When you think Elvis Presley, images of the rockabilly hero shirtless, bound, and whipped probably don’t leap to mind. But as Tony Nourmand and Peter Doggett’s new book ‘Hollywood Bound’—which is being released today—shows, there is a long tradition of bondage in film. From Woody Allen’s hilariously dysfunctional turn as the evil Dr. Noah in ‘Casino Royale’ to the damsel bound to railroad tracks in ‘The Perils of Pauline,’ see photos of seducers trapping innocent maidens, monsters receiving their just deserts, and heroes who got bound and tortured.
In Casino Royale, Woody Allen played James Bond’s rogue nephew, the evil Dr. Noah (né Jimmy Bond). Noah’s one goal in life is to engineer all women into beautiful, doll-like creatures and kill off any dudes over 4’6” so that “a man no matter how short can score with a top broad.” He’s seen here with one of his lady creations, played by Daliah Lavi.
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As frontiersman-turned-sheriff Buddy Hale, Gary Cooper found himself tied up by a murderous gang of cattle thieves—but fear not! Justice always prevails.
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After watching his portrayal of a former prisoner of war in the noir movie Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The New York Times thought Burt Lancaster would do well to “get more flexibility into his acting”—though we don’t see much room for that in this shot of Lancaster being tied up and tortured.
Like Gary Cooper’s character in Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Elvis Presley’s Vince Everett in Jailhouse Rock gets off to a rocky start by killing a man in a barroom brawl. The incident gets Everett thrown in jail (and bound and whipped)—but on the bright side, his country-singer cellmate mentors him to becoming a star!
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Noir classic Kiss Me Deadly features Ralph Meeker as a brutally tough cop who isn’t above tying up and threatening a lady. At least, not when she’s working for an evil doctor (aren’t they always?) who's trying to get his hands on a mysterious box of radionuclide material.
As silent-film star Pearl White, Betty Hutton recreated this classic scene from White’s 1914 film serial The Perils of Pauline, where her character gets bound in front of an oncoming train by maniacal and heavily mustachioed men.
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Before censorship took hold of early cinema, audiences were treated to the sight of Elissa Landi in The Sign of the Cross, naked and bound in chains and flowering vines, sharing a special moment with one really lucky statue and an ape.
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In another film noir (seeing a trend here?), Veronica Lake found herself bound and gagged, but rescued by a hit man named Raven, who wavers between murdering her and saving her, betraying her and pouring out his heartbreak to her. It’s not a happy ending.
