Figure 1.--Alexander in "Fanny and Alexander" generally wears long stockings with his sailor suits and other kneepants outfits. |
|
You can also slect the movies available on HBC by using this alphabetical movie listing. At this time only a few movies have been analized by HBC for clothing information, but more pages are being added all the time. Readers are encouraged to add their own insights about favorite films.
Terrible movie done with the Bureau's obvious approval, picturing Hoover as a great American hero. It is about an agent's experience. The agent is played by Jimmy Stuart whose son is pictured briefly as a 5-year old in a short pants suit and later at about 10-years old in a longer scene outfitted in dressy, long grey shorts with ankle socks hunting Easter eggs. His slightly older friend in another scene wears longs.
The two brothers are pictured as boys at the beginning of the movie, I'd say at about 12 or 13. They both wear knickers. There father is a coal miner and determined that they have a better life which includes learning to play a musical lesson. They tried to sneak out of the house while their father is giving another boy lessons. They complain that the other boys don't have to play instruments. "Give me their names," their father demands. A grownup Jackie Searl has a small part.
Future world where books are banned. Rather listless production of the Ray Bradbury novel. Mark Lester appears at least once in his first significant movie role. I haven't seen the whole movie, but Mark appears in a school scene. At least in this future world, the school boys are wearing shorts and knee socks. Mark is rather young, about 8 years old, and gives a perky performance. The school scene is shot in the hall with all the grey blazers hung up. The only boy at the school pictured is Mark. I don't know if he or other boys are pictured earlier in the movie. The only other boy I saw was at the very end where a group of outlaws are memorizing books. One boy wearing long trousers is being taught a book by a dying man.
Made for TV movie set in England and occupied France during World War II. Rather drawn out presentation. One scene was ar a French train station with a group of school boys in berets, presumably shorts, and the capes that Frence school children sometimes wore. I think it was mostly worn by boys and girls at private schools.
A girl is victimized by a child molester movie. I think a boy is also in the film, but I haven't seem the movie
"The Fallen Idol" is a well regarded British film. It was nominated for two Oscars and won a variety of awards. Philippe, the son of a diplomat idolizes Baines, the diplomat's efficent butler. Philippe idealized Baines and as the plot unfolds is unable because of his age to fully appreciate what is happening. He even tries to help Baines after he kills his nagging wife who was rather unkind to the boy. She was taking care of the boy, but was rather mean to him. The boy wears short pants and white knee socks. He eventually gives up the secrets he was trying to keep. I didn't think that Bobby Henrey who played Philippe was a very personable boy. The film is based on a story by Graham Green.
The story of the collapse of a Dublin family seen through the eyes of each family member, including two boys. Their lives are precariously balanced between the moments of desperation and joyous togetherness as they struggle to survive on the edge of society while enduring the farther's criminal activities.
Mickey Rooney's first Andy Hardy movie. Series about life in a small town, revolving around Andy and his father who was a judge.
A man marries a woman with three devilish kids and they take them along on the honeymoon. Two are boys who wear a variety of long trouser outfits including smart suits.
Story set around family. Two boys are involved. One is grown up, the other is about 12 or so. In the scenes I saw he always wore short pants.
Alec Mackenzie
Well done TV movie about a father's preference for one of his sons. The older, less athletic son has trouble relating to his father. The younger boy is about 10. Well acted performances, especially by the boys (Andrew Bednarski who plays the younger brother and Wilson Brown who plays the older boy). Rather sad ending to the film. The boys are seen in a variety of outfits, including short pants on several occasions. This was realistic costuming. Many American films in the 1980s unrealistically shows boys in longs all the time.
Fanny and Alexander is a wonderful Swedish language costume drama of two orphaned Swedish children in a large, protective family. Alexander often wears kneepants sailor suits and long stockings. A real classic. Alexander (Bertil Guve), who I would say is about 12 years old, and his sister are the center of the movie and many scenes are shot from their point of view, although there are long involved scenes without them. The children have an idyllic childhood until their widowed mother remarries. Alexander falls out with his hypochritical stepfather and his hideous mother and sister. They have a far different idea about how children should be brought up. Set in Sweden at the turn of the century. Alexander wears several knee pant sailor suits. There is also a younger boy, a cousin of Alexander, who appears briefly in a few scenes. He wears a sailor suit with short white socks, Alexander always wears long stockings. He also appears a lot in a night dress. The boy plays his part beautifully. I thought it was especially touching how he clung to his teddy bear. Ingemar Bergman.
Family adventure featuring an adorable pooch. Father and pre-teen son (Jessie Bradford) are marooned in a remote region with a new-found dog and face many natural disasters.
One of those African face the wilderness/adventure films. Three teenagers are involved, a girl and two boys. The white boy wears longs, the black boy a loin cloth affair.
Lengthy costume drama about two male opera stars. The boys' arduous apprenticeship in the 1920s is graphically depicted at the All Luck and Happiness Academy. One boy is brought by his prostitute mother. The school is run by a burly taskmaster who trains the boys to be perfect automatons. Those who make even the slightest mistake are beaten and humiliated until they achieve perfection. One boy because of his effeminate mein is trained for the female parts while the newfound companion is trained for more masculine parts. The film goes on to recount their lives as they grow up.
True story of an 18th Century Italian singer whose sublime voice enthralled royal courts and audiences of the day. Farinelli's exquisite tones were the result of being castrated at the age of 10. It was done on the order of his brother to preserve his voice. He didn't realize what had been done until later in his life or that his brother had ordered it. He thought he had an accident while riding a horse.
Tough, unsentimental view of the realities for working class school children. The school is irrelevant and the parents can not even control their own lives. Steve (Rod Zuanic) is a 14 year old who sells marijuana and sets his school on fire.
When word of his past reputation leaks out, a peaceful western shopkeeper is challenged to a duel. His sweetheart has a boy who appears on and off during the show who wears jeans.
After their mother's death, two boys are sent to live with their father, who they have not seen since their parent's divorce. The older boy is played by Timothy Hutton. The younger boy is about 8 years old and is quite endearing, but I don't know his name. The older boy is bitter and has difficulty adjusting. Based on the novel by Richard Peck.
A father succeeds in demonstrating the total lack of athletic ability when he joins his son on a weekend camping trip. The son and his friends are outfitted in long baggy shorts. Also you are beginning to see the sandals now worn with socks in some of the background scenes.
This film is a Carry Grant vehivcle in which an American with a yacht gets stuck on a Pacific island with a group of mostly English school girls and theirvFrench teacher as the Japanese are taking island after island. The girls wear full school uniforms. It is similar to "The Pied Piper" (England, 1942) when two British children in the early part of World War II (1940) are taken through France to get back to England before the Germans occupy the country. Roddy McDowell plays the boy and wears shorts and knee socks throughout, except when he puts on a smock to help blend in with the French children. He is the epitome of a properly brought up little English boy.
Update of the 1950s TV show depicting the perfect family, typical for the era.
Based on the 1950s TV series.
A boy around 10 is involved. I think that he wears longs.
Made for TV movie, perhaps a sitcom spinoff. A New England boarding school opens its doors to female students and an underclassman is forced to deal with his father's appointment as headmaster. One boy gets involved with the new headmaster's daughter. The boys wear a long pants uniform.
'Father's Son' (1931) is an early talkie. It was produced by Warner Brothers. The movie is based on the Booth Tarkington book Old Fathers and Young Sons Lewis Stone starred as the disciplinarian father.
Leon Janney played his son William. Warner Brothers was grooming as a child star. This was one of several films in which he starred. Hec never seems to have hit it off with the public. Warner Brothers released him from his contract (1931). Billy wore knickers in the film, standard for boys at the time. The 1931 poroduction is believed to be a lost film although the complete soundtrack survives on Vitaphone disks.
This was a remake of the 1931 film, 'Father's Son' based on the Booth Tarkington book. The screenplay was written by Tarkington and Fred Niblo, Jr. John Litel played the father and Frieda Inescort the mother. Litel commonly played judges and district attornies in B films. Billy was played by Billy Dawson. He plays the role well enough, but perhaps tries too hard. I don't recall seeing Billy in other films and know very little about his film career. This was a typical B-film melodrama.
Billy is the trouble-prone son just back from milkitary school. His father does not understand him and Billy gets into troublejust for being a boy. His parents separate after quareling about how to handele the biy, but Billy brings them back together again. Several other boys have small parts. 'Little Rascals' star Scotty Beckett and Sonny Bupp play Billy's friends. Bupp is not a major child star, but played the ill-fated son in 'Citizen Kane', in the same year as this film. Booth Tarkington was a wonderful author and wrote great stories about boys, this production, however, is disappointing. You do not get the impression that either Billy or his psrents or real people. Blacks will be offended by the way the two black characters are depicted, although the studio was probably trying to be progressive. The boys all wear long pants in the film, an indicator as to how rapidly knickers were disappearing. Billy wears a flat cap, something we do not see in the1940s photograohic record.
A French schoolgirl uses her wits to influence the course of history in the Ottoman Empire.
"A Feast at Midnight" takes place at an all boys boarding school. The only girl there is the Headmasters daughter. She is not very attractive till the end of the movie, when some of the boys persuade her to take off her glasses. The movie is about a little band of misfits that discover they have a talent and a love of baking. The sneak into the kitchen at night and bake the heck out of EVERYTHING. They make tarts, pastries, cookies, etc. Freddy Findlay.
|
A good look at dress trends and life styles in an American high school. Ferris plays hookey, but he is no ordinary truant. The point of his exercise is not to waste the day, but to spend it wisely. He devises a series of elaborate deceptions to ensure that he and two friends can spend a care free day away from school. A reader reports, "I absolutely love this movie. Everytime my history teacher asks a question, she usually says,"Anyone, Anyone." It usually makes me laugh, because I think of this movie." A reader writes, "Gawd I loved this movie! Every time I hear 'Twist and Shout' by the Beatles I remember this movie. All the tricks Matthew Broderick had up his sleeve to get his girlfriend and Cameron out of school for the day, getting a hold of Cameron's dad's classic Ferrari, whooping it up in Chicago, going to the Cubs' game at Wrigley Field, everyone thinking that Ferris was dying of some horrible disease and how he was able to fool everyone with his computer and
stereo set up in his room, just priceless stuff!" This film is developing cult status.
A longtime locomotive engineer s blamed for an accident and demoted to a yardman. This is an Italian film entitled " Il Ferroviere ". It was shown in English as "The Railroad Man" and "
Man of Iron ". The film was made by Pietro Germi and Luisa Della Noce . Pietro Germi (1914-1974) was after World War II one of the most popular film makers, but is today not very popular because he is not considered politically correct by Italy's left-wing film industry..
Hi most famous film is"Divore Italian Style" (1962). "Il Ferroviere" was one of his Neo-realist films.
"Die Feuerzangenbowle" (The Flaming Punch Bowl) was made in NAZI Germany during 1944. This is a comic film set in Germany about 1910 in which a group of male friends gather at a
restaurant to enjoy each other's company and reminisce about their school days in a gymnasium or secondary school. On a bet one of the men disguises himself as a student and is sent to the school to cause all sorts of amusing difficulties for the schoolmasters and to engage in a series of schoolboy pranks. The older students wear suits with long trousers in the school, but the younger boys (up to about age 13 or 14) wear short trousers with long stockings. Some of the boys wear
sailor suits. All of the boys regardless of age wear the peaked school cap. The costuming seems to be historically accurate except that the boys' stockings tend to be of various colors (brown, gray, beige, and black) whereas most boys of the time stuck mostly to black stockings.
A brother and sister (twins) fulfill their fathers wishes by becoming matadors, although the boy's first love is music. I thought that they might be pictured as children.
A teenager takes his parents to court when he learns that a treatment, albeit risky, is available for his epilepsy and his parents did not tell him about it.
A Philadelphian organizes a vigilante group to stem crime in his neighborhood. I think the boy wars longs throughout the movie.
A Missouri priest opens a home for orphaned, wayward boys. Lots of boys, but only a few with reasonable parts. Many of the boys wear knickers. Darryl Hickman.
This is a World War II about four brothers who are killed when their ship is sunk. As a result, the Navy started osting brothers on different ships. There is a long scene at the beginning of the film about the brothers as boys. They wear overalls most of the time. In one scene by a lake they all roll up their pants. They get into various scrapes that deserve good beltings, but only one of the brothers gets a slap from his dad. In another scene, a sissy boy runs to his mother when he sees the brother coming.
Ridiculous film about a modern U.S. carrier caught in a time warp. Not sure why it is on this list. Many listings are reader recommendations and details are not always attached. Perhaps there are some interesting scenes in the flashbacks to 1941.
A very poorly acted made for TV movie--an inadequate remake of a To Kill a Mocking Bird type situation. The little girl is the only reasonable actress. She wears period clothes. A few boys appear. One wears knickers. The other is a boy about 11 in a short sleeve sailor suit. You never get to see what kind of pants he is wearing, despite the fact he is pictured at length dancing with the girl.
|
J.M. Barrie is best known for writing "Peter Pan", one of the best-loved children's classics. The inspiration for the book came from his association with the Llewelyn-Davies boys. "Finding Neverland" tells the story of Peter Pan beginning with Baries and the boys that inspired him. This is the new Hollywood produced take on the Barrie story of the creation of Peter Pan. The film stars Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. Dustin Hoffman also makes a brief appearance, perhaps because of his role in "Peter Pan". A scene with Winslet as Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies with her four sons. It's interesting to compare the costuming with the BBC TV version. In the BBC version, "The Lost Boys", the boys wore berets and smocks. HBC is assessing the two versions to determine which costuming is more authentic.
A German documentary entitled "Firestorm" / "Feuersturm" (directed by Michael Kloft in 2003) contains a lot of valuable historical footage about the bombing of German cities during the final years of World War II, especially Berlin and Dresden. There is an interesting section on air raid shelters in Berlin that helped save a lot of lives, especially those of women and children which as a result of military concription made up an abnormally large portion of the city population during the final years of the War. At the beginning of the bombing raids, before it was realized how devatasting the incendiary bombs would be or the intensity of the Allied effort, German families moved some of their furniture into the basements of houses with the idea that they could have some of the normal comforts. Many believed that basements would offer adequate protection. The families cut holes in the walls between party-wall houses so that people could move from one house to the other underground if their own house was destroyed and they needed to move into the next door house to survive. Later, of course, there was no thought of such comforts--only the hope of staying alive.
A mother intervenes in her 4-year old son's (Seth Atkins) medical treatment for epilepsy. Seth wears bangs.
One after another, first grade trouble makers hit with name calling and fighting raps are brought in to face the principal. The ritual of grilling, confessing, and repenting with predictable variations follow.
Comedian Sinbad plays a Secret Service agent guarding the president's bratty son. One of the boy's friends are the older boy on "Home Improvement." They play a lot of childish pranks on Sinbad who gets them back and then some. First Kid Brock Pierce wore plaid shorts and baggy jeans at home and wore a regular suit to school.
A German reader writes, "Die Fischerin vom Bodensee" (The Fishermen from Bodensee) was made in 1956. It was one of these typical mawkish, kitschy and trashy films from the 1950s" We know little about the film. This was a comedy directed by Harald Reinl. Whatever the merits of the film, the costuming appear to accurately represent ho Germans dressedin the 1950s. One of the charcters was a boy, presumably the son of one of the fishermen who wears a checked shirt and lederhoen.
Despite her sons' warnings, a divorced woman becomes involved with a charming, though latently sinister drifter who ultimately tears the family apart. The older boy, Jake (Peter Weller) is high school age. His younger brother, Brian (Corey Haim), is a wonderful little actor who really plays his part beautifully. He wears long pants.
A 12-year old boy and an astrologer put together a winning basketball team out of players who were all born under the sign of Pisces.
Bobby's (Bobby Breen) serene household is interrupted when a city-slicker cousin his own age moves in with his Italian family. Bobby sings a lot of Italian songs on and around fishing boats. He probably wears longs as he did in the stills I have seen of his other films.
|
"Five Children and It" deals with a World War I evacuation of London as a result of the Zephlin raids, a early experience of the much larger evacuations of World War II. The Zephlin attacks were in fact one reason the British were prepared for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Freddie Highmore appeared in the film "Five Children and It" based on the book by E. Nesbit, a wonderful author of children's books. Freddie played Robert. "It" is Psanmead a sand fairy, but a bit different than your run of the mill fairy. Psanmead is a very old and rather ugly fairy and not very good natured. The children find Psanmead in a gravel pit. Psanmead grants them one wish each day, but the wish only lasts until sunset. The children soon discover that they are hard pressed to come up with reasonable wishes. And the wishes they are granted cause all kinds of unexpected probelms.
A musical prodigy and his mother become caught up in the Normandy invasion.
I thought this might be Boy Scouts, but the title refers to army scouts on a patrol. The film provides a reasonably realistic view of Japanese army like and not a propaganda piece. You would think that this would have been a bit risky given the time. Even so it does have a militaristic thread.
This rather far fetched Renaissance action/costume drama is set in northern Italy. It is enlivened a bit by Ruddy (?????), a spunky little guy with copious blond bangs and a bowl cut hairdo. At the beginning of the film he appears in a short peasant outfit. Modern trousers had not yet developed. There is also a scene with the village children, many of them also in short peasant outfits. Ruddy is the lead's son and is taken as a hostage by the Hawk, the villain who is the Emperor's representative. As Ruddy is also the son of the villain's wife (I told you it was far fetched), he is soon done whisked away to the castle and done up in a little princely outfit consisting of blue tights. In one scene he is getting dancing lessons and in the hall you hear him being told to curtsey. Once the camera comes into the room and focuses on him prancing about where he is getting his dancing lessons from the foppish dancing teacher, he is told to lightly prance around and bow. Being a manly little guy (in an American film), he clearly has to object to his dancing lessons. His foppish dancing teacher complains that he is a little bull and can't be taught, but his mother insists that he try harder.
A photographer reads an old man's diary and through flashbacks the old teacher's life is relived. I haven't seen it, but it sounds interesting.
A British soldier is assigned to rescue a Hindu prince and his American governess when a rebellion breaks out. (Did Hindu princes during the Raj really have AMERICAN governesses?) The film is one big chase scene, primarily aboard a train.
Ben Alexander
A Brooklyn boy in 1963 is easily seduced by the thought of a life of luxury while working at a posh Long Island beach club. Matt Dillon.
A teenager tries to teach his pet wolf to adapt to its natural environment. Jeff East.
Disney adventure. Quite a nice little film. David (Joey Cramer) is kidnapped by a well-intentioned drone space craft from another planet so that he can be studied. Unfortunately he wears jeans. Why can't the movie makers adjust to the fact that American boys commonly wear short pants as well as jeans. At any rate, when he is returned to earth, 8 years have passed by earth time, but he is still 12 years old. NASA wants to hold him against his will. David reboards the space craft, but the drone has lost its star charts and can't go home without them. Joey makes a deal, if the drone will take him directly to his house, he will let it access his brain (where a set of charts was stored in an experiment). The drone, however, absorbs all the motley information in the brain of a normal 12-year old who watches too much television. Consequently the drone never shuts up and talks like Pee Wee Herman. Joey performs his part quite well. A boy in shorts, probably OPs, appears briefly at a filling station. I think Disney was afraid of costuming their main boy characters in short pants as they would be perceived by film viewers (the boys anyway) as sissies.
A fisherman's son nurses a dolphin back to health and his father let's him keep the mammal after he proves his worth. If I remember right, the boy wears cut down shorts. Luke Halpin
Flipper updated, this time city boy Sandy (Elijah Wood) comes to visit his uncle meets an orphaned dolphin.
Another Flipper adventure. Flipper and boy head out to sea rather than being separated.
Set in a rural Australian boarding school in 1965. It concerns the relationship between a gangling outcast and an ungainly boarder at a nearby girls school. The boys all wear proper uniforms with nice red blazers, but unfortunately all longs--at least in the bits I saw. The junior boys are not pictured. There is one fun, but very demure shower scene. One boy is caned for reading a letter written to the main character. The reviews are quite good, suggesting it is a very witty comedy.
A wealthy young woman and a poor stableboy groom a champion horse.
V.C. Andrews novel about a widow who takes her kids home to her parents who had disowned her. Mom and their spiteful grandma lock them up in the attic while they set out to win back grandpa's love. I'm not sure how the twins (Ben Granger and Lindsay Parker) are costumed.
Terribly acted science fiction movie enlivened by a competent little actor who plays Felipe. He is around 8 yeras ols or so. He is Charles Herbert who played in quite a number of films during the late-1950s. He was quite a competent little actor and acted his part nicely. The film is set in France during contemporary times and Felipe usually wears short pants and knee socks, although he is also seen rather incongruously in long pants. At the end of the film he wears rather long dressy grey shorts and knee socks. He is being taken to the zoo and is told to go get his jacket, he returns with the jacket and a beret to boot. I supose 'Star Wars' has made earlier scifi films look amateurish. It is also interesting how Hollywood likes to repeat over and over the dangers of technology go wild when thereareso few examples of this and countless examples of technology improving modern life. Mad scientists or in this case scientists not understanding dangers are some of Hollywood's favorite villian types along with greedy capitalists and corporations--again despite the countless examples of the goos achieved by capitalism.
A Moscow boy releases a genie. The boy is about 12 years old or so. The ancient genie is well intentioned, but has difficulty assisting a modern boy.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main "F" movie page]
[Return to the Main alphabetical movie page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Theatricals]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[Essays]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
