Tempest Storm Burlesque Poster

Product Description

Stripper and burlesque legend Annie Blanche Banks is much better known by her nom du strip, Tempest Storm. Born in 1928, as of this writing (2017) she is still going strong at age 89. During her heyday from the late 1940’s until X-rated movies killed old-time burlesque circa 1970, Storm was one of a half dozen or so performers who dominated the industry.

Storm occupies a prominent place in a pantheon of risque entertainers including fan dancer Sally Rand, Gyspy Rose Lee, Lili St. Cyr and Blaze Starr. Unlike the others listed here, Storm was known more for her 44DD-25-35 measurements and red hair than any particular dancing or acting skills, but she was a pioneer in the racy color movies that began to be shown at burlesque houses and “art” theaters in the 1950’s. This was a genre that slowly morphed into the pornography industry of today, but in retrospect her films seem mostly innocent, and possess a sort of tongue-in-cheek self-awareness that’s refreshing when contrasted with the hardcore of today.

This re-creation is a mash-up of several different posters used to promote a re-release of one of her early films. Depending on the venue, Storm would perform live before and after screenings of these films, which in this case include an apparent combined and re-titled print of French Peep Show and Paris After Midnight, plus a requisite nudist film of a type that became increasingly popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s.