NEWS: Humphrey Bogart and his Pandas

On this day in 1949, Humphrey Bogart's assault case was dismissed by a New York judge. I read about the case after the Bogart Estate had posted it on Instagram and Twitter. It was the first time I ever heard about it - and I love me some old Hollywood gossip - so I searched for articles from newspapers of the time.
I found one on The Guardian, which was very entertaining to read, especially the way the woman, who claimed she was assaulted, was described.

The Case:

On 29th September 1949, Bogart went to El Morocco - a famous Manhattan nightclub at the time - with a friend. Seeing as they weren't with their wives, they decided to buy two large stuffed Pandas from the gift shop - to prevent women from approaching them - and booked a table for four.

Model Robin Roberts (right), accompanied by friedn Mary O'Connell    

A model called Robin Roberts, then made her way through to Bogart's table and tried to be cute by picking up the panda. She claimed that as she touched it, Bogart held her wrist then thrusted her to the ground and she suffered many bruises as a result.

On 30th September, Bogart recieved a summons with an assault charge.

On 1st October, the hearing commenced and lasted only 15 minutes before the judge dismissed it.

 

This incident made me think, it's a good thing people were smarter back then, so women like this model couldn't get away with fantastic stories. If it happened today, in the Me Too era, then Bogart would've been toast, even if he did nothing wrong.