the MALE LOOK

Series

Series Name

The March of Time 15th Year

Issue

Issue No.

3

Date Released

1950

Length of issue (in feet)

1447

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1the MALE LOOK

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

The March of Time synopsis: Starting from scratch with scenes of a scantily clad baby, this March of Time follows the development of clothes-consciousness in the American male, fostered with loving care by the woman of the moment. He quickly passes through the uninhibited stages when a dirty neck is of little importance and is only a source of concern to his mother. By the time he gets to his ‘teens he has become aware of the esteem of the opposite sex and is fair game for the unbeatable conspiracy between femininity and salesmanship, and though when he reaches man’s estate he is permitted the sensation of choosing for himself, the conservative influence of most wives soon puts that right.

But the film also shows what Eve can do when she decides to take a more active part and produce a few revolutionary ideas for Adam. At the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art can be seen an innovation in nightwear for the male sex - Bed Sleeves; or a nice line in dickeys is the turtle-neck bib; while a Siamese panung certainly provides a novelty for a snappy weekend. The film then investigates the male look in London, long the masculine fashion centre of the world, where the feminine influence is completely absent, and by way of contrast takes the audience to Texas to show some of the South’s less restrained attire, including Texas boots with built-in "snake-bite" remedy for the cautious. About the time when the battle of the male look has been pretty well lost, desperate man sits up and begins to take an interest in his appearance. He views with alarm his receding hairline. A century ago when men wore whiskers, a little off the top would never have been missed, says the film, but the present vogue for clean-shaving has placed new obligations on the citixen, who now lives in daily servitude to his razor, his soaps and his lotions. For the hope of a couple of inches he suspends himself by the neck until half dead, or for those who find this a little too strenuous a pair of Upsy-Daisy shoes are guaranteed to give the necessary lift. Tattle-tale grey at the temples can be remedied by a little "touching up" - to borrow a phrase from the girls. But it’s the waist-line that defies all assaults. Here the battle of muscle tone versus Martinis, of exercise versus appetite, is being waged to the bitter end. Diet, steam baths, fight talks, all play their part but inevitably our hero succumbs to the one unfailing remedy - the male girdle or "abdominal snood". And so the battle goes on. Perhaps the most difficult attainment is the luxuriant head of hair, the hallmark of the man of distinction - but with patience and a good lotion ...

Researcher Comments

This story was included in Vol.16 No.2 of the US edition.

Keywords

Fashion and costume

Written sources

The March of Time Promotional Material   Lobby Card, Used for synopsis

Credits:

Production Co.

Time Inc.