Colorful Fashions from Paris Displayed by Hope Hampton—McCall’s Color Fashion News
00:00 Introduction by Anthony L'Abbate, Preservation Manager, Moving Image Department, George Eastman Museum
03:20 Colorful Fashions from Paris Displayed by Hope Hampton—McCall’s Color Fashion News
Colorful Fashions from Paris Displayed by Hope Hampton—McCall’s Color Fashion News (Educational Pictures, US 1926)
Director: unknown
Cast: Hope Hampton
Production Company: Educational Pictures
Production date: 1926
Sound: silent
Color: Desmet replication of two-color Kodachrome process
Format: 35mm
Length (in feet): 719 ft.
Length (in reels):1
Running time: 8 min. 28 sec.
Frame rate: 22 fps
Generous support for the video introduction provided by Art Bridges
Restored through the Technicolor Film Preservation/ George Eastman House Fellowship Project 2005 by Albert Steg, graduate student of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation
Digitized by Eastman Museum Film Preservation Services
This film has been made accessible to the public in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: NEH CARES. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this video, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities
American actress Hope Hampton (1897–1982) had a modestly successful film career between 1918 and 1927. She even produced three of her films, including The Light in the Dark (Clarence Brown, US 1922), which featured Lon Chaney. Hampton, limited in her acting range, never achieved the same level of fame as her costar, but opportunities came through her connection to her manager and husband, film producer Jules Brulator (1870–1946). Brulator was a cofounder of what developed into Universal Pictures and the president of the Sales Company which held exclusive US sales rights to Lumière film stock and supplied it to independent American productions. He also signed a long term contract with George Eastman to be the exclusive US distributor for Kodak film stock and eventually became head of film stock distribution for Eastman Kodak and later served as president of the company.
With that kind of backing, Hampton was a logical choice to feature in this two-color Kodachrome test film displaying the technical advancements of the new Kodak color system by modeling some truly stunning gowns of the period. This installment of the McCall’s Color Fashion News features designs by French couturiers Vionnet, Drécoll, Jean Magnin, Martial et Armand, Lelong, Lanvin, Paul Poiret, Jean Patou, Charlotte, Boué Soeurs, and Perugia. Matching coat and dress ensembles complete with hats, shoes, and handbags are intermixed with stunning evening dresses and loungewear. One Jean Magnin dress modeled by Hampton makes her look as if she walked out of an architectural dream by Frank Lloyd Wright.
The new Kodachrome color film process highlights the rich textures of the fabrics: shimmering silks and satins, plush velvets, and soft warm wools and furs almost glow. While the color palette is somewhat restricted (this process could not record the blue spectrum), the overall effect is of a natural, lifelike quality found especially in the skin tones and fair hair color of Hampton. Kodachrome as a 35mm process was not viable. Kodachrome had a much longer life in two different formats: as 35mm still photographic film, and as the vibrant 16mm motion picture film, used by countless amateur and professional filmmakers.