SHOW SOME RESTRAINT! Who is the notorious B-E-T-T-I-E Page? The use of the adjective "notorious" in the title for the upcoming film, 'The Notorious Bettie Page' seems a little unnecessary. You wouldn't call a film, 'The Evil Adolf Hitler', for example, or, 'The Slapper Paris Hilton'. A certain word springs to mind in cases such as these. I think it might be "duh". That being said, Bettie Page's salacious reputation may be entirely unknown to a generation who lives for the now and barely knows what happened five minutes ago, let alone 50 years ago. Let me fill you in on all the gory details. Are you listening carefully? In her heyday, Bettie Page was queen of the pin-up girls. While many starlets, including Marilyn Monroe, posed for "indecent" photos as a means of achieving "legitimate" work as an actor or model, Bettie Page remained famous for refusing to move beyond bondage, jungle imagery, and skimpy outfits. The notorious Miss Page was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1923, to oppressively religious parents. After her mother and father divorced when she was 10, she flirted with the idea of becoming a teacher and won a $100 scholarship to attend Peabody College in pursuit of this dream. As is the case with so many students who graduate with a Bachelor of Arts, Bettie struggled to find work, until she managed to land a job modelling fur coats in San Francisco. After marrying, divorcing and travelling extensively, in 1950 Bettie decided to settle in New York, where she met police officer and amateur photographer Jerry Tibbs. The NYPD was an unlikely catalyst for Bettie's carrier - not only did Officer Tibbs put together Bettie's first pin-up portfolio, but he also suggested the "Bettie fringe" to disguise her large forehead. After he introduced Bettie to some of his photographer friends, an icon was born. Bettie became the favourite model for shutterbugs who took photos of women for men's magazines. In 1955, she was named "Miss Pin-up Girl of the World" and was Playboy's January centrefold. After her modelling career peaked in 1957, she completely disappeared. Various rumours have attempted to explain Bettie's sudden departure from the modelling world. Some have blamed her marriage to Armand Walterson, while others have pointed the blame at the Kefauver Hearings, which investigated Bettie's bondage pictures. In reality, the explanation is much more mundane: in 1958 Bettie converted to Christianity and severed all contact with her former life. Since the 1970s, there has been a steady revival of all things Bettie Page. Comicbook talent Dave Stevens based The Rocketeer's love interest on Bettie and author Kurt Vonnegut paid tribute to her in his book 'Slaughterhouse Five'. By this stage Bettie was living in a Los Angeles group home and only discovered she was famous again after seeing pictures of her 1950s self on Entertainment Tonight. While Bettie might be 83 now and living in secrecy, her sordid past is on display in the upcoming film 'The Notorious Bettie Page'. Scene Magazine would like to invite you to an ultra-exclusive pre-release screening on February 9. This is your chance to see Bettie's story up-close and very personal - so be sure to put the kiddiewinkles to bed before you let your hair down! Rowena Grant-Frost Scene, in partnership with Dendy Films, is holding an Adults Only Screening of the film next Friday evening at Dendy George Street at 9pm sharp. An after-party (exclusive to prize winners) will be held at the Java Coast Cafe. To WIN simply drop by Scene's HQ (located next door to The Arena - Level 2, 192 Brunswick Street) from 10am Tuesday February 6. Entry is restricted to those who are aged 18 years or over. 'The Notorious Bettie Page' releases on March 1. back to top ^

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