Colours carry different meanings in different cultures: green, a restful and relaxing colour to the human eye, symbolizes rebirth, renewal, nature, energy and therefore safety and fertility, but also ambition, greed and jealousy. The national colour of Ireland, it is also associated with good luck, leprechauns, clovers, and Saint Patrick's Day, 17th March. So, for today let's get inspired by a black and white film that mentions in its title this shade, "The Woman in Green" (1945) directed by Roy William Neill.
Based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, with Hillary Brooke as the woman of the title and Henry Daniell as Professor Moriarty. The plot follows Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigating on the case of women murdered and left with a severed forefinger.
After a romantic night at the apartment of Lydia Marlowe (Hillary Brooke), widower Sir George Fenwick (Paul Cavanagh) wakes up in a hotel room. He has no memories of the previous night, but finds a woman's forefinger in his pocket.
His daughter contacts Holmes and Watson to tell them she saw her father burying a forefinger under a pile of soil. Fenwick is then found dead and Holmes theorizes that Moriarty, who was supposed to have been hanged in Montevideo, is alive and responsible for the crimes.
As the investigation continues, Holmes discovers that Moriarty is not alone, but that he is collaborating with the woman of the title, Lydia, a femme fatale and skilled hypnotist who, with her lustrous eyes will try to lure also Holmes.
While the plot is at times incoherent and the twists are not so surprising, the film has some intriguing interior design and fashion moments.
When it opens, Holmes and Inspector Grayson are talking about the "finger murders" in a bar/restaurant. It is here that they see Sir Fenwick with Lydia for the first time. The restaurant set is lavish and grand, but Lydia's house is even better: her apartment features a large outdoor area with a balcony that will become instrumental for the final scene, while inside there is a vast living room with a white grand piano, sofas and coffee tables with mirror surfaces. The space can be redesigned by flowing curtains that can be closed at the flip of a switch.
Ordinary hypnotists may use ordinary bi-coloured spirals to mesmerise their victims, but Lydia is a refined and elegant lady and employs a wide bowl filled with water and floating lotus flowers that is also the centre piece of her living room.
Lydia's wardrobe is obviously worthy of a femme fatale and was created by Vera West. The costume designer mainly worked at Universal Pictures throughout her career.
As Head Designer she created or supervised the costuming for more that 400 films - especially horror movies, period pieces, and science fiction - made between 1928 and 1946, including "The Bride of Frankenstein", "Dressed To Kill", "Dracula" and "The Mummy". West mainly focused on the gowns for the leading ladies, often matched with hats by Lilly Daché, and also designed the personal wardrobes for many of the studios biggest stars.
West's characters usually had a day and evening wardrobe: the former comprised functional wool or tweed suits (a fabric favoured in this film by Holmes and Fenwick's daughter); the latter usually featured long gowns with sequinned embellishments. But there was also a third major costume change - a white gown, often in satin, dressing gown or nightgown (at times a wedding gown), a costume that would be used for scenes set in the early morning, mid-afternoon or night.
Lydia's warbrobe follows this pattern: the femme fatale's outfits include a black suit matched with a stricking hat with bejewelled pins; an evening gown with sequinned decorative motifs paired with a mink fur coat, a white dressing gown with minimalist satin inserts and a white long sleeve negligees.
The film also features a clever fashion analysis: when Maude Fenwick (Eve Amber) arrives to see Holmes and Watson, the two men look at her from their window and Holmes tries to guess why she's coming to see him by examining her look.
Holmes: She left home under the stress of some very great emotion.
Watson: How do you know that?
Holmes: She isn't wearing any gloves. A startling omission on a young lady of fashion.
Watson: Well. She didn't put her coat on. Open car. Too.
Homes: Furthermore. There's something in that bag she wants to show me.
Watson: What makes you say that?
Holmes: The bag doesn't match her dress. And again, it was picked for size rather than style to accommodate some bulky object.
Watson: You amaze me, Holmes.
Holmes: Elementary, my dear fellow.
"The Green Woman" is in the public domain, and I'm embedding a copy of the film at the end of this post in case you may want to watch it after reading this post.
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