Pin-ups Come Out To Play In “Harold Lloyd’s Hollywood Nudes In 3-D!”

Most people know Harold Lloyd for his hilarious and death-defying silent film work, but he was also an avid photographer of the female form. Legendary ladies like Dixie Evans, Bettie Page, and Tura Satana posed for him, and now we have a fatty, delicious, (finally) paperback collection of these photos!

Lloyd started casually taking photographs of his friends and family, and by the time of his death in 1971, he had amassed hundreds of thousands of pictures, many of which feature undressed models in nature, on elaborately decorated sets, and around his lush Greenacres estate. If you've ever wondered what a silent film star does in his free time, here's your answer: awesome things.

His granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, was kind enough to grab a couple hundred photos and put them in this glorious book along with a pair of 3-D glasses (shaped like Harold's iconic rims). We Fleshbot folk usually spend a lot of time hating on 3-D things, but this is some of the finest extra-dimensional imagery we've ever seen; the forty-four stereoscopic pictures in the book speak highly of Harold Lloyd's obsession with the medium. Lloyd was convinced that the 3-D format was the wave of the future (sound familiar, Porn Valley?) and he invested millions in the technology, even forming the Hollywood Stereoscopic Society with a bunch of his film industry pals. As New York Times reviewer David Carr notes, "The 3-D effects rarely rise above gimmickry, but the photographs document a certain era of American beauty: cheesecake frosted in come-hither."

"Hollywood Nudes in 3-D" isn't just about Lloyd's technological interests, it's about his vision, his passion, and how he related to his models. He's the only man to ever take nude photographs of Tura Satana (pictured above), the martial arts master/exotic dancer/star of Russ Meyer's ode to the violence in women, "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" The book recalls a time when Satana showed up to a photoshoot too sick to pose, and Lloyd not only paid her for the day, but knowing that her illness would cause her to lose weeks of income, he gave her enough cash to tide her over and get her home to Chicago. This anecdote says a lot about Lloyd's character, but it also reflects how he feels about his photographic subjects and the care with which he approaches them.

Harold Lloyd never took any pictures that were lewd or demeaning; every girl he put in front of his camera ended up looking glamorous, sensual, and completely comfortable, and that's what makes this such a wonderful coffee table book. Even your most prudish guests will be drawn to these happy, colorful, three-dimensional photographs, and we bet they'll look damn good wearing those Harold Lloyd-style glasses, too!

· Buy "Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3-D!" by Suzanne Lloyd (workman.com)

Buy "Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3-D!" by Suzanne Lloyd (workman.com)
Buy "Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3-D!" by Suzanne Lloyd (workman.com)
Buy "Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3-D!" by Suzanne Lloyd (workman.com)
Buy "Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3-D!" by Suzanne Lloyd (workman.com)
Buy "Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3-D!" by Suzanne Lloyd (workman.com)