Sophie Wachner (November 5, 1879 – September 13, 1960) was an American costumer who designed costumes for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Fox, and Selznick International Pictures in the early 20th century.[1][3][4] Her work appeared in films such as Just Imagine, A Connecticut Yankee, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.[5]

Sophie Wachner
refer to caption
C. Aubrey Smith, Freddie Bartholomew & Dolores Costello in Little Lord Fauntleroy
Born(1879-11-05)November 5, 1879[1]
DiedSeptember 13, 1960(1960-09-13) (aged 80)[1]
NationalityAmerican
Known forCostume design
Notable workHe Who Gets Slapped, Just Imagine, A Connecticut Yankee
Spouse
Harold Powers
(m. 1920; died 1943)
[2][1]

Early life

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Wachner was born in 1879 in Akron, Ohio, to Jewish immigrant parents from Hungary.[1] She first began a career in teaching in Akron Public Schools, but in 1909 moved to New York City to design costumes on Broadway.[3] She and her aunt, Frederica De Wolfe, spent ten years there, and during this time Wachner worked as a costumer for Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.[3] In 1919, she moved to Los Angeles to work for Goldwyn Studios.[1]

 
The lobby card for the film Just Imagine, showing the costumes Wachner designed.

Career

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Wachner joined Goldwyn Studios in August 1919, as they set up a new headquarters for their costume department.[6] Wachner was well-known among the Los Angeles clothiers who supplied Goldwyn Studios' productions.[7][8] While employed there, Wachner's opinion was greatly respected by the actors and directors she worked with, who "court[ed] her favor exactly as they court the favor of the public".[9] William Wellman and G. B. Manly gave her the nickname 'Colonel Wachner'.[10] Her early work for Goldwyn included costumes for the Hobart Henley film So This Is Marriage, which included a technicolor sequence depicting the story of Bathsheba and David, and He Who Gets Slapped, a 1924 psychological thriller starring Lon Chaney.[11] For the 1930 film Just Imagine, she collaborated with Alice O'Neill and Dolly Tree to create a wardrobe for futuristic 1980s New Yorkers and Martians.[1] Wachner left Goldwyn Studios for Fox in 1924, and worked there until 1930, when she was fired to cut costs.[3][12] Wachner worked in Hollywood for over fifteen years, with her final film Little Lord Fauntleroy being released in 1936.[5]

Filmography

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Year Title
1924 Daring Love
1924 He Who Gets Slapped
1924 His Hour
1924 Married Flirts
1924 The Snob
1924 So This Is Marriage
1924 Three Weeks
1924 Wife Of The Centaur
1924 Wild Oranges
1925 The Great Divide
1928 Red Wine
1929 Love, Live And Laugh
1929 Big Time
1929 Fox Movietone Follies Of 1929
1929 Hot For Paris
1929 Married In Hollywood
1929 Nix On Dames
1929 Pleasure Crazed
1929 Seven Faces
1929 A Song Of Kentucky
1929 South Sea Rose
1929 Speakeasy
1929 Sunnyside Up
1929 They Had To See Paris
1929 Thru Different Eyes
1929 Words And Music
1930 El Precio De Un Beso
1930 The Arizona Kid
1930 The Big Party
1930 Born Reckless
1930 Cameo Kirby
1930 City Girl
1930 Common Clay
1930 Crazy That Way
1930 The Dancers
1930 A Devil With Women
1930 Double Cross Roads
1930 Fox Movietone Follies Of 1930
1930 The Golden Calf
1930 Happy Days
1930 High Society Blues
1930 Just Imagine
1930 Last Of The Duanes
1930 Lightnin'
1930 Liliom
1930 The Lone Star Ranger
1930 Man Trouble
1930 Not Damaged
1930 Oh, For A Man
1930 On The Level
1930 On Your Back
1930 The Princess And The Plumber
1930 Renegades
1930 Scotland Yard
1930 So This Is London
1930 Song O' My Heart
1930 Such Men Are Dangerous
1930 Under Suspicion
1930 Up The River
1930 Wild Company
1930 Women Everywhere
1931 Charlie Chan Carries On
1931 Mr. Lemon Of Orange
1931 Young Sinners (1931 film)
1931 Quick Millions
1931 Don't Bet On Women
1931 East Lynne
1931 A Connecticut Yankee
1931 Girls Demand Excitement
1931 Fair Warning
1931 Are You There?
1931 Doctors' Wives
1931 The Man Who Came Back
1931 Once A Sinner
1931 Three Girls Lost
1931 Corsair
1931 Men On Call
1931 Seas Beneath
1931 Six Cylinder Love
1931 Body And Soul
1931 Not Exactly Gentlemen
1931 The Spy
1931 Young As You Feel
1931 Their Mad Moment
1936 Little Lord Fauntleroy

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Jorgensen, Jay; Scoggins, Donald L. (6 October 2015). Creating the illusion : a fashionable history of Hollywood costume designers. Philadelphia: Hachette. p. 14. ISBN 9780762458073.
  2. ^ "Studio News". Los Angeles Herald. 8 September 1920. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Fischel, Jack R. (2009). Encyclopedia of Jewish American popular culture. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 113. ISBN 9780313087349.
  4. ^ Wilk, Ralph (23 November 1935). "A little from "lots"". The Film Daily. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Wachner, Sophie", AFI Catalog, American Film Institute
  6. ^ "News in sub-titles". The Studio Skeleton. 1 (7): 3. 2 August 1919. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ^ Heustis, Reed (22 September 1919). "Beauty, talent, and pork are located at Goldwyn Studio". Los Angeles Herald. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Tall, slender girls have their inning". Madera Tribune. 25 October 1922. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. ^ Prophater, Anna (December 1923). "Hidden hands of filmdom". Screenland. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Shoot!". The Studio Skeleton. 1 (16): 3. 4 October 1919. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Elaborate biblical scenes to be made in color for Metro Production". American Cinematographer. 4: 13. November 1924. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  12. ^ Maclean, Adrianne L. (7 October 2016). Costume, makeup, and hair. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. pp. 27–30. ISBN 9780813571539.
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