Fountain Pens In Movies And Tv

[Paul-in-SF]

This is a very long thread and I did try to search for this, but I couldn't get meaningful results. If this has been covered already, please forgive me.

 

The Britcom "As Time Goes By" features a fountain pen prominently in the opening and closing credits. In the first few seconds, Lionel is writing a letter to Jean, from Korea, using a black fountain pen. It's mostly seen in silhouette, and the end of the cap has a fairly distinctive shape. For the rest of the credits, opening and closing, the pen is lying on the desk in front of two photos, but it's still hard to get many details. The best clip I could find is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMX8UC_Q-C4 and at about 0:23 you can see the pen without any credits covering it up. The best view of it in his hand is at about 0:07, but unfortunately he is holding it so the clip is not visible.

 

As Lionel's father was reasonably well off, it seems likely to me that the pen would have been from a top tier British manufacturer, such as Conway Stewart or Mabie Todd, or perhaps it was a British Parker. Unfortunately the picture is too fuzzy to really tell much about the pen. There appears to be one rather large cap band (based on the view in his hand). It's not a long pen, he's holding it rather high and the posted cap is well into the crease between his thumb and forefinger.

 

I've looked at my meager collection of British pens and don't see one that looks anything like that. I suppose chances are that it's not particularly period or vintage at all, or if it is, it could be something Lionel would have been unlikely to have used. I really wonder what it is.

[choombak]

Dark, S3:E4 "The Origin" has a fountain pen which I could not recognize. Set in Germany, I don't recall what year they were showing (the show goes back and forth 33 years from late 1800s to mid 2040s.)

 

[catbert]

 

Dark, S3:E4 "The Origin" has a fountain pen which I could not recognize. Set in Germany, I don't recall what year they were showing (the show goes back and forth 33 years from late 1800s to mid 2040s.)

 

 

 

Scenes set in 1954, I think, but don't ask me which timeline.

[praxim]

Marshall is set in 1940, so fountain pens appear on desks and are used, most strikingly in the closing address where (having been coached by Marshall) Friedman uses the lever to drip ink into a glass of water to symbolise drips of doubt in the case. I did not identify the pen.

 

For those who have not heard him, Marshall in the 1950s argued the notable case Brown v Board of Education and in the late 1960s became a Judge on the Supreme Court himself.

[Misfit]

In the 7th season opener of Endeavour, Morse looks at a page of signatures, and says Professor (name) signed this with a fountain pen. See, it writes double, the nib is splayed. He picks a pen out of a box, tries it, look same pen.

 

The pen was under the victim, so it was there before she fell. It helped solve the crime. It was orange, which made me think it might be a big red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

Late in the movie The Vanishing of Sidney Hall, "The Searcher" is visiting Sidney in the hospital after tracking Sidney down and bailing him out of jail. He wants to write Sidney's biography and when

Sidney's in the hospital he's the one person Sidney has the staff call. He takes out some pen that I couldn't ID and unscrews the cap. While I suppose there are rollerballs that do have caps which unscrew, the only brand I can think of offhand is Lamy (and pretty sure it wasn't a Safari/al-Star/LX).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Freddy]

Film: Casino 1995

 

Last scene in the movie with Rothstein {Robert De Niro} in San Diego, CA

 

Alright..well let me know as soon as you can find out.....

 

We see Ace usin' a Montblanc Solitair Doue roller ball...So very 80's......

https://youtu.be/rN32RTMJaJI?t=86

 

Fred

enjoyin' a cool glass of water with Efervescente Tortoroglio

[MHBru]

the new version of Perry Mason with Matthew Ries features a fountain pen in nearly every episode. I don't know vintage well enough to know what it is, though.

[inkstainedruth]

In the 7th season opener of Endeavour, Morse looks at a page of signatures, and says Professor (name) signed this with a fountain pen. See, it writes double, the nib is splayed. He picks a pen out of a box, tries it, look same pen.

 

The pen was under the victim, so it was there before she fell. It helped solve the crime. It was orange, which made me think it might be a big red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just saw that episode last night (yeah, running a little behind). But would it have been a Big Red? The episode takes place in 1970.....

I'm also somewhat bemused by the idea they were effectively talking about a sprung nib. But I had also wondered what the nib was when I saw the pen.

For those who didn't see the episode, it was cigar-shaped, and a lot brighter an orange than the enlarged scans suggest.

I just looked at Tony Fischier's site, and 1970s era Big Reds have a black finial -- which the pen in the episode clearly did not. Additionally, those appear to be flat tops, unlike the pen in the episode. I would love to know what the pen actually was, since it was somewhat integral to the plot!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[brokenclay]

In the 7th season opener of Endeavour, Morse looks at a page of signatures, and says Professor (name) signed this with a fountain pen. See, it writes double, the nib is splayed. He picks a pen out of a box, tries it, look same pen.

 

The pen was under the victim, so it was there before she fell. It helped solve the crime. It was orange, which made me think it might be a big red.

 

Thank you for reminding me that it was time to watch Endeavour again (don't spoil me, I've only seen the first one so far!).

[Freddy]

Just saw that episode last night (yeah, running a little behind). But would it have been a Big Red? The episode takes place in 1970.....

I'm also somewhat bemused by the idea they were effectively talking about a sprung nib. But I had also wondered what the nib was when I saw the pen.

For those who didn't see the episode, it was cigar-shaped, and a lot brighter an orange than the enlarged scans suggest.

I just looked at Tony Fischier's site, and 1970s era Big Reds have a black finial -- which the pen in the episode clearly did not. Additionally, those appear to be flat tops, unlike the pen in the episode. I would love to know what the pen actually was, since it was somewhat integral to the plot!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Pen section {three sided} appears to be a Sheaffer Prelude... cigar shaped profile with a click-off {slip cap} cap....

 

Fred

We accept sellers cash for the following:

Button hooks..cotton goods..hard goods..

soft goods..fancy goods..noggins and piggins

and the firkins..hogshead..cask and demijohn..

crackers and the pickles and the flypaper.

 

Captain Billy's ... Whiz Bang

[Muero]

Can anyone help me identify this pen Bryan Cranston's character uses in the 2015 film Wakefield? (Click/tap to see the image as the full 1080p frame if the thumbnail isn't big enough.)

 

http://i.imgur.com/1xmLa8ol.png

http://i.imgur.com/GVAiHrJl.png

http://i.imgur.com/d2prxQtl.png

http://i.imgur.com/VztBKnZl.png

 

 

[catbert]

Cartier Roadster?

Edited August 19, 2020 by catbert

[Muero]

Cartier Roadster?

Thanks. Looks like that exact model isn't available anymore, and it would be way too expensive to buy anyway.

[Misfit]

Pen section {three sided} appears to be a Sheaffer Prelude... cigar shaped profile with a click-off {slip cap} cap....

 

Fred

We accept sellers cash for the following:

Button hooks..cotton goods..hard goods..

soft goods..fancy goods..noggins and piggins

and the firkins..hogshead..cask and demijohn..

crackers and the pickles and the flypaper.

 

Captain Billy's ... Whiz Bang

Thank you! It was unclear if the pen was new or contemporaneous to 1970 or older. The mention was that is wasn’t a “modern” pen. I have no knowledge of the famous Big Red. I just saw the color, and that’s what came to mind. Ha!

[Misfit]

Thank you for reminding me that it was time to watch Endeavour again (don't spoil me, I've only seen the first one so far!).

You are welcome. It’s a 3 episode season. Glad to have it, since the length is longer than US series.

[inkstainedruth]

Speaking of Endeavor, we just watched the season finale last night, and it appears (in several scenes) that Morse is using a Jotter BP.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Carrau]

Speaking of Endeavor, we just watched the season finale last night, and it appears (in several scenes) that Morse is using a Jotter BP.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Even without seeing it, the sound of that Jotter being clicked while he does crosswords was so distinctive over the seasons, that it couldn't be any other pen.

[Beechwood]

Even without seeing it, the sound of that Jotter being clicked while he does crosswords was so distinctive over the seasons, that it couldn't be any other pen.

 

 

I hope I am proved wrong but I don't think that we will ever again see such an enjoyable detective series as Inspector Morse, two hours of indulgence.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Beechwood

[ParramattaPaul]

Vera is on a par with Endeavour in my opinion. Excellent plots, great acting, and fantastic cinematography. An older well done series is George Gently. It ran for 10 years (2007-2017).