Recycled Costume Roundup - August

Movie costumes that have been used twice are quite often used yet a third time. After I posted last months inaugural roundup, I came across two of these "three-peats." They are both costumes that I recognized from another blogger's "discovery." 

The first is from a recycle first brought to my attention by a favorite fellow blogger Caftan Woman. She shared this on her Twitter account a couple years ago and, being fascinated with recycles, I bookmarked it. Here is her tweet:

I spotted this unique costume on Fay Helm in The Falcon in San Francisco (1945). It looks like the neckline was slightly altered for the Dick Tracy film. 

~♥~♥~♥~

The next recycle was noticed by Kimberly Truhler from GlamAmor (you may know her from her TCMFF "Fashion in Film" talks and Film Noir Fashion book published last year) during a live tweet last May of They Won't Believe Me (1947). She noted it had first been worn by Claire Trevor in Murder, My Sweet (1944). I then spotted the dress in The Falcon's Adventure (1946). It looks like it may have lost a strip of sequins on the sleeve along the way. And, as you can see, the neckline was altered both times.

Here's the full costume on Trevor.

~♥~♥~♥~

This suit worn by Madge Meredith in The Falcon's Adventure (left) also shows up in another of her films, Child of Divorce (right) from the same year.

UPDATE: I also spotted the suit in The Bells of St. Mary's (1945).

Another Child of Divorce recycle is this beaded dress originally worn by Olivia de Havilland in Government Girl (1943). I had saved the photo (right) of Meredith on Pinterest and then someone shared a video of de Havilland in the dress on Instagram and I recognized it as one I had seen very recently. 

UPDATE 10/31/21: I spotted the gown again in Mystery in Mexico (1948), this time with a dark skirt and added embellishments on the back.

~♥~♥~♥~

And while we're still on the subject of The Falcon movies, here's Falcon regular Jean Brooks in a publicity photo wearing a sparkly gown spotted on an extra in The Falcon's Brother (1942) in a fashion show sequence (I had taken the screenshot for the "Victory" dress). 

It just hit me that the costumes in this entire post are circa WWII era films and the recycles were probably also because of the clothing rationing!

~♥~♥~♥~

I started off August with a bang, spotting two big recycles in Casablanca (1942), which I hadn't seen since I was a teen (12+ years ago). Right in the first scene inside Rick's Café I spotted this champagne colored gown worn by Olivia de Havilland in It's Love I'm After (1937) - in which Bette Davis co-stars. It's one of my favorite film costumes. It doesn't fit the extra very well though.

UPDATE: I also spotted de Havilland's gown carried by Ann Sheridan in The Doughgirls (1944), seen below. You can't miss those distinctive sleeves!

A few seconds later I spotted Bette Davis' beaded/sequined top from Dark Victory (1939)! Both costumes are still in existence. You can see Olivia reunited with her costume at the bottom of this article as well as a fantastic photo of it on this great WB Classic Studio Tour by Hometowns to Hollywood. A quick google search will bring you multiple images of Bette's. 

Casablanca has another Davis connections as well. The beaded crop-top worn by Madeleine Lebeau was actually originally a jacket worn by Davis in Marked Woman (1937)! I kept thinking of the dress and that the beadwork looked identical but didn't remember there was a matching jacket until someone posted a photo of it on Twitter. It was also worn by Dolores Moran in a publicity photo (not sure if it's from a movie as I haven't seen much of her work). And yes, I counted the rows of beads on the sleeves.

"Hey, Kid. that jacket looks kind of familiar.."

Here is the costume today:

~♥~♥~♥~

I also spotted my first hat recycle! We all know Bette Davis' iconic hat when she steps off the boat after her makeover in Now, Voyager (1942). Well, I was looking for a certain costume in To Have and Have Not (1945) and spotted it on an extra behind Lauren Bacall! It may not be the actual hat worn by Davis - her stand-in had one too. Between this and Casablanca, that's a lot of Davis-Bogart-Henreid connections!

~♥~♥~♥~

The last recycle is this heavily braided gown worn by Ruth Hussey in Married Bachelor that she also wore in publicity photos for H.M. Pulham, Esq., both 1941.

I wonder what color the side panels were?

This dress by Kalloch is a cross between Katharine Hepburn's famous  The Philadelphia Story dress (Adrian - waist) and one worn by Myrna Loy in I Love You Again (Dolly Tree - shoulders)! I'd wear all of them (insert ♥ eyes)!

~♥~♥~♥~

And lastly, for fun, here is a recycled mirror! I noticed it in Lady Be Good (1941) and shared it online because of a certain artist - Curious Pip, check out her work on Instagram - who loves mermaids and classic movies. Then I spotted it again at the beginning of Come Live With Me (1941)!

Be sure to check out last month's post again. I found a third recycle of the striped flower gown and added it to the post as well as a photo that shows Joan Fontaine's Suspicion robe better :)

Post 450!

The Fourth Annual Olivia de Havilland Blogathon is Here!!!

Today Dame Olivia de Havilland celebrated her 103rd year here on earth!!! We are so lucky that she is still with us and I'm a honored to be able to celebrate her incredible life and career with this little blogathon and for Crystal from In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood for co-hosting with me.

I will try to update this post daily with the entries and hopefully will have time to read them this weekend.

Here are the entries:

Realweedgiemidget Reviews kicks off the day with Olivia's appearance on The Love Boat.

Pale Writer tells us about a less pleasurable experience of Olivia's character in The Snake Pit (1948).

The Stop Button delves into The Heiress (1949).

Photo by Samantha Ellis

Musings of a Classic Film Addict share's Olivia's recipe for Salade Nicoise.

Movies Meet Their Match is pleasantly surprised with The Proud Rebel (1958).

To Be Updated!!

ANNOUNCING the Fourth Annual Olivia de Havilland Blogathon!

I am excited to announce that, for the fourth year in a row, Crystal of In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and I are hosting a blogathon in honor of our beloved Olivia de Havilland, who will be turning 104 on July 1st!

The blogathon will run from July 1st to July 3.

Here are the rules:

1. Choose any film or topic pertaining to Dame Olivia. Up to TWO Duplicates are allowed, so if you see that only one blogger is writing about, say, The Adventures of Robin Hood, you are free to write about it also.

2. Once you have made your selection(s), leave a comment below or over on Crystal's blog. Please be sure to include the name and link to your blog (so I don't have to look it up).

3. Please be sure to acknowledge both hosts in your post with a link back to their blog.

4. Lastly, grab a banner and spread the word!

ROSTER:

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies: The Well Groomed Bride (1946)
In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood: The Dark Mirror (1946) & TBA
The Flapper Dame: My Cousin Rachel (1952)
Hamlette's Soliloquy: Dodge City (1939)
Movies Meet Their Match: The Proud Rebel (1958)
Pale Writer: The Snake Pit (1948)
Realweegiemidget Reviews: Olivia on The Love Boat
The Stop Button: The Heiress (1949)
Silver Screen Classics: My Cousin Rachel (1952)
Musings of a Classic Film Addict: Olivia's recipe for Salade Nicoise
The Midnight Drive-In: The Snake Pit (1948)
Pop Culture Reverie: Murder is Easy (1982)
PEPS: Sante Fe Trail (1940)
Critica Retro: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
Poppity Talks Classic Film: Gold is Where You Find It (1938)
Screen Dreams: It's Love I'm After (1937)
18 Cinema Lane: Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
A Shroud of Thoughts: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Old Hollywood Films: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Taking Up Room: The Heiress (1949)
Along the Brandywine: Captain Blood (1936)

Already claimed twice

My Cousin Rachel (1952), The Snake Pit (1948), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and The Heiress

The Dark Mirror (1946)

 

Twins! One who loves, and one who loves to kill!

That's one of the taglines used for The Dark Mirror starring Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, and Thomas Mitchell. The film was, to me, reminiscent of Gaslight (1944), where Charles Boyer slowly drives his wife, Ingrid Bergman, to insanity. In this case however, one twin is slowly driving the other twin crazy. I found this film particularly intriguing as one is not used to seeing the sweet Olivia de Havilland acting so evil and ruthless.

The ink blot test plays a big part in the film.

She plays twins Terry and Ruth Collins. One of them murdered someone. Both have perfect alibis. One is psycho. The other is slowly being made psycho. There are several scenes involving psychology, as the film was made in a time where psychoanalysis was a new field. There are several scenes involving the Rorschach ink blot test and it is even used in the opening credits. The twins are told this is for a twin personality study, but really they are trying to determine which one is the killer.

Terry and Ruth wear lots of personalized jewelry to help others tell them apart. The pieces from the film, which were created by Joseff of Hollywood, were auctioned off last year and can be seen in the catalog pages below.

Meanwhile, the evil twin (Terry) is driving the good twin (Ruth) out of her mind slowly. She plays music on a record during the night and pretends not to hear it or remind her of things that one of them said that she doesn't remember. This causes the Ruth to start to lose her grip and wonder if  she maybe didn't commit the murder after all. She also begins to rely on sleeping pills to get a good night's rest, taking more than she needs at her sister's suggestion.

Ayres plays Dr. Scott Elliot. While conducting the tests on the twins, he falls in love with Ruth. After he has completed the tests, he knows which one is the killer and sets a trap. He invites Terry up to his apartment to tell her something "important" (the identity of the killer). He makes Terry believe that he thinks she is Ruth. When Terry comes to his apartment, he confronts her and tells her that he knows she's Terry and that she did it. She still tries to blame it on Ruth. They are interrupted by a call that Ruth has committed suicide. They rush to the apartment and Scott goes into the bedroom to confirm the death. Terry, thinking that Ruth is dead, now pretends that she is Ruth and that she was trying to help cover up Terry's crime. As she talks, she becomes more and more into her lie. Suddenly, the real Ruth's reflection appears in the mirror. Terry throws an object at the mirror and completely breaks down. After she is taken away, Scott explains why the had to pretend she was dead and comforts her.

You can watch the full movie here on YouTube.

This post is for The Third Annual Olivia de Havilland Blogathon hosted by myself and In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood. Please check out the other posts and come back next year to celebrate the lovely Olivia!

The Third Annual Olivia de Havilland Blogathon is Here!!!

It's here!! The Third Annual Olivia de Havilland Blogathon is here!!! It's smaller than the previous two celebrations but that doesn't make it any less special. Crystal and I are excited to be hosting this event again and can't wait to read all the entries celebrating the amazing and beautiful Dame Olivia!!!

THE POSTS

"I do hope people don't think I'm really like this..."

The Wonderful World of Cinema kicks things off with The Snake Pit (1948).

"I wonder if there will be a remake of this...?"

The Stop Button gives us an analysis of what does and doesn't work in My Cousin Rachel (1952).

"Don't be so angry, Bette. There's an annual blogathon for you too!"

Musings of a Classic Film Addict discovers In This Our Life (1942).

"So wait.. which one of us is real?"

I cover Olivia's duel role in The Dark Mirror (1946).

"I don't always make TV movies, but when I do I still look fabulous."

Realweegiemidget Reviews takes a look at one of Olivia's TV Movies, Murder is Easy (1982).

"I'm no angel?"

The Dream Book Blog finds Olivia to be no angel as famous author Charlotte Bronte in Devotion (1946).

"Next years' blogathon seems so far away!"

Caftan Woman sees Olivia de Havilland come full circle from her early Westerns in The Proud Rebel (1958).

"Just because you don't get the guy doesn't mean you can't look fabulous!"

Pure Entertainment Preservation Society looks at The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) from a historical and code perspective.

"I just love blogathons, don't you?"

Taking Up Room discovers a different side of  Olivia in It's Love I'm After (1937).

"Hello? 2018?"

Critica Retro finds Hold Back the Dawn (1941) to be a timely film.

"I'm not always window dressing!"

Movies Meet Their Match finds a deeper meaning in Santa Fe Trail (1940).

Old Hollywood Films wraps things up with The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936).

A huge thank you to all who helped celebrate and to Crystal for once again co-hosting this event with me!!! I hope to see you all again next year!!