To: pml1@yahoogroups.com From: Mark Tomlonson Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 22:03:53 -0400 Subject: [PML1] CC: Betty Blue In Betty Blue's centerfold (November 1956) she's taken a break from posing as we offer her a light. Betty has a great figure. An 11 on a scale of 10. One of the best things about this centerfold is the way her figure is showcased while still covering up the bits that might have offended potential Playboy advertisers. This is the kind of figure the Roman Empire immortalized in stone. The way her torso is lit plays up this marble quality, and the placement of her arms with the wrapping piece of cloth completes the statue metaphor. Almost as an in joke, the centerfold is set in an artist's studio. Just barely visible on the easel is a charcoal sketch of Betty's torso. The hand offering her a light could be the artist, but judging from the sport coat sleeve just visible, I'd say it's a patron. And this leads to the only downer. Maybe it's just me, but I sense a measure of coercion in Betty's face. It's slight enough I can't press the issue. This is the last centerfold where the male presence was so explicit. I think a centerfold works better when that presence is only implied. Photographer: Hal Adams Scoring: Pin-up: 2.5 Erotic: 3.0 Artistic: 2.0 Overall: 2.6 Cyber Club Portfolio Photo I like better than the Centerfold: There's only one photo in the portfolio, and it's a toss-up between it and the centerfold. I prefer Betty's expression in the portfolio, and her pose in the centerfold. http://cyber.playboy.com/members/playmates/files/1956/11/centerfold.html http://cyber.playboy.com/members/playmates/files/1956/11/01-lrg.html Update: At the suggestion of several people I gave a closer look at the hand offering Betty a light. It is clearly meant to be the artist, not the patron. It's the charcoaled fingers that cinch it. This doesn't change my assessment of the centerfold, although it changes the situation from extremely clever to clever. All I can say in my defense was that I was distracted by Betty. Mark Tomlonson Kalamazoo MI