Alphabetical Movie Listings: Wm-Wz


Figure 1.--HBC knows little about this German film, "Wo die alten Wälder rauschen". Two boys are involved who wear short and knicker-length lederhosen.

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.

Wo die alten Wälder rauschen - (Germany, 195?)

I'm not sure about the translation, something like "Where old Walder rush". This is a German "Heimatfim". ("Heimat" is a classic TV mini-series about the life of a German village over time.) These often nostalgic films are most popular in rural areas, mainly in Germany or Austria. There is nearly always something endangering the idyll. And there is a love story in it as well. In this particular film, an engineer who is in charge of other engineers, doesn't have time to look after his small son, instead he works long hours at his site. He flirts with the nanny of the child, but she loves another engineer, who is blamed for an accident at work for which he was not responsible. Finally the boy runs away (possibly with a friend he has made) and has to be saved by the mountain guard. The two boys in the film wear jackets and short and knicker-length lederhosen with ankle socks. The weather appears a bit chilly. One boy wears a red checkered shirt. The younger boy wears gloves.

Woman from the Provinces (Poland, 1984)

Andzia, an uneducated Polish peasant woman, loses her husband and must raise two children on her own. After they are grown she helps them cope with a new society that she neither understands or trusts.

Woman in the Window - (US, 1944)

Bobby Blake and ageing George "Spanky" McFarland have small parts. This was George's last film.

(A) Woman of Independent Means - (US, 1995)

Made for TV movie concerning a woman's life over several decades. She has three children including two boys. The wear interesting outfits including sailor suits although the camera rarely focuses on them. Usually they are in knickers, but there is one shot of the older boys in shorts and knee socks. The younger boy appears in a Buster Brown outfit. There is a nice wedding with the younger boy wearing a sissy hat, but you don't get a good view of his suit.

Woman to Woman - (England, 1923)

The British silent film "Woman to Woman" starred Betty Compson and Clive Brook. I'm not sure ho the child actor was. He wears a blouse, short velvet trousers, strap shoes and white socks. His hair lookscto be Dutch boy bob. I know nothing about the plot of the film. Obtaining information on silent films is difficult. It looks to be what a British reader describes as a woman's weepy.

Women in Love - (UK)

Drama exotically filmed by Ken Russel based on the novel by D.H. Lawrence.

(The) Wonder Kid (England, 1951)

The 1951 film 'The Wonder kid' stared Bobby Henrey playing the part of a musical prodigy called Sebastian Giro. The screenplay was written by Gene Markey. The film was directed by Karl Hartl. The picture was filmed in the Austrian Tyrol and at the Isleworth Studios in England. This was Bobby Henrey’s second and final film. His first movie film was 'The Fallen Idol' (1948). In 'The Wonder Kid', Sebastian Giro is a French World war II orphan. He is a gifted pianist and came under the influence of a musical promoter, Mr. Gorik. He exploits the boy’s talent. Not only that but he embezzles the takings so that Sebastian receives only a pittance for his performances. Gorik is also mean to the boy by not allowing him to play with other children or have a pet dog. He is not allowed to read comic books. There are two touching scenes that illustrate the boys longing to play with other children. From his apartment window he watches boys playing football. He longs to play with them. He also sees a boy playing with his pet dog. Sebastian wishes the dog was his pet. He is looked after by a well experienced nanny, Miss Frisbie. She confronts Gorik about the way he is treating Sebastian. She also tells him she knows he is embezzling Sebastian’s money. She thinks of a plan to hire a gang of crooks to 'kidnap' the boy. They take him to the Austrian Tyrol where he has the time of his life fishing, swimming, reading comic books and the best of all having a dog to play with. In the film he is dressed in a Lord Fauntleroy suit when he is performing at a concert. Actually that was quite connon in the early 20th century and even in the 1950s, prodigy could be dressed in rather jivenile outfits. When he is at home with Gorik he is dresed in short trousers, a short sleeve shirt, a sleeveless pullover, white ankle socks, and shoes. After being kidnapped he dresses in an Austrian Tyrol outfit which he wears for much of the film. He meets local boys who are throwing mud at a poster annoucing his future performance. They think Sebastian is a sissy, but he gets into a fight with one of the boys and wins it. He shows what he thinks about his Fauntleroy outfit. He says, "How would you like to wears these!" to one of the gangsters. He scoops up the garments and throws them on the fires. Towards the end of the film he returns home but he will not let Gorik exploit him any more. He tells him that he does not want to wear the silly Fauntleroy clothes when he is performing. He says he wants to wear long trousers like other ordinary boys. A HBC reviewer writes, " A good story but I think it is a little unbelievable that a gang of kidnappers would collect money for Sebastian and see to it that he has a jolly pleasant time while he is kidnapped."

Wonderland Cove - (US)

Five orphaned children persuade a fishing captain to act as their guardian so they can remain together in Hawaii as a family.


Figure 2.--"Wonderous Oblivion" is a wonderful examination of English soccer as well as grammar (selective secondary) schools as well as ethnicity. Here we see the main character, David, who attends a grammar school outside his neighborhood. Note his school uniform: blue blazer, cap, grey shorts, gray socks ansd black shoes as well as the school satchel and duffle bag for sports togs.

Wonderous Oblivion - (England, 2003)

A HBC reader reports seeing a terrific period film at the Jewish Film Festival in Mt. View, California. The film was "Wonderous Oblivion", a 2003 British film about a cricket obsessed 11-year old Polish Jewish (but English born) boy in the early 1960s. He loves the game, but is unfortunatly, a terrible player. He loves to play so much and his school coach refers to hin as "wonderously oblivious' about his lack of ability. He is soon relegated to position of "official scorer". His family is subjected to the offhand/subtle bigotry of the era in their working class neighborhood (but the boy is not at school). A Jamaican family moves in next store and this REALLY upsets the (not so tolerent) neighbors. The boy, David, discovers that the father is an expert cricket player. He gets lessons from the man and eventualy becomes a very good player. He also develops a friendship with the man's daughter. This is a wonderful film about bigotry (subtle, overt and unintentional), tolerance and family with just a bit of fantasy and comedy to compliment the dramatics of the story. The film is very well acted by all, especially Sam Smith as the boy (a wonderful subtle performance that is acted as much by expression as by dialog) and Delroy Lindo as the Jamacian man who teaches him to play cricket. The ending is a bit of a stretch, but very satisfying. It has been described as doing for cricket what "Billy Elliot" does for dancing and "Bend It Like Beckham" does for soccer. Fortunatly, unlike "Billy Elliot" it makes it's points without profanity. It's a film the whole family can enjoy.

Woof Too! A Girl and Her Dog - (US,1993)

Eric, the boy who sometimes becomes a dog, befriends a girl who'd like a new bicycle for an upcoming competition.

(The) World According to Garp - (US,1982)

The son of an unmarried prep school nurse becomes a critically acclaimed novelist, but his fame is soon overshadowed by that of his crusading feminist mother. The movie includes scenes of the author as a boy and he is cute as a button. I didn't recognize him, but he makes the entire movie worthwhile. I thought for a minute that the boys at the school wore short pants. One of the first scenes at the school is a boy in shorts that comes running to the nurse with his penis stuck in his zip. Unfortunately you don't see his uniform very well. The other shots of the younger boys has them in pajamas--fighting over a girly magazine. Young Garp is semi-seduced by a little girl while still in shorts, but not dressy shorts. Garp soon grows up. The rest of the movie is worth seeing, but nothing really interesting about boys clothing. Garp has three kids, two boys. The two boys are very personable little guys. One has long hair. They really play their parts beautifully, acting like two very believable brothers. They don't have, however, very extensive parts. Both appear in shorts. I found the ending rather distracting, especially the younger boy is killed in an accident. Based on John Irving's novel.

(The) World Accuses - (US,1935)

Dickie Moore

(The) World Changes - (US, 1933)

Mickey Rooney and Jackie Searl

(The) World of Buster - (Denmark, 1984)

Buster Oregon Mortensen, grandson of the Great Osmann, is a lively dreamer who has a faith and optimism which sparkles in the midst of the realities of everyday life. Buster meets the wonder child Joanna through his anything but easy job as a delivery boy. He has a childish love affair with her which convinces Buster it is all worth while. Buster wears shorts.

(The) World that Summer / Die Welt in jenem Sommer (Germany, 1979)

A West German TV film The World that Summer was based on the book by Robert Muller about a youngster in the Hitler Jugend (HJ) during the mid-1930s. It is about Hannes, a fair-haired boy who is very keen to excel and be awarded his HJ dagger. At the same time he has a guilty secret--a Jewish grandmother whom he dearly loves. It is one of the better films I have seen about the Hitler Youth. Beautifully made, but sad movie about a partly Jewish German boy and his terrifying experiences. It is set before the Holocaust, during the 1936 summer Olympics in Berlin. Although set before the War, the events are terrible enough. Hannes does not look Jewish so his friends do not know about the Jewish grandmother that he loves. His father is Aryan and the parents try to hide their Jewishness. I think the father eventually runs out on them, but I may be confusing this with another movie. The boy wears shorts and white knee socks. His outfits include both a suit and a Hitler Youth uniform. The movie keys in on the relationship between the boy and his grandmother. The grandmother eventually hangs herself because of the NAZIs.

(The) Worst Soccer Team Ever (New Zealand, 1990?)

The Worst Soccer Team Ever was based on a book by William Taylor.

Wrong Way Kid -

Keith Mitchell


Figure 3.--Football is a passion for Matthias and his friends. "Dad Wunder von Bern" is about Summer 1954 when Matthias father comes back Soviet POW camps and the German team plays for the World Cup.

(Das) Wunder von Bern - (Germany, 2003)

'The Miracle of Bern ' (2003) is now being released in the States. The German title is " Das Wunder von Bern ". It is about a 1954 football (soccer) match between Germany and Hungary. A young 11-year boy Matthias Lubanski played by Louis Klamroth and is involved throughout this movie. The film is about Germany's 1954 World cup win and it's effects on a German family, a young sportswriter and a player on the team. The film is set during Summer 1954 and focuses on the 1954 football (soccer) match between Germany and Hungary. A young 11-year boy Matthias Lubanski (a Polish sounding name) played by Louis Klamroth and is involved throughout this movie. Almost a decade has past since World War II. The Soviet Union is returning the German POWs. Many died in Soviet camps and most of the rest are broken men. One of these men is the son of 11-year old football-loving Mathias who does not know his father and grown up without him. Matthias lives with his mother, sister and older brother. Matthias obsession with football has brought him a surrogate father--a local football star Helmut Rahn. Matthias wears lederhosen shorts and a jacket that almost comes down to the bottom to his shorts.

Wuthering Heights - (US, 1939)

Children, two boys and a girl, dominate the beginning of the film. The waif, Heathcliffe, is a cute little guy, who after being taken in by the father is made a stableboy when the father dies. No interesting historical costumes.







HBC





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Created: January 30, 2000
Last updated: 12:11 PM 5/12/2017