e. It is about Tim Tiffany, a poor boy who makes it big in Hollywood. He wears a velvet suit and broad white collar with ringlet curls throughout most of the movie. The basic plot is about two women who are constantly trying to one-up each other. Jackie's Mom takes him to Hollywood where they make it big in the movies. The other woman has a daughter about the same age portrayed by Mitzi Green. Basically, it's a comedy and Mitzi makes fun of Jackie when they revisit their small town with him all done up as "Tiny Tim". Jackie's
not thrilled with his new attire, but he also knows it's the price he must pay for being in the movies. The picture was child actor Jackie Searl. Jackie was quite popular in movies during the 1930s, usually playing the part of a brat. He was born in 1920, he would have been about 11 years old at the time the film was made. Jackie also played young "Sid" in an early 30s version of "Tom Sawyer", so wearing fancy outfits was not uncommon for him.
These themes and subject lists will include films from all countries and chronological periods. HBC currently had a subject or topic page for: brats, choirs, dance, governesses and nannies, military schools, prodigies, reformatories, schools, and youth groups. More subject selectors will be added as appropriate and as more films with useful costume information or loaded on HBC. Please let us know if you know of a subject page which should be added to this section.
Movies differe greatly in the attention given to reproducing period styles. Often boys are simply outfitted in non-descript suits, rather than the characteristic outfits of the 19th century. In other films considerable attention is given to costuming. While period movies vary in historical accuracy, they do provid some insights into the life styles of the boys involved and the world in which they lived. This provides insights far beyond what can be provided in still photographs and paintings.
Some films are know as holliday classics. This is certainly the case for Christmas, but there are other holidys for which films are associated. We thought it might be useful to list some of these films in case HBC readers want some assistance selecting a film for holliday viewing. This is a new idea, so we are just beginning to compile pur list of holloiday films showcasing boys' fashions. Please let us know if you have any suggestions.
The boys that appeared in these movies were often smartly dresses, especially for publicity photographs. In some cases, parents and guardians liked to dress them in juvenile fashions so as to prolong their child movie careers. Others were dressed in clothes approapriate for their age. Thus they reflect popular styles for boys from well to do families. Many affluent mothers often dress their clothes in very conservative fashions. Generally speaking the child stars did not wear the more conservative styles. Today child stars wear trendy clothes deigned to make them look "cool" or neat to their movie going peers. A generation ago the trens was more to amke them look adorable to movie going moms. Most available images show the child stars in their film costumes. HBC is especially interested, however, in finding images and information about the clothes the boys wore when not performing.
Quite a number of films have dealt with school life. Often these provide useful images as to what boys wore to school in different countries. These productions vary, but they often provide useful insights as to school uniform and dress. Many of these films are English or French, as well as Belgian. Many but not all are set in private schools, often boarding schools. Perhaps the most beloved school story is Goodbye Mr. Chipps set at an English public school. A very important one is Tom Browns School Days, another English film. Some other good examples are Au revoir les enfants, Kipperbang, 0 de de conduite. I can recall relatively few American films with school themes. One example is Toy Tiger. The American films tend to be less serious than the European school films.
HBC is am compiling a alphabetized 