Exercise By Hypnosis Aka Gym Hypnotist (1958)
Video
Description
Charing Cross, London.
M/S of a woman’s bare legs and sandalled feet. Camera tilts up to reveal the rest of the woman, model Wendy Peters – she is young and slim, dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt and she is exercising with weights. The narrator explains that « once upon a time a gymnasium was strictly male territory then literally overnight the so called weaker sex began to muscle in in both senses ». Behind her is an exercise bench. M/S of Wendy exercising. According to the narrator girls like Wendy add a « touch of glamour » to the gym and the reason for « this sudden interest » was « the discovery » that weight-training was good for the figure – « any hard work of course is still left to the men ». She places the two small weights on the floor, picks up a dumbbell and begins to exercise. C/U of Wendy lifting the dumbbell.
C/U of a pulley. Camera tilts down to reveal that the pulley is part of a weight lifting mechanism being used by a hefty looking male weightlifter, Chic Linton, dressed in nothing but a pair of red underpants. M/S of Lou Ravelle, owner of the gym « but better known perhaps as the professional wrestler », training on the roman rings. Low angle C/U of Lou working on the rings.
M/S of Wendy placing the dumbbell on the floor and adding extra weights to it. C/U of the end of the dumbbell and the extra weights being added. Wendy tries to lift the dumbbell with extra weights but finds it too much of a struggle. C/U of Wendy struggling with the dumbbell. Bare chested Lou enters, pulling on his sweater, and tells Wendy, « That weight’s not really too heavy for you, you’re just suffering from a mental barrier ». Wendy listens intently as Lou tells her, « a little hypnosis may help ». Wendy enthusiastically agrees.
M/S of Lou helping Wendy into a chair. Lou instructs Wendy to relax and then proceeds to hypnotise her. M/S of Lou standing over Wendy as she sits in the chair. Lou gets Wendy to raise her hand until it touches her face. During this sequence, the camera cuts away to shots of the weightlifters, Chic Linton and Des Elliot, in the gym exercising. C/U of Wendy’s hypnotised face as her hand slowly raises. C/U of Lou’s face concentrating on hypnosis. C/U of Wendy’s face. Lou asks Wendy to « imagine you are lying on a thick white cloud on a lovely warm summer day ». Wendy then has to imagine she is sinking into the cloud. Once Lou has relaxed Wendy into deep hypnosis, he persuades her that she has gained strength in the arms and shoulders and when she awakes she will be able to lift the heavy dumbbell. M/S of Wendy, still hypnotised, sitting in the chair with her arms stretched in front of her. Lou is pushing down on her arms with his hands.
Lou claps his hands and Wendy wakes up with a smile. She returns to the dumbbell and lifts it with great ease. C/U of Wendy’s delighted looking face as she lifts the weight.
Some very amusing shots of a typical fifties woman trying to weight lift!
FILM ID:71.11
A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT’S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES.
FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT
British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 120,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1979. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website.
