The Rogue Students

The Backdrop

Being an advocate of classics, I feel starved as I see the state of today’s fashion, film and music industries. The Bryan Adams, Coldplays and Didos have been replaced by the *gulp* Biebers, One Directions and Nicki Minajs. Where we had The Shawshank Redemptions and Star Wars, we have The Silver Linings Playbooks (Yes, I hated it) and Iron Mans (Or should I say ‘Iron Men’? Regardless, Robert Downey’s cockiness fails to impress me one bit). The fashion sense once safe in the hands of the Marilyn Monroes now lies trampling under the feet of the Kim Kardishians.

After seeing Lindsay Lohan’s ‘Liz and Dick’ a few days back, I felt the urge to grab my laptop, don my safe-behind-a-computer-screen armor and blast the wretched woman to smithereens with my words. How it is possible to even imagine Lindsay Lohan portraying the legendary Elizabeth Taylor, I can never quiet comprehend. The absurdity of the comparison actually made me feel sorry for Lohan; you don’t compare two elements as many classes apart as the average modern actress and a queen of Hollywood. The reason being singular; there simply IS no comparison.

In the first of the ‘Head to head’ series, I would take out time to compare two actually comparable individuals; both received worldwide fame and success, both approximately belong to the same era of Hollywood prime, both were renowned for their ‘divine’ beauty, and both were loved by many while worshipped by more; “The Love Goddess” Rita Hayworth, and “The Blonde Bombshell” Marilyn Monroe.

  

The Battle

Rita Hayworth's life might serve as the prototype for that of the glamorous movie queen, the classic story of the beautiful young woman trapped in a profession that took over her life in ways she found difficult to understand, much less control. A favorite of World War Two soldiers, commonly known as “The Love Goddess”, Rita Hayworth climbed very slowly up the ladder to stardom.  Columbia, her home studio, loaned her out for supporting parts, which gradually made Hayworth a star. During the Second World War Hayworth specialized in musicals and dancing, having been born in a family of dancers; the Dancing Cansinos. Tall and curvaceous -Rita Hayworth was born to wear the clothes of the ‘pre-New Look war time 40s’ - tailored suits with padded shoulders and knee-length skirts.

Her stardom faded after the war, as she went through a series of unhappy marriages, including one to Prince Aly Khan.  Hayworth had never wanted to be a "movie star" in the conventional sense, as Gilda (1946) personified her.  But she still did excellent dramatic work in films such as Separate Tables (1958).  However, she suffered from Alzheimer's disease and eventually died in 1987, aged 68.

 Hayworth in Gilda (1946)

Unlike Hayworth, everyone on the planet knows Marilyn Monroe!  She is a legend, an icon, a goddess. But it was a number of years before she became the “Blonde Bombshell” we revere today.  First there was a modeling career, which in turn led to dozens of bit and small parts, usually as a "dumb blonde”, in undistinguished movies.  There were occasional roles that showed a glint of something more, but they were few and far between.  Even at the beginning of her career she displayed the emotional difficulties that would plague her later life. Along with an excellent singing voice (never adequately appreciated), she also had a flair for comedy. But what sets MM apart was her sense of style; never indulging in the typical styles of the 1950s. Her stardom was also short-lived, however, as she died amongst mysterious circumstances in 1962, at the age of 36.

Monroe’s figure, similar to her sense of style unlike the pumped-up stars of today, was all her own.
To enhance the impossible wiggle she was famous for, Monroe was frequently sewn into her dresses ( O.o ) - and on occasions, the fabric was even glued to her body to get a truly figure-hugging effect ( O.o o.O ). Monroe is also credited with inventing lip-gloss, after noting that she looked much more alluring with wet-look lips. She used her own concoction of lipstick, beeswax and Vaseline to get the effect, which is said to have paved the way for cosmetics companies to mass produce such a product.

Monroe in Some Like It Hot (1959), for which she won a Golden Globe award for best actress.

With incredible features way ahead of her time as a beauty, Rita Hayworth represented many different kinds of looks on screen for more than 20 years. The most indelible was her femme fatale look in Gilda. As a physical beauty, she was a neo-classical-made-modern beauty; Rita Hayworth was all woman, goddess-like flowing auburn hair, heart-shaped mouth, fairest of them all.

Marilyn Monroe perfected the blond bombshell look - and totally mastered it. No one did that better. No one does that better. And over time it has become the stuff of legends – No one WILL do it better. She projected a breathy, girl-like, babe in a woman’s body image - and while she was very beautiful too, if you put her "look" into context of art history, and what her blondness represents - it could be slightly second rate- a stigma she fought against all her life.

The Verdict

If you take away all the make-up and dyed hair color (on both of them), it would be Rita Hayworth hands down. Alas, beauty alone is never enough to make a fair judgment. While Hayworth won plaudits for her acting and dancing skills, Monroe’s stature as the fashion queen was paralleled by none. The fact that Monroe is the undisputed queen of Hollywood (Angelina Jolie fans don’t count) alone overrules any bias that I possess for Hayworth. My pick thus, would be Marilyn Monroe. What do you guys think so? Let us know in the comments below!

Here is perhaps the most acclaimed photo of each legend (both also seen in The Shawshank Redemption; Yesss, wohi walay posters)

P.S: Oh, and Marilyn Monroe aur President Kennedy ka scene bhi tha!