MovieChat Forums > Battle of Britain (1969) Discussion > Womens hairstyles obviously the make up ...

Womens hairstyles obviously the make up department couldn't get it right


Even though I did enjoy this movie, I was distracted by how the women wore their hair as if it was everyday 1960s instead of 1940.

Anyone else notice? Was this because of budget or fact of timing and being lazy?

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It is the same in some other 1960s WW2 films. Go watch Where Eagles Dare for example. Mary Ure and Ingrid Pitt are soooooooooooooooo 1960s.....but very hot so it doesn't matter to me.

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Hi Buddy :)

Just watched Nicholas and Alexandra again and their hairstyle supposed to mimic hairstyles of 1914 but end up looking as if they are stuck in the 70s haha.

It must be a movie thing.

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They could have got it right, but they just didn't give a damn. A better job with hair styles is done today, but they still don't get it just right much of the time. Downton Abbey is a good example of proper hair styles.

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IT was just how they made movies back then. One also sees it in men's hair styles in films and TV made in the seventies. I think part of it was that producers didn't think it made a difference and another is that actors and actresses were very reluctant to change their hair styles as they needed their 60's/70's hair in other roles. If the choice is having a name actress in a leading role with 60's hair or some no-name, less talented woman, they'll go for the 60's hair. Similarly, if all the actors showing up for a casting call for a MASH episode have longer hair than any Korean War era man would have, they're going to suck it up and go with it rather than have no one at all.

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Yes. I think the sixties was when they stopped making good WW2 films because looks and hairstyles had changed so much and they didn't make an effort to match the look of the forties. This actually applies to male and female actors.

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Costuming, which includes hairstyles and makeup, has always reflected the time when the film is made, making the characters, especially the women, attractive to the current fashion. Examine the various Cleopatra film. As the main character, Cleopatra's outfits are largely current fashion with Egyptian motifs. Claudette Colbert's outfits look 30ish. Elizabeth Taylors's are obviously from the 60s.

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Yes, I agree. Though I think more recently, at least some of the time, they make more of an effort to reflect the past styles and fashions.
But the point I failed to make was that by the sixties the actors were completely different from those who made so many fine war films. They had not actually fought in WW2 (though many had fought somewhere) and their body shapes and body language was very different. Plus, as you noted, the film makers want the actors to have a more contemporary look.

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