The side eye that shook the world
November 7, 2014 9:36 AM   Subscribe

Sophia Loren explains the famous photograph of her and Jayne Mansfield. Sophia Loren: 15 Photos of My Life
posted by fearfulsymmetry (27 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
Listen. Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I’m staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face you can see the fear. I’m so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table.

It is impossible for me not to hear Sophia Loren's voice in my mind as I read this.
posted by duffell at 9:42 AM on November 7, 2014 [16 favorites]


I expected a "no, it wasn't really like that, they just caught my eyes at a weird moment" and I got "it was EXACTLY like that. EXACTLY how it looks." Awesome. :)
posted by edheil at 9:44 AM on November 7, 2014 [42 favorites]


my favorite part is actually the part before she makes the comment about nipples - Yes, Paramount had organized a party for me. All of cinema was there, it was incredible. And then comes in Jayne Mansfield, the last one to come. For me, that was when it got amazing. that is some grade-a shade.
posted by nadawi at 9:47 AM on November 7, 2014 [8 favorites]


(Also, the comments on that EW page are….ewwwwww, so st00pid.)
posted by wenestvedt at 9:49 AM on November 7, 2014


Ahh, Sophia Loren. Do you really have to say anything else except her name? I feel the same way about Diana Rigg too. As for Sophia Loren (there, I said it again), is it any wonder why Cary Grant fell so madly in love with her. If you have any doubt, just go rent (or download, or whatever) 'Arabesque' with her and Gregory Peck. Thanks so much for sharing this. You've made my day.
posted by McMillan's Other Wife at 10:01 AM on November 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


I've never looked that closely at this photo before but Ms. Loren's comment "I’m staring at her nipples" made me look closely and.. Was the famous photo airbrushed to pass a modesty standard?

Those other photos 23skidoo posted make Mansfield look ridiculous, more of a sling than a dress. But then, those are all chosen with her leaning over; perhaps it looked better standing straight.
posted by Nelson at 10:01 AM on November 7, 2014


I’m so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table.

Alien, 1979, screenplay by Dan O'Bannon, story by Dan O'Bannon and Ron Shusett, based on a party Sofia Loren went to this one time.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:05 AM on November 7, 2014 [17 favorites]


Other photos taken that same night really highlight how dangerously cut the dress was: http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/04/01/sophia-vs-jayne-the-other-photos-behind-that-sideways-glare/

That second picture, oh my! Apparently Sophia was not aquainted with the Jerry Seinfeld method of cleavage peeking:

"Looking at cleavage is like looking at the sun. You don't stare at it. It's too risky. You get a sense of it and then you look away!"
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:06 AM on November 7, 2014 [6 favorites]


This needs an explanation? After clicking the link…I see it doesn't.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:10 AM on November 7, 2014


The amazing things I have learned based on this story:

(a) Sophia Loren still has it.
(b) Jayne Mansfield! I had heard her name in a "oh, one of those Classic Hollywood" personages way but never really knew anything about her.
(c) ...and she died at 34. Aww.
(d) ...and she's MARISKA HARGITAY'S MOTHER? WHAT?
posted by psoas at 10:20 AM on November 7, 2014 [4 favorites]


Was the famous photo airbrushed to pass a modesty standard?

Given the other photos from that meeting, I would think if you were as close to the action as Sophia was, you could probably see an occasional glimpse of nipple-ish flesh. It would probably have been too quick and subtle for the photographers to catch it.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:22 AM on November 7, 2014


and she's MARISKA HARGITAY'S MOTHER? WHAT?

Mariska Hargitay's parents. Think about this the next time you're embarrassed by your own parents.
posted by JanetLand at 10:33 AM on November 7, 2014 [6 favorites]


Holy crap - Mariska Hargitay was in the car when Mansfield died!
posted by scolbath at 10:44 AM on November 7, 2014


(e) ...and she inspired the Mansfield Bar (not a drinking establishment).
posted by ogooglebar at 10:54 AM on November 7, 2014


I know I'm old when I realize I know exactly who Jane Mansfield is and haven't got the slightest idea of who Mariska Hargitay is.
posted by umberto at 11:00 AM on November 7, 2014 [16 favorites]


I know who both of them are. Does that make me old or young?
posted by Justinian at 11:07 AM on November 7, 2014


It makes you a cusp old.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 11:07 AM on November 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


The only "dumb blonde" who was truly an idiot was Mamie Van Doren.
posted by brujita at 11:09 AM on November 7, 2014


just go rent (or download, or whatever) 'Arabesque' with her and Gregory Peck

Augh! I know I saw this when my library still had VHS, but they don't have it on DVD, and ... (per canistream.it) Not available for streaming, rental, or purchase.
posted by dhartung at 11:10 AM on November 7, 2014


Gregory Peck did a wonderful "Evening with Gregory Peck" in his later years. He said that Sophia Loren was actually naked in her bathtub scene in Arabesque (covered by bubbles). When she rose up (off-film), revealing her breasts, Peck described this, saying, "They were spectacular."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:21 AM on November 7, 2014 [3 favorites]


dhartung, Arabesque streaming,
Arabesque torrents.
You're welcome.
posted by evilDoug at 11:55 AM on November 7, 2014 [3 favorites]


I never knew anything about Hargitay, but this anecdote from her wikipedia page is sort of priceless:

"Hargitay attended Groundlings theatre company in Los Angeles. Her improv teacher was Kathy Griffin. Griffin stated in an interview, "We started class, and in the Groundlings curriculum, one of the first exercises you do is the cliched 'trust' game. I made everyone stand in a circle, with me in the center, and I said, being onstage, you have to trust your fellow actors, especially when you're an improviser. You're going to be there for each other, and they're going to be there for you. For example, I'm going to fall back, knowing that you'll catch me. Then I let myself fall backward, and sure enough, I was caught. Everyone gets out some nervous laughter, and then they all took turns doing it. By the time it got around to Mariska Hargitay, we'd already done it with ten or eleven students, and they had clearly gotten the point. Then it was Mariska's turn. 'Okay, Mariska, cross your arms in front of you and gently fall back,' I said. She fell back and nobody caught her. She fell flat on her ass. I was horrified. This had never happened in one of my classes before."
posted by Rumple at 12:03 PM on November 7, 2014 [3 favorites]


There was a kid I went to grammar school with in the 60s who was obsessed with Jayne Mansfield. He was also convinced that her ex-husband (not sure which one) had moved to our Long Island village with their kids and that Jayne would come and visit them. He hoped to catch sight of her when she visited.

But she never did.
posted by tommasz at 12:55 PM on November 7, 2014


Other photos taken that same night

"No, no. Well, there may be other photos, but this is the picture. This is the one that shows how it was. This is the only picture." --Sophia Loren

What a great thing to say.
posted by chavenet at 1:54 PM on November 7, 2014 [5 favorites]


posted by fearfulsymmetry
posted by aws17576 at 6:19 PM on November 7, 2014 [4 favorites]


The Girl Can't Help It is on youtube btw staring Mansfield and a whole host of early rock and roll legends. As you can see from the trailer the humour's not subtle but it's a fun film.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:37 AM on November 8, 2014


To show so much and no more there must have been some double-sided tape action going on...
Also natural breasts are fairly floppy. I'm always struck by this when there's some Everywoman project about breasts. The pert, cup-shaped ideal doesn't seem to be evident in the wild much once women are over their teens.
posted by glasseyes at 1:51 PM on November 8, 2014


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