Figure 1.--
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Figure 1.-- |
Quite a number of films have dealt with the role of governesses and nannies. Interestingly "governors", sort of male governesses for boys, have not been addressed in films. Most of the films that HBC is aware of are British films. Presumably there are some French films on this subject, but HBC is not yet familiar with them. Many have 19th century settings, but there are some set in the 20th century as well. Mank are rather dark pictures of governesses and nannies while others take humerous approach.
The made for TV film "Au Pair" is an engaging and funny film: the two children of a wealthy businessman, a widower, have frightened away a succession of nannies until they meet their match. This nanny takes all they dish out because she's an out of work MBA who'd like to work for their dad's company. Along the way, she becomes the children's
friend and confidant. Eleven/twelve years old Jake Dinwiddie plays Alex Caldwell, the businessman's (Gregory Harrison) son. The children wear (as you might expect) rather expensive, upscale children's
clothes. There is a sequel, "Au Pair II", but I haven't seen it.
Classic movie version of the Henry James supernatural thriller, "The Turn of the Screw." A Governess must contend with two
enchanting children who she realizes are possessed with ghosts. The girl appears in a dress with pantaletts and later in a classic
pinafore. Miles, who is well played by Martin Stephens, has very ordinary costumes. Tnis isbsurprising in such a well done nglish film. Miles appears once in knickers, but usually wears longs. Surely a boy his age at the time would have worn a sailor suit or velvet suit. The movie is set in the latter part of the 19th century. The director made
the movie without explaining the plot to the children, they were only told it was a ghost story and each day's shootings were only explained at the beginning of the session. When they were finished, they could not view the film because of Britain's strict rating system.
Based on Charlotte Bronte's novel about a young orphan who becomes a governess. The focus is on Jane who is looked down on by the wealthy family and friends. Little attention is given to her charge who is a girl. The costuming is excellent. Jane becomes attracted to her brooding, enigmatic employer whose wife is mad.
Classical film about a whimsical chimney sweep and an enchanted governess with a carpet bag filled with marvels. The boy involved wears Edwardian-era clothes,
mostly a suit, sometimes with shorts and other times with knickers. His smartest outfit is a stripped blazer with white shorts.
Lovely movie about the efforts of a wealthy father and his two sons to deal with the mothers death. It proves especially difficult for the elder boy and the father's attention is diverted by his grief and press of business affairs. Set in Tunisia.
The two boys, Nicholas and Miles (played by Henry Thomas and Huckleberry Fox) act their roles superbly. Huckleberry is particularly engaging as the younger brother, about 5 or 6 years old. Henry is about 11 or 12. Huckleberry appears in shorts a good deal, sometimes in white two strap sandals, shortalls, and Peter Pan collar. The mean governess tries to play on their father's idea that Miles is weak and makes him take long naps which he hates.
Henry Thomas has fewer really interesting scenes although the movie is really set around him. At his school all the boys
wear longs.
"Mr. Nanny" stars the wrestler, Hulk Hogan, who is hired as a nanny, a rather improbble nanny.
"Mrs. Doubtfire" is a very funny film starring Robin Williams as a divorced actor who plays a 60-something female nanny in order to spend time with his three children, who are in his ex's custody. Matthew Lawrence, born on February 11, 1980, plays Chris Hillard, Robin's son in this film. He wears a variety of casual clothes.
Bette Davis plays a deranged nanny to an affluent family. She accidentally kills her young charge in a bath tub and blames it on the little girls older brother. He is sent
off to school. His parnts retain her because she was the mother's nanny. The boy is pictured as a 10-year old returning from school. Joey is played by William Dix. The boy is a creitable little actor and wears a short pants suit when he arrives home. He soon changes into jeans which he wears with a striped "T"-shirt, looking rather like an American boy. He wears school sandals with his jeans, rather an unlikely combination. He visits with a teenage girl upstairs. She teases him about still having a nanny. "Does she take your trousers down to smack you?" she taunts. The boy responds vehemetly, "She doesn't dare touch me." The dranged nanny almost kills the mother and son. In the end, a flash of sanity returns as the nanny is drownding Joey in the bath tub.
"The Perfect Nanny" is a thriller.
"The Story of Three Loves" (1953) is a trilogy of love stories told in flashback form. The second sketch is about Tommy, a rich American boy about 11 years old who is fed up with his annoying French governess (Leslie Caron). The boy is played by Ricky Nelson. He was well known to American audiences as a result of the popular, long running TV sitcome, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet". I didn't know that he also made movies. Tommy has no interest in the French lessons, the discussions of art forms, or the lectures on history his governess offers. He played a rather cranky child in this role. Tommy wishes that he were a man so that he could free of all that. A witch grants him his request for four hours. Tommy, as a
man, meets his governess and falls in love with her. At midnight, though, he becomes a boy again. Ricky and a slightly older boy wear longs. As I recall, for his role as 11-year old Tommy, Ricky
wears sport coats and long trousers and in one scene pajamas. They are in Rome during the 1950s where shorts were very common. Tommy doesn't like being a kid and having a governess who keeps reading gushy poetry to him. A boy about 13 or 14 appears briefly in shorts in the last sketch. He has only a brief part, he tells the main character that there is a caller.
There have also been a few television shows that have featured governeses and nannies--usually nannies.
In 1970 ABC placed "Nanny and the Professor" in its Friday night lineup. Juliet Mills played a nanny (named Phoebe Figalilly) with magical powers hired by a widowed college professor (of mathematics), played by the late Richard Long. The professor had three children, an 11/12 years old named Hal (David Doremus); a 9ish "Butch" (Bentley), played by Trent Lehman; and a 6/7 years old daughter played by
Kim Richards. Nanny employed her powers to help solve family problems. A HBC reader comments, "I thought this was an intelligently
written and rather sensitive show for a comedy with a fantasy theme. The boys wore casual, contemporary clothes. In one episode the boys did wear cutoffs for an outing.
Debuting in 1993 on CBS, "The Nanny", starring Fran Drescher in the role that launched her career. Fran played a working class girl
from Quuens who is hired as a nanny by an upper crust widower, a Manhattan theater producer, with two daughters and a son, Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury, born October 19, 1980). The children wear
contemporary, expensive clothes. Fran is a bit of a free spirit who tries to put some fun in her new family's life. In one episode the dad's old nanny--German, very traditionalistic - shows up and takes
over. The children show up on cue (a spoof of "Sound of Music") with the boy in a short pants sailor suit and knee socks. He pleads with his dad, "If I go out looking like this, the guys will kill me". Fran chimed in, "If you go out like that, I'll kill you!" That's the last we see of him in his sailor suit.
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