Fountain Pens in Movies and TV

[An old bloke]

I watched two episodes of Why didn't the ask Evans tonight. It's a serialised version of an Agatha Christie novel, and as such a period (c 1936) drama. There is a pen in the dying man's pocket in the opening scenes of the first episode. It looks like an Onoto Magna or a Parker Duofold. I am no expert, but i am leaning towards it being Duofold. Opinions please.

[FredRydr]

I watched two episodes of Why didn't the ask Evans tonight. It's a serialised version of an Agatha Christie novel, and as such a period (c 1936) drama. There is a pen in the dying man's pocket in the opening scenes of the first episode. It looks like an Onoto Magna or a Parker Duofold. I am no expert, but i am leaning towards it being Duofold. Opinions please.

There are photos of them several posts above (scroll up up up).

[FredRydr]

I was too slow to stop the action, but watch The Railwayman with Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Stellan Skarsgård for glimpses of several fountain pens being used in wartime London.

[carlos.q]

It has long been rumored that the Nazis were experimenting with time travel. There is an image that might prove this to be right. Here is a scene from a multi-part TV documentary (chapter:"Hitler: The Artist") where the dictator ponders whether or not to have his old friend Ernst Rohm shot. As you can see, he is using a very modern Parker Vector to ink his choice:

Vector.jpg

Then again, it could be that the prop department made a mistake. Naaahhh... it must be time travel.

[FredRydr]

It has long been rumored that the Nazis were experimenting with time travel. There is an image that might prove this to be right. Here is a scene from a multi-part TV documentary (chapter:"Hitler: The Artist") where the dictator ponders whether or not to have his old friend Ernst Rohm shot. As you can see, he is using a very modern Parker Vector to ink his choice...Then again, it could be that the prop department made a mistake. Naaahhh... it must be time travel.

[catbert]

Judi Dench with a Parker Sonnet in the movie Iris. In an early scene, her character — the writer Iris Murdoch — struggles to complete her final book, which was published in 1995, a year after the Sonnet came out. So no anachronisms here!

Iris1.jpg

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In a flashback to the 1950s, her younger self (Kate Winslet) has a Parker 51.

Iris4.jpg

[FredRydr]

Judi Dench with a Parker Sonnet in the movie Iris. In an early scene, her character — the writer Iris Murdoch — struggles to complete her final book, which was published in 1995, a year after the Sonnet came out. So no anachronisms here!
In a flashback to the 1950s, her younger self (Kate Winslet) has a Parker 51.

Their props person must've been more diligent than most.

[catbert]

Michael Gough as Bertrand Russell in Derek Jarman’s Wittgenstein with a Waterman(?) and a bottle of Parker Quink black.

Witt2.jpg

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[catbert]

In The Souvenir, set in early 1980s London, a character who is not all he appears to be signs a cheque with a Jinhao X450.

Souvenir1.jpg

Later, the female protagonist signs a cheque with an unidentified silver pen and an unconventional grip.

Souvenir2.jpg

Later still, another glimpse of the Jinhao during a watercolour session.

Souvenir3.jpg

[Blue Note]

In The Souvenir, set in early 1980s London, a character who is not all he appears to be signs a cheque with a Jinhao X450.

Souvenir1.jpg

Later, the female protagonist signs a cheque with an unidentified silver pen and an unconventional grip.

Souvenir2.jpg

Later still, another glimpse of the Jinhao during a watercolour session.

Souvenir3.jpg

Odd way to hold a pen (first two images).

[An old bloke]

In The Souvenir, set in early 1980s London, a character who is not all he appears to be signs a cheque with a Jinhao X450.

Souvenir1.jpg

Later, the female protagonist signs a cheque with an unidentified silver pen and an unconventional grip.

Souvenir2.jpg

Later still, another glimpse of the Jinhao during a watercolour session.

Souvenir3.jpg

Odd way to hold a pen (first two images).

Indeed. I would guess he learned to write and grew up using pencils and Biros since that is not an atypical grip for Biro users.

[catbert]

The Jinhao X450 returns in The Souvenir Part II, along with the protagonist’s unconventional grip.

Souvenir2-1.jpg

Souvenir2-2.jpg

By the end of the movie the protagonist has changed her life and her pen, though not her writing style.

Souvenir2-3.jpg

[catbert]

Gary Oldman tests the stiffness of a Lamy Logo nib in The Hitman’s Bodyguard.

Hitman1.jpg

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[catbert]

Possibly a black Lamy Safari near the beginning of Drive My Car.

Drivemycar1.jpg

Certainly a couple of dip pens near the end.

Drivemycar2.jpg

[catbert]

Jean-Luc Picard’s fountain pen in the teaser for season 3 of Picard.

Picard.jpg

[catbert]

An unidentified fountain pen in Calvary,

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and some unexpected product placement.

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https://www.davidoscarson.com/p-pp.htm

[catbert]

A couple of period-appropriate (late 1920s) fountain pens in Downton Abbey: a new era, too distant to identify.

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[vdiantonio]

What an excellent thread with terrific pictures!!!

[carlos.q]

Back to two of my favorite subjects: time travel and fountain pens... "El Ministerio del Tiempo" (The Ministry of Time) is a truly wonderful and well made Spanish TV series on time travel. The series is described by IMDB as "A warrior from the 16th Century, the first female university student from the 19th Century, and a paramedic from the 21st Century join a secret agency to prevent people from changing Spanish history using time-traveling doors." In the chapter tiled "Tiempo de espías" (Time of spies) one of the main characters uses a hooded fountain pen in a scene that takes place in 1943. At first glance it looks like a Parker 51 but the cap looks wrong:

Attachment 57768

In another scene a closeup reveals it looks a lot like a vintage Aurora 88:

Attachment 57769

Since Aurora started producing the 88 in the year 1947 then it couldn't have been used in 1943. But then again, this is a series on time travel...

I was just rewatching this episode and found another pen, which I cannot identify:

MdTcap23.jpg

In this episode, our fearless time travelers are desperately trying to keep Operation Mincemeat on track. For this, they must write various love letters between The Man Who Never Was and his fictional girlfriend. In the end, the nazis are deceived and history is preserved, but in a very paradoxical manner.