Fountain Pens In Movies And Tv

[Carrau]

 

 

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.

Just so-perhaps the Endeavour-Morse-Inspector Lewis Line will be continued with Hathaway (Lawrence Fox)-wishful thinking!

 

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).

I haven't started Vera yet, as I'm immersed in another old series, Touch of Frost. So many quality British detective series, George Gently, Broadchurch, Hinterlands, Shetland, Happy Valley, Luther are a few that come to mind.

[ParramattaPaul]

'Broadchurch' is that good that it has my adult son binge watching it.

 

'Luther' is INTENSE. I would not recommend it for late night viewing if one plans a restful night's sleep afterwards. It has well-scrited, excellent plots and great acting.

Edited August 26, 2020 by ParramattaPaul

[Nyoko]

Recently I watched the movie Purple Noon, which is the original version of The Talented Mr Ripley from aabout 1960, based on the series of novels by Patricia Highsmith. Expat Philippe Greenleaf, and later his doppelgänger Tom Ripley, uses a MontBlanc throughout the movie writing notes, cheques, and signing letters/faked wills, etc. throughout the movie. Im sure someone knowledgeable in vintage MBs would be able to identify the model, given the year the movie was made and that it was contemporaneous, so the pen might have been a current model.

Its been awhile since Ive seen the most recent version with Matt Damon, and I cant recall if FPs were used in the film, the typewriter being the more central object in both films. The movie, by the way, is worth watching, and differs from the Jude Law and Matt Damon version in some significant ways, especially the latter half of the movie. I enjoyed both, although I think I liked the older version a bit more, I think because the two actors actually resembled each other, and because Alain Delon (Tom Ripley) seems much more natural, less studied, than Matt Damon. For that same reason, I think O really enjoyed Jude Law more in the modern version-he seemed completely natural in the character.

 

The movie "Purple Noon" (1960) was mentioned before on this thread. I just wanted to share a few pen related screenshots from the opening scene. (this movie is streaming now on Criterion channel and well worth watching, especially to see the young Alain Delon). I think the pen in the movie is a Montblanc 149, but I can't be absolutely sure about the size.

 

This movie has a lot of beautiful scenes in Italy. With the travel restrictions we have now, watching movies with nice locations will have to do for most of us. Also, if anyone is interested in typewriters, there are several scenes in this film featuring a lovely yellow Olivetti Lettera 22.

[Carrau]

You posted this yesterday, and I happened to see that the Purple Moon was being shown on TCM this evening when I was looking for something else. Strange coincidence.

Edited September 1, 2020 by Herrjaeger

[inkstainedruth]

Finally got around to seeing Inglourious Basterds a couple of nights ago, and several characters use pens at different points:

1) the German SS officer uses what appears to be a button filler (although I don't think he would have gotten much of a fill the way the actor used it ).

2) the actress/double agent signs an autograph for the guy at the next table when he is celebrating his having just become a new father.

3. the guy who stars as himself in the Goebbels' produced propaganda film signs an autograph for someone at the movie premiere.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Nyoko]

You posted this yesterday, and I happened to see that the Purple Moon was being shown on TCM this evening when I was looking for something else. Strange coincidence.

That's a great coincidence! It's funny how that happens.

 

One of the amusing hazards of the fountain pen hobby is that we notice fountain pens in old movies and want to stop the film to try to identify the pen in use! I also notice old cameras and typewriters in films. Thanks!

[BaronWulfraed]

It's print media, not movie/TV but...

 

Ink & Sigil (Kevin Hearne), recently published, has a pen reference on page six, that will lead many to cringe...

 

 

... I snatched a sheet of stationery and selected an Aurora 88 pen from my coat pocket. It was presently filled with a rust-colored ink using cinnabar for the pigment and a varnish infused with ground pearls, fish glue, and the vitreous jelly of owl eyes. ...

 

The character is able to cast spells using various inks and drawing odd shapes (thus the book title).

 

 

Addendum:

A few chapters later we get a Visconti with pine soot carbon black laced with ground stag-beetle carapace (sounds a bit like a nano-particle glitter ink), a limited edition leather-wrapped/skull Caran d'Ache with pit-viper venom and cochineal, and mention of a Montblanc (no mention of the ink components -- though there is a short chapter where the character goes on about the difficulty of collecting a spoonful of live tardigrades from moss to make the ink used for healing sigils).

 

I'm wondering if the author is actually a fountain pen user, of just browsing something like a Fahrney's or FPH catalog.

Edited September 8, 2020 by BaronWulfraed

[mana]

In "Curtain: Poirot's Last Case" (2013) Poirot pens down his last letter to his friend, Captain Hastings, with a fountain pen that appears to have a Wahl adjustable nib, a stubby broad at that with the slider in the forward position (harder nib). You can kind of hear it too, thought is was cool.

[inkstainedruth]

In "Curtain: Poirot's Last Case" (2013) Poirot pens down his last letter to his friend, Captain Hastings, with a fountain pen that appears to have a Wahl adjustable nib, a stubby broad at that with the slider in the forward position (harder nib). You can kind of hear it too, thought is was cool.

Trying now to remember whether what the Poirot series on Masterpiece Mystery did with Hickory Dickory Death, where -- in the book at least -- ink figures prominently: the murder victim borrows a housemate's (green) ink so she doesn't have to go shopping for a bottle of "Quink" right away....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ink Stained Wretch]

In a rerun the other day I saw a Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode titled "The Saint."

 

Oh, I suppose that I should put some spoiler space in here before I say anything more.

 

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The episode had Stephen Colbert as a guy who was faking rare or previously undiscovered religious documents. He was an expert on the type of pens to use and he had inks that passed inspection that sought to establish the ink's age. He had a unique way of making the ink appear a lot older than it was when forensic tests were done on it. For writing regular things he used a fountain pen. I couldn't see what fountain pen he was using, but that's what he used for some documents. Other documents seem to have been done using dip pens. Fountain pens, old paper, dip pens, home made ink that fooled investigators into thinking it was real vintage, this guy had it all going on. On top of that he could forge signatures and old writing styles. It was quite a pleasant surprise .

[inkstainedruth]

Oh, I remember that episode. That's when I figured out that his Colbert Report "persona" was just that -- a character. I didn't remember him using fountain pens, but that would have made sense for a forger to be using FPs and dip pens to mimic the hands used in the documents.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Misfit]

This isn’t from a TV show or movie. It’s from a game called Design Home.

 

 

 

I figure anywhere that shows a fountain pen is worth a mention. Someone has to deliberately choose the fountain pen image.

[eerestis]

In the recent movie Tove, Tove Jansson signs the contract for the Moomin serial with a Parker 51 owned by the American businessman offering the deal. There are at least two other fountain pens in the film, but I couldn't identify them.

[ddntp]

Any Spanish thrillers lovers here? "Contratiempo", I believe this is a Faber-Castell Ambition Rhombus.

 

[inkstainedruth]

Recently my husband and I have been binge watching old episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on BBC America (it's now up to season 5).

There was an odd episode in season 4 called "The Muse".  An alien entity sought out creative people and basically fed off their brainwave energy as she "guided" them.  She had arrived at the space station and had found her new "protege": Jake Sisko, son of the station Starfleet commander.  She gives Jake, as a gift, a pen which had belonged to some famous alien poet, to help get his creative juices really flowing, and paper (rather than the tablet he usually worked on).  I'm afraid the image isn't the best quality -- I did a screen shot off of the IMDB page for the episode; if it doesn't come through (it's my first attempt at using the new format rather than the old Upload button), here's the URL for the image: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708631/mediaviewer/rm1733083392/.  

Not entirely sure whether it's a dip pen in actuality (modified with a weird section to look "futuristic" for the setting of the series, several centuries into the future) or a fountain pen; but the implication from context is that it was some sort of pen that you didn't have to refill often, which suggests a fountain pen.   

Interesting that the episode's original air date was in the spring of 1996, and I'm now wondering when the studies about handwriting vs. typing/keyboarding were done/published (I think the posts I've read in other threads suggested that the results of the studies, at least, were published way more recently than that).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Theroc]

In the TV series Hannibal, Mads Mikkelsen's character uses a fountain pen to write dinner invitations. Curiously, he writes them on what appears to be a lectern, while standing. With only the tip of the nib making contact with the paper, you might say he's writing from the shoulder. Being Hannibal Lecter, his handwriting is, of course, impeccable.

We can only see the nib and section, but it's quite clear it's a S.T. Dupont. Most likely from the Orpheo/Olympio series.

 

Correction:

My memory failed me somewhat. It was not a lectern, but a desk. He is, however, standing.

And the pen is from the Defi series not O/O.

I've attached a few screen shots. The scene lasts over a minute. Right at the start of the last episode of the 2nd season.

 

[BorisoftheStars]

I'm pretty sure the Warner Bros. used a fountain pen when signing a contract in the hulu trailer opening. Not sure I can post it here since it's supposed to be for hulu members viewing only.

[Vasilis97]

Is this pen a real model or something the writers came up with?

( 5:10 -5:40 )

 

[chromantic]

A Faber-Castell Ambition OpArt plays a small but key role in the Spanish suspense movie The Invisible Guest on Netflix.

[Nyoko]

James Cagney in the movie "Footlight Parade" 1933. It's a fun musical comedy. He seems to be holding a Parker Duofold Big Red in his hand (my best guess). You can see the pen pretty clearly but it's small so not too detailed.