Abstract
Brynner’s star persona was built on an unabashed display of bodily goods and stylized poses complete with taut muscles and hard, fixed stares. Whether adorned in elaborately decorated oriental costumes of silks and pelts, the elegant apparel of a dandy gunslinger, or little else than a leather loincloth tinted with bronze paint, his bodily presence was designed to stand out. This chapter examines Brynner’s star image through depictions of his physique and sex appeal, from bare-chested cinematic displays to rumours of his affairs, his early nude photoshoots, and the dissonant erotic quests featured in his films. Starting with his trademark baldness, it attends to Brynner’s positioning as a sex symbol in late studio-era Hollywood. It further looks at the logic of repetition – and practices of outright plagiarism – characteristic of 1950s and 60s film journalism as these shaped his star image.
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