 |
|
 | |
 | |
|
|
| |
| |
An epic film directed by Orson Welles, following the fortunes of a wealthy American family in the early decades of the twentieth century. The film follows the book (by Booth Tarkington) fairly closely, and is an improvement on the earlier silent version, titled Pampered Youth.
In the scene-setting stage of the film, the screenplay establishes the slavish following of fashion by wealthy males and females; and we soon see George, the only son of the family, driving a pony-trap furiously through the streets and across a workman's pile of sand. This section is to establish the wild behaviour of him, as the son of a wealthy family, and his excessively refined clothing. He wears a broad-brimmed straw hat and shoulder-length hair curled into long ringlets, and a Fauntleroy suit with velvet short trousers and a lace collar. When he starts a fight with another boy, a neighbour remonstrates to them both to stop, and George is rude to him. The man sends a letter of complaint round to the family, and in the next scene we see George in his Sunday-best attire, being rebuked and having the letter read out to him.
George wears a well-made skirt in a kilt style, in a check material, but not a Scottish plaid (and there is no sporran). He also carries a walking-stick; this was a usual accessory among well-off males even within living memory. As George turns away from the camera, his skirt swings in a jaunty way.
These action sequences only last a couple of minutes, and frustratingly there are very few clear views of George, so that frame captures are difficult.
Kilted styles were popularised by Prince Albert, the consort of the British Queen Victoria, at a time when people looked to royalty for a fashion lead. When the royal children were seen in magazine illustrations dressed in Scottish highland dress, there was a mass movement to copy the styles among the well-to-do. In Britain, the styles adhered fairly closely to Scottish themes, with authentic tartans, a sporran and bonnet, and plaid three-quarter stockings (i.e. turn-over-top socks leaving the knees bare). When these styles were adopted in the USA, it was natural that they would develop more freely, and George's accessories follow American preferences, including the wearing of full-length (to the thigh) stockings).
I ought to add that this is not really "transgender": George is dressed as a well-to-do boy of his age, albeit with rather feminine touches. A corresponding fashion style is to be seen in Life with Father.
HF December 2008
 |
This Page: The Magnificent AmbersonsReturn to Alphabetical Index PageReturn to Home Page |
Hazel Freeman's |
 |
Jenni Olson |
and hosted at |
|
Visitors from the US and Canada can help support this site by shopping for LGBT DVDs using this WolfeVideo.com affiliate link. The commission we earn from your purchases will directly support the continued existence of this website. Thank you!
