Figure 1.--Roddy McDowell played Huw, the Welsh coal miners son in "How Green Was My Valley. I believe it was his best performance. It is also the single best known film about Wales. |
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Here are some details about specific movies. 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. We hope to add more movies and reviews as HBC expands. Please feel free to send along any reviews you may care to write about favorite films.
El Faza is growing old, he is looking for a replacement. Hodja, a boy from Pjort, has the openness, imagination, and longing for which El Faza is looking. The greedy Sultan want's El Faza's flying carpet.
Clean cut high school kids take on a gang of motor cycle hoodlums who make their lives unbearable. Michael Biehn, Clay O'Brian
Disney made for TV movie about a Chicago family taking up farming. The boy (Stirling) is about 11 and plays his part very nicely. He has an especially beautiful smile. I didn't see what he wore at the beginning, but when I tuned in he was wearing knickers and a bow. His father buys him a hat which means that he might have worn some kind of more juvenile cap at the beginning. The boys in the town tease him about his "city duds" and tug at his bow. He gets his clothes dirty and mother complains, "Just look at you." His little sister is very sweet and always seen in a pinafore.
After his father is killed trying to cross a farmers' picket line, an unruly boy is adopted by a milk operator. Bradley Metcalfe plays Roger with 17-year old Mickey Rooney.
Romantic melodrama with a seedy European trying to marry an American to get into the States. The child star Billy Lee is in the movie, but I know nothing about his part.
Mickey Rooney
A widower has trouble with his family and hotel business. Eddie Hodges plays Frank Sinatra' s son. The movie also features Edward G. Robinson and Thelma Ritter. It takes place in Florida. Eddie wears a variety of long pants outfits.
A widow with a young son is courted by two prospective suitors during the Christmas season. Department store clerk Steve Mason meets (Robert Michum) first meets Connie Ennis when she comes int the store as a commercial spy posing as a big-dspending sustomer. He figures it out, but this only gets him fired. As a commedy rommance the two of course wind up up on a date. This of course upsets Connie's steady, but boring boy friend, Carl. Enter her son Timmy, who doesn't care for Carl, but takes an nstant liking to Steve. Mildly amusing Robert Mitchum film with Timmy (Gordon Gilbert). The boy appears throughout the film and plays his part very nicely with a wondeful smile. This was Gordons's second and first credited film. He subsequyently appeared in both movies and television throughout the 1950s. This was his biggest role and I think best performance. Gordon comes accross as a very believable 6-year old. He manages some great exoressions when the camera is oin him, especially in the scene where he washes up and peaks in his Christmas box. He almost always is pictured in slacks rather than jeans. This seems a liitlesrsange, but he is a city boy. In one scene he seems to wear asweater without a shirt. That doesn't seen quite right. For the mosdt psart the cosdtuming seems vey accuate. He wears a smart suit for Christmas. He has a scene in which he returns he toy train that he is wild about. He wears a corduroy jacket and pants. He also has a cold weather cap with ear flaps that come down, looking rather like a helmet. That was a very common style winter cap for ounger boys at the time.
An 18 year old Roddy McDowall plays a sappy teenager. Roddy complained of a conspiracy "against my ever growing up."
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"THe Holocaust" is a gripping and harrowing film, originally made as a TV series, in 1978. It is called "The Holocaust" and has an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Joseph Bottoms, Michael Moriarty, David Warner, Nigel Hawthorne, and Ian Holm. The director was Marvin J. Chomsky. Children only have bit parts. The film is a very graphic story of two German families--the Weiss family, which is Jewish, and the Dorf family, which is Christian. Erik Dorf (played brilliantly by Michael Moriarty) is a lawyer who can't find work and so turns to the Nazi party for his livelihood and eventually becomes the second in command to Heydrich, and becomes deeply involved in furthering the "Final Solution"--i.e., the genocide of the Jews. The other family is the Weiss family, headed by a physician and his wife, a concert pianist. One of their sons, Karl (an artist, played by James Woods) marries a gentile, Inga Helms (played by Meryl Streep), and at the beginning the Dorfs are treated by Dr. Weiss who is their family doctor. The film is horribly graphic and shows some of the most terrible aspects of the Holocaust, including mass executions of naked Jews as well as their gassing at German death camps.
Cute slap-stick Christmas movie about a little boy named 8-year old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin). This family comedy film was written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbu. Macaulay had caught the producer's attention for his stand-out performance in the John Candy vehicle 'Uncle Buck'. He was the perfect choice for Kevin. The film received mixed reviews. 'Home Alone' was, however, a box office hit--becoming the highest-box office success of any Anerican commdy film. It made Macauley a major child star. As the youngest in the family, he is alternatively picked on and ignored at home. Kevin got into a scrape with his older brother Buzz. He is sent off to his room on the third floor of their home. The McAllister family packs up and in a rush takes off for airport for their flight to France on vacation, only they forget Kevin ensconced on the third floor. Kevin has the house to himself which he at first enjoys. He enjoys a pizza all to himself and savors firbidden activities like jumping on his parents' bed, but begins to miss the family. Then he notices two burglars, Harry and MarvJ (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), casing the neighbirhood. And his home is at the top of their list. He is left to defend the family homestead. He goes to church and seeks out Santa. Kevin wires the home with heated door handels, spikes, and icy walkways. He also fashions makeshift booby traps inside. Macaulay plays his part perfectly. The crooks are wonderful foils.
Producers rusing to cash in on the success of 'Home Alone' come out with 'Home Alone II'. More of the same, MacCauley is left again and this time ends up in New York. He is now 10, but still perfect for the part. Standard period costuming.
Made for TV movie about contemporary family life. The cast includes a boy about 8 years old, but I didn't see it.
Made for TV movie set in the South during World War II. The grandson Lonnie (Neil Patrick) wears shorts in a long segment at the beginning, which is a little unusual for the period given that he was 15 years old when he played the part. In the 1940s, boys did wear shorts in the South, but I don't believe a 15 year old boy wore shorts for leisure as they do now. Lonnie is only supposed to be 13/14 so that is a little more likely. Neil plays it beautifully, but is really a touch to old. He has a really infectious smile. What a shame he didn't do more movies when he was younger. He does look rather juvenile in his shorts, especially because he wears sandals. I think that was unlikely in the South. After the beginning he primarily wears jeans and a long pants suit. A "Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation."
A priest founds a home for Mexican orphans.
Ronnie Scribner
A terminally ill teenager and his divorced father spend the boy's last summer with his estranged grandfather.
A documentary interviewing students complaining about homework, rather a schoolboy inquiry. Their heartfelt complaints center on excessive homework. In the closing sequence the class crybaby, still gitting over the smacking from a ruler, needs a friend to help him face the camera.
An inventor is ridiculed and thinks his shrinking ray gun is a failure until he realized that his and the neighbor's kids have been caught in the rays and are lost in the Amazon-like backyard. Two boys and a teenager are involved. The younger boy wears glasses. The older 12-year old boy plays a macho role. There are no interesting costumes. Robert Olivieri.
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One of many B movies sarring Ronald Reagan. The film is notable only for some impresive photography of Hong Kong. An American adventuter encounters an orphaned Chinese boy played charmingly by Danny Chang knows about a golden, jewled idol and searches all over China to obin it. The problen is that he falls in loved with the woman varing for him and other orphans. This throws arebch in his plns to steal the idol worth a small fortune. Kind of a prequel to Iniana Jones. This was the second of four films that Reagan and Fleming made togetgher. The film was re-released in 1962 as 'Bombs Over China', there was no actual change to the film and there were no bombs involved. The Chinese boy is Danny Chang. He had a few kid roles in 50s movies. His career stalled, however, after a guest spot on a TV show in the late-50s. He graduated from CalTech and teaches in the Engineering Department at UC Davis, a real child star success story!
A rodeo cowboy tries to regain his wife and son.
An over the hill, alcoholic country western singer travels to Nashville with his 14-year old nephew for a last chance audition at the Grand Old Opry. Clint Eastwood plays the singer and his son, Kyle Eastwood, the nephew.
Disney version of Peter Pan. Peter Pan's son is played by Charlie Korsmo. There are also a lot of kids involved as the Wild Boys. I don't know any details about the costuming.
A small boy about 8 or so appears briefly at the beginning (I think) of this rather boring film. He wears a short pants suit with short socks along with some sort of military-style cap. I don't think he appears later in the film.
Shockingly happy movie about World War II on the home front in England, first during the blitz in London and later in the country. The movie is seen through the eyes of a young boy, Bill (Sebastian Rice Edwards), who sees it as a great lark. He is a quiet sensitive boy, an observer not a hero. Bill plays his part well and is a very appealing actor. He wears shorts, the baggy 1940s type with kneesocks and sandals. He is seen in his school uniform with peaked hap and is delighted to find that his school has been bombed. All in all a beautifully done childhood remembrance. Sebastian plays his part beautifully, but reportedly tried to quit during the filming and had to be talked into continuing. He refused, for example, to do a skinny dipping scene.
Not a particularlly good film, but I am a fan of Jack Benny and it is a interesting 1940s time capsule. Two brief appearances are worth mentioning. One is Cid Ceasar as a waiter. The other is Bobby Blake (from "Our Gang") who acquites the trumpet. It is worth noting that in the scene with the boys, every last one weasrs long pants and they do not look like jeans. The 1940s and 50s are perhaps the period when American and European boys' fashions diverged more than any other time.
Incredibly bad movie about an American soldier who teams up with a group of Italian orphans to blow up a dam the Germans are protecting. Most of the orphans wear shorts, but are ragged and dirty. Some are two old for their parts.
Thieves hide a key (I think) in a toy horse. This involves a group of children, some who where shorts, in the operation.
A 6-year old boy hides out in a moving van, unaware that the driver is a killer.
Typical Disney movie. A boy is involved, but I am not sure of the costuming.
Mackenzie Astin
Boy (John Sutton) wears blazer, short pants and knee socks.
Two teenagers lock their estranged parents in the basement until they agree to patch up their differences. Some of their friends add a few additional parents.
Justin Dane
Story of a tyrannical widow and her five children, all daughters. Classic play written by Fredrick Garcia Lorca.
Horror movie of a strict headmistress and her demented son at a turn of the century boarding school for girls.
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Carry Grant playing a widower moves his children to a houseboat so he can be closer to them. Not one of the better Grant films, but mildly amusing. Grant finds himself falling in love with the housekeeper, which is understandable since she is Sophia Loreen. She actually is the runaway daughter of a wealthy Italian conductor. She can't cook or clean, but otherwise makes an excellent housekeeper. She has run away from her conductor father who complains tyhat shehas the finest European education which means she is unable to do anything. The younger boy who likes to play his harmonica finds Cynthia after he runs away himself. The children lover her and help bring the widower and his children closer together The younger boy is Charles Herbert who appeared in several films. He wears short pants throughout the film, including a blue short pants suit with very long shorts and ankle socks. The older boy is Paul Petersen and is best known for playing Donna Reed's son Jeff on television. He is 13 years old and wears long pants, including jeans.
"How Green Was My Valley" was a lovely little movie staring Roddie McDowell who plays Huw. The film was made in the States after Roddy was evacuated from England during the World War II Blitz. America had not yet entered the War. It probably would have never been made in England at the time as it is a rather critical look at the U.K., how English mine owners abused the miners--hardly in keeping with the patriotic theme of War-era films. Roddy provides a beautifully sensitive performance and I think it is best film, although he is probably better known for "Lassie Come Home" (1943) which he made two years later. Huw wears kneepants outfits with long socks. For church he wears a wide white collar. Huw is a Welsh coal miner's son, who is bright and sent to a National School. He is teased because of his Welsh accent and beaten by the school master. He gets sick after nearly drowning in an icy stream and is bedridden. The film was based on the novel by Robert Lewellyn. The film was made during World War II, but vefore America entered the War. There was at the time considderable sympathy for Britain and opposition to the NAZIs in Hollywood. Interestingly the plot of the film, which closely followed the book, represents a considerable criticism of British society, not exactly what you would expect in 1941. Yet the film closes with an optimistic tone, clearly leaving the impression that Wales and Britain were places with important values and people who should be defended.
Parents of a teenage boy follow him to Europe after he trails his girl friend there. The parents encounter problems of their own.
Three women have problems with their husbands and ex-husbands. A few kids are involved, but they have small roles. No interesting costuming. Sort of a precursor to "Kate and Allie".
A young boy and a runaway slave find adventure on the Mississippi River in this Mark Twain classic. Jackie Coogan plays Tom, Junior Durkin plays Huck, and Jackie Sear plays the obnoxious Sid.
Mickey Rooney was 15 when he made the movie, "The Adventures of HF". In one scene he plays Juliet in a stage production. He is dressed for the part in a long flowing white robe with bare shoulders and a beribboned bonnet. He wears bright lipstick painted on his lips in a Cupid's bow to give him a girlish appearance.
Jeff East plays huck in this musical presentation.
Eddie Hodges
Mark Twain adventure set on the Mississippi River. Ron Howard version. Reasonably well done, but Ron Howard is disappointing as Huck. He must have been about 20 years old. obviously too big for the role. He has lost all his "Oppie" cuteness. Also he is not togged out in an appropriate costume while living with Widow Douglas. The movie does not include any interesting episodes.
Kurt Ida
'Hue and Cry' was one of Ealing Studios finest post-war films, in that it captured the best of the documentary realist tradition that was so typical of British cinema. Hue and Cry took us into the very heart of East London and of the people who lived there. It is populated with characters like Joe (Harry Fowler) and the gang of children he leads. They have their suspicions that a gang of criminals are getting ideas for their crimes from The Trump a comic that he and the children read. Joe is duped into accepting a job working for a local businessman. Unfortunately for Joe, the man he is working for is one of the criminals he and his gang are chasing. Joe sets up a meeting with the writer of The Trump stories Felix Wilkinson (Alistair Sim) and this eventually leads Joe and the gang to set a trap for the criminals. Joe persuades Wilkinson to rewrite the climax to one of his stories which lures the gang toward the trap and a massive fight sequence staged amidst the bomb ravaged East London dockyards.
A new film is coming in 2012 called Hugo. The stoty is set in France during 1931. The story takes place in Paris. The hero is a young boy named Hugo. The costuming looks to be typical of styles in France at that time. In the film the boy wears short trousers. In the book he wears long trousers.
Fredrik Becklen
Butch Jenkins in his first movie played Ulysses as a boy. He created quite a stir in the industry. The film is considered memorable Americana. Also look for Darryl Hickman and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
Made for TV movie about Alan, a smashing chap (Tom Beasley) growing up in Trinidad. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Ian McDonald. Alan's parents are British, but regard Trinidad as home. The movie is set in the 1940s as the first election approaches in which Indians (South Asians) and blacks can vote. Alan gets along nicely with two Indians, a brother named Kaiser and sister named Jaillin, growing up on his father's plantation. Kaiser is more worldly wise than Alan, but Jaillin idolizes him. His friends look down on the Indians and jeer them when they see the two (not invited) peeking through a window at Alan's 12th birthday party. I'm not sure how his friends are dressed, but Alan, who looks older than 12, wears longish shorts, short white socks, and "t" strap sandals. Alan later takes Kaiser and Jaillin some cake and goes skinny dipping with Jaillin to the displeasure of his liberal father. The film is a sad clash of beliefs and caste. Rather downbeat post script. Most of the cast, including Tom, are non-professionals.
A boy witnessed a murder. The murderer flees the police with the boy and along the way becomes quite attached to him. While on the lamb they stop at a boarding house. The lady gives the boy a bath and finds marks from a beating. They narrowly escape from the police when she calls them. She tries to leave the boy behind, but he insists on following.
The John Buchan spy novel Huntingtower (1922) was made into a silent film starring Sir Harry Lauder, a very famous Glaswegian music hall star. It's interesting that they used local boys then as they did for "Ratcatcher" (1999). Unfortuneately the film has been lost. The book was later made into a popular Scottish TV series, "The Gorbals Die-Hards" (Scotland, 1978). As the film is lost, we are not sure how they were costumed. A surviving poster suggests the boys were wearing bits and pieces of the Scout uniform, a make-shift kilt, and short trousers--just as Buchan described in his book. The boys were Scottish - from the Gorbals area of Glasgow. The film was shot by a Scottish production company on location in Scotland and Northumberland with a Scottish film crew, but they had to use the studios for the interior scenes in London because the Glasgow studios had gone bust. They took the Glasgow boys down to the London Cricklewood studio to do the filming. A Scottish reader writes, "The 1927 version of "Huntingtower" was a silent film so the boys' glorious Glasgow accents were not captured by the film. This makes it even more remarkable that they used local boys. Being a silent film obviously highlights the visual aspect and therefore the costuming. .... Also the film studio at Rouken Glen (an old tramshed south of Glasgow) had closed in 1924 so maybe that's why they went down to London."
"Hypocrites" is a silent film by Lois Weber released in 1915. It is a moralistic allegory of sorts about the
moral values that society endorses but fails to live by. Such morality tales werea popular silent film genre. Lois Weber was one of the earliest female maker of silents films. The film moves back and forth between
medieval and modern times. The boy in the "contemporary" (1915) scene is wearing ordinary school clothes--white shirt, knickers, long black stockings, and high-top shoes. Silent films are especially interesting because the films set in contemprary times include children wearing the popular fashions of the day. Often the children does not seem to have been costumed, but rather wearing their own clothes.
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