F/F Movie Spankings

I wouldn't call that a spanking scene as I'm sure the girl barely felt those pats. They were no more real than that hard slap to the face that didn't leave even a trace of a mark.

Even if they had been more than pats, with her nightrobe and PJs in place it would have been very easy to add a bit of padding to her seat without making it obvious for the camera.

For those who want to see it - it's about 18 minutes in to the episode. Afterward there is a serious heart to heart where they forgive each other their faults. And it's big of the girl to forgive her mother for (and I'm not joking) working to earn money to put a roof over her head and food on the table.

Goodgulf
(who still can't understand the "working like a common man" means shame theme that underlies the story)

HBO obviously would not really have the girl hit as the actress who plays Veda in that part of the story is only 11 years old. Actually most main stream movie scenes are faked with a few unintentional exceptions. The most famous of these is Elvis spanking 19 year old Jenny Maxwell in the 1961 film Blue Hawaii.

In that movie Jenny is pulled from the water and because her clothing was wet and clinging to her she said it felt as if she were being spanked on the bare. She further stated that Elvis, who was a strong man, spanked really hard. It took 4 takes before the director was satisfied.

Jenny said that her bottom was red for a long time after that and that she did not want to do anymore spanking movie scenes.

In Mildred Pierce I don't know if anybody else noticed but there are indications that Veda is a spanko (bottom). She takes the slap and the spanking in her stride. Also later in the film, 132 minutes into the first 2 parts, Mildred and her husband are talking about staging a cause for divorce.

Mildred says, "I guess you will have to hit me."

Her husband replies, "You sound just like Veda. She always wants to get hit."

"She does?" Mildred asks, "I guess there is some of Veda in me."

Interesting.

It was not only the Blue Hawaii spanking that was not faked. I once read somewhere am interview with Maureen O'Hara where the John Wayne coalscuttle spanking was discussed. She said it left welts on her buttocks for days after.
And I seem to recall reading where after her spanking,Jenny Maxwell's next scene for Blue Hawaii was one involving horseback riding. Can imagine that not being very comfortable.
Understand that padding was used in the new True Grit.
Sure that padding and other simulated spanks have been used a lot in film spankings. I wonder though how they'd handle it if the script for the scene called for the actress to be spanked in say a thong bikini. A movie scene I'd love to see incidentally, especially if the actress was someone like Eve Mendes that had great buttocks.

I strongly doubt that any on screen spanking filmed in the last 30 years was real. Okay, there were a couple in low budget movies (and perhaps a few foreign releases), but any movie (or TV show) with any budget would have the special effects to make it look realer than real. With many movies, if you get the DVD you can hear a commentary that explains how this or that scene was faked. Some of those fakes required a lot of planning and effort - for example, in one movie they got a piece of velvet to look and swing like a leather strap so if it happened to connect the actors wouldn't notice.

And who can blame them? If the actor isn't into then there's no reason not to use effects. It's the movies and the fist fights aren't real, the bullets aren't real, the knifes aren't real - so why should the spankings be real? If I recall correctly, after the coal scuttle bit Maureen O'Hara threatened to sue John Wayne for assault if he ever tried something like that again.

Some of the earliest films had real spankings in them - mostly a combination of not being able to do special effects well and spankings not being a big deal.

In addition to the ones cited above, during the filming of the original "Cheaper by the Dozen" movie the on screen father decided to "rehearse" a spanking scene with one of the older kids who was running wild. The young actor later threatened to get the police involved if the man tried something like that again. Then there was a filmed (but never shown) spanking of Shirley Temple in Wee Willie Winkie and after filming Shirley put on a brave face - saying that she was okay but that the actress who spanked her probably had a sore hand. Both of those scenes were from an age when spanking was just something that happened, and would never be filmed that way now.

But I can see why Elvis spanked for real - he wasn't a great actor and if he hadn't then it would have looked as faked as his fight scenes. If he had been a better actor then that scene would have been as fake as the others.

Goodgulf

One screen spanking that was real was the hand caning in "Kes". The boys had been told it was only pretend but when they shot it it was the real thing! No wonder the expressions looked genuine because they were!

Had not heard about Maureen O'Hara threatening John Wayne with legal action. My impression was that they held each other in much high regardand affection.
As for on-screen spankings in the last 30 years not being "real"-darn few of them.
Actually,since other on-screen physical violence is not real, no special reason to think it might also be true of spankings. I wonder though if stunt doubles have ever been used-the belt whipping of Jessica Alba in A Killer Inside Me comes to mind. But then again there is an equally valid argument not to fake it- a spanking is hardly on the same level of physical harm as being shot or stabbed.
Looks like I have hijacked my own thread(on F/F spankings in movies) but some interesting points have been presented last couple days.

Same old faces every time!! The hand caning certainly looked real enough! The PE teacher is what I remember best from that film. He was so much like PE teachers everywhere. Great but very sad film. I read the book by Barry Hines, equally brilliant. It's almost too true to life.

The Maureen O'Hara threatening John Wayne thing might have been a press stunt, but imagine if they had needed more than one take.

Which is why the Elvis spanking left a lasting impression on Jenny Maxwell. I've seen that movie (first saw it on TV before I knew there was spanking in it - that was a pleasant surprise) and there's only something like six to eight smacks. They landed on a wet swimsuit, but there wasn't that many of them. I've sure that Jenny Maxwell wouldn't have had a problem with it - if it had been shot once. Four takes? That's around 25 - 35 smacks and those add up. Just imagine if it had taken ten takes.

During the academy awards session I came across a "local woman makes good" story on the net (no, it wasn't local to me) about an actress who was in one of the nominated movies. She even had a speaking role - one line. She played the receptionist and her line was something like "He's expecting you - go right in".
She had to do that scene 10 - 12 times before the director was happy. He had her draw out her words, change her tone slightly, etc, and this was for a nothing scene. If it was an important one she might have had to do it a hundred times - which is one of the reasons why the spankings aren't real. Even if she was just getting a single smack they would add up. Picture an actress who has to be able to return to "Happy, never been spanked and smiling" to start each new take and that would be very hard to do after the 30th take.

Then again, a real spanking adds something that's impossible to fake. Well, impossible for all but the best actresses.

Goodgulf

Did anyone see the Holly Aird Canings in Happy Valley? I suppose they must have been faked but they certainly seemed convincing. The other memorable caning sequences I remember were from the series Tom Brown's Schooldays with Iain Cuthbertson as Dr Arnold. Some of the canings in that series seemed real enough.