Saturday, August 10, 2013

Girlie Show, 1940 New York World's Fair

Today's post is rated PG-13 - parental guidance is suggested! 

Waaaay back in 1939-1940, there was an awesome World's Fair in New York (North America, Earth). And over in the Amusement Zone, there was a full-size replica of the Potala Temple in Jehol, Manchuria (built in 1767). It was originally displayed at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair; here's how it looked there:


Pretty neat, huh? So anyway, when it went to New York in 1939, it didn't get much buzz; in order to help attract bigger crowds in 1940, somebody had the bright idea of adding a girlie show. BRILLIANT! I was lucky enough to find a small group of color slides from the 1940 World's Fair, and among them were 7 images from this girlie show. Because this is (in theory) a "family blog", I have pixelated some of the naughtier bits (sorry!). Use your imagination. As you can see, the show had a ridiculous "Shangri-La" theme.


Amazingly, a man who worked at this exhibit when he was 19 (Herbert Taffae) recalled his spiel word for word back in 2007 - over 60 years later! Here's it is in all of its wordy glory:

It might sound strange and a trifle incongruous having lovely girls in front of the million-dollar temple of Jehol, whose gold leaf roof you can see over the top of this façade, but the fact is that we have a girlie show in here and a good one.

The author of the book "Forbidden Tibet", Horizon Hunters and technical advisor of the picture "Lost Horizon", he doesn't want his good name associated with this scandalous enterprise as brought back from the land of the lost horizon, those Terpsichordion aphrodisiacs, the love temptation dancers from the lamaseries of Tibet. A lama is a Buddhist priest and as such he must remain celibate. He must be deaf to the calls of the flesh, immune to the pangs of passion, and adverse to the charms of beautiful women. In other words, he must not marry or anything. Once a year he is given a test. The questions of which are the unquestionable figures of questionable young ladies, courtesans brought from the outside world to corrupt the young lama and seduce him from his holy way of life.


The spiel continues: Now ladies, this show has been approved by Good Housekeeping, but in case a stray moron seeking a racy spicy girl show is in this otherwise obviously intellectual audience, he too can go in there and not know the difference, but you, you lovers of art will surely recognize this show to be the apogee oriental choreography. The whole thing rises to a climax when Sasha and her hilarious horde of vivacious vestal virgins unite in that unclad climax, that orgiastic ecstasy at the tail end of our performance, the passion dance of love. It's terrific.


Now once inside, sit down as long as you like and admire the bare beautiful temple but those beautiful bare forms and I say are not too formal. Go on right away. This being the first show of the afternoon, I am going to cut the price of admission in half. Everybody goes.

Those were the days! I hope that you have enjoyed your visit to the Bendix Lama Temple!

18 comments:

Graffer said...

We wants the redhead!

Nanook said...

Major-

Hubba, hubba-!

I'm always spellbound upon hearing the word "Terpsichorean". Haven't heard that one since the days of Leo is On the Air radio broadcasts for MGM, in the 1930's.

But what about that backdrop-! Was there a sale on scrap plywood over at the local lumber yard-? Tacky, tacky, tacky-!

Thanks, Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

Yeah, I was wondering about that backdrop, myself. Isn't it weird that this was performed outdoors? And are the people riding the Ferris Wheel nude too?

Nancy said...

Wow!!!!

Nanook said...

Major-

Should have also mentioned "chorine", which often went hand-in-hand with 'terpsichorean'. Ahhh - what a rich language we once had.

Melissa said...

At first I read "Potala Temple" as "Potato Temple," and I was hoping it wasn't next to the giant butter sculpture or it would drive the fairgoers wild with hunger.

But I love everything about the show. I love the spiel with its pretensions of intellectual Orientalism side by side with all the half-baked sex puns. I love the exotic backdrop painted on threadbare canvas and cheap plywood panels. I love the "vestal virgins," who look like pretty good dancers, in their off-the-(clearance) rack lingerie and modern shoes.

I wonder how many times a day that one precariously-leaning tree tipped over, and the nearest gal had to make the split-second decision to grab it and hold it up for the rest of the show or jump out of the way.

PsySocDisney said...

Oh, NOW I know why Horizons was such a huge deal! That explains it!

Major Pepperidge said...

Graffer, redheads were especially honored in Tibet!

Nanook, you listened to the radio in the 1930's?? ;-) As for the backdrop, something tells me that the audience wasn't even looking at it.

TokyoMagic!, it IS weird that it was performed outdoors; since the show was added later, it was presumably done "on the cheap. And yes, EVERYBODY at the Fair was nude.

Nancy, you said it!

Nanook, chorine always turns my hair green.

Melissa, now I am hungry for some buttered spuds. Can you imagine a show like this at a modern-day World's Fair? Not in the USA, at least. It is curious that in some ways our country has become even more puritanical than it was back in the "innocent" pre-WWII era.

Major Pepperidge said...

PsySocDisney, Horizons? I don't get it!

Nanook said...

Major-

I was listening to 1930's radio shows "by electrical transcription" - several decades later... I may be 'nearing' my "twilight years" (an oddly wonderful expression), but I'm not that old-!

Melissa said...

PsySocDisney, now I can't help imagining the "naughty" version of Horizons that never was.

Grandfather:
There's the grand old man himself, Jules Verne. This is the way a moonshot looked to him back in the late 1800s. *cars travel past Jules Verne mooning the audience from inside his space capsule*

Grandfather:
It takes a lot of work, but the truth is, if we can dream it, we can do it.

Grandmother:
Really? Tell me about these... dreams of yours.

Grandfather:
Well, you see, when a man and a woman and a robot butler love each other very much...

Grandfather:
Floating cities ... they're amazing! I mean whole new industries have developed in them and under them. Mariculture, all sorts of marine mining, fuels, energy...

Grandmother:
And fun! Remember fun?

Grandfather:
I'm serious.

Grandmother:
Well so am I. Floating cities have opened up whole new ways for people to enjoy their lives, as well as their work. Remember just last week when we met our chums Marge and Stanley down at the Blowhole Club? Now, that was a whale of a time! I'm glad we remembered to bring extra jellyfish. Boy, did I have a haddock the next morning!

Grandfather:
Now, there's my speed. Sports and exercise in zero gravity.

Grandmother:
It looks like fun!

Grandfather:
It is, once you get the hang of it.

Grandmother:
Wait, are we talking about the same thing?

Grandfather:
I sure hope so. 'Caus I don't plan on packing a space suit! Ha, ha, ha!

Announcer:
Attention Horizons passengers. You are invited to choose your own flight path back to the FuturePort. Please make sure all garments are fastened securely, and hands are where we can see them.




Nanook said...

@Melissa-

I'm certain with that script, Horizons would still be with us today, going strong.

PsySocDisney said...

HA! I hoped someone would get the joke! Thanks for the enhanced script Melissa! Having never experienced this attraction (but looked into it plenty) I can only imagine. Awesome.
Sorry Major, the second paragraph of the spiel has the word "horizons" repeatedly in it and that really only means one thing in the Disney fan community: the famed extinct Epcot Center attraction!

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I was just pulling your leg! I have a big library of old radio shows, including "Leo is on the air" and "Lux Radio Theater". Awesome.

Melissa, OK, I get that this must have something to do with Epcot's "Horizons", but it's kind of lost on me….

PsySocDisney, I feel so very very dizzy.

Melissa said...

The disturbing thins is, it doesn't take much alteration to make the Horizons script risqué if you have the right sort of mind and grew up on Three's Company re-runs. All you have to do is imagine yourself as Mr. Furley hearing it through a closed door.

Anonymous said...

No one is supposed to notice the backgrounds, silly people.

Any chance of getting the unpixelated versions for my *cough* collection of Worlds Fair photos *cough*...?

JG

The Viewliner Limited said...

Yes Major I still have a vivid imagination. And I have used it. Great pics. All the best, Richard.

The Viewliner Limited said...

Major, my imagination is still intact. Thank God! Great pics. All the best, Richard.