Corsets and Movies: A Beautiful Combination

When television series and movies are created, writers and directors go to great lengths to ensure the actors are dressed in appropriate garments for the time the story is set. Because of the vast history of corsets, it should come as no surprise that these beautiful and sexual lingerie items played important roles in a great number of films.

Films Starring Corsets

• The Affair of the Necklace- This 2001 American movie is a historical re-enactment about a woman named Jeanne de Saint-Remy de Valois, who schemes to obtain a diamond necklace commissioned by King Louis XV in order to gain enough money to reclaim her home and royal title. The movie stars Hilary Swank, and a number of beautiful corsets (along with one lacing scene) and pre-revolution French gowns are seen throughout the movie.
• ‘Allo ‘Allo!- This sitcom from BBC One aired from 1982 to 1992, and takes place in a cafe in France during World War II. At this time, the Nazis have occupied the country, and the cafe has become a safe house for two courageous but entirely clueless airmen from Britain, Carstairs and Fairfax. There are several characters that are important to the series, including Herr Otto Flick, a local officer who fancies the beautiful blonde Helga. During one episode, called The Pigeon Post, Flick takes Helga down into his dungeon headquarters, where they will both undress and disguise themselves as sellers of onions. As she undresses, it is revealed she is wearing a stunning corset. She asks Flick if he disapproves of her wearing it; he doesn’t, and, as it turns out, he is wearing one himself.
• Der Artz Von San Michele- This German production, translated to, “The Story of San Michele,” was a biographical drama based on the autobiography of Dr. Axel Martin Fredrik. It follows the doctor’s journey’s and his care for both the rich and the poor. There are a few instances where corsets and corset dresses are seen throughout the film, including a scene where Ms. Schiaffino needs to be vaccinated, and a scene where Renate Ewert is being laced into her corset by a nurse. In this scene, she commands the nurse to lace her tighter. Later on, when she becomes pregnant, she is deeply upset by the thought of not being able to wear her gorgeous corsets and corset dresses any longer, especially since the ball season is fast approaching.
• Jonah Hex- This action-packed western film stars Megan Fox, who plays a prostitute with a heart of gold and a tiny waist. How tiny? According the actress, with the help of a few corsets, her waist was reduced to only 45 centimetres. In this YouTube video, she discusses the use of corsets in the 2010 movie.

Corsets have played a large role in movie and television series, as they have in history. And while they are often used simply because they reflect the clothing at the time the films take place, they offer a beautiful, sexual, interesting role to every scene they are in.