I just watched The Miracle Worker, an amazing movie from 1962.
In her bedroom Annie Sullivan (played by Anne Bancroft) has a log
cabin quilt on the bed---
it seems to have a cretonne flounce. I always cry all the way through it---
not because of the quilt.
Here's another movie quilt
Little Women, 1949 starring June Allyson as Jo,
Elizabeth Taylor as Amy and Margaret O'Brien as the doomed Beth.
Spoiler Alert: Beth gets typhoid fever and dies under this quilt.
This movie is not quite the masterpiece The Miracle Worker is but the quilt is more interesting.
Applique.
A colorized publicity still. I saturated the color a bit.
Pattern related to this one I found on line.
See a post on heart-shaped wreath quilts with a free pattern here:
From a Garth's auction
There is a Hallmark movie I like to watch because of the quilts. It is called Backyard Wedding and there are quilts on the walls, on the beds, and over the railings in all the rooms. This movie isn't the same caliber as the ones you mentioned but it is sure fun seeing all the quilts.
ReplyDeleteI'm always looking for new quilts in movies to add to my Pinterest board Lights! Camera! Quilts! I've got lots of modern movie quilts, but always appreciate getting some vintage cinema pics. (I've also got a section for celebrities who sew when they're not on set - more well known people seem to knit, so it's always fun to come across a famous quilter or sewist.) Thanks for sharing!
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ReplyDeleteWonderful. I have a bad habit of saying "ooh nice quilt - it's a . . . ". Now my husband pauses the film whenever he notices a quilt before me and says "there's another one for you!" Surprising how many films - even more modern ones - have really nice quilts.
ReplyDeleteRemember the old Walton's series? There were a ton of quilts in each of the bedrooms of that set. The episode where the house catches fire is funny, as in further episodes, those very same quilts are still in there! Can't keep a good quilt down.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, the part of THE MIRACLE WORKER that makes me cry is hearing about Annie and her little brother, the little Irish orphans who had to make their way in a tough world. (I'm very fond of saying that the Famine was bad for Ireland but good for America because we got so many of the Irish.) I was thrilled to hear on JEOPARDY the other night that Annie had her sight restored later in life. An old-fashioned-looking purple and white quilt I made I think of as Annie Sullivan's quilt.
ReplyDeleteI was just washing The Miracle Worker a couple of days ago. I did not notice the thought but love it! ( I did the play the in high school and played Helen Keller's brother). Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteOH!TALK ABOUT MOVIES AND QUILTS .I FOUND A MA AND PA KETTLE MOVIE WHERE MA MAKES A QUILT FOR HER SON I THINK I CANT REMEMBER THE NAME. ALSO I RECENTLY SAW THE MOVIE DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST IT IS FULL OF QUILTS ON THE BEACH , WONDERFUL MOVIE..THE PILOT MOVIE FOR LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE IS ALSO FULL OF QUILTS.I WATCHED HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT FOR THE 50TH TIME :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, one of my favorite topics! Karen Griska has a 2011 post on her Selvege Blog entitled "Quilts In Movies" with great entries in the comments over the years of quilt sightings in movies and TV. Back in 2016, i commented about seeing the skirts (and one pinafore) made from quilts for the female leads in the musical "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers". I even found a notation in the Trivia section for this movie on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) that costume designer Walter Plunkett had sourced the old quilts used to make the clothing from the Salvation Army, I (still) hope the only ones he used were damaged cutter quilts and wonder if the movie studio still has those costumes in storage.
ReplyDeleteThe Tall Men with Clark Gable has a 4 large urns with flowers in it quilt, as well as some other harder to see and define quilts in it. More recent Little Women does too. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, they cut up quilts to make skirts! Awful! Must have been a cold winter! Step-Mom with Julia Roberts has quilts, made by the real mom, as she prepares to die of cancer, for her kids. A Tom Sellick movie where he comes back from the Civil War... forgot the name of that movie, has a quilt draped in it in red tiny 9-patches that I fell in love with and am in process of making my own of that one. Lots of old Westerns have quilts in them, and I am always on the lookout for them.
ReplyDeleteLooks like this is a popular subject! My favorite "movie quilt story" - a few years back my husband and I were watching an old film when he suddenly said "Oh look, a Double Wedding Ring". It was quite a shock to realize that he had indeed been paying attention all these years!
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