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.
A visually stunning, delightfully whimsical turn of the familiar story line of separated twins whose paths cross, this time aboard the Orient Express. I haven't seen this, but assume the twins are pictured as children at the beginning.
A little girl and her brother play dress up in long dresses, shawls, makeup, and high heals. In another scene a brother comes out of the house wearing his sister's bras.
Second part of "The Gorky Trilogy." The boy begins earning a living at the age of 8. He is placed with a bourgeois family that promises him an education, but makes him a drudge. Secretly he borrows books. He runs away and works on a river boat.
Hientz
My Bill stars Kay Francis as a once well-to-do, now impoverished mother bringing up four children on her own. The boys, played by Dickie Moore and Bobby Jordan, wear longs throughout the movie, but in a few scenes there are some boys wearing shorts, short sleeved shirts, ankle socks, and leather lace-up shoes. Dickie Moore's character is just like the one he played in Our Gang: a spirited, spunky guy, tough on the outside but with a heart of pure gold. His
older brother is played by Bobby Jordan, who was one of the Deadend Kids. Bobby goes completely out of character in this film. His hair is neatly combed and shorter than in his Deadend Kids days, and he wears
eyeglasses and a suit and tie throughout the movie! Bobby was about 15 at the time the film was made. His character is just as prim as his appearance suggests. As Kay Francis struggles to make ends meet, Bobby and two sisters decide they want to live with a wealthy aunt; only Dickie remains loyal to their mom. Bobby and his sisters soon regret their choice, as the aunt is an old tyrant. Dickie inherits a lot of money from someone he has befriended, and the family is reunited
at film's end.
Chris Makepeace, Matt Dillon, and Adam Baldwin. Comedy set in a Chicago public school. A rich teenager is sent to a public and is terribly bullied. He eventually turns the tables on the bully who is tormenting him. After moving to Chicago, a teenager (Chris Makepease) is tormented by a gang in his high school until he devises a scheme to retaliate.
Three teenagers plan to break out of reformatory and rob an armored car. Nothing of special interest, the boys are a bit old and the reformatory is not strictly run.
|
Butch Jenkins is adorable as Lewie Penrose, the little boy who talks to horses to find if they are going to win races. For some reason, dogs are totally uninterested in him. Jackie was particularly well liked in this role. The film is set im Baltimore. He and his brother John (Peter Lawford) live with their mother (Spring Byington). As they have little money, mother has opened a boarding house. A sterotyped black girl wearing a sailor suit helps out. There is a group of eccentric boarders. The film is similar to the much better British film, 'The Rocking Horse Winner'. Butch is very good, but the rest of the film is disappointing. Lewie Penrose is 9-years old and is able to talk to horses attracts a lot of interest, including that of gangsters who are interested in race handicapping straight from the horses' mouths. Lewie wears knickers suits and long stockings. He also wears a tunic-like outfit that is tucked in at the waist. The costuming seems quite accurate for the 1910s. Lewie has a little girl friend who wears a white dress and white long stockings.
'My Brother's Summer' is an Italian film. The main character has nany adventures. The boy is very well dressed as are his friends. We have not figured out the plot. He is told that his mother is to have a baby and that it will be a boy. I think the film is about his imaginings of what life will be likec with a brother.
The first part of the trilogy, "My Childhood" (1971) is of greatest interest to HBC. It is the first installment of The Bill Douglas Trilogy. The two boys with the lead roles are not porofessional actors. The main character, Jamie, is wonderfully played by Stephen Archibald. Douglas found Stephen and his brother (cast as Tommy) when the two boys approached him for cigarettes in an Edinburgh bus station. Jamie is growing up in a mining village during the 1940s. There is little money, food, are affection. Jamie lives in squalor with his half-brother Tommy and elderly grandmother, a true Dickensian figure. There are some perty gritty scenes. Tommy�s father brings home a rare gift--a canary. When the cat eats the canary, Tommy beats the cat to death. The Douglas production has sparse dialogue, using visual images to make his point. A reviewer
describes " ... haunting and often dreamlike expressions of a harsh emotional landscape".
Lukas Haas
Silent star William Farnum heads the caste in this entertaining film about a 12-year old runaway. Danny Barker (Tom Neal/Lanny Rees) and his German shepherd Shep feel unwanted so they run away. Unknown to Danny he is the heir to a family inheritance. His self-centered foster parents use all their means to find him so they can gain access to his wealth. Danny and Shep befriend an old man bumming his way across the country. Together they foil kidnappers and his greedy foster parents. Includes a humorous swimming scene.
My Dog Skip is based on a story by Willie Morris. A smart Jack Russell terrier (great little dogs) helps a lonely, shy boy come out of his shell, make friends, and grow up. The film is superbly faithful to period (1942-44) clothing details. The main character, a 9-year old boy played very well by Frankie Muniz, wears collared short-sleeved shirts, short pants, crew-length socks, and leather lace-up shoes in the many of the early scenes. At his birthday party when he receives Skip as a present, he also wears suspenders with his shorts. Other boys wear white "T"-shirts, denim overalls, jeans, sneakers, and casual, zippered jackets for cooler weather. [HBC note: I am not sure how common it was for younger boys to wear white "T"-shirts. Some teenagers did in the 1950s, but not to school. My impression is that younger boys usually wore colored stripe "T"-shirts and not white ones, but would be interested in reader input on this.] At school a couple of the boys wore shorts, which was very common in the hot, humid late summer and late spring weather of Mississippi, where the film is set and was filmed. One other fashion typical of the time, colorful, horizontally striped T-shirts, were worn by some of the boys. Several of the boys wore baseball caps for casual wear, and others wore a very common cap for boys. It's something like the flat cap, with a fuller crown, topped by a button. The button is covered with the same material as the cap. The cap's brim is rather short. This is a really fine, well made film with a terrific cast, though a couple of the subplots were not well developed and seemed a little forced. A HBC reader writes, "My Dog Skip is a wonderful film. A sensitive, beautiful theme song is the icing on this film's cake. Well worth seeing." The film seemed to launch Frankie Muniz's career who made a name for himself in the TV series, "Malcomb in the Middle".
|
Predictable Doris Day film, partially autobiographical. It was a remake of a 1930s musical. The musical was a declining film format by the late-1940s which is whyDay did not many. A hot-shot talent scout turns a young unknown into a star radio singer. Then problems develop. It was a tailor made film for Day who was a big band singer and just beginning tyo be noticed by the movie-going public. She has a son who has a small part. We're not sure who played the part. He appears at the airport in a tearful good-bye scene immaculately dressed in a long pants suit and the matching peaked caps boys used to wear when they dressed up. A short pants suit migt have been more likely given his age, but even younger boys were already wearing long pants suits by the 1940s. Social class factors affected the choice of suit types. More affluent families often selected short pants suits. Holklywood commonly chose long pants suits. We are not sure just why. We are not sure how accurate such costuming was. In fact, we do not at this time have a good idea on just how decisions on children's costuming were made.
A reader in Beklgrade tells us about a Serbian film is called My Family. It is about a man who discovers he was adopted as a baby. His family were Jewish and an Orthodox Serb family took him in and brought him up as their own.
A teacher friend tells me that she feel this is true of her grandfather as well. She believes that he was a Jewish child cared for by a non-jewish Serbian family. I realised that had this not happened then this teacher would not have been born. I feel touched by an event that happened all that time ago and accidently brought into the story.
Mind boggling. I'll let you know more as she unfolds the events of her life."
See "La Gloire de mon père".
A heart attack prods a workaholic busisnessman to recall the days of his youth.
Run of the mill Carry Grant movie where he winds up with two wives. Two children are involved. The boy is about 10 or so and appears in a bathing suit. He dresses up in a long trouser suit.
An idealistic boy (Roddy McDowall) develops a bond of friendship with an outlaw horse. Roddy plays a sensitive, if not sissy boy for his age, but wears long trousers. He is becoming a teenager and is 14 or 15. His other 1943 film, probably his most famous--"Lassie Comes Home--, has him still in short pants and knee socks.
Lovely little film set in Madison, Pennsylvania. The boy who is depicted at 10 or 11 is just on the brink of adolescence and has first girl friend. The boy is beautifully played by McaCally Caulkin and he gets his first on screen kiss. The girl is played by Anna Chumsley. The boy spends a good bit of the film in play khaki shorts. He seems to be wearing a military web belt with the shorts. He also wears a colored shirt which he always tucks in. I don't think he dresses up in shorts. Anna wears a pair of blue jean cutoffs. From his clothes (striped tee-shirts, shorts, and old-fashioned Keds), the film is set in the 1950s, but a reader says it is 1972. One columnist complained that the fact the boy dies during the film was not being included in the studios promotional campaign.
ending.
Sequel with the same little girl, but Austin O'Brien replaces high-priced Macaly Caulkin. Austin first appeared in the Schwartzenager flop, "Last Action Hero." Austin has an engaging smile, but I doubt if there is any interesting costuming.
Raul Flores, Henry Celis
Ingemar is poised uneasily between childhood and adolescence, just as his namesake, Johanson, is fighting for the heavyweight crown. Director Lasse Hallstrom has Ingemar withstanding life's major setbacks by virtue of his remarkable wit. Someone else, Ingemar invariably opines, has it much, much worse. A wonderful film about childhood. Anton Glanzelius is marvelously mischievous as Ingemar. He has devilish eyebrows and even at 11/12 knows how to use them. He proves to much for his sick mother to handle. He is sent to live with his uncle in the country where he develops a crush on a buxom local woman. Also some nice scenes between Ingemar and his new girl friend, Saga, who is a real tomboy. The movie is set in the 1950s. He wears long pants, but a few of the other boys wear shorts.
|
Scottish film My Life so Far was filmed in Argyll at Ardkinglas House and around Loch Fyne. The film is the memoir of family in post World War I era. The family lives on an estate and is headed headed up by a strong disciplinarian matriarch (Rosemary Harris). The family includes her daughter (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), her inventor husband (Colin Firth), their 10-year old son (Robbie Norman), and his older sister (Kelly MacDonald). Through the household comes a number of suitors hoping to impress the young woman, including a flyer (Tcheky Karyo). The elder woman's son (Malcolm MacDowell) shows up at the estate with of all things, a French maid (Irene Jacob)--throwing the family into turmoil. The young boy is smitten with her and his father is disturbed by his own feelings. The boys wear short trousers and kilts, usually with bkazers and coat jackets.
Jackie Searl who is about 19 appears.
See "Le Château de ma mère".
Sad story of a 12-year old boy caught up in World War II. Ivan (Kolya Burlaiev) serves as a scout. He sneaks behind enemy lines to spy on the Germans who killed his parents. After two years he becomes frail and is sent back to school. The boy, however, realizes his childhood is over and returns to the front where he is killed.
A wealthy man looses his son in a custody battle with his wife. George "Foghorn" Wilson starred in this 1952 film with Richard Widmark playing his dad. Widmark is the divorced father with custody of young George. I haven't seen this one for a long while, but I think the father had fallen for a gold digger, and young George, who played second fiddle to this femme fatale for much of the film, eventually shows dad the error of his ways! George wore either a shorts suit or an Eton suit with shorts in one scene. George won the Critics Award.
A European boy king in this B feature pot-boiler meets the American cowboy star of a traveling circus. Tom Reed's (Tom Mix) has a popular traveling Wild West show performing in Europe. They are in Alvonia, a small fictionl European country. The boy king of Alvonia is Fascinated by cowboys. At the time, in real life, Hollywood movies dominated the European boxoffice. The boys loved cowboy movies and the men gangster films. The 10-year old King Charles V (Mickey Rooney) is not keeping up with his studies. He is fascinated by everything cowboy, like many uropean boys. Charles meets Tom and after taking with him, he is convinced that his subjects should be treated more fairly. Count De Mar (James Kirkwood) who is the young King's Regent is not al all pleased. He had been planning to rise taxes. He begins plotting with Dowager Queen (Clarissa Selwynne) to kidnap the young King and his tutor, Dr. Lorenz (Wallis Clark). Both are thrown into a dungeon. The Count demands that Lorenz that the king and then himself. It is then that Tom takes on his trademark hero role. Charles' aunt, Princess Elsa (Noel Francis), tells that the King is missing. Tom of course manages to track him to the castle where the king is imprisoned. Tom's cowboys and the Count's men fight, and the count ends up drowning. Tom then rescues the King and his tutor, and Charles promises to always treat his subjects fairly. The film has little cinamatic value, but does have some historical value. As silly as the plot is, after World War I and the failed peace is how many Americans looked on Europe--a corupt rotting society that America should never waist its young men and treasure on again.
|
'My Peristroika' is a lovely doumntary which follows the lives of five ordinary Russians school children. The film begins with a big Miscow celebration, pehaps May Day. Soviet leaders including Breznew are standing on Lennin Tomb i red square waving. We see smartly uniformed children marching and giving well rehersed speeches lauding the Soviet Union wgich one boy earestly refers to as 'the land of happy childhood'. This remarkable film was made possible when an American film maker visited a Moscow state school and found that one of the history teachers had a treasure trove of family movie film his father had taken with both home and school scenes. Scenes from the school help provide images of four of his school mates. This provided scenes from their happy, secure childhood as well as during the next decade when the Soviet Union began to follow apart during their teen years. The film maker mixes the home footage, family snapshots together with historical documentary footage. And then she has the five individuals describe their childhhod, teen years, and present situation. The five individuals selected are a mixed lot, including the history teacher and his wife, a rock musician, an entrepreneur, and pool table technician. The pool table technician look forward to be a housewife when her banker fiancee was shot. She is apolitical, even wisful about the security of the old Soviet Union. The others are critical of the current situiation. The five provide varied insightful views of modern Russia. The documentary was shot in Russian so I first thought it was from Russian television until I noticed how openly they spoke. Two of their children also participate in the dialog. The film ends with the history teacher listening to Prime Minister OPutin explain how he is going to change how histiory is taught in Russia.
A high school student is about to flunk if he doesn't come out with a dazzling science project. John Stockwell.
Ted Eccles takes of from home to live in the Canadian mountains. He makes plenty of friends, including an otter,a bear, and a libraian. He trains a hawk he steals from its mother. He goes skinny dipping and makes his own clothing. He has studieds about roughing it and does a good job but fails in his attempt to produce food out of plankton. A folk singer befriends the boy boy who he comes accross. In the end he and the librarian rescues the boy after a blizzard. A beautifully done little movie and well plated by Ted.
|
A Broadway diva, Janice Courtney is of course played by Dennie Reynolds. She is adopted by six abandoned children and their huge pooch that she finds living on her property in the country. This was a vehicle taylor made for Reynolds. It is based on the novel My Six Loves by Peter V. K. Funk. Overworked because of her stardom, Courtney collapses from exhaustion. The demands of her career are just too much. Her doctor prescribes 6 months of rest and relaxation. So she retreats to her Connecticut estate for some much needed down time. Here she gets the surprise of her life -- a half-dozen scruffy orphan runaway squatters living in a shack on her property. The children charm her and wuth the assistance housekeeper Ethel (Eileen Heckart) and a sympathetic local minister, Jim Larkin (Cliff Robertson) she begins to care for them. But then Broadway beakons. Producer Marty Bliss (David Janssen) talks her into a new Broaway production. Courtney returns to New York and her career. Then one of the children goes missing. Courtney leaves the New York abnd the play. When the nissing child is finally found, Courtney realizes that this is the life she really wants. Ans he is going to share it with Larken. I don't recognize most of the children, but Teddy Eccles played Sonny and Barry Livingston played Sherman. A charming, but rathr predictabe mid-20th century with womn recognizing that acareer was not wht she really wanted. We are not sdur how it would play to a 21st century auduce where Hillywood and the media push the imprtabce of careers.
This Spencer Tracey film is set in England. The movie begins whn Edward was 1 year old. Strangely we nevr see Edward as a boy. He turns out to be a terror. One scene is set at his prep school where he is in Conventry. Boys watching cricket wear open neck shirts, shorts, and sandals without socks. Other boys are seen in the complete uniform with caps. They wear long trousers. I am not sure how realistic this was since it was an merican film. Short trousers were widely worn at prep schools in the 1930s, but some may have had long pants uniforms.
Nice little film loosely based on "Christmas Story," at least the summer sequel. Ralphie (a different actor) is about 10 or 11. He is being bullied and we wants a killer top to compete. The concept is good, but the script very week. The boy playing Ralphie is a nice little chap, but wear longs. A few boys in the background wear shorts (not many), as does his little brother. While Ralphie wears longs, the film is of some interest because the story line is set from a boy's point of view.
A high school boy (Matt Lattanzi) becomes romantically involved with his French tutor.
Mark Twain's irreverent fantasy about a daydreaming Missouri boy who fantasizes an encounter with a mysterious magical youth of dubious origin in medieval Austria. Christopher Makepeace and Lance Kerwin.
Based on the diaries of the 19th century hermaphrodite Hercule Barbin. The movie is the haunting true story of a young "woman" with androgynous features raised in a convent school. She is sent as a school mistress to a distant provincial town where she is attracted to a female. school teacher.
Disney film featuring two brothers, one cute little guy and his older curly-haired brother (Johnny Whitaker). The boys are spending the summer with their writer mom in a seaside resort. They run into trouble and mom hires a nanny for them. Unfortunately the boys wear longs.
A wealthy, bored youth and his guardian are ship wrecked on a remote island populated by dangerous monsters. Peter Cushing.
Darryl Hickman
Lance Kerwin, Chris Makepease
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main "M" movie page]
[Return to the Main alphabetical movie page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Theatricals]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
