I missed whatever all that was about, but one factor about movie smoking was that it gave actors (of both genders) something to do. Lighting up or putting out a ciggie was a bit of business a performer could do in various ways to indicate the frame of mind their character might be in.
Occasionally other emotions could be conveyed, as in Now Voyager, when Paul Henreid lights up two cigarettes in his mouth at the same time, then passes one to Bette Davis. Passing the cigarette in this way implied an intimacy which helped the audiences imagination get around the censorship restrictions of the time.
When smoking became less common on-screen it really was a problem for some actors who needed to work out what to do with their hands.
Yeah I noticed that about older movies as well, as far as giving the actors something to do.
As for society thinking that women shouldn't smoke cause cigarettes were considered phallic back then, wouldn't men back then be more comfortable a phallic symbol object be in a woman's mouth, rather then their own?
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Occasionally other emotions could be conveyed, as in Now Voyager, when Paul Henreid lights up two cigarettes in his mouth at the same time, then passes one to Bette Davis. Passing the cigarette in this way implied an intimacy which helped the audiences imagination get around the censorship restrictions of the time.
When smoking became less common on-screen it really was a problem for some actors who needed to work out what to do with their hands.
As for society thinking that women shouldn't smoke cause cigarettes were considered phallic back then, wouldn't men back then be more comfortable a phallic symbol object be in a woman's mouth, rather then their own?