Notorious topless photoshoot with Robert Mitchum

In 1954, Simone Silva was named “Miss Festival” at the Cannes Film Festival. During the event, she was asked to pose for press photographs with Robert Mitchum on a beach near Cannes.

Silva, who once said she'd do anything to get in the newspapers, decided to only wear a thin see-thru scarf over her breasts which revealed her nipples.

Photographers swarmed around her. After many begged her to take the top off, she finally agreed and posed with her hands covering her breasts. Mitchum loved it and played along.

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Photographers went nuts and in their mad scramble to get the best shots, several were injured with two reportedly suffering broken limbs.

The Cannes committee was horrified by Silva's actions and kicked her out of the festival.

When asked why she did it, Silva told the press, "As long as sex is box office and I keep my figure, I'm out to be the sexiest thing on, oh, two legs."

Ironically, the photos didn't help Silva's career, but it did propel Mitchum's popularity and he was then frequently cast as the macho hero with leading sex symbols of his time.

Tragically, Silva died three years later of a stroke brought on by extreme diets to keep weight off. She was only 29.