One of the brightest and controversial images in the world of the show, with Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield, hides more than it seems at first sight.
Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield in 1957 Photo: X
On the evening of the “Welcome to Hollywood” dinner organized by Sophia Loren in April 1957, Jayne Mansfield entered the exclusive Romanoff’s restaurant in Beverly Hills. The elegant party organized by Paramount Studios was full of some of the largest Hollywood stars, from Barbara Stanwyck and Montgomery Clift at Gary Cooper and Shely Winter. But a spontaneous photo with Mansfield and Loren would keep that evening forever in Hollywood’s history, writes BBC.
According to Eve Golden, the author of the book Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It, Mansfield wanted to make sure that all eyes were directed to her. Signing a seven -year -old contract with Warner Bros, in February 1955, the former playboy, 24 -year -old Playmate, was considered a rival by Marilyn Monroe, who “created problems” for 20th Century Fox, Golden tells for the BBC.
Launched just eight months away from each other, the successful movies The Girl Can’t Help IT (1956) and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) quickly consecrated Mansfield as a star.
She straightened with slow steps and sat right next to Sophia Loren … Jayne knew exactly what she was doing.
Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield in 1957 Photo: X
Sophia Loren was only 22 when she arrived in Hollywood. Born and raised in Italy under Mussolini’s fascist regime, Loren’s mother had “their own theatrical ambitions ”, says Mary Ann McDonald Carolan, the author of The Transatlantic Gas: Italian Cinema, American Film. Loren participated in beauty competitions in adolescence, where she met her future husband, film producer Carlo Ponti, before enrolling in the National Film School in Italy. Ponti produced many of her first movies. After World War II, Italy was flooded by Hollywood productions, the studios taking advantage of the lower production costs in this country. “At that time, there were extraordinary artistic, economic, economic and film exchanges between Italy and America ”, says Carolan for the BBC.
Following the success of Aida 1953 films and The Gold of Naples in 1954, which were designed at the Cannes Film Festival that year, Paramount signed a contract with Loren, relying on the fact that she could follow her European colleagues Leslie Caron, Ingrid Bergman and Marlene Dietrich.
In April 1957, Loren was ready to make his debut in the Hollywood elite at Romanoff’s, where Mansfield was the last guest to enter. She entered covered with a “Great fur coat ”, says Golden. When he took her down, he wore a very much backless satin dress, which he knew would attract the attention of everyone in the room, especially photographers. “He walked and sat right next to Sophia Loren ”says Golden. “Has certainly been planned. Jane knew exactly what she was doing. ” Photos Delmar Watson and Joe Shere photographed Loren and Mansfield side by side. But while Mansfield looked directly into the goal, Loren was surprised by throwing the most famous lateral look in Hollywood’s history, staring at his mass colleague’s neckline.
Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield in 1957 Photo: X
Sixty -eight years later, it remains one of the most iconic photos in Hollywood history. Heidi Klum, Anna Nicole Smith, Sydney Sweeney and Maude ApaTow, Sophia Vergara and Julie Bowen replied it all. The photo resisted in time because it presents Loren and Mansfield as opposite, the image symbolizing elegance against grandilocvency. Europe against America. Brunettes against blondes. “It is almost as if he had intentionally dressed to create a contrast“Says Carolan.
Long inheritance of photography
However, there are disturbing implications related to prolonged prevalence of the image. It highlights the tendency of the media to exaggerate female rivalry, promoting the harmful stereotype that women are always in competition. In reality, this was the only time they met, and Loren was probably worried that Mansfield was about to have a problem with the wardrobe in front of the press. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine in 2014, Loren remembered: “Look at the photo. Where are my eyes? I look at her nipples, because I’m afraid I’m about to fall into the plate. In front of me you can see fear. I am so scared that everything in her dress will explode – bum! – And it will pour over the table. “
In her new documentary, My Mom Jayne, Mansfield’s daughter, Mariska Hargitay, who was three years old when her mother died, explores the actress’s career in trying to discover her mother. In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Hargitay acknowledges that she had problems with photography in her youth. “It was hard. To see another woman looking at her mother in that way she was tormenting for me, as a little girl. ”
Increasing, she developed a modest style, opposite to Mansfield’s public glamorous image. In the documentary, Hargitay acknowledges that he decided to become another kind of actress, with an image different from that of her mother, whose professional difficulties wanted to avoid. Now, at the age of 61, the actress in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit claims Mansfield’s story in the documentary – after all, she was a woman who knew how to play the violin and piano, spoke three languages and which Life magazine called “The smartest bad blonde on Broadway. ”
This moment was the only opportunity when the careers of the two women intersected, because, while Loren’s star was on the rise, Mansfield was about to set. In 1960, Loren won the Oscar for best actress for the role in the movie “Two women”, Thus becoming the first actress to win an Oscar for an in a foreign film. Meanwhile, Mansfield’s sting at Loren’s party was harshly welcomed by 20th Century Fox. “Then they realized that they signed with an unpredictable person,” says Golden. “I think this is the time when Fox has really stopped being interested in promoting her career. ”
In 1962, shortly after Monroe’s death, Mansfield was dismissed by Fox, after three years of poor box-office performance. Suddenly, says Golden, with “a huge house to pay and three children”, Mansfield began to open supermarkets and gas stations to “Maintain the family.” Golden believes that Mansfield’s professional ambitions have been thwarted because, although “He knew where he wanted to get, he had no idea how to get there. He needed a strong and intelligent manager. ”
Meanwhile, Loren was able to call the winning producer of the Oscar, Ponti, for advice. “It has an incredible knowledge inside the film industry ”says Carolan. “He had a good sense of behavior in the media circle. Could not be handled by press or managers“Loren was so skilled in managing his cinematic career that he managed to combine Hollywood films, remaining popular for almost 70 years.
Not only did Mansfield’s fame go out, but her life ended tragically. When he died in a car accident on June 29, 1967, at the age of 34, he was heading from a night appearance at a Mississippi club to a radio interview in New Orleans. But the journey was not unusual for someone who had insisted on appreciating every drop of his fame since he became a star. “He liked to be in the center of attention. He loved his fans. He became the character he played on the screen ”, says Golden. “You could call it the first reality show star, because he lived his life in public. No matter what he was doing, she was accompanied by photographers and reporters. ”
Carolan acknowledges that Mansfield contributed to “the preparation of the land for actresses such as Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Claudia Cardinale”, because she broke the barriers in an industry dominated by men, proud of her beauty and sexuality. And, although their roads intersected only fugitive, Loren told Entertainment Weekly that he is still asked to sign the famous photo. But she always refuses. “I don’t want to have anything to do with it. And also out of respect for Jayne Mansfield, because she is no longer among us.”
