When Rock Hudson’s Roger bends forward to help Maria Perschy’s Isolde get her accidentally unzipped dress unstuck in the 1964 comedy "Man’s Favorite Sport," his tie gets caught and, in turn, he gets caught by girlfriend Tex in this suggestive position.
It’s a minor scene, but hawkeyed Hollywood shutterbug Leo Fuchs boiled the movie’s wink-wink sexual politics down to its cheeky essence in a single shot of Hudson being led around by his tie caught in the back of Perschy’s skirt.
That image, captured by Fuchs during his days freelancing for magazines such as Life and Look, is among 80 on display at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
It was Hudson, whom Fuchs met on the Rome set of "Come September," that insisted the Europe-based photographer relocate to Hollywood. Hudson spoke to Universal Studios Press Agent Jack Diamond, who employed Fuchs on the Hudson-Doris Day classic "Lover Come Back."
Raised in a religious home, the Vienna-born, Brooklyn-raised Fuchs photographed a young, lean Marlon Brando for three movies, beginning with 1958’s anti-Semitism drama "The Young Lions," with Montgomery Clift and Dean Martin. Fuchs, 72, who now lives in Paris, observed firsthand the disparate acting styles of Brando and Clift.
"Marlon worked from an intellectual level," said Fuchs. "Monty just felt everything, as he did in life."
The exhibit rewards film buffs with candid shots of Billy Wilder’s "Irma la Douce" set; Cary Grant; and Audrey Hepburn, of whom Fuchs said, "You couldn’t take a bad picture."
Fuchs’ professional photography ended in 1966, when he embarked on a career producing movies such as "The Secret War of Harry Frigg." "Frigg" starred Paul Newman, whom Fuchs befriended in Israel while working on 1960’s "Exodus."
"The reason I put away the cameras was because I got tired of carrying them," Fuchs said, smiling.
"Shooting Stars" runs through Oct. 14, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills. Call (310) 247-3600.
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