More Marilyn at the Academy

We’re back at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles to see more of the Marilyn Monroe exhibit that is currently being featured until February 28, 2027. I was truly impressed by the display, but also knew enough to carefully read the accompanying small placards to learn whether the item was authentic or a repro. In the deleted scene below from “The Seven Year Itch” (1955), Tom Ewell, Marilyn, and Robert Strauss vamp it up:



This particular William Travilla outfit appears to be mostly original. From the placard:

Monroe wore this “cellophane effect” gown in a scene that was cut from director Billy Wilder’s “The Seven Year Itch.” In the scene, Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) dreams of Monroe’s character styled like early Hollywood star Mae West. Designer William Travilla micked key elements of West’s typical costuming, which often featured boas and her signature cigarette holder. Monroe admired West in real life, often emulating her sassy persona and irreverent humor for blonde bombshell roles. Synthetic eyelash fabric; non-original boa, jewelry, shoes, and cigarette holder.



Next I saw the famous “subway dress.” Could it be original? Or was that too good to be true for the outfit that was auctioned off for a cool $4.6 million in 2011? The answer is a little muddy; not original, BUT...it was still made by Travilla himself. From the placard:

This replica was made by the original costume designer William Travilla. He often made close copies of his most iconic film looks for publicity purposes. This version has the belt secured in the middle. For the original costume, Monroe tied the belt to the side. Rayon crepe; non-original shoes and jewelry.



 Last one from “The Seven Year Itch” is this silk pajama outfit. From the placard:

One of Monroe’s most successful roles was as The Girl in director Billy Wilder’s “The Seven Year Itch,” a comedy about a restless husband left to his own devices for the summer. These silk pajamas mark a pivotal moment in developing Monroe’s girl next door character: when her scheming neighbor invites her over for a drink, he imagines her arriving in a sexy ensemble. Instead, she appears in casual attire, selected by Travilla and made by Jax—one of Monroe’s favorite clothing brands. Silk; non-original shoes.



 What’s your guess on this one? Real or replica? From the placard:

Director Howard Hawks’s comedy “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” was the third of eight film collaborations between Marilyn Monroe and costume designer William Travilla. In the movie, showgirls Lorelei Lee (Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell) are introduced in matching red sequin gowns for the opening song and dance number, a performance that catapulted Monroe from up-and-coming starlet to icon. Travilla used a mix of beige and red sequins that give the costumes extra shimmer on camera. Rayon crepe, sequins, and silk chiffon; non-original hat, shoes, and jewelry.



The jewelry was re-created by Kathleen Lynagh Designs; the hat by Robyn Simms Johnson.



Below you can see Marilyn wearing the costume (sans hat) with Tommy Noonan, who played her nerdy but wealthy suitor:



More Monroe memorabilia to come!

See more Academy Museum 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.

Temple Tuesday: Captain January

Today’s headlining Shirley Temple photo is from the 1936 film “Captain January” and shows Shirley between takes of an intricate tap number performed effortlessly on a spiral staircase. Seeing the 6 year old perform this number on film is one of the many reasons audiences embraced her. She was 100% natural without any artifice, and put a smile on the faces of those overwhelmed by the Great Depression of the 1930s. From the publicity blurb on the back of the photo:

“CAPTAIN JANUARY’S” LIGHTHOUSE - Midway on the spiral stairway are Guy Kibbee in the title role and Shirley Temple, the star, in Darryl F. Zanuck’s production of “Captain January,” for 20th Century-Fox, on a set especially built for the picture. The stairway is 31 feet high and weighs 6,000 pounds. It is used for a dance which Shirley performs descending the steps as she recites the multiplication table.



As is typical with any Shirley movie, there’s a villain. In this one, Sara Haden plays a truant officer who is hellbent on taking Shirley away from her guardian, Captain January (Guy Kibbee). Actors Slim Summerville and Kibbee are on the left; meanie Sara is on the right.



What to do? How does the poor Lighthouse keeper fight the villain?



Never fear; in a Temple movie, just when things seem darkest, a happy ending emerges, as seen here with a young and lanky Buddy Ebsen at right.



In the 2015 Love, Shirley Temple auction, four costumes from the film surfaced. The top of this sailor suit was worn during the "Codfish Ball” number and the pants were worn in the staircase sequence featured here:



The dress that belonged to her character’s mother, tailored to fit her for a comic opera trio with Summerville and Kibbee:



Shirley wears this during an exam that the truant officer has her take in the hopes that she can be proved to be dumb enough to warrant being taken away from Captain January. No such luck! Of course Shirley passes the exam with flying colors!



This beautiful dress is worn when Shirley strikes it rich, getting adopted by her wealthy Aunt:



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Mary gets the shaft

Mary Nash: one of the greatest female villains in Hollywood history. Not only did she torment Shirley Temple in “Heidi,” but she came back two years later to lock her in an attic in “The Little Princess.” As a result, the poor lady had to wear the same wardrobe in both movies! See for yourself in these two stills from those movies. Exhibit A shows her with Marcia Mae Jones, Sidney Blackmer, and Shirley in “Heidi,” 1937. Exhibit B below shows her with Shirley in “The Little Princess.”



Didn’t believe me? Here's the attic:



As if once recycled costume wasn’t bad enough, there were TWO outfits that Nash had to wear in both movies. Oh the shame! Here she is in “Heidi”:



…and in “The Little Princess.” Sorry Mary; hiding behind a desk won’t disguise this economy by 20th Century Fox!



This particular costume has survived the years and is owned by film costume collector supreme, Nicholas Inglis. Here are a few shots from his Instagram account:







To round out the post, here are a few other vintage stills from “Heidi” that you can hiss at!





See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Shirley For Sale Pt. 1

Last weekend I visited the Love, Shirley Temple exhibit which was on display at the Santa Monica History Museum.



Since her passing, Shirley's children have decided to auction off all of the famous movie costumes and memorabilia that belonged to their mother during her tenure as America's top box office draw. There were a number of speakers lined up, including Shirley's first stand-in, Marilyn Granas. I would have loved to have heard her stories.



Right inside the entrance a large-screen TV was playing highlights from Shirley's films. The exhibit was bittersweet for me; it was amazing seeing all of these historical costumes from the 1930's in person AND in color (the majority of Shirley's films were shot in black and white). At the same time, it was sad to once again note her passing as well as knowing that her surviving family was unable to keep or donate them as a whole to a museum for permanent display. Come July, they will all go on the auction block and be split up.



Right off the bat my jaw dropped as I saw the original dress she wore in "Bright Eyes," 1934.



Yup…the outfit she wore as she sang her signature song, "On the Good Ship Lollipop."



A hula costume worn in the film, "Curly Top," 1935.





A riding outfit from "Just Around the Corner," 1938.





It was customary for the costume department to dress a Shirley Temple doll with an exact replica of the outfits that Shirley wore, using scraps of fabric from the original costume. The doll was then presented to Shirley as a gift.



"Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," 1938.



Here's Shirley on set wearing the same costume with stand-in Mary Lou Isleib:



The matching doll:



More tomorrow!

View additional Santa Monica photos at my main website.