet,
entitled ''Cartoon and Model Parade,''
published by lrving Klaw the Pin-up King?
- Yes. - Would you tell the Subcommittee
how you first came across a copy of this book?
Through a mutual friend
who was interested in the case.
l found very similar pictures of tying people up in this book
that reminded me of my son's case.
l've never come across anything like that before.
l was looking for a clue.
Sir, let me direct your attention specifically to page four.
That picture illustrates a model named Bettie Page.
Does that accurately reflect how your boy was found?
lt's more or less the same-- a very similar position.
l haven't had the police into it. They let the case rest.
They said it was some sort of accident
due to some impulse on the part of the boy.
l-l don't care what the police think.
The way he was tied-- it wasn't anything any youngster like him
with his character could concoct himself.
There wasn't any history of that, no similar action on his part.
He led an outdoor life.
He was active in the boy scouts
from the time he was a little bit of a fellow.
He had only been home for two days from boys' camp
in Tennessee when--
when l found him.
l feel he could not have put himself
into this position of his own making.
lt-- it had to be brought to his attention
either by someone else showing him how
or he saw a picture of it.
l do feel there is a definite connection
between this sort of thing and his death.
And l also feel there is a definite evil to this,
and l'm bound and determined to do what l can to suppress it.
This is not a healthy situation!
lt's not wholesome. There's nothing cultural about it.
lt's just no damn good!
And that's all l got to say about it.
- Miss Page? - Yes, sir?
Your testimony is no longer necessary. You can go now.
What do you mean? l've been sitting here for 1 2 hours.
Why is it no longer necessary?
They didn't give an explanation, ma'am.
Do l have to come back tomorrow?
No, ma'am. They said they won't need you anymore.
You can go.
Our girls had fun doing this. A fetish?
Do you got a fetish? l don't got a fetish.
All we were interested in was taking pictures and making money.
We gotta burn them-- burn up those negatives
- and they'll get off our backs. - Are you crazy?
After all that work? Years and years of work.
l've had it. Come on, there's no point anymore.
The lawyers, the money--
l'm gonna get out of here and retire to Florida,
sit in the sun and enjoy life.
All this stuff's wearing me out.
''You needn't try to comfort me.
l haven't come here on any but equal terms.
You said, 'Let's talk truthfully.' Well, let's do.
Unsparingly, truthfully, even shamelessly then.
lt's no longer a secret that l love you. lt never was.
l loved you as long ago as the time l asked you
to read the stone angel's name with your fingers.
Yes, l remember the long afternoons of our childhood,
when l had to stay indoors to practice my music
and l heard the playmates calling you--
'Johnny! Johnny!'''
Not bad. Not bad at all. Thanks for coming in.
lt's quite a treat to meet the notorious Bettie Page.
Send the next one in.
Let's get out of here, make a fresh start.
Look at what this life is doing to you.
Hey, Bettie.
Bettie!
Bettie?
Bettie.
Sweetheart, do you want something to eat?
Oh, my God...
tonight, l know that first things come first
and the most important thing of all
is that men and women and young people
surrender their lives to Christ.
God, don't let a mother's boy
who heard me preach here tonight go to hell.
Don't let a mother's girl who heard me tonight go to hell.
Don't let a daddy or a mother who heard me preach tonight go to hell.
- Save them! - Amen.
Save them tonight...
from all their sins.
May they be born again, washed in the blood,
saved through and through without the loss of any,
l pray. Amen.
Did you get saved tonight?
Didn't quite make it, but you came up
and made a stand, didn't you?
- What's your name? - Bettie.
Are you ready for me to pray for you, Bettie?
- Yes, sir. - Good.
O, Father,
we ask You that You deliver this woman from sin.
Destroy it by the spirit of God.
Heal her through and through, including her heart.
Make her a new creature in Christ.
What did you say?
A wonderful--
- a wonderful feeling. - Did it come then?
Yes, sir. l believe it did.
- What did it feel like? - lt was, uh...
- a lifting up. - You felt a lifting up?
Well...
amen.
''And God shall wipe all tears from their eyes
and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain,
for the former things are passed away.
And He that sat upon the throne said,
'Behold, l make all things new.'''
- You're Bettie Page, aren't you? - Yes, l am.
Bettie Page the Pin-Up Queen of the Universe?
What, what happened to you?
l've turned my life over to the Lord.
- No kidding. - l left all that behind me.
God doesn't want me to pose anymore.
Oh, no offense meant. Your pictures were pretty tame.
The stuff they sell now on the newsstands'll make your hair curl.
You don't have to be ashamed of what you did.
l'm not ashamed.
Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden, weren't they?
When they sinned, they put on clothes.
''And He said unto me, 'lt is done.
l am Alpha and Omega--
the beginning and the end.
l will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain
of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things
and l will be his God,
and he will be My son.
But the fearful, and unbelieving...'''
- How's it going? - Oh, fine, almost finished.