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Post by Fading Fast on Aug 20, 2023 3:02:53 GMT
As it turns out, one can dance in a beret as well. Jane Powell does it well in "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life" from Royal Wedding (1951).
I've been thinking about posting regarding Jane's costume in this number, and the beret conversation seemed to give me additional permission to do so. That little lady certainly stands up to the garish yellow and weird pink with black accents -- well, let's elevate it and say marigold with salmon accented with black patent, shall we? It's awful -- in all the right ways! The zip-back bodice fits perfectly (oh, tailoring, we miss ye), and the gored skirt is a real show stopper. Perhaps it doesn't look like much at the beginning of the number, but when Jane sends that skirt flying, it simply knocks me out. Kudos and many thanks to Helen Rose for putting Jane in that dress.
Fred Astaire is looking the part in this number as well. Rose picked up the marigold again for Fred's shirt, and she paired it with high-waisted royal blue trousers. His checked jacket is navy and maroon, though it tends to read as brown to my eyes, which doesn't bother me. I'd love to view this film on the big screen to see if that check stands up there. Perhaps Fathom and TCM will conspire team up to put it in theaters in 2026 for the 75th anniversary.
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Post by sagebrush on Aug 20, 2023 13:32:35 GMT
As it turns out, one can dance in a beret as well. Jane Powell does it well in "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life" from Royal Wedding (1951).
I'd love to view this film on the big screen to see if that check stands up there. Perhaps Fathom and TCM will conspire team up to put it in theaters in 2026 for the 75th anniversary.
I also love Jane's black wig; so contrasting with her clear blue eyes!
Sadly, TCM is no longer associated with the Fathom Events showings since the start of 2023. Most of the screenings now are films from the 1980s and 1990s.
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Post by Andrea Doria on Aug 20, 2023 13:33:19 GMT
Flying skirts you say?
Ann Miller in flying green and plaid -- my favorite movie dress.
Start at 2:15 to skip the long lead in.
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Post by BunnyWhit on Aug 20, 2023 15:11:08 GMT
Great comments, I enjoyed reading them and then viewing the number. I agree, the tailoring on her outfit is insanely good. Oddly, Astaire's outfit looks sloppy to me as the jacket is clearly too big for him and his pants don't drape but billow oddly. I haven't seen this movie in decades and don't remember the story much, but since Astaire's clothes are usually perfectly tailored, I'm thinking that maybe his poorly fitted outfit was part of the script. That's just a guess. |
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Post by BunnyWhit on Aug 20, 2023 15:13:34 GMT
Sadly, TCM is no longer associated with the Fathom Events showings since the start of 2023. Most of the screenings now are films from the 1980s and 1990s.
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Post by NoShear on Aug 20, 2023 16:11:32 GMT
The French beret is often the go-to topper in classic Hollywood movies to turn an actress into a mysterious spy, or to show she's confident and independent or that she's simply adorable as all heck. Give the French credit, their "stupid little hat" is a truly timeless icon. It is absolutely amazing how many actresses, in how many movies have worn one.
Ella Raines (swoon)
Of berets and French credit, THE GREEN BERETS inherited both. The 1968 movie's Fort Bragg brag is a Technicolor recruitment brochure for the ARMY:  The USO Tour has specially brought in Ella Raines for you, Fading Fast:  |
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Post by BunnyWhit on Aug 20, 2023 16:40:40 GMT
Flying skirts you say?
Ann Miller in flying green and plaid -- my favorite movie dress.
Start at 2:15 to skip the long lead in.
Helen Rose was at it again for On the Town (1949). The black-and-white plaid with that emerald silk is so unexpected, but it is a real stunner. The dress has an amazing low, square neckline with the plaid set on the bias framing Ann's face beautifully. Can you even imagine a blonde wearing that dress? Neither can I.
I've always felt that Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen were dressed better in On the Town than was Betty Garrett.
Ann is dressed to stand out. She got the brighter colors that are well suited to her, and she is always in a décolletage-baring dress. She does not have vests or jackets or buttoned collars in the film as do the other two gals. She also gets to wear heels while the other are in flats. She is positioned in the center, and she wears that position well. I've wondered if any of this has to do with Ann's having been fairly recently signed at MGM. She came on the year before, and though she had a small part in The Kissing Bandit (1948) and a better part in Easter Parade (1949), I've always felt that On the Town is really Ann's first meaningful role at MGM.
Vera-Ellen looks cute through the film, and we see her in lots of different costumes for the "Miss Turnstiles Ballet". Perhaps it makes sense because, to tell the truth, the whole film is about her. Even though there is a large portion of the film in which she does not appear, it's her film. Once again, I think we could make a case for that being the reason we see her in such attractive costumes. She was showcased even though she appeared in fewer scenes.
Poor Betty kind of gets short shrift, in my opinion. Though her costumes are well-fitted and suit her character, they do tend to make her look a bit dowdy. The colors in which she is attired don't do much for her other than make her look bland. I understand that the brown and ochre outfit she wears for her work as a cabbie is appropriate, but I've really never much cared for the striped dress she's in later in the film. I feel the dress wears her to a certain degree, and the chartreuse cropped jacket over top doesn't save it. The stripes seem to pull her down rather than elongate her. The cropped jacket has the same effect. It's a good thing Betty was as bubbly and darling as she was, or her costumes in the film would have rendered her practically invisible.
I just don't dig Betty's dress.
Call me crazy, but the little track outfit is my favorite of everything Vera-Ellen wears. The inverted box pleats on the flared shorts -- darling!
The "Miss Turnstiles Ballet"
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Post by Andrea Doria on Aug 20, 2023 18:19:19 GMT
Love your comments, BunnyWhit, you make me want to see the whole thing again. I agree that Betty gets slighted, her comedy is the best and she deserves better.
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Post by NoShear on Aug 26, 2023 16:41:55 GMT
With this year's Little League WORLD SERIES currently in progress... Predominantly shot in the San Fernando Valley, "THE BAD NEWS Bears" features a tomboy who's so 1970s Valley uniformed - including the exaggerated elastic stretch of her stirrups:
The team's sponsor, CHICO'S BAIL BONDS, is said to have really existed, but I don't think that's true. Instead, it's an in-joke about the bail bondsmen who occupied Van Nuys Boulevard:
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Post by BunnyWhit on Aug 28, 2023 17:59:39 GMT
Thanks for the great post, NoShear!
And congratulations to the 2023 LLWS champs, the California team from El Segundo. Where I left my wallet. But I digress.
The team costumes in The Bad News Bears (1976) are a great example of costume really pulling its weight in a film. Much is made of Tatum O'Neal's character, Amanda Whurlitzer, being so big/tall. She certainly towers over the four other boys in the front row with her here, but she's not taller than the rest of the boys. But, if you put her in slightly slimmer cut high-waisted knickers that end just below the kneecaps, and you stretch her garters to capacity, well then those lines all inform the eye that she is quite lanky. Even assigning her the number eleven keeps everything moving vertically. Kudos are due costumer Nancy Martinelli.
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Post by Fading Fast on Aug 28, 2023 19:45:49 GMT
I'm loving all the baseball uniform talk above. No shock, but I love those old baseball uniforms, like Cooper's in "Pride of the Yankees" here:
I could start a separate thread on those old baseball cardigan-style sweaters like this insanely cool one that Ruth wore.
Those sweaters pop up in a bunch of old baseball movies, too.
I did want to post another beret pic I saw the other day from "Out of the Past." It's Virginia Huston being bold and confident and looking awesome in one:
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Post by BunnyWhit on Aug 29, 2023 1:14:54 GMT
You know it, FadingFast! I've always wanted to knit a baseball sweater. (I even have been known to take my knitting to the ballgame.) I don't know that my skills are up to it though. To knit one as historically accurately as possible requires some tricky bits of construction that I'm not sure I can handle.
And here's the great Walter Johnson sporting his well-worn sweater with the shawl collar turned up.
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Post by Fading Fast on Aug 29, 2023 2:54:11 GMT
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Post by BunnyWhit on Aug 29, 2023 16:57:06 GMT
I'm with you 100%, FadingFast!
Those thin, white sweaters (which just look like your average varsity sweater) would never stand up to the weather Chicago has to offer the way those proper Cubs and White Sox sweaters would.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Aug 29, 2023 23:17:52 GMT
Bunny, how would you describe this variation of the letter sweater worn by Gordon MacCrae in On Moonlight Bay (1951)? It almost doesn't read as a knit. And are those snaps or buttons?
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