Western Movies RUINED by Anachronistic Costumes

Self | March 11, 2010 | PJ-Comix

[PJ-Comix]

I have a HUGE pet peeve. It is western movies in which the characters are wearing embarrassingly modern clothing. Most often it is the hats. If you look at photos or illustrations of the Old West at the time, the hats look very different from what we usually see in the movies. For example, yesterday I watched "September Dawn" about the Mountain Meadows Massacre but I couldn't get over the fact of the silly looking hats that folks back then did NOT wear. One IMDB commenter stated that those hats looked like something people wear on their way to a Garth Brooks concert.

One of the few movies that seemed to get authentic Western look was "Tombstone" which helped in appreciating that excellent movie. Unfortunately most of the Western movies are completely off-base in their costuming. Another thing that really bugs me about Western movies is when they have women dressed in jeans. Back then women ALWAYS wore dresses. NEVER pants. Any exposure of female legs or even outlines of their legs was considered as nudity back then. Oh, and when women rode horses...they only rode side-saddle.

Okay, sorry for the rant but way too many Western movies are RUINED by costume designers too lazy to research for authentic clothing.

[bcsco]

His eyesight was bad. It had been deteriorating for some time. His gunfight days were basically over. I’m sure the pistol was for personal protection.

BTW, he was born about 35 miles straight South of me in Troy Grove, IL. There’s really nothing left down there of the homestead, though I believe family descendants may still own some property. The Amtrak station in Mendota, just a few miles North of there, has an area museum affiliated with it that’s open on Sundays. It has a couple small books on the Hickock family during that time, and a Mendota connection. I’ve often thought of stopping by and getting them, but have yet to do so. Maybe Sunday...

[TChris]

It also helps the viewer get past the near impossible feats of shooting from the hip with pin-point accuracy...

Ahem...

Bob Munden and Howard Darby will be surprised to learn that what they do is near impossible.

Fast Draw

All it takes is lots of practice. :-)

There's even a Fast Draw Association, though I don't know how many members it has.

You're right that the movies show absurd fantasy level shots, but it's pretty amazing what these guys can do in real life.

[bcsco]

Sure, one can become accurate at the fast draw when practiced enough and performed regularly. But that wasn’t a part of the Wild West gunfight. Those men were in a fight to the death, and the fast draw played no part. Their lives were on the line. Hollywood and some dime novelists made that stuff up.

[arrdon]

But, I thought HISTORY was being done away with.......

[arrdon]

But, I thought HISTORY was being done away with.......

[stormer]

Othniel C. Marsh! A giant in American science. The Peabody Museum at Princeton stands as a testament to his work. The fact that you've posted this photograph tells me you know something of his competition with Edward Cope and the paleontological gold rush as the west opened up. Anyone who is not familiar with period and has the slightest interest in the development of paleontological exploration really need to read The Gilded Dinosaur by Mark Jaffe and The Bone Hunters by Url Lanham. They are both excellent reads.

[Little Bill]

Everyone wore a hat until JFK went naked at his inaguration. My Grandfather (born 1886) called me a City Boy because because I didn’t wear one.

I want to see some dusters on those cowboys, must be wet or they are just employees

[stormer]

PRINCETON!? AHH! Yale!

[Tijeras_Slim]

Donald Pleasance out crazying Bruce Dern is a sight to behold.

[Oatka]

I don't mean to drift so far off topic, but the clothing doesn't bug me as much as the butane-fired guns - in Westerns as well as modern stuff. Lots of BANG! BANG! BANG! (dubbed in later) - and little or no smoke. I watched a close-up scene in "The Magnificent Seven" where the guy fires, almost at the screen, and there's just a flash and the sound. In the old days, studios used the 5-in-1 cartridge
which could be used in the guns of the period, which gave a satisfactory visual performance.

The modern films with guys shooting full-auto with lots of flash and noise - and not one damn shell casing seen or heard bouncing off the floor. Dammit I want to see flashing brass and hear "ding, ding, ding" as the cases bounce around. :-)

[Tijeras_Slim]

Costner shoots the guy dead.

The proceeds to fan and additional 10 shots out of his Single Action Army.

[ravingnutter]

Completely off topic, but how about watching men in romantic roles w/women (such as Rock Hudson and Doris Day) where we now know the man was a flaming fag?

LOL! I saw a show once (I believe it was "How I Met Your Mother") where Neil Patrick Harris of Doogie Howser fame, who is gay and one of my favorite actresses, Jane Seymour, were in bed together. I told my husband "That is soooo wrong on soooo many levels!". I have never recovered, it was one of those instances where what has been seen can't be unseen, I still shudder at the thought ; )

[wbill]

You’re the 3rd or 4th person to recommend “Battleground” to me. I need to put it on my watch list.

[votemout]

LOL

[calex59]

IMO, one of the best war movies about the bulge was Battle Ground with Van Johnson. Better than the Battle of the Bulge as far as the troops on the ground were concerned at least.

[LouAvul]

Yes, I remember the movie. I had a friend who was at that battle. He said the one thing movies cannot convey is the overwhelming smell of rotting human corpses.

[allmendream]

If the costumes were accurate, it was the ONLY thing with any accuracy in that travesty of a film “Kingdom of Heaven”.

The REAL story of Balin Ibelin, Guy of Lusignon and Sybill Princess of Antioch is much better than the Hollywood farce Scott presented.

[Inyo-Mono]

Yeah, that was one thing about Costner's Open Range, they got the smoke and BOOM! of black powder firearms right.

[roamer_1]

In the very early days hat styles were driven partly by the flash from a flintlock weapon.

Naw... That's whut them eye patches are for... ; )

[oldsalt]

IMHO the HBO series "Deadwood" was one of the best when it came to costuming and realistic sets. The language was probably way overdone with the "F" bomb coming every third word or so,but the look and feel of the costuming and the sets had it nailed pretty good I think.

The acting was terrifc overall too,I'd say.