Figure 1.--A mother in "Novogodniy Perepoloh" punishes a boy by making him wear short pants and long stockings. |
This is your movies for the holliday selector. Some films are know as holliday classics. This is certainly the case for Christmas, but there are other holidys for which films are associated. We thought it might be useful to list some of these films in case HBC readers want some assistance selecting a film for holliday viewing. This is a new idea, so we are just beginning to compile pur list of holliday films showcasing boys' fashions. Please let us know if you have any suggestions.
At this time we only know of on New Years films. As the Soviets diapproved of Christms foir religious reasons, Sovit and Eastern European film industries focused on New Years in the same way that Wstrn film industries focused on Christmas.
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The title means approximately (difficult to translate) "A New Year Turmoil" (seems to be closest). Other translations could be: "A New Year Alarm", "A New Year Commotion", or "A New Year Flurry" or something like that. This movie was filmed in Latvian and translated into Russian and widely broadcasted during Christmas. The movie is a famnily drama set in 1935 when Latvia was an independent country--before they were invaded by the Soviet Union. The boy in the film gets into trouble and his mom makes him wear short pants and long stockings whih he objects to because he thinks that he is to old.
This is a holiday for which boys are not normally involved, but we can think of at leasr one film.
A recently engaged woman becomes obsessed with meeting the grieving widower she heard on a late-night radio show. Appealing little movie about an 8-year old
boy, Jonah (Ross Malinger), who tries to find a wife for his widowed father through the radio talk show. Ross is a real scene stealer in this film.
HBC can think of few movies associated with Easter. The only one that comes to mind at thius time is Easter Parade.
This is one of those films that is interesting to HBC because of one scene. The connecion with Easter is thin involves a Pygmalion-like to turn a ew dance partner into the star of the Easter Parade. The plot line is also rather thin. The film is, of course, a vehicle for Fred Astaire's dances routeins and Judy Garland's singing. In one scene as Astaire sings the Irving Berlin number "Drum Crazy", he is watched by a bemused youngester clutching a toy Easter bunny. The boy later joins Astaire, marching in time and banging a toy drum. The movie is set in the years before World War I (1914-18) and the boy is wearing an outfit of a short belted tunic with floppy bow tie, large Eton-style collar, and knickerbockers. The knickers are above the knee and worn with kneesocks. These tunic suits including above the knee knickers were a popular fashion before World War. Wearing knickers with
kneesocks, however, was more common for a brrief period from about 1915 to the early 1920s. HBC is not precisely sure about the time line, but notes that most boys wore long stockings or three-quarter socks with these tunic suits before World War I.
Haloween is becoming an increasingly important holiday, butwe do not know of many films.
This wonderfull American film isn't precisely about Halloween, but it does take place at the right season. Scout goes to a harvest party rather than a Haloween party. I don't think Haloween parties were common in the 1930s, kids were too busy trick or treating. Boo Bradley does, however, add a little Haloween cheer.
There are probably more movies touching on Christmas than any other holiday. Christmas is by far the most important holiday in Christian countries. Thus it is understandable why so many films touch upon Christmas in the plot lines. While HBC can think of only a few films associated with other holidays, we can think of quite a few movies with a Christmas theme. In adiition, many of these films touch upon the meaning of Christmas and are not just set during the Christmas season. Some of the ones that are, like "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947), "Its a Wondeful Life" (19??), "A Christmas Story" (1983), and "Home Alone" (19??) are important film classics. And the children in them have become film icons. The important Christmas films that we are familiar with are mostly American. Hopefully readers can tell us about Christmas films in other countries.
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