Fountain Pens in Movies and TV

[carlos.q]

OK,I realize that I haven't seen that episode(the series is excellent),and that perhaps some poetic license is used in the script
writing--it may be possible that a woman wrote that(women tend to make their handwriting intentionally legible). But(unless it has been shown) there
is NO WAY in the world that Holmes could know that it was a Duofold.


John

I love that series, which I've watched on Netflix. I remember, however, thinking the same thing about the Duofold remark. And "iridium nib"? Sounds as if the writers just picked up some fountain pen buzzwords.

Agreed. If the writers had done their homework,they would've found that every fountain pen had iridium;making Sherlock
look foolish. Mr Cumberbatch should be giving all the writers a dope slap to the back of the head.


John

I also found the "iridium point" comment a bit odd.

Then I figured that this dialog may have been taken from one of Conan Doyles sixty works (fifty-six short stories and four novels) about Sherlock Holmes. After all, Conan Doyle wrote these stories up to 1927 and the Parker Duofold was introduced in 1921. I could then properly imagine Sherlock examining the writing on an envelope and concluding that it was different from the usual dip pen of the time, but more of a new fangled "iridium point" pen.

"Elementary!", I said to myself.

However, the events in Conan Doyle's works occur up to the year 1907. So it does not seem plausible that the dialog was taken from one of his stories. The only logical conclusion is that the writers for the TV series did not do their homework.

"Obviously."

[carlos.q]

A very effective use of a fountain pen. Tom Cruise (as Colonel Stauffenberg) writes about his disappointment with Hitler and his policies in the movie Valkyrie:

stauffenberg.jpg

[Neo]

Forever episode that aired December 2nd, at 32 minutes they figured out from looking at a pen catalogue that the murder weapon was a gold nibbed fountain pen.

[phonelady61]

What about Tippi Hedren in "The birds when she was writing the note about the birds to Rod Taylors character Mitch in "The Birds " . Everytime I see a crow I cringe thinking of that movie ....LOL and we have a lot of crows in the town I live in .

[jks2014]

Henry is very British British, maybe the pen is 200yrs ago already

[carlos.q]

In the 1947 version of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", the character played by Danny Kaye constantly daydreams about being some kind of hero. In this scene he dreams he is a world known surgeon who tells a nurse "Give me a fountain pen" and proceeds to fix a new fangled anesthetizer:
mitty.jpg
It looks like a Parker "51".

[Kaputnik]

I recently watched Cool World on Netflix streaming. It was, let's say, not as bad as you might think.

There's this business about the fountain pen that the cartoonist uses to draw his characters. I would have thought a dip pen or three would be more likely, but what the heck do I know? Anyway, there is a point to it being a fountain pen, as the living cartoon characters can be sucked back inside it.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a decent screen grab, but I wonder if someone else who has seen it can identify the pen. At one point I was thinking it might be an older model of Pelikan, with one of those tortoiseshell patterns, but then again I wasn't sure.

[TerraNoir]

I know that the Lamy Safari/Al-Star appear in Justin Timberlake's "My Love" music video. I think that is where my brain really got ninja'd into my search for fountain pens later on in life. Haha! I shall follow up with a screen shot later on today.

[Bart Willems]

At least you see the pens—in general—being held at a normal angle and in a normal position (nib not held upside down).

Have pity on chess players! They are writhing in agony every time a chess scene appears in a movie or tv series. Usually the board is laid out wrong (dark square on the right instead of on the left as it should), and in tournaments players are regularly checkmated (in ridiculous positions) or resign with overly dramatic gestures.

Fountain pens get a lot better treatment.

[carlos.q]

From the 2010 movie "The King's Speech", a shot of George V signing a document to abdicate his throne. An Onoto perhaps?

kingspeech.jpg

[Kaputnik]

From the 2010 movie "The King's Speech", a shot of George V signing a document to abdicate his throne. An Onoto perhaps?

kingspeech.jpg

I remember that scene, and also wondered what the pen was. The signature, when we see it, is so illegible that it doesn't even look like letters.

George V is not abdicating, though, unless I badly misunderstand. He is signing a decree that permits his son Edward to act on his behalf, but his is not giving up the title of king. Later, of course, after the old king dies and Edward becomes king in fact, it is Edward who has to abdicate.

[pengeezer]

From the 2010 movie "The King's Speech", a shot of George V signing a document to abdicate his throne. An Onoto perhaps?

kingspeech.jpg

I remember that scene, and also wondered what the pen was. The signature, when we see it, is so illegible that it doesn't even look like letters.

George V is not abdicating, though, unless I badly misunderstand. He is signing a decree that permits his son Edward to act on his behalf, but his is not giving up the title of king. Later, of course, after the old king dies and Edward becomes king in fact, it is Edward who has to abdicate.

The more I look at it,it looks like a Sheaffer/Levenger Connaisseur in gold overlay;maybe even a Sheaffer Targa.



John

[FirepowerRKBA]

Does anyone have an idea what kind of fountain pen Tom Cruise was using in "Valkyrie" and John Hurt in "Nineteen Eighty-Four"? Thank you for your time.

[FirepowerRKBA]

This is what really got me thinking about getting a fountain pen to write in my journal and letters. What kind of pen is that?

[Cob]

From the 2010 movie "The King's Speech", a shot of George V signing a document to abdicate his throne. An Onoto perhaps?

kingspeech.jpg

I remember that scene, and also wondered what the pen was. The signature, when we see it, is so illegible that it doesn't even look like letters.

George V is not abdicating, though, unless I badly misunderstand. He is signing a decree that permits his son Edward to act on his behalf, but his is not giving up the title of king. Later, of course, after the old king dies and Edward becomes king in fact, it is Edward who has to abdicate.

The more I look at it,it looks like a Sheaffer/Levenger Connaisseur in gold overlay;maybe even a Sheaffer Targa.



John

The nib looks to be the wrong shape for the period; it is certainly not an Onoto nor a Swan, the most likely candidates I would have thought, for His Late Majesty.

Cob

[Writer]

Saw a LAMY 2000 in Mockingjay Part one. Couldn't find a picture.

[Cool Fool]

This episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet revolves around a "stolen" fountain pen. Too bad we can't tell what brand/model the pen is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvh0r1PuK5M

[carlos.q]

During last week's episode of "Marvel's Agent Carter" ("The Blitzkrieg Button") the stern lady at The Griffith Hotel for Young Ladies used a red fountain pen:

griffith.jpg

Here's another look. An Eversharp maybe?

griffith2.jpg

[carlos.q]

This one is from last week's "Agent Carter". It seems that Dottie, as the russian spy/assassin uses the same pen as the lady from The Griffith hotel:

dottie.jpg

[Neo]

101 Dalmatians, when Cruella De Vil tried to buy the puppies and was writing a check. She ended up covering Roger in ink because she shook the pen.