More than seven decades ago, the Cannes Film Festival was in its relative infancy. At its seventh-ever edition in 1954, Jean Cocteau was president, a
More than seven decades ago, the Cannes Film Festival was in its relative infancy. At its seventh-ever edition in 1954, Jean Cocteau was president, and the Palme d’Or, then known as the “Grand Prix”, was awarded not to one, but two films: La Porte de l’Enfer, directed by the Japanese filmmaker Teinosuke Kinugasa, and Viva Zapata by the American Elia Kazan. But a few days before the awards ceremony, the festival had been rocked by a scandal that reverberates to this day.
It all happened when a group of stars were lounging around at a picnic on the Lérins Islands, a 15-minute boat ride from Cannes harbor. They all had come together to enjoy the sea air, the sunshine, and a game of pétanque. Simone Silva, an actress based in Britain with French and Italian heritage, was among them; she’d recently been elected that year’s Miss Festival, a title that had existed since the very first Cannes in 1946. (The title was given out until 1960, then returned in 2017 before being retired again.)
Silva had curly hair trimmed below the cheeks, supple eyes, and a carefree smile. She was known for her roles in John Gilling’s Escape by Night and Compton Bennett’s Adventures in Berlin. A few months before the start of the festival, she had divorced Briton James Silver, to whom she had been married for eight years.
But on April 3, 1954, her reputation collapsed. Some of the men she was with had removed their polo shirts in the spring heat; Silva, after being goaded by photographers, decided to do the same. She removed her bustier during a photo shoot that had her nestling in the arms of American actor Robert Mitchum. Her breasts were exposed to a flurry of photographers, sending shockwaves through the international press. In the rush to capture the images, an Australian paper would later write, “one photographer broke an arm; another a leg, and three more fell into the water and ruined their cameras.”
The photographs circulated around the world, sparking a particularly harsh response in the American media—who denounced Cannes as a festival of debauchery with libertine practices. The event’s organizers urged Silva to stay away from the public, horrified by the “vulgar publicity” that the photos had stirred up. Simone Silva was kicked off the Croisette. Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, even declined to attend Cannes so that she could avoid tarnishing her reputation, and America threatened to withdraw her films from the festival.
Robert Mitchum, however, didn’t suffer much due to the scandal—even though he’d also appeared in the photographs, hiding Silva’s breasts with his hands and bringing their bodies closer together. In fact, the incident boosted his popularity. His role in Otto Preminger’s River of No Return, which he filmed with Marilyn Monroe, remains highly acclaimed. Mitchum continued to enjoy fame and prestige until his death in 1997 at the age of 80.
But Simone Silva had a completely different future ahead of her. After the scandal, she moved to the United States to pursue a career and try to restore her reputation. But her request for a work permit was categorically refused in 1955. Silva was forced to return to England, where she received only minor film and TV roles. On November 30, 1957, after an intense period of crash dieting in an attempt to lose weight, she died of a stroke—although those close to her did not rule out the possibility that she had actually died by suicide. She was only 29 years ancient.
Original story from VF France.
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