White hair - Bell Book and Candle (1958) Discussion

[–] thapie 16 years ago

yeah her hair is white or silver, i said the same thing last night while we were watching. i do think it inspired sabrina,had a lot of influence at least.

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[–] hooper-xxx 15 years ago

Not to mention Bewitched.

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[–] pudwhacker 15 years ago

its called 'precious platinum'. after the hair is bleached, a toner is added that has hues of purple.

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[–] crazykharvey 15 years ago

"pudwhacker" (interesting screen name btw), I'm glad you mentioned the purple because I was beginning to think something was either wrong with my eyes or wrong with the TV because I saw a purpleish hue to her hair.

I think the golden blonde looks better but I can imagine that it was a popular color back in the day.

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[–] SanDiegoWoman 16 years ago

I remember that it was a very popular shade of blonde at that time, but I don't know if it was because of Kim Novak or if her hair dresser went along with the trend of the day. Seeing it as I watched the movie for the umpteenth time yesterday I realized it was very far from the popular shades of blonde today. It had almost a purplish/gray cast to it. Her hair looked very sophisticated and made her seem the right age bracket for James Stewart.

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[–] hooper-xxx 15 years ago

...and made her seem the right age bracket for James Stewart.

No it didn't. Their pairing was creepy... not as creepy as Audrey Hepburn and Fred "The Crypt Keeper" Astaire, but still creepy.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Molly-31 16 years ago

It's a color called platinum or silver blonde. Very few people have this color naturally.

I'm all right, I'm alllll right!

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[–] AliciaHuberman59 15 years ago

Marynotmartha-1, it's funny you should mention that, because Kim Novak was publicized by Columbia as The Lavender Blonde when she was an up and comer, replacing Rita Hayworth as its resident sex symbol.

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[–] scotbpens 15 years ago

Lavender Blonde? Today that sounds like a lesbian rock band!

All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

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[–] Blondfashionisto 15 years ago

As a former Hairstylist, I can explain...I also bleached out my hair in the 80's. There are various shades of toners - I used 'White Lady' for a platinum effect. And, women also commonly used 'rinses' to temporarily change the hue of the hair - I used a 'pink' one at a Hair Show on mine. Kim Novak may have been using 'rinses' to remove any 'brassy' cast to the hair. I bet it was 'White Minx'(- That was a popular purpley Roux 'Fanciful' Rinse) with a touch of 'Bashful Blond'.

And, of course, the hair hue would change depending on the lighting. Another good example of 'varying shades of blond/beige' would be Hope Lange's hair in 'The Best of Everything'.

Christopher

'There’s a name for you ladies, but it’s not used…Outside a kennel! (Crystal Allen)'

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[–] BCarl 13 years ago

The whole platinum blonde look on her is ridiculous. Ages her by 20 years. I don't understand how any young woman would want the hair color of their grandmother.

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[–] mlee1919 13 years ago

And I don't understand how any young woman would want her hair to be bright blue or pink or green... Must be the fashion of the time.

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[–] BCarl 13 years ago

Yes, but bright blue, pink or green hair doesn't imply an older age like platinum does...especially when this film was made.

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[–] nihilistwonder 13 years ago

The color schemes in this film were amazing and memorable-- Novak's hair and her red-and-black ensembles, the bluish-greenish lighting in the Zodiac Club scenes (which seemed to reveal the clientele's supernatural, even borderline wicked, natures), the B&W POV of the cat, the silvery look of snowy NYC from the Flatiron building, the emerald green (for envy?) gown worn by Janice Rule, etc.

They were NOT afraid to work that Technocolor!

"Shake me up, Judy!"

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[–] Molly-31 13 years ago

It didn't come out bright blue or violet or whatever. The colors were extremely pale and wouldn't show up except in bright light. I used to know a woman who did this with her hair (a violet rinse) and in sunlight if you looked closely it had a rainbow effect.

You've got me?! Who's got you?!

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[–] Rheli 12 years ago

I think they deliberately *tried* to make her look older with that gray hair. Otherwise it was too ridiculous for her to be attracted to the much older James Stewart.

Where's your crew?
On the 3rd planet.
There IS no 3rd planet!
Don't you think I know that?

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[–] BCarl 12 years ago

That's a good theory. This "older man/younger woman" theme really gets ridiculous. Look at Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in "Charade." I think Cary even asked the screenwriter to tone down the romantic aspects of their relationship in that film.

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[–] mam13143 13 years ago

Platinum blondes were popular back in the day (like Jayne Mansfield), but always seemed to infer a somewhat "loose" woman. But Kim makes it look sooo sexy. Didn't she also have that color when she played Jeanne Eagles - now there she was steaming!!

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[–] Rheli 12 years ago

Yes, I've since seen that Kim is a platinum blonde in other films, e.g. the one she's in with Rita Hayworth.

Where's your crew?
On the 3rd planet.
There IS no 3rd planet!
Don't you think I know that?

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] greenbudgie 10 years ago

I am always fascinated by Kim Novak's hair when I see her in films. Although it could be described as white, I always think I can detect iron gray and blue amongst it. It really does suit her and gives her an unique look. She doesn't look anywhere near as attractive in the second part of 'Vertigo,' where she has to adopt that reddish brown color.

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[–] littlekaren 9 years ago

Was an odd shade of whatever it was. Prefer blonde.

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[–] bell-simone 9 years ago

She had lavender hair. The studio wanted her to have lavender hair.

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[–] istara 8 years ago

Watching it now - digital copy, so colours can vary.

It looks like the shade that L'Oreal sells as "Pearl Blonde", with lots of violet toner.

It's artificial looking but it's pretty nonetheless.

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