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Video: Sidewalk Air Shaft Blows Woman's Skirt Up, Marilyn-Style... In 1901
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 13, 2012
Modified Aug 13, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 13, 2012
Modified Aug 13, 2012
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In 1954 Marilyn Monroe's dress was famously blown up by the air coming through a sidewalk vent in Seven Year Itch. But Marilyn wasn't the first one to do this on film—in 1901 another actress played out the same scene on 23rd Street, for the Thomas Edison film company. From the description:
"Following actual footage of pedestrians and street traffic, the actors, a man in summer attire and a woman in an ankle-length dress, walk toward the camera. As they cross a grate on the sidewalk they pause, and the escaping air blows the woman's dress to her knees."
The scene was based on reality, as it's noted that "in front of one of the large newspaper offices on that thoroughfare is a hot air shaft through which immense volumes of air is forced by means of a blower. Ladies crossing these shafts often have their clothes slightly disarranged... you might say an almost unreasonable height, greatly to her horror and much to the amusement of the newsboys, bootblacks and passersby."
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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