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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 incourage readers to submit information about their favorire films.
The movie begins with a long sequence with a nice boy, Mickey (Shean Donehey?). A witch moves into a suburban home. There is a nice scene at the beach where Mickey handles two big bullies. After that he is rarely seen. Except for the beach scene he wears longs.
Jackie Searl
A reader reports a lovely American drama/comedy called "Wide Awake". It is a nice family film based around an upperclass Catholic American family, the Beals. Joshua Beal (Joseph Cross) with shock of blond hair . He is nearly 9 or 10 years old and is in year 5 at very exclusive Catholic preparatory school with tight rules and a very strict uniform code too. The nuns are very strict. Joshua discovers girls, deals with bullys and pranksters, endures the death of grandad, and has an attitudal change. He also wrestles with the issue of is there a God?.
A widow tries to make a new life for herself and two children.
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and Jackie Searl
Disney adventure starring Ronnie Howard as a young teenager. His family is trying to stake out a farm in cattle country. The only interesting aspect is that they had just moved from a coddled life in Philadelphia. The mother tries to keep the boys well behave and innocent, for example, she tries to keep them from seeing a mare fold. Nice concept, but I prefer rough boys being put in a posh environment. Ron has a little brother, the boy appearing in Lucile Ball's "Mame". I didn't see the whole movie, but I doubt if there are any interesting costumes.
When a 12-year old boy becomes obsessed with a wild pony, his step father buys it over his new wife's strong objections, and a near catastrophe develops. Art Hindle.
George "Foghorn" Winslow's last film.
Coming of age film set in a French boarding school during 1962 at the end of the Algerian war. Two local boys and a girl, all older teenagers, are changed by their encounter with an older boy who grew up in Algeria. The Algerian born Henri may be a fascist, but he's intelligent and sympathetic even when he is entirely wrong headed. Set in 1962 as France is being torn apart by the Algerian issue. Henri, a young French Algerian, who has returned to France disrupts a small boarding school with politics.
Classic Swedish film. I haven't seen the whole film, but don't think there is anything of great interest. There are a few items. In some of the flashbacks the girls wear sailor suits. I wish they had been boys. Two older teenage boys appear later dressed in shorts. Not really interesting, but they do wear them with a sports jacket and heavy shirt. This was how Europe was like before jeans took over.
A family tries to survive a bitter Colorado winter.
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The title is "Willy and the Yank", sometimes titled as "Mosby's Marauders", a film from 1966. It stars Kurt Russell in the role of Willy, and it may be a good film for depiction of Civil War era costumes. This film is not often run by Disney.
Based on the children's book by Ronald Dahl, a noted Norwegian/British author of children's books. (See also: "James and the Giant Peach.") The movie is about several children who are potential winners of a lifetime supply of candy. The greedy, dishonest, bratty children eventually loose out, and it is poor Charlie who has a heart of gold that eventually wins. (I don't know of a nicer boy ever depicted in the films.) The movie was filmed in Germany. Charlie, the main character is a super little guy. He was selected after an extensive talent search with only a little experience with local dramatics. He had never done a film before, and didn't do any after this one. Very disappointing costumes. Charlie and the boys at his school all wear longs. Bit of a shame that Charlie wears longs, he is really a sweet little chap and just the right age with a beautiful smile. Charlie's national identity is a bit unclear. There is only one boy in shorts during the entire film, the German boy--Agusto. He is nicely done up wearing shortish lederhosen, black knee socks, and leather shoes. He has only a small role. He is usually in the background and is dispensed with early, but there are a few nice scenes. The American boy also wears longs, an uninteresting cowboy outfit.
Razouli, a bedouin chieftan (the Lion), in the early 1900s, presumably 1904 as American an election campaign is underway, kidnaps an American woman Mrs Pedecaris and her two children who are living in Tangers, Morocco. This sets off an international incident. Sean Connery does rather a good job of playing a bedouoin, although there are Scottish flashes. His lines are rather poignent in the context of 9-11. The American woman is played by Candice Bergman. He is attempting to depose his evil brother who imprisoned him for many years. Germany and France are vying for power in Morocco. (There was in fact an international crisis over Morocco that almost led to war a few years beodre World War I. Teddy Roosevelt (the Wind) is president. In between knocking off Grisley bears, he dispatches the Great White Fleet and of course the Marines to rescue Mrs. Petticaris and her two children. This film has some minimal historical basis. Two Westerners were actually kidnapped in Morocco, a 60-year-old American man and an Englishman. There were no women and children involved. President Roosevelt handled the situation diplomatically and never sent in the marines with guns blazing. Of course that would have been a bit dull for an American action film. The Pedecaris childre are played by Simon Harrison (William) and Polly Gottesman (Jennifer). Willim wears a redish-brown kneepants suit with yellow piping. His sister Jenifer wears a white sailor dress. Deborah Baxter, Jack Colley, Chris Aller play the Roosevelt children. One of the Roosevelt children was Quintin. He seems to be wearing above the knee knickers--although that was hard to tell. Quentin in real life was killed in France as a fighter pilot dufing World War I.
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The 1998 movie "Wind River" is about Native Americans. Blake Heron played a white boy who had been captured and raised by Indians. The movie is set in 1854 Wyoming. It is Tom Shell's adaptation of the memoirs of Pony Express rider Nick Wilson. Before Nick is captured, the wife of a powerful Shoshone Indian chief has a vision. She somehow foresees that a white chile, specifically a blonde child will save their daughter. Beliefing that the tribe needs a blond child, the chief kidnaps Nicholas from his settler parents. Nick meets the description of the boy in his wife's dream perfectly. Nick soon becomes accustomed to his new circu,stances and comes to love the family. Eventually settlers comes searching for Nick. He has to choose between his white family and his Shoshone family. The costumes and the weapons depicted seemed very accurate.
No list of English films featuring boys and their clothing is complete without this classic. The plight of a young boy unjustly accused of stealing touches off a classic British lawsuit, Rex vs. Wimslow. The cadet at the English naval school at Osborne is accused of stealing and summarily expelled with no real investigation of the matter. A respected lawyer agrees to take his case. Wonderfully acted and well costumed. The film underscores how the law exists to protect even a young boy in a matter of seemingly minor imprtance. It ends with the ringing "Let justice be done." This is on my list of important films, primarily because of the subject. I believe that one of the major reasons for the success of America and England is the system of law, imperfect as it is, protecting individuals and their property. This film is a good illustration of the legal process. A remake was done in 1999.
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This is a very important topic and a remake helps to refresh the issues involved. The 1999 remake is certaily glitzier, but adds nothing to the 1948 original. Of course it is done in color which many younger viewers have come to expect. There are, however, substantiala and often glaring historical inaccuracies and ommissions. It is a well acted and elaborately costumed film, but the boys' clothes are inexplicanbly too modern for 1910. It is a shame that an expensive production like this can not acurately depict the fashions.
Bobby Driscoll plays a boy who witnesses a murder through a window, but no one believes him. The film established Bobby as the dominant boy child star of his era, certainly one of Hollywoods finest child stars. The studios were still dominant in Hollywood, although their importance was waining. Disney "loaned" Bobby to RKO for this film. Many believe this was his finest movie. As a result he received a special Academy Award in 1949. Remade as "The Boy Cried Murder." Bobby wears a long sleeve striped "T" shirt in the film, showing that "T" shirts were not onlt worn in the summer. This was a very popular style in America during the 1940s and early 50s. I'm not sure that it was worn in other countries. In a tragic ending to his life, an adult Driscoll was found dead in an abandoned New York City tenement not unlike the setting of The Window of an apparent drug overdose.
An 11-year old Quaker boy sets out to avenge his family's death.
An elderly Cheyenne patriarch set out to find his kidnapped son.
An American boy visits England with his grandmother. He is about 10 or so with wire-framed glasses and a sweet personality. He wears jeans. He meets an obnoxious British school boy who also is in longs. The American boy discovers a coven of witches who plan to turn British children into mice. The two boys get turned into mice, but the American boy (mouse) manages to turn the tables on the witches. Nothing of real interest, but I enjoyed the film which was made interesting by the boy--even in his mouse persona. At the end he gets turned back into a boy. It is decretal filmed, but as he becomes a boy he is duly naked.
A boy discovers a clavern of witches. He wears contemporary clothing.
A young boy suspects that the problems encountered during his family's move to a new city are the work of a magical stranger. Justin Gocke.
The children don't get along when a widow and a widower get married. Kids are involved swith a good view of 1960s American boys clothing. Typical Doris Day movie. It is either this or "Yours, Mine, and Ours" where two boys in a bath tub full of yellow dye are pictured climbing about. I think the scene is often cut out when shown on TV.
Police mobilize a massive search for a 6 year old boy who vanishes on the way to school. The boy wears cutoff jeans and was with an older boy in longs.
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"Witness" is based on the John Grisholm novel. A young, recently widowed Amish woman, Rachel Lapp, has brought her 8-year old son Samuel to Philadelphia for the first time. Samuel is beautifully played by Lukas Haas. I think it is his best film. A trip to a big city like Philadelphia is a a major evet for any young Anish boy. For Samuel it proves to be mych more than he expected. Samuel while in the washroom of the Philadelphia train station and thus by himself, sees two men viciously murder a third. The film stars Harrison Ford as John Book. He is a Philadelphia police detective investigating the murder. The murder victims turns out to be a under-cover policeman. A grop of crooked cops is involved with narcotics. Samuel is sole witness to a murder and Book's only evidence. And the case becomes complicated with Lukas identifies another cop as the killer. Three crooked cops set out to silence Samuel. Only Book can save him. Book realizes that people within the police department are involved. As a result, he is targeted himself and wounded. He escorts Rachel and Samuel back home and tries to hide Samuel in the Amish community while he recovers. In the process he falls in love with Samuel's mother and the peaceful way of Amish life. A well done movie with a fine little actor. The boy wears Amish clothing which is very accurately depicted. The Amish community clothing is very distinctive.
"De Witte van Sichem" stars Eric Clerckx as Witte.
Corey, a 13-year old boy (Fred Savage) and his troubled younger brother (Luke Edwards?) run away to California to participate in a high-stakes national video game competition. Fred appears in shorts during some of the scenes, but nothing of real interest.
A dour, but cutesy drama set in Vermont during the 1940s. The show stars a California enfant terrible, Wendall Oler (Lukas Haas) who becomes an apple-cheeked, argyle sweatered sweetheart in the company of his quirky New England relations. Wendall is a mean spirited, Walter Mittyish 12-year old who think's that he has a wizard's powers. He is taken in my his quirky grandparents when his mother dies and his father goes off to war. His behavior is reprehensible, telling a little cousin to stop crying when he learns that his father was killed in combat. Slowly his he begins to change, but as one reviewer wrote, "If the grand parents weren't so masochistic, they would have smacked Wendall's britches as soon as he got off the train and we would have been spared the dull metamorphosis." It's like "My Life as a Dog", but without the charm.
A wondering, aging warrior helps a little prince recapture his kingdom from an evil magician.
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