Belly Dance in Film

After the appearance of Little Egypt dancers at the Chicago World fair, bellydancers began popping up in American films as exotic and mysterious women of the East. One of the more popular films involving bellydancers was the 1942 movie "Road to Morocco" which starred Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. The problem with this movie was that it strayed pretty far from the truth of what belly dance actually is. Dancers in the film were scantily clad and were not truly belly dancing but more tying together a few writing movements with a veil. Movies like this led to many of the misconceptions the American culture has about the dance because dancers were portrayed as sex objects instead of respectful dancers.
At the other end of the spectrum, a good example of an accurate portrayal of belly dance in film is the 1954 movie "The Egyptian". The dancer in the film was an American dancer, Carmen de Lavallade, but she was trained in the art of ballet and oriental dance so she was able to properly portray the movement and grace of belly dance. Above are pictures from "Road to Morocco" (top) and "The Egyptian" (bottom). The dancer from the American film "Road to Morocco" is portrayed as flirty and provacative. The dancer from the later film, "The Egyptian" is portrayed as regal and majestic. The two different interpretations of oriental dancers definitely had an impact on American viewers and their opinions of belly dancers as people.