I know there were strict modesty codes in Hollywood regarding showing pregnant women, but every time I saw Lana Turner just before she delivered, I had to laugh. She had this tiny waistline! I should have been so lucky!
shareI´d have to look at her again in this movie but it doesn´t look like she is pregnant, no.
shareThe corset on a pregnant woman didn't surprise me nearly as much as the way Marguerite was dressed at the convent. She wore snug, form-fitting, corseted clothes. Even for a novice, it was surprising. I've never seen a nun's clothes accentuate her body that much; they usually make a point to avoid that.
Pregnant women in that time wore corsets all the time even when pregnant. It might not have been as tight as it was on Marianne but still they'd have worn one. In those days no respectable adult woman would have 'let it all hang out.' She would have looked like one of the 'savages', which is how they would have looked upon the Maori people or any other non-Western indigenous group of people.
That said, you have to remember the baby came early so she wasn't yet nine months. Her husband wouldn't have left if the baby was due so soon and she tells Ty, as she's going into labor that it's too soon. That could explain why she wasn't quite so big yet. Maybe that's what the moviemakers wanted us to see.
I too found Marguerite's novice costume hard to believe. I don't think a novice in any age would have worn a corset and tight waisted dress -- that would have made a mockery of the idea of giving up worldly things to devote one's life to God.
Likewise, Lana Turner's scenes were pretty ambiguous about a pregnancy. At no point did her appearance hint at her being enceinte. She was as perfectly coifed and dressed as if she were in her parents' home with servants. That a New Zealand pioneer living in a wilderness would dress that way strains credibility.
I too found Marguerite's novice costume hard to believe. I don't think a novice in any age would have worn a corset and tight waisted dress -- that would have made a mockery of the idea of giving up worldly things to devote one's life to God.
Likewise, Lana Turner's scenes were pretty ambiguous about a pregnancy. At no point did her appearance hint at her being enceinte. She was as perfectly coifed and dressed as if she were in her parents' home with servants. That a New Zealand pioneer living in a wilderness would dress that way strains credibility.