Belita (Maria Belita Jepson Turner, GBR skater turned classic movie star)

[viennese]

I'm watching a movie on TCM called SUSPENSE starring Belita (aka Maria Belita Jepson Turner), who skated for Britain at the 1936 Olympics

I dvr'd because it had a figure skating plotline. The star, Belita, can really skate! I admit I'm fast forwarding through some of the contrived crime story plot, but the ice show stuff is surprisingly good.

She skates an artistic program about 20 minutes in that's gorgeous - lovely camel spin variations, split jumps, an axel, a huge lutz jump, a Charlotte. As a skater, she's kind of a blonde bombshell: long legged sexy ballerina. Imagine Nicole Bobek x Gracie Gold x Kiira Korpi.

An ice show not for the kiddies

 

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Had to check out YouTube for ta clip. She is talented! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDvAFbi-ats

 

[skatesindreams]

See here:
https://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2017/06/all-best-belita-definitive-biography-of.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZNYiqJf-Y
http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/belita.pdf

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Watching those clips, she really puts Sonja Henie in the shade. Fabulous line, presence and technique, too.

 

[viennese]

Wow, she was lovely. I watched the rest of the movie. A surprising amount of skating for a film noir.
It's sort of like Double Indemnity set at at an ice show.

 

[Dr.Siouxs]

Wow a BJT thread!!! She was sublime in such a way that blows every current elite lady straight out of the water.

 

[kioewen]

Imagine Nicole Bobek x Gracie Gold x Kiira Korpi.

Hmmm. One of these things is not like the other. I wouldn't personally put Nicole Bobek in the same class of glamour as I would Gracie Gold or Kiira. Belita, maybe.

But as to skaters with cinematic characteristics, it's funny that you should bring this up, because I'm just now re-immersing myself in f.s. after reading a recent article about Gracie Gold (hadn't kept up at all), and the first thing that occurred to me, upon reviewing some of Gracie's recent programs (which I like; in fact, I like a lot, technical quibbles aside) is that she has such a Kim Novak quality, such a glamorous '50s film-star allure in her clips. I think that's what she had been going for, of late, with her more serious expressions, darker MU, and gold or black outfits. I'm really partial to that manner of self-presentation from her, even if it's not everyone's cup of tea.