Doc reveals almost all about alluring Bettie Page
One-fourth of a percentage grade point might have changed Bettie Page's future way back in her Tennessee high school.
That tiny fraction awarded her the title of class salutatorian instead of valedictorian. So, instead of receiving a full university scholarship (the valedictorian's prize), the then-impoverished Page went on to become arguably the world's greatest pinup girl who, even after her 2008 death, ranks in the top-10 posthumous celebrity earners reported by Forbes in 2012.
Using extensive voice recordings of Page as a narrative springboard, Mark Mori's documentary "Bettie Page Reveals All" whisks us through the model's life, examining the basis for her enormous appeal ("poise, confidence and expression" as one source explains) while delving into the conflicting elements that created her personality.
A devoutly religious Catholic, Page did not drink or smoke and vowed she would never date any man who did. Yet, Page's free spirit and seemingly healthy self-image propelled her into glamour photography, ranging from bikini shots to full-nude portraits plus kinky S&M scenarios.
On tape, Page, her voice sounding aged and weathered, does not varnish her truth. She shares blunt assessments of her relationships (and sex) with men, among them her first husband who tried to kill her, and her later husband with whom she seemed to find love.
Mori's doc doesn't skimp on the visual evidence supporting Page's claim of photographic appeal. He stuffs his doc with kazillions of Page movies and photos, including the ones that later offended her, as they violated her self-imposed standards of posing in (relative) good taste.
Mori assembles an impressive list of commentators, including Playboy's Hugh Hefner and famed photographer Bunny Yeager, who found in Page a kindred spirit for creating free and freeing images of female sexuality at a time (the 1950s) of social repression.
This led to Page being singled out by the U.S. government (mostly Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver) as a corruptor of American youth. Later in life, Page disappeared from public view, prompting all sorts of conspiracy theories.
In fact, she spent time in mental health facilities. "My mind snapped," she explains.
Journalistically, Mori sometimes buries the lead, as in revealing Page's broken relationship with her parents late in the movie. Despite some slips in narrative construction, his doc provides impressive proof, if not photographic overkill, of Page's iconic immortality through Madonna, Katy Perry and countless other performers who owe their style and sexual openness to the queen.
"Bettie Page Reveals All" opens at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. Rated R for sexual content and nudity. 101 minutes. ★ ★ ★