Member-only story
Top 8 Sexiest Moments in Classic Films
Classic movies are hot. Screwball comedies, film noir, even Westerns had their fair share of sizzling moments. Despite the Hays Code, and indeed, because of it, filmmakers had to work around the restrictions and what came out of that was not only some of the best stuff ever put on film, but also some of the sexiest moments of all time. Seduction, smoking, singing…They’re all here, in no particular order, though I do like to assign numbers to things, because why not.
Here we go!
8. Barbara Stanwyck seducing Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve (1941, dir. Preston Sturges) — Screwball comedies were known for, among other things, tongue-in-cheek innuendo. The Lady Eve, however, decided to do away with all that in this one scene, where con artist Jean Harrington (Stanwyck) leans on snake expert Charles Pike (Fonda) in a rather weird position, holding onto him and telling him he doesn’t know what he’s done to her… It’s quite a forward moment, sexy and funny, but what makes it special is how sweet it turns out in the end.
7. Marlene Dietrich smoking alone in Shanghai Express (1932, dir. Josef von Sternberg) — It doesn’t feel right to pick such a tormented moment as the film’s crowning sexy scene, but if anyone can sell that, it’s Marlene Dietrich as Shanghai Lili. She and Doc Harvey (Clive Brook) meet on the Shanghai Express, five years…
