Recently I saw The Silence of the Lambs again. When I first saw the film, just after it came out, my fragrance wardrobe consisted of Chanel Coco and Victoria’s Secret Tranquil Breezes bubble bath. This time, more attuned to perfume references, I chilled as Hannibal Lector met Clarice Starling for the first time. Lector stood straight-backed, arms at his side, and stared at Clarice on the other side of the bars. His nostrils flared and he half-shut his eyes. “You wear L’Air du Temps,” he said. “But not today.” Brilliant.
When I watch movies these days, my eyes are often fixed on the background as I look for perfume. In Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner, two 16-ounce, houndstooth Christian Dior bottles sit on a shelf in the bathroom. I think one of them is Miss Dior. In Auntie Mame, the Rosalind Russell version, Mame gives her housekeeper a giant clock-shaped bottle of something Guerlain I suspect is Shalimar. Another mammoth bottle of Guerlain, this one looking to hold nearly a gallon of Mitsouko Eau de Cologne, adorns the background of an Italian movie. I can’t remember the plot at all, only the Mitsouko.
Then, of course, are movies where perfume nearly plays a supporting role. In The Women (the 1939 version with Joan Crawford — the less said about the Meg Ryan version the better), Joan’s character is a perfume saleswoman. The background of the perfume counter scene is a visual feast. Pause the DVD and luxuriate for a moment as you identify the different fragrances. In American in Paris, Leslie Caron works in a perfume shop. In Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Lanvin Arpège should be given film credits for the bowling-ball-sized bottles rimming Jayne Mansfield’s bathtub. In the movie Perfume, scent really is the star, even if the fragrances aren’t any we see on department store shelves today.
Someday I’d like to talk to a Hollywood prop master tasked with choosing perfume for movies. How did someone decide Katherine Hepburn would wear Christian Dior Miss Dior in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Why Arpège and not, say, Piguet Fracas for Jayne Mansfield? And why the heck Shalimar for Auntie Mame’s housekeeper, a White Shoulders gal if I ever saw one? I guess I’ll never know, but it keeps me scanning the tops of dressers in every movie I see.
Do you notice perfume in movies? What bottles have you seen?
While I don’t look at perfumes in movies, I will sometimes take a magnifying glass to check out perfumes on the dressers of decorating magazine photos…
There seems to be a lot of Jo Malone in contemporary interiors, don’t you think?
Definitely! Chanel might run a close second. And I did see a Byredo bottle once…
Let’s start a magazine where we show just the things we want to see. None of these vague living room and kitchen shots. Let’s get close ups of the interiors of purses, perfume shelves, mutts, refrigerators (the inside, of course), etc.
…and what’s on the bookshelves!
Absolutely!
Since all those rooms in magazines are “styled” before they are shot (the magazines come in with a lot of props before the cameras get there), I doubt the perfume bottles represent the taste of the owners, rather the bottles are just chosen for their looks (hence all the Jo Malone and Chanel–bottles with clean, modern designs). Too bad we don’t get to see the real thing (or what the houses are really like with people living in them).
All the more reason to cruise the interiors posted on The Selby.
Oh, I love The Selby! And he did a shoot of some of the Lanvin archive.
I remember it!
Very interesting! I can’t think of any movie, but in one Mad Men scene, Joan is preparing to go out with her roommate to cheer her up after the roommate lost her job. Said roommate smells Joan and says: “Shalimar?,” and Joan nods. I was just starting to read blogs and learn about perfumes when I watched it, and was glad to recognize the name!
I remember that scene! Joan and Shalimar are made to go together, I think.
Love, love, love Joan and Shalimar together! The actress who portrays her, Christina Hendricks, is also really into perfume.
http://www.marieclaire.com/hair-beauty/trends/celebrity-tips/christina-hendricks-beauty-secrets
So does this make me a fan or just slightly pathetic?:)
You’re not pathetic–she’s totally worthy of worship! I wonder which of the L’Artisans she has besides the amber and mandarin?
She said in People Magazine that Premiere Figuier (the extreme) is her signature scent. I was surprised by the sophistication of her taste! Selena Gomez, who is coming out with a perfume, has publicly stated “Paris Hilton” and “Daisy Eau So Fresh” as her favorites, and Taylor Swift, who just came out with stupid crap called “Wonderlust” has listed “Fantasy” by Britney as one of her favorites.
She’s miles ahead of those celebs, that’s for sure.
Great scene! I remember this well too. I love Joanie!!
Me too! She’s a bonafide bombshell.
Another Joan fan here. But of course I love Peggy too.
Me too. Betty is hard for me to connect with, though.
I need to rewatch that scene! I have been rewatching some episodes of Mad Men and in one scene I found myself squinting at Betty’s dressing table trying to spot the name of some of the perfumes.. But in vain..
Angela- My first thought was Joan should wear Fracas. But I realize that is too obvious and she might actually be a Shalimar- she is more complex than she seems..:)
I think it’s in part her coloring that makes Shalimar such a good fit. They match so well.
Has anyone noticed what the main character in Tom Ford’s “A single Man” has in his bathoroom. 3 bottles, one of them Dior of course.
ever since taking up the “perfume” studies” I always screen all movies for perfume bottles shots hi-hi!
great fun!
I think someone mentioned he has a Creed on his dresser, but no one has quite figured out which one.
Did Mame give the bottle of Shalimar to her housekeeper or to her secretary, Agnes Gooch? I haven’t seen it in a while and can’t remember, but if Agnes, Mame was trying to find the enciente and unmarried Agnes a husband, I think.
And who can forget Al Pacino sniffing the air and singing the praises of Fleur de Rocaille in Scent of a Woman? It made me want to wear it!
I’m pretty sure she was giving it to the housekeeper, although Agnes could have benefited for sure. I sure love that movie.
Just back from vacation – Definitely the Guerlain cologne was given to the housekeeper at Christmas time. I loved that scene and loved the movie! Agnes Gouch – “I’m a sponge!”
I remember Al Pacino’s remark in Scent of a Woman as well!
Agnes Gooch must be one of the best characters of all time!
Oh, meant to say… I don’t know about the older movies, but in today’s movies it’s called “product placement” and the companies pay for it!
Nice observation!
Great thread on the topic on Fragrantica:
http://www.fragrantica.com/board/viewtopic.php?id=14188
Thanks for the link. It sounds like I’m definitely not the only one to be thinking about perfume in movies.
In 007 – Cassino Royale, there is a scene in which the objects fall from the 007 necessaire, one of the objects is a bottle of Santa Maria Novella perfume.
I think it was a bottle of Melagrano. Nice job spotting it!
Yes it was, I double checked with the manager of the only niche perfumery in my town! And he told me SMN paid dearly for the product placement, but reported it was well worth it. My sharp eyes was awarded with a complimentary soap bar of the same scent!
Hey, good work!
It’s the reason I wear the perfume. I hunted it down after watching the movie. It’s also the signature scent of Eva Green. Whether this is due to its use in the film or not, I’m not certain.
SMN also featured their Aqua Colonia in The Talented Mr Ripley. I made this discovery when my own bottle of Melograno arrived in that divine box. And I know that in Hannibal his signature was made by SMN.
It’s such a nice perfume–what a great way to discover it! Kismet.
WORKING GIRL (1988), Scene 61:
Katherine Parker: Oh, I need something to cover this cast! There’s an Afghan on the chair…. Perfect!
Tess McGill: If that’ll be all….
Katherine: Oh, and some perfume. Shalimar…on the dresser… he LOVES Shalimar…
Tess: He, who?
Katherine: Jack Trainer, who. He’s on his way over.
Tess (glumly): I have to go. Doctor’s appointment.
Do you have the script around somewhere? Great quote! Shalimar once again.
YES this is the one I was going to say!!!! ADORE this movie and of course she puts on the shalimar in vain!
Can you believe I’ve never seen the movies? I’ll have to remedy that soon.
Great topic. I love “perfume-spotting”!
In The Littlest Whorehouse in Texas, during the “Sneakin’ Around” song, Burt and Dolly both apply fragrance. Burt has Old Spice, but I can’t identify what Dolly has! Anyone?
That’s brilliant! I don’t know what Dolly had, but a Dolly-worthy counterpart to Old Spice might be Jungle Gardenia.
Oh, excellent pick. Jungle Gardenia was a big favorite among my colorful Southern aunts. (Always White Shoulders for church, however!)
Yes, much more proper!
What a great post! Will be back to comment in detail and read other comments. I remember watching Sunset Boulevard and looking for Gloria Swanson mentioning that she wore Narcisse Noir. (Somebody on the blogosphere’d said that there was a dialogue containing Narcisse Noir). I couldn’t spot that mention, though..
Gosh, I saw that movie last less than a year ago. I’m sure, too, she had a gigantic bottle of Narcisse Noir somewhere, but I can’t remember the exact scene. I love that movie.
There’s going to be a lot of Shalimar here. If I remember correctly from a looonng time ago, there is a scene in the 80s “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, where the blind Pryor comments about a lovely lady, the gorgeous model/actress Joan Severance), that he smells her Shalimar. And then of course he remembers her later in the film when the plot is uncovering b/c he smells the Shalimar again.
In the brilliant TV show Arrested Development, there are various Annick Goutal bottles in the bathroom of the Maggie Lyser (sp? Julia Louis-Dreyfus) character’s house that you see when Tobias sneaks into her home.
That reminds me of Scent of a Woman, of course, where the blind Robert de Niro character comments on Fleurs de Rocailles.
Oh, I can see Mame giving Shalimar to her housekeeper on so many different levels….wanting to spice up her life a bit, thumbing her nose at class distinction, exposing her to richness, etc,
Mame is one of my heroes, and I was so thrilled to learn she was a Nuit de Noel kinda girl.
She’s one of my heroes, too. Nuit de Noel seems somehow subdued for her, but Mame definitely has hidden depths.
There is a scene in Sex and the City where the gals meet in a perfume shop (I think). They are sniffing away and Carrie declares that she is taking The Russian as a lover. Anyone remember that? And could it have been Jo Malone they were testing?
I wish I could remember! I’m sure I’ve seen that episode.
I remember that! One of the scents, I think, was “Apples and Hay.”
I’m not sure if they were actually spraying real scents, but the names of them did have a Jo Malone vibe.
So maybe they were faux Jos.
I think so!!
I saw this episode but I didn’t reconize any specific perfumes. It seems like they were smelling out of unlabelled tubes rather than bottles!
At least they weren’t smelling endless bottles of SJP Lovely!
LOL! Just shameless advertising…
regarding SATC I remember Carrie had in her bathroom Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger and on Samantha’s cabinet I saw probably Victoria’s Secret Angel’s Dream – not sure about the name
I believe it’s a bottle of Mitsouko that aspiring prostitute Catherine Deneuve smashes on her way out of the house in Bunuel’s amazing “Belle de Jour”.
Yet another movie I MUST see again.
I NEED to watch this again too..I love two of his other French Films more (‘Discreet Charm..’ and ‘Obscure Object..’) so Belle de jour got less (only comparatively) love from me..I vaguely remember the perfume smashing. MUST watch this again.
Again- terrific post, Angela! and it is great fun reading the comments!
The stack of movies grows! It’s been a good long time since I’ve seen Discreet Charm of the B, too.
I think it was Mitsouko. I have it on DVD and haven’t watched it in a while. Maybe I will check it out tonight. Speaking of the glorious Ms. Deneuve, I wonder if their are any perfume sightings in “8 Femmes”.
My favorite murder comedy musical! I don’t remember any bathroom scenes, and only the bedroom scene with the dead husband.
I don’t recall any scenes where we would see perfumes either. But that movies is such a delight and the casting was perfect!
I agree!
This is probably fodder for a whole ‘nother post, but I was very pleased to see a bottle of Miss Dior pop up in a Mavis Gallant short story (“The Cost of Living”).
And now I’m rushing off to look up Mavis Gallant. She sounds like my kind of writer.
She’s fantastic. The New York Review of Books has put out a few nice volumes of her stories — highly recommended.
Thank you for the recommendation!
I also highly recommend Mavis gallant. Heard her interviewed on NPR years ago and immediately bought two books of short stories. Great reads. I find Margaret Atwood writes a lot about perfume and scents. Just re-read Lady Oracle. But we’re talking about movies here…
We MUST do one on books sometime.
I remember the character commenting about the smell of Arpege on a woman in A Single Man last year
And he has a bottle of Creed on his dresser, with the label turned away from the camera. What Creed that might have been has been discussed at length, AT LENGHT, on Basenotes.
That’s hilarious! And you know it was especially chosen, too.
That Tom Ford….
That’s the one I was thinking of, too. As his senses become heightened he stands in front of her desk and inhales and comments on her Arpege.
Nice! Arpege is almost getting as much play as Shalimar.
Great post. I’m always bottle-spotting now, too.
Re: Mame and the Guerlain. My thought was about how perfect that bottle was. Huge (something the housekeeper will understand as a BIG luxury) but it’s the EDC after all, not the parfum.
Yes, very luxurious, parfum or not!
One of my favorite perfume scenes in any audiovisual format is in the original “Pee Wee Herman Show” when Terry the Pterodactyl gives Miss Yvonne his “dream date” quiz. What is Captain Carl’s favorite cologne: Brut, Paco Rabanne, or OLD SPICE?
That’s so funny! What was the answer?
Old Spice, naturally.
But Miss Yvonne’s favorite is Rocky Mountain Valley Violet Perfume, made for her all special-like by Hermit Hattie.
You sure know your Pee Wee.
It was the first thing I ever watched on illegal cable as a child.
I love your quote:
His nostrils flared and he half-shut his eyes. “You wear L’Air du Temps,” he said. “But not today.”
It says EVERYTHING that makes him such an enigma: refined, discriminating, with super-sensitive powers of observation – AND a cannibal!
In Hannibal Rising (the book, I think?) Lady Marusaki, his Japanese aunt plays games with him (when he is a child) of identifying different resins etc by smell.
Oh, no wonder he had such a keen sense of smell. That character was masterfully drawn, and Anthony Hopkins was the perfect person to play him.
Unfortunately, there’s another scent-related exchange (which I am not going to repeat) just before that L’Air du Temps comment, and that’s the one I think of when I think of Silence of the Lambs in relation to fragrance.
With Miggs? Disgusting. He paid for that comment with his life.
Angela – what a great idea for a thread, and “The Women” is one of my all time favorite movies! I must have watched it 250 times. Trivia: no male appears on the screen, and even the animals used (horses and dogs) were female. (And the perfume that Steven bought his wife Mary was “Summer Rain” (because that was the current special, and nasty Crystal would have been sure to push it on him). Later, when Rosalind Russell (Sylvia) and her perpetually pregnant friend with the 800 daughters show up to find out who Steven is boinking, Sylvia ends up buying a tiny bottle of “Oomph” for 25 CENTS. And has it delivered!
Crystal’s famous exit line: “Well, I guess it’s back to the perfume counter for me. There’s a word for all of you, but it isn’t used much outside of a kennel. So long, ladies.”
I love it! You’ve just given us the best highlights. Such a great movie.
I suspect product placement (which had a long history in Hollywood, even before the practice was given a name) is the greatest influence on perfume selection for characters. Plus, Shalimar has a very distinctive bottle, which makes a great prop.
In The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, the young small town teenager sprays some vanilla extract behind her before going to see a boy. (This was small town America before the age of Walmart)
In Entre Nous, one of the leads dabs wine behind her ears. I always thought that was great, too.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: “L’Heure Bleue?”
Classic!
Funny, I always wondered why they didn’t stick to what she wore in the actual book, which was Guerlain Ode, I think.
And I think in Casino Royale (the book), Bond mentions Vent Vert as a perfume he likes on women – either that or Vesper is wearing it and Bond approves.
Ian Fleming must have known his perfume!
Maybe it didn’t sound as good as L’Heure Bleue, but it’s certainly easier to say.
I remember in the film “The Four Seasons” in the segment when the couples were vacationing on a boat, Len Cariou gifts girlfriend Bess Armstrong with a bottle of perfume. She squeals “Shalimar!” and gives him a big hug and kiss. I had never heard of Shalimar and wondered why she was so excited…lol.
Shalimar gets a lot of play in film!
I recently saw an Indian film where a character interviews a attar-walla, it only lasts a few moments, but i re-watched it a few times to see if I could recognize any brand….
ooh- which film?
I can’t remember, netflix instant view…..
That sounds fascinating. (It will be even more fascinating, I know, once I learn about what an attar-walla is.)
LOL..an attar-walla is somebody who sells (And possibly also makes) ‘attars’..
Thank you!
Back to Sex and the City, I noticed a bottle of Boucheron’s Initial, the bottle that looks like a tear shaped pearl on Charlotte’s dressing table. I read that she loved and wore that fragrance, so I guess she suggested that to the director maybe.. .. and then on Samantha’s vanity was Victoria Secret’s Heavenly…so WRONG for Samantha! I just recently read that Kim Catrall is sure that she has bought up every remaining bottle of Parure on this planet. Now THAT’S more like a Samantha perfume!! Strange that we never saw Carrie with any fragrances, since I’ve heard she is fanatical about scents. But I do love when she says she needn’t buy anything at Takyshimaya because she suspects the russian already likes the way she smells…!!! Great post!
Victoria’s Secret?! That must have been product placement. I’m with you–I can’t imagine Samantha wearing that. Parure, on the other hand, is plenty sophisticated for her.
So I haven’t seen it in ages, and I certainly wasn’t a perfumista the last time I did, but there MUST be fragrance references in Scent of a Woman, right? I mean, really, it’s in the title!
I think he’s referring to Caron Fleurs de Rocailles.
To wander slightly off topic, I have always thought that movie credits should include the names of the actresses’ lipsticks.
Good one! I know that fashion mags always used to give the product and color names of every bit of make-up the cover model was wearing, but now they usually just credit the make-up artist. I wish they’d go back to their old full disclosure!
Sometimes they don’t even list the true colors, but they say, “For a look like Lara’s, try Cover Girl blah blah blah” to promote an advertiser.
Yes. I’m with you on that.
In “Charlie Wilson’s War” Julia Roberts plays a Texas millionaire with a big bottle of Chanel no 5 in her bathroom – probably edp, given the size of the bottle (as I remember it, anyway).
I suppose the movie prop departments always use factices? Does anyone know?
Good question about the factices. I do love No. 5, but I feel like too many people wear it because it’s No. 5 and not because they love it, you know what I mean?
Yes, no5 seems to be the one perfume name that everyone knows, no matter how little they know or care about fragrance in general. I love it and wear it, but sometimes fear that others will take me for a conventional soul who’s never heard of any other scent! That said, the Roberts character seemed the type who would buy or wear something for its name recognition value, so no5 was a good choice on the part of the set designer.
It sure does sound like a good choice, then.
Still remember Bill Murray in Kingpin telling someone, “Do me a favor, will you? Would you mind washing off that perfume before you come back to our table?”
Now I wonder what THAT perfume was!
Shalimar plays a pivotal role in the movie (and book) The Mephisto Waltz. I can’t say exactly what, as it pertains to an important plot twist!
And Angela – I recently saw Silence Of The Lambs again also and got a kick out of that L’Air du Temps scene. That Hannibal – he doesn’t miss much.
You’re leaving me in suspense!
I record fav shows so that I can watch, at lesuire, and fast forward through the commercials and have noticed lots of perfumes in lots of shows-I actually freeze the frames so that I can work out what the perfumes are! Its early morning here and the only one I can remember off hand is an old episode of Friends where the girls are spraying Organza (i think) in the air and walking through the mist.
That sounds so smart. I’m way behind in the technology department–I have an old tv and one of those convertor boxes that’s such a pain to hook up that I only use the tv for watching DVDs. I can’t even tell you what the local channels are.
Blu-Ray is great for this sort of thing. I was watching the Criterion Blu-Ray for Last Year at Marienbad when the camera slowly panned through her hotel room, and I froze it while it was passing over the dresser. It had a large perfume bottle that I eventually figured out was L.T. Piver’s Un Trefle Incarnat. It was created around 1900 and was one of the great early perfumes. I’ve never seen it for sale, but a friend sniffed a recreation at the Osmothèque.
Wow! What an obscure perfume. Of course, now I really want to smell it.
I think Octavian has an interesting post on that in 1000 Fragrances. There’s something very interesting about it (that I don’t remember, of course).
He always seems to dig up the most fascinating perfume history.
ooh- Love that tidbit. My husband has been wanting me to watch that movie- now I have an additional incentive to do so..
In the 1965 version of Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians”, there is a scene in which one of the other characters asks Shirley Eaton’s character what perfume she is wearing and she answers that it is Mitsouko.
In “Kitty Foyle”, Ginger Rogers plays a salesgirl and in one scene where she is showing an expensive perfume to a customer, she demonstrates the technique of spraying a cloud of perfume into the air and then walking through it.
I remember Kitty Foyle! There was lots of perfume in that one, but I seem to remember they were all made up perfumes.
Holly Hunter does the same “spray-and-stroll” maneuver while getting ready for her big date with William Hurt in BROADCAST NEWS.
I remember that scene. I wonder what the perfume was?
I don’t follow the show but I remember reading that one of the SATC girls had a Bond fragrance-noticable pink bottle -Chinatown?
Also in the movie A New Kind of Love -starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodard(sp?) ,a supporting actress uses and offers to share with Joanne her new french perfume -Lanvin’s MY SIN.
It’s a wonder My Sin wasn’t used more often, considering its name.
Now I have to watch Mame again! It’s one of my favorite all time movies!
An old boyfriend had me watching the Three Stooges (not a fan) and in one episode there’s a woman dabbing perfumes behind her years that drives the bald stooge nuts. It was a bottle of Hyacinth perfume. The other two stooges had to hold him down and tickle his feet. It was so weird!
That does sound weird–and hilarious!
You have to see Queen Bee (Joan Crawford). Joan’s character’s bathroom has this massive cabinet full of gorgeous perfumes and bath oils. In All About Eve, there are what appears to be two giant bottles of Arpege on Margo’s dresser. In Rancho Notorios, Mel Ferrer, on the end of a rampage through town, thoughtfully breaks into a drugstore window to grab a huge bottle of perfume to take back to Marlene Dietrich. In this sort of cheesy Ann-Margret vehicle called Made in Paris, the Paris apartment she stays in has a massive bottle of Bandit in the bathroom, which she promptly sniffs and dabs on. In Visconti’s The Damned, Ingrid Thulin’s dressing table is loaded with Guerlains, the bull’s eye bottles and parfum bottles.
I have to say, I love your taste in movies. I can’t believe I haven’t seen Queen Bee, though! I wonder if it’s hard to find in print? I’ll have to ask an officemate who’s a Joan Crawford expert about it.
And I think I’ll wear Bandit today!
thanks! I’m mainly a classic movie person, for preference – lots of good dresser/bathroom shots where you can freeze and have a good old look for perfume! Queen Bee (one of her later 50’s movies) is still around, easy to pick up at amazon for under $20 new, so I would imagine plenty of cheaper sellers too.
My office mate says there’s a classic Joan Crawford slap scene in it, too. I’ll definitely have to find it.
Joan is quite gleefully bitchy in it – I never hear much about it, even though it crops up on TCM in the UK from time to time, maybe too much of a melo, but Joan was made for that kind of role, imo.
Wow that’s loads of perfume refs!
Don’t they all sound great, though?
“Juno”. Was it Happy of Clinique?
I haven’t see that one, either! Happy sounds like a good choice.
I don’t know if this was included in any of the movie versions, but I remember my first encounter with perfume in books. In “Little Women”, when they each are deciding what to get their mother for Christmas, Amy announces that she will buy her a bottle of cologne. Of course, I was already a regular perfume wearer by then with my trusty Tinker Bell scent.
We should do another post on perfume in books. I bet we’d come up with some good ones.
Watching “Naked” right now: Lou Lou on a dresser.
Live reporting! Excellent.
Does Michael Douglas ask a lover if she’s wearing Cristalle in The Wonder Boys?
I don’t know, but I hope he did!
Not exactly a movie reference, but I was sniffing around on ebay for Jicky a couple years ago, and one of the old rectangular apothecary style bottles popped up. The seller specialized in film memorabilia and props, and the Jicky came from a studio warehouse lot of I Love Lucy props. I love to think of Lucy wearing Jicky! Or was it Ricky’s?
Also, FYI, it sold for under $100 then. One like it sold on ebay two days ago for $1,025.
Or Ethel? or Fred? Maybe Fred was a Jicky dude.
I watched the vitameatavegimen episode for Lucy’s 100th birthday. I still laugh until I cry with that one.
Ha! Such a coincidence you should mention this, because I’ve recently been playing “Spot the Perfume” in movies. In “To Have and Have Not”, Humphrey Bogart picks up a bottle from Lauren Bacall’s dresser and takes a sniff. “Remind you of someone?”, she asks. Later, she picks up the bottle and sniffs at it thoughtfully (unfortunately I didn’t recognize the bottle).
In “The Maltese Falcon” (yes, there was a Bogart fest on TCM), Sam Spade’s secretary enters and hands him a card. He sniffs it and looks at her quizzically. “Gardenia”, she says, and then shows in Peter Lorre. Now the question is, which gardenia was he wearing? I see on Basenotes that Chanel launched their Gardenia in 1925, so I’m going with that. The movie was made in 1941, and Lorre’s character Joel Cairo was quite the dandy, who would only wear the best.
The last time I watched “An American in Paris”, I remember noticing one of the large clockface Guerlain bottles in the shop, and another that may have been a Lucien Lelong.
Other sightings: In “Leave Her to Heaven”, Gene Tierney’s character sprays herself with cologne (from a rather generic-looking bottle, so I coulnd’t identify) before throwing herself down the stairs. And in “Now, Voyager”, Bette Davis dabs her hair with perfume before going downstairs to see her family for the first time since her return from her trip. Not sure what it was, but I’d take a guess on Chanel No. 5.
How could I have missed the Arpege bottles around Jayne’s bath? I love “Rock Hunter” and have seen it several times.
You are truly a movie-perfume aficionado! Such great movies, too. I’m going to look in my copy of the Maltese Falcon (book) to see if gardenia, and specifically Chanel Gardenia, is mentioned.
I ALWAYS pay attention to wich perfumes figure at movies or anything that is on TV. I don’t remember the names of the movies and don’t claim that to me: I’m expert in forgetting names of movies and its ends. Sometimes I see a movie that I’ve already seen before and it’s like I’ve never seen it: I even forget the end. I pay attention too much at the bathroons of soap-operas and movies to see if I know any of the flasks that’s on the wash basin. I remember I’ve seen Allure Homme Sport on an interview, J’Adore, Eau de Sauvage (in a very big bottle), Angel…
Sorry for the delay in response. I seemed to have missed your comment until now. I know what you mean about forgetting movies–I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rented the same movie twice!
I just stumbled across this article. Hope it is not too late to comment.
In the 1930’s film “Mati Hari” with Greta Garbo there is a scene of Mata at her dressing table. In the background are various Guerlain and Chanel bottles. Interesting, in that the real Mata Hari was executed by firing squad in 1918, well before any Chanel perfumes were launched!
Nice catch! I see Mata Hari as more of a Narcisse Noir girl, anyway…