Smoke Signals in a New Light : Once a Symbol of Glamour on Screen, Cigarettes Now Imply Trouble, Rebellion

There may never be another Holly Golightly again. Impossibly beautiful and outrageously chic, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” Audrey Hepburn regularly dazzled on-screen neighbor George Peppard with her unlikely, cocktails-at-8 get-ups: elegant black sheaths, mysterious wide-brimmed hats and--in what was, perhaps, her best defense against anyone trying to get too close--a cigarette holder long enough to light a fire in the next room.

But that was 30 years ago; today, according to “Tiffany’s” director, the fascinating cigarette would have to go. “Smoking was so acceptable then,” Blake Edwards said. “I smoked; everybody smoked. We used the cigarette holder as a glamorous prop. But now, if I see any mention of smoking in a script, I scratch it out immediately. I can’t stand to be anywhere around it.”

Unless, of course, the act of smoking becomes an important new means of defining character. Look closely at today’s movies and television and you’ll find cigarettes signaling defiance, depression, anti-social or self-destructive behavior, humor and--in at least one case--great irony.

Consider Harrison Ford in “Regarding Henry.” His character’s life as a hard-driving, upper-crust New York lawyer was changed for good the night he stepped out of his plush apartment and was shot while buying a pack of cigarettes.

“I hate cigarette smoking,” said “Henry’s” screenwriter, Jeffrey Abrams, “and it was a very conscious decision to use it negatively. It’s funny you should ask me about it, because I always considered it a sort of inside joke to myself. I always had a weird sort of joy that Henry was a smoker and that that’s what almost killed him.”

No such private jokes in the script for “Backdraft,” now a hot video ticket. Instead, in screen directions that seem to defy credibility, most of the movie’s firefighters--having just returned from inhaling the life-threatening smoke of a huge blaze--immediately create some firehouse smoke of their own. “We made a point of showing them smoking after putting out a huge fire,” said “Backdraft” producer Richard B. Lewis, “because we wanted more than anything to do a realistic portrayal of firefighters--and so many of the firefighters we spent time with smoked.”

Robert De Niro’s character in “Backdraft,” based on the personal and professional characteristics of a real-life Chicago arson investigator, is also a smoker. “It’s unbelievable,” said Lewis. “Here’s this man who studies fire and has been hurt by fire--and he’s smoking. I don’t smoke, Ron (Howard, the film’s director) doesn’t smoke, the writer doesn’t smoke and we don’t like to be around anyone who does. But for this guy, to have the fire controlled at his fingertips is an interesting phenomenon.”

Considering smoking’s one-time aura of intense sophistication and glamour--the mysterious “entrance” of Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca,” complete with chess piece and half-finished cigarette comes to mind--the political incorrectness of lighting up has taken smoking from the realm of normal, everyday life to a place where the characters who smoke on screen now seem out of step.

In the latest crop of feature films, a cigar holder with not one but two cigars makes Dustin Hoffman appear more menacing as Captain Hook in “Hook” and reinforce Robert De Niro’s sociopathic behavior in “Cape Fear.” Nick Nolte’s cigarettes make him more troubled in “The Prince of Tides,” and smoke-filled rooms capture the atmosphere of bygone-cigarette-filled eras in “Bugsy,” “For the Boys” and “JFK.”

On “L.A. Law,” loud, brash and overbearing entertainment attorney Susan Bloom (played by Conchata Ferrell) regularly pollutes the offices of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney, et al. with plumes of smoke.

“Quite honestly,” said co-executive producer Patricia Green, “we were trying to make her (character) as obnoxious as possible. But we also have the intention of showing the consequences of smoking--in later episodes--by showing what a dangerous and disgusting habit it really is.”

“For us, it’s a policy like ‘Buckle up,’ ” said Michael Filerman, a former chain-smoker and co-executive producer of CBS’ “Knots Landing” and NBC’s “Sisters.” “We don’t want to glamorize smoking. When one of our characters (Teddy on “Sisters”) had a cigarette in one episode, it was an act of rebellion against society in general. If viewers see your characters smoking, they say, ‘If they do it, it must be all right.’ Well, it’s not all right.”

In “Thelma & Louise,” now out on video, smoking underscores the newfound rebellious attitudes of both women.

Two years ago, smoking on the big and small screen became something of a cause celebre when Philip Morris admitted to a congressional subcommittee that it paid United Artists $350,000 to feature Lark cigarettes in the James Bond thriller “Licence to Kill.” When one congressman accused the tobacco company of illegal advertising, United Artists responded by including the surgeon general’s warning about the dangers of smoking in the film’s closing credit.

Most of the producers, writers and directors interviewed for this article said that despite their own health concerns, they have no set policy about using cigarettes or cigars in their productions--other than the overall intention to stay truthful to the characters. But behind the scenes, the pressure to maintain a smoke-free environment is becoming more pervasive.

“Before we began production on ‘Backdraft,’ ” said Lewis, “Donald Sutherland came to us and asked that there be no smoking around the camera when he was on camera. It really bothers him; it affects his breathing. Our cinematographer smokes but he didn’t when Don was around.”

“I don’t allow smoking on the set,” said Alexandra Rose, executive producer of “Frankie & Johnny.” “I hate secondary smoke and instantly move away from it. Smokers have to go outside.”

Unless, of course, they happen to be acting. In “Frankie & Johnny,” one of the diner’s waitresses, Nedda (played by Jane Morris), is a cynical, smart-mouthed, middle-aged graduate of the school of hard knocks. “She’s a humorous curmudgeon,” said Rose, “who’s given up on life and men. The smoking helped set her in a certain place and time. Smoking really says who she is.”

Ditto for Ruth-Anne Miller (played by Peg Phillips), “Northern Exposure’s” charmingly independent, seventysomething storekeeper. “She’s been smoking since the Eisenhower era,” said co-producer Robin Green. “Her smoking is a statement of individuality; she enjoys it.”

“But Maggie (O’Connell, the young bush pilot played by Janine Turner) smokes when she’s depressed or feeling self-destructive, like when her father came to town. And Joel (Dr. Joel Fleischman, the recent medical school graduate played by Rob Morrow) asked Maggie for a cigarette after they had an orgasmic conversation. So we use it for humor too.”

Smoking as a metaphor for sexual intimacy has a rich Hollywood history. Paul Henreid created a sensation in 1942’s “Now, Voyager,” when he put two cigarettes in his mouth, lit them and--in a move as symbolic as a passionate kiss--handed one over to Bette Davis. He repeated the gesture throughout the film until it became the star-crossed lovers’ most important symbol of fidelity:

Davis: Jerry, Dr. Jackwith knows about us. When he said I could take Tina, he said, “You’re on probation,” because of you and me. He allowed this visit as a test. If I can’t stand such tests, I’ll lose Tina, and we’ll lose each other. Jerry, please help me.

Henreid: Shall we just have a cigarette on it?

Those were words of endearment in 1942. Today, said Green, it loses everything in the negative translation. “You would never do that in a million years.”