WEBVTT - Killer Chic

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild.

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<v Speaker 2>Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history

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<v Speaker 2>is an open book, all of these amazing tales are

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<v Speaker 2>right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Throughout history, the pursuit

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<v Speaker 2>of beauty has often come at a steep price. Modern

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<v Speaker 2>day fad diets and cosmetic surgeries can very literally make

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<v Speaker 2>people sick, and they pale in comparison to what previous

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<v Speaker 2>generations went through in the name of esthetic perfection. The

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<v Speaker 2>nineteenth century was particularly terrible for killer fashion. A number

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<v Speaker 2>of trends actively poisoned, suffocated, or burned their wearers. Lead

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<v Speaker 2>and radium laced face creams attempted to smooth the skin

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<v Speaker 2>while sickening the user. Tapeworms and belladonna were used for

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<v Speaker 2>weight loss or brighter eyes. Clothing was no different, too,

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<v Speaker 2>from toxic dyes to structural designs that restricted breathing. Killer

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<v Speaker 2>fashions of the Victorian era reveal a period where beauty

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<v Speaker 2>standards frequently overrode basic human safety, and the most pervasive

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<v Speaker 2>killer in the Victorian wardrobe was arsenic. During the mid

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<v Speaker 2>eighteen hundreds, the desire for vibrant emerald green fabric for

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<v Speaker 2>dresses led to widespread use of Paris green and arsenic

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<v Speaker 2>based pigment. Bodices dyed with this chemical were not merely

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<v Speaker 2>dangerous to the wear, but became mobile sources of toxicity.

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<v Speaker 2>The dye would leach onto the skin and release toxic

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<v Speaker 2>vapors as the wearer danced and sweated in the heat

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<v Speaker 2>of crowded ballrooms, gently poisoning anyone standing nearby. There are

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<v Speaker 2>accounts suggest testing that a woman wearing such a gown

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<v Speaker 2>could accidentally poison patrons across half a dozen different ballrooms

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<v Speaker 2>simply by moving through them. But it wasn't just the

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<v Speaker 2>poison that could prove fatal. The construction of some clothing

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<v Speaker 2>posed fatal risks through restriction. One of the most notorious

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<v Speaker 2>examples was the father Killer collar, a high, stiff neck

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<v Speaker 2>piece that encircled the throat so tightly it could cause strangulation,

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<v Speaker 2>and as you might imagine, the name came from a

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<v Speaker 2>grim reality. If a person wearing one turned their head

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<v Speaker 2>quickly or leaned back, the collar could compress the trachea,

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<v Speaker 2>choking them more insidiously. Though tight lacing of corsets could

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<v Speaker 2>reduce a woman's waistline by more than six inches if

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<v Speaker 2>laced properly. It also compressed internal organs, shifting the stomach

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<v Speaker 2>and liver downward in the body, and restricted lung capacity,

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<v Speaker 2>leading to fainting spells and in extreme cases, asphyxiation. But

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<v Speaker 2>another killer among the garments was fire. Massive skur and

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<v Speaker 2>flammable fabrics like tool and cotton were immensely popular in

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<v Speaker 2>the nineteenth century, making well dressed women into tinder boxes

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<v Speaker 2>just waiting for a spark. The wide hoop skirts that

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<v Speaker 2>were in fashion were particularly susceptible to ignition when brushed

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<v Speaker 2>against fireplaces or candles. Unlike tighter fitting clothes worn by men,

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<v Speaker 2>these flowing dresses could catch fire instantly, leading to horrific

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<v Speaker 2>burns that were often fatal before medical help could arrive.

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<v Speaker 2>The flammability was exacerbated by chemicals that were used to

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<v Speaker 2>treat the fabrics for sheen and stiffness, turning a simple

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<v Speaker 2>walk past a fireplace into a potential death sentence. And

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<v Speaker 2>the use of mercury and hat making was also widespread,

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<v Speaker 2>and its effects became so notorious that it inspired the

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<v Speaker 2>Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. The real life mad

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<v Speaker 2>Hatter condition, illustrated whimsically by Lewis Carroll's story, was in

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<v Speaker 2>reality a debilitating neurotoxic disease which caused tremors, delirium, and hallucination,

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<v Speaker 2>as well as a host of other physical and psychological

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<v Speaker 2>side effects. All of this highlights a period where dress

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<v Speaker 2>value is measured in its ability to confer status, definitely

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<v Speaker 2>not safety. Modern regulations have largely eliminated the most egregious

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<v Speaker 2>dangers of arsenic dyes and lead cosmetics, but dangerous fashion

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<v Speaker 2>trends still persist, echoing across social media and the modern

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<v Speaker 2>beauty industry. The ghosts of all those arsenic dyed ballrooms

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<v Speaker 2>and burning crinoline may be a product of yesteryear, but

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<v Speaker 2>they still haunt us in all of our impossible and

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<v Speaker 2>occasionally dangerous beauty standards. So here's to hoping that in

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<v Speaker 2>the future we choose our health over clean lines and

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<v Speaker 2>skin without a blemish. After all, beauty means nothing if

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<v Speaker 2>you're not around to appreciate it. Streaming television and films

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<v Speaker 2>has severely impacted theater audiences and film executives are looking

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<v Speaker 2>for any way to get audiences back, so when a

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<v Speaker 2>small independent film makes more money than a big budget

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<v Speaker 2>Hollywood one, executives sit up and pay attention. Recently, horror

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<v Speaker 2>films made by YouTubers are outgrossing major studio films, leading

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<v Speaker 2>executives to hire more YouTubers to direct them. But this

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<v Speaker 2>isn't the first time that this pattern has played out

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<v Speaker 2>in Hollywood history. In the nineteen fifties, the arrival of

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<v Speaker 2>television hurt theater attendance, just as streaming has today. So

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<v Speaker 2>in nineteen fifty two, when the independent film Bwana Devil

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<v Speaker 2>was a huge success, the studios all wanted to know why,

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<v Speaker 2>and it turns out it was using a new fangled

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<v Speaker 2>technology known as three D. All of the studios scrambled

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<v Speaker 2>to adopt this new technology, and just like the YouTuber

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<v Speaker 2>hiring craze of today, three D became all the rage.

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<v Speaker 2>Warner Brothers became the first major studio to get a

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<v Speaker 2>three D film into production, entitled House of Wax. It

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<v Speaker 2>was actually a remake of a horror movie about a

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<v Speaker 2>killer who encases his victims in wax, and to make

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<v Speaker 2>it they hired Hungarian born director Andrea de Taff, based

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<v Speaker 2>on his reputation from a series of successful westerns he

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<v Speaker 2>had made. What they didn't stop to consider was that

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<v Speaker 2>he only had one eye, and a person needs two

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<v Speaker 2>eyes to see in three D. The movie was far

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<v Speaker 2>too long into production before anyone realized this, though. Jack Warner,

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<v Speaker 2>the head of the studio, didn't want to replace Andrea,

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<v Speaker 2>so instead he told him not to wear his distinctive

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<v Speaker 2>black eye patch on set. At the very least, he

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<v Speaker 2>didn't want anyone from the press to see it and

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<v Speaker 2>publish a hit piece about how Warner Brothers had hired

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<v Speaker 2>a one eyed man to direct a three D movie.

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<v Speaker 2>Little did Jack know, though, he had actually hired the

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<v Speaker 2>perfect person.

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<v Speaker 1>You see. As I mentioned, andre to Tof was born

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<v Speaker 1>in Hungary and he lived there for many years. During

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<v Speaker 1>the Nazi occupation, he was forced to use his skills

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<v Speaker 1>in cinematography to film Nazi marches. A lot of his

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<v Speaker 1>skills were therefore developed in the moment and on the job,

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<v Speaker 1>filming elaborate complex set pieces, or to put it another way,

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<v Speaker 1>filming real life Nazis was pretty good practice for filming

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<v Speaker 1>a horror movie. Andre knew how to show the audience

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<v Speaker 1>where to look and when, and how to make them

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<v Speaker 1>care about what was happening on screen. Ironically, these were

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<v Speaker 1>more important qualities in directing the three D movie than

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<v Speaker 1>actually being able to see one. If a three D

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<v Speaker 1>shot isn't lit or framed correctly, objects in the foreground

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<v Speaker 1>that aren't meant to pop out will distracting the viewer

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<v Speaker 1>from whatever the director intended them to look at. And

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<v Speaker 1>if the audience simply doesn't care what's happening in the movie,

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<v Speaker 1>then they won't be excited by something popping out at them.

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<v Speaker 1>But Andre made sure that House of Wax was as

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<v Speaker 1>spooky as possible. He hired a great classic horror leading

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<v Speaker 1>man named Vincent Price, and you've heard his voice on

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<v Speaker 1>Thriller by Michael Jackson, and he put him in some

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<v Speaker 1>truly disturbing makeup. The story of House of Wax follows

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<v Speaker 1>a wax sculptor whose studio burns down, disfiguring him and

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<v Speaker 1>destroying his life's work. Price's disfiguring makeup was so good

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<v Speaker 1>that he was forbidden from eating at the studio commissary

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<v Speaker 1>because he was grossing everyone out. Price's performance meant that

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<v Speaker 1>the audience cared about the story and Andre's cinematography, with

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<v Speaker 1>heavy shadows and jump scares, kept them immersed and afraid.

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<v Speaker 1>All of the heads and arms and fists that were

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<v Speaker 1>jumping out of the screen were therefore very effective. Most infamously,

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<v Speaker 1>Andre actually created a real massive fire to depict the

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<v Speaker 1>Wax Museum burning down. He had his team light one

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<v Speaker 1>figure on fire at a time so they could get

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<v Speaker 1>a close up of each one burning, but they kept

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<v Speaker 1>the fires going and then pulled the camera back to

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<v Speaker 1>show the whole museum was on fire. Effect specialists awaited

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<v Speaker 1>off camera, dousing any fire that spread beyond the stage.

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<v Speaker 1>The only problem they encountered was that the fire rose

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<v Speaker 1>so high and burned a hole in the sound stage ceiling.

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<v Speaker 1>A shaft of blue light trickled down onto the scene,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's visible in some of the shots in the movie.

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<v Speaker 1>That wasn't too much of a problem, though, but Vincent

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<v Speaker 1>Price's eyebrows being singed off was a little more realism

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<v Speaker 1>than Andre planned for. Luckily, those could always be drawn

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<v Speaker 1>back on. The film was a huge hit with audiences

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<v Speaker 1>and is still considered one of the best three D

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<v Speaker 1>movies ever made, and all it took was a one

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<v Speaker 1>eyed filmmaker who was more curious about craft than gimmicks

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<v Speaker 1>to make it jump off the screen. I hope you

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<v Speaker 1>enjoyed today's guided tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This

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<v Speaker 1>show was created by me Aaron Manke in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>iHeart Podcasts, researched and written by the Grim and Mild team,

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show

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<v Speaker 1>and the people who make it over at Grimandmild dot

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<v Speaker 1>com slash Curiosities. You'll also find a link to the

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<v Speaker 1>official Cabinet of Curiosity's hardcover book, available in bookstores and online,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as ebook and audiobook. And if you're looking

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<v Speaker 1>for an ad free option, consider joining our Patreon. It's

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<v Speaker 1>all the same stories, but without the interruption for a

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<v Speaker 1>small monthly fee. Learn more and sign up over at

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<v Speaker 1>patreon dot com slash Grimandmild, and until next time, stay curious.