Episode Three of the Diamonds and Dames series was in response to a request I receieved to do Dorothy Dandridge's hairstyle from the 1957 film, Island in the Sun. The hairstyle is very simple, for someone with layers, but proved difficult to replicate since my bangs are a u-shaped 'Bettie Page' variety. I overcame this somewhat, by aiming my bangs away from my face after I showered and parting them in the middle, using bobby pins to hold them in place. I also used a good amount of Layrite Hair Gel to prevent flyaways. Then I rolled the hair all over in sponge rollers,using the smallest sized rollers on the bangs and aiming them away from the center part. Once the hair was set, it was relatively simple to brush it out and achieve a similar look to Margot's, in the movie.
Film Synopsis:
Island In the Sun (1957)
Directed By: Robert Rossen
Starring: Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge
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The story follows several key players during an important election on the fictional island of Santa Marta. An extremely rich plantantion owner named Maxwell Fleury is running for office against a young black man (David Boyeur played by Harry Belafonte) who is also emerging as a powerful politician. During the course of the racially charged election, the two main characters interract and collide with one another as well as several other important supporting characters. There is Margot Seaton, a beautiful black woman who is a longtime friend of Boyeur but who herself falls inlove with a white man from the ruling class. There is Joceylyn, Maxwell's younger sister, who is on the cusp of true happiness with a wealthy war hero but begins to question her own heritage and how it may affect their union. All of this social drama erupts into something even more serious, however, when a murder is commited and several important people are suspected.
