The Beginning of a Not-So-Beautiful Friendship

Ever watch a film from the Golden Era of Hollywood? You know, the ’40s and ’50s when Humphrey Bogart, Dean Martin, Jimmy Stewart, James Dean, Bette Davis and Audrey Hepburn ruled the silver screen let alone the world. Ever notice how every single scene contained at least twenty dozen people puffing away? If not, check out American Movie Classics (AMC) one day when they are playing those old black and white movies. The smoking in those films was and is associated with strong images that were and still are reinforced by the images in cigarette advertising.

Back then, a lit cigarette dangling from the lips of Bogart, Dean and Stewart illustrated power, mystique, charm and danger. Regardless of whether they played a hero or villain, these guys exuded toughness and nobody wanted to mess with them. Was it Bogart who started it all with a lit cigarette, a trench coat and a hat in Casablanca? Or was it James Dean who took a drag from his cigarette every time he raced his Mustang in Rebel Without a Cause? Regardless, the image of a powerful man with a lit cigarette in hand became the symbol that represented what any teen or young adult male needed to be cool.

However, it wasn’t just the men who smoked in the Golden Era. Most leading ladies lit up on screen because they thought it made them seem sexier as they stared seductively into their lover’s eyes. Check out:

In fact, as the role of women increased in films, so did their lighting up on screen. Could it be because a female character who smoked in films often represented someone risqué, rebellious and unwilling to go with social norms? Was she the temptress, the sultry woman who knew what she wanted and knew how to get it? If so, what young girl wouldn’t want that kind of power and control?

Hollywood loved what the cigarette symbolized on camera. Used as a prop and visual device, a lit cigarette added punch to any scene and any situation. It was the perfect prop to develop a character’s personality on screen. It also started the beginning of a romance, between Hollywood and the tobacco industry. But as with any good Hollywood film, this romance includes mystery, secrets, suspense and betrayal. Read on to find out the truth behind the closed set. There is more than meets the eye.