The Notorious Bettie Page

The Notorious Bettie Page is a 2005 American biographical film directed by Mary Harron. The screenplay by Harron and Guinevere Turner focuses on 1950s pinup and bondage model Bettie Page.

Bettie Page is an ambitious, naïve, and devout young Christian woman who longs to leave Nashville, Tennessee following a childhood of sexual abuse, a failed wartime marriage, and a gang rape. In 1949 she departs for New York City, where she enrolls in an acting class. Amateur photographer Jerry Tibbs discovers her walking on the beach at Coney Island and she agrees to model for him. He suggests she restyle her hair with the bangs that would become her trademark.

Bettie becomes a favorite of nature photographers (including Bunny Yeager, who films her posing with two leopards), and she has no hesitation about removing her clothes for the photographers when asked. Before long images of the shapely brunette reach brother-and-sister entrepreneurs Paula and Irving Klaw, who run a respectable business selling movie stills and memorabilia but also deal with fetish photos, magazines, and 8- and 16-millimeter films for additional income.

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