The Irving Klaw Classics: Volumes 1-4
Although the current wave of Bettie Page biopics (Dark Angel, The Notorious Bettie Page) help to humanize the iconic sex symbol, Irving Klaw's original films of Page capture her charm more than retellings of her life.The Irving Klaw Classicsbox set establishes Klaw's standardized shooting style cross-genre with Fetish films, Wrestling, and Dance, but watching other women alongside Bettie mostly reminds one of her exceptional modeling talents. Disc one stars Page, while the other three contain entertaining vignettes of sultry women both soloing the strip tease and dancing girl-on-girl. Volume Three, about Fetish, is most appealing for the specificity of its subject matter. In "Courageous Siren In Corset and High Heels," a woman in heels and corset takes her shoes slowly on and off. "Kid Gloved Jackie's High-Heeled Dance" is self-explanatory. In "Lili Dawn, Queen of High Heels," Miss Dawn gets out a huge shoe rack full of heels and considers which pair to wear. Scenes of women polishing patent leather heels, lacing boots and corsets define fetish fashions. The Wrestling Films and the Burlesque dances are more classically romantic. In an age of Heroin-chic waifs, it is refreshing to see fleshy female figures. This is a wonderful collection, made more attractive by Bettie Page.--Trinie Dalton