Go East Old Man, Pt. 2

My trip to the east coast was timed for Mother’s Day; Mom and I had brunch in the dining room of her community. Below is my official Mother’s Day portrait:



We watched two movies during my visit; one was “Mother” (1996), which I am CONVINCED Debbie Reynolds based her portrayal on my mom…



and “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006). Mom stayed awake during the entire movie. That is the hallmark of a good film! Hopefully when I return this fall we can watch the sequel together.



When the family migrated from California to Pennsylvania, we visited nearby Valley Forge State Park, as seen in the December 1966 photos below:



Exploring the rolling hills, the log cabins, and the other Revolutionary War structures filled me with wonder and helped develop my interest in history.



On this visit when I got a little stir crazy, I suggested we return to Valley Forge. The cabins are still there:



Washington’s soldiers were NOT glamping during that cold winter of 1777-1778!



A selfie outside of Washington’s headquarters:



There have been some modifications to this building over the years in an attempt to bring it back to the period when Washington lived here. Circa 1961:



…and May 2026:






The nearby train station:



Inside you can find some of the artifacts that were recovered from the area:



I hadn’t photographed the nearby Washingto Memorial Chapel in fifteen years…yikes!



I love the Gothic Revival architecture of this structure:






This 1914 bronze sculpture in the Cloisters of the Colonies garden area known as “Sacrifice and Devotion” is by American artist Bela Lyon Pratt, as a dedication to the mothers who lost sons in the war.



The chapel interior is breathtaking:



The dogwoods were in full bloom at the nearby cemetery:



Always red, white, and blue here:



A statue of General Baron von Steuben overlooks the Grand Parade Trail, where my brothers and I used to sled on snow covered hills in our youth:



To have this Park so close to us was a true blessing, at a time when kids explored the land, not their phones.

See more Valley Forge photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Heidi and the Tycoon

While this vintage shot of Shirley Temple during the filming of “Heidi” (1937) had a date stamp on the back (June 16, 1937), there was no corresponding info about who the visitors to the Fox lot were. As I usually do when I reach an impasse, I contact the great Rita D, storehouse of all Shirley Temple facts. IMMEDIATELY I had a response along with a newspaper clipping from her scrapbook which she dated as June 21, 1937:

SHIRLEY TEMPLE yesterday won two new residents for Southern California—Seth G. C. Motwane, India electrical tycoon, and his 17-year-old daughter, Savitribai Motwane, heiress to one of the largest personal fortunes in the world. Motwane and his daughter traveled 8000 miles from Bombay, India, just to see Shirley. They were so charmed by this country that they decided to buy a winter home here at Bel-Air. Motwane is considered the “General Electric of India.” He began his career with a borrowed $100 and now has a fortune estimated at 19 million dollars. Savitribai, his daughter, wore native robes and the distinguished caste mark of the upper-class Indian lady when she visited Shirley at the Twentieth Century-Fox lot. “That dress is just like the costumes of ‘Wee Willie Winkie,’” said Shirley. “We’ve just finished a picture laid in India and it had lots of ladies in it dressed like that.” “Wee Willie Winkie,” which costars Shirley and Victor McLaglen, has its world premiere Friday evening at Carthay Circle Theater.

The stylishly dressed woman on the left is unidentified; I assumed it was G. C.’s wife, but all accounts only mention him traveling with his daughter. I did find a newspaper blurb from June 21 that stated, “Savitri’s mother died a year ago and this world trip is to help her to forget her grief. When her father asked her where she would like to go best of any place in the world, she replied: ‘To see them make American movies.’” Rita surmised the lady on the left could have been a Hollywood scribe. From the Motwane website I learned that Gianchand Motwane (pictured below) founded the Motwane Manufacturing Company in 1909 in Mumbai.



Ghandi (pictured below with G. C.’s son, Nanik) was quoted in 1931 as saying: “The cheers that punctuated my remarks on some of the most important amendments showed that the listeners were following my exposition  with the utmost attention. All this was possible because of the perfect Chicago Radio loudspeaker arrangements that were made for the Subjects Committee as well as for the Open Sessions.” G. C. died on June 16, 1943 in Mumbai at age 65, “leaving behind a remarkable legacy for his sons to carry forward.”



Spurred on by the info and clippings supplied by Rita, I went to Newspapers.com (a great resource!) and found some more info on the pair’s visit to the U.S.





Edited from the accompanying article:

Representative of the new order of society in the teeming land of the Ganges is G. C. Motwane, Bombay industrialist and Indian business tycoon, who is in Hollywood on his first visit to the United States. Here to study the filim and radio equipment market, he pointed out that Indian motion pictures were progressing from the era of mythological tales and rudimentary methods to portrayals of real people and social problems done with modern production technique. He is accompanied by his 17 year old daughter, Savitri, who was presented in flowing native dress and sandals, but who has the 1937 girl’s interest in Robert Taylor.…Under the guidance of Bill Deming, executive producer for General Productions, who has made pictures in India, Motwane and his daughter are inspecting Hollywood’s film plants. After Hollywood he plans to see New York. “Then I may buy an automobile, tour across America and come back to your Hollywood to stay for six months or so,” Business Man Motwane smiled.

Another article from September 26, 1937 featured this information:

…one of the most interesting visitors in this city during the last week was eighteen-year-old Savitri “Kiki” Motwane, who is taking movies and snapshots of us and writing a diary that will refresh her memory when she tells friends back in Bombay, India, about those amusingly queer Americans.…Because she cannot write in Sindhi, the province language of her household, this visitor from Bombay keeps her diary in English. Many pages are already filled, for she has been touring with her father for the last seven months, having been in China and in Japan, before coming to the United States. Of course the diary includes accounts of Hollywood experiences. There an excited Kiki met, and was photographed with Shirley Temple, screen idol of her younger sisters. There she was also offered a film contract. “Father wouldn’t let me go into pictures,” she said. “But I danced in India once for a picture made by one of our producers.”

The only other info I could find about Savitri was an obituary from the South Floria Sun Sentinel, October 5, 2003, listing her death as October 2. I “assume” it was the same person, but don’t quote me on that!

Back to Shirley, who has been seriously hijacked on this post! A detailed view of her, wearing one of her “Heidi” costumes.



I saw this jacket on display at the Theriault’s exhibit in Santa Monica, back in 2015, along with Shirley’s other carefully preserved film costumes and memorabilia.



Look at the detailed buttons!



The shoes and jacket can be seen in the vintage black and white costume…



but the skirt that we see is different from the ensemble Theriault’s chose to put together. Note on auction item #160 (“Country Costume”) that the trim has the little curlicues missing from the ensemble I saw in Santa Monica:



The costume comprises a white blouse, black vest with floral pattern and green velvet lacing, dark blue skirt with braid trim, and a striped cotton apron. Generally excellent. The vest and skirt have original studio label "10004". Heidi (Shirley Temple), wears the costume in the opening scenes of the 1937 film as she arrives in the village where she will be left in the care of her grandfather, and then again as she arrives at grandfather's cottage in the mountains and proceeds to win his heart despite his crusty manner, and during the famous milking the goat scene.



Note the jacket paired with the curlicued skirt in the previously mentioned opening scene above and in the still below:



Auction item #164 (the one I saw in Santa Monica) pairs the jacket with the plain horizontal trim (no curlicues!):



The classic Tyrolean-style costume includes a woolen laced vest embroidered with Edelweiss, a blue wool serge skirt with soutache braid banding, a cotton blouse and a red woolen jacket with patterned floral lining, black velvet collar, and trim, and with silver buttons with raised profile design of Napoleon. The skirt and blouse have original studio labels "Shirley Temple 10006" and the jacket "10003". Included are heavy laced boots. Shirley Temple, in her lead role in the 1937 film "Heidi", wore this costume in numerous scenes of her life in the Alps and nearby village.

The still below shows Shirley wearing #164, but paired with a different vest.



THAT vest was part of #165 (shown in the catalog photo below):

Comprising a white cotton puffed sleeve blouse under a black velvet vest with double lacing, brown woolen skirt, red apron with cross-stitch embroidery, along with an extra apron of linen-like brown cotton with brown ribbon banding, and with very worn heavy leather shoes designed for mountain climbing. The blouse, skirt and vest have original studio label "10005 Shirley Temple", and the shoes have the original label of Emidio Spezza, shoemaker to the stars. The costume was worn by Shirley Temple (Heidi) as she greeted the minister and teacher who were coming to inspect the grandfather's home, and again in the "prodigal son" scene of the 1937 film "Heidi".



From Shirley Temple to business tycoons from India to mismatched costumes, this blog covers it all!



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Monday is for Marilyn: Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend!

One of Marilyn Monroe’s most iconic numbers is from her 1953 film, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” Wearing hot pink satin and covered in diamonds, the actress sang, “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend,” as shown in my recently created caricature above. It had to be done. At the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, they currently have an exhibit titled “Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon.”



The entrance to the exhibit, designed for selfies of course:



One of the most gawked at pieces on display is the pink satin gown, which is an original with the jewelry re-created by Kathleen Lynagh Designs. The gloves and shoes are also reproductions.



William Travilla made the dress using a silk satin called peau d’ange (angel’s skin), chosen for its comfort and flexibility. In person, the fabric was described as pastel, but Travilla knew that Technicolor would boost the vibrancy. He added felt, boning, ostrich feathers, and horsehair to various areas of the dress to help keep its form during the rigorous dance number.



It amazes me how well preserved this costume is. The bow on the back:



This photo shows Marilyn wearing Travilla’s original design for the number:



…a bejeweled black two-piece over a mesh bodysuit. As the film was being finished, scandal broke out when Monroe’s 1949 nude photos resurfaced. The studio asked Travilla to remake the costume, resulting in this pink dress which was designed and completed just before filming.



Only the shorts and fan are known to remain of this original version which took months to create and cost about $4,000 at the time to produce (roughly $48k today!).



This unused pink bodice, which mirrors the chorus girls’ costumes, was archived and labeled with Monroe’s pink dress. It’s believed to have been made as Travilla explored options for the new design, though Monroe has never been pictured in it or described as wearing it.



A screenshot showing the chorus girls/dancers in the background:



This silverplate ring of elaborate links with a braided design, inlaid with shining clear gemstones, can be seen in the black and white photo showing Marilyn wearing the original outfit. Created by Joseff of Hollywood, it came up for auction recently:


Final photo for today is another screenshot of Marilyn performing the number that has been often imitated (but never improved upon!):



See more Marilyn Monroe photos at my main website.