MovieChat Forums > The Big Valley (1965) Discussion > How come the Barkleys don't sweat?

How come the Barkleys don't sweat?

posted 11 years ago by SuCue
14 replies | jump to latest

It's hot as hell in the Central Valley in the summer, and the summers basically last about six months, from May until late October. There was no AC in the 1870s, yet you never see the Barkleys sweat or talk about the heat. Audra and Victoria wear long-sleeved, ankle-length gowns with bustles, yet they never do so much as fan themselves with a proper Victorian ladies' fan. Jarrod often wears a suit with a jacket and tie; Nick wears a heavy black leather vest. Only Heath dresses like he knows what a Central Valley summer is all about. What's up with that?

[–] rahrah14 11 years ago

My dad often asks this question, especially with Nick; he complains about being hot but he wears leather vest and gloves all the time. I don't really have a clue why they wouldn't remove extraneous clothing items except perhaps it being the 1870's, maybe it wasn't considered appropriate to be anything less than fully clothed even in the hottest conditions...is that a reasonable explanation? (not being a smartass here, I honestly wonder if that's the reason because it does seem strange at times)

Sweet merciful crap!

It's just tea! *sips* Needs more gin.

[–] SuCue 11 years ago

You are correct that it was the custom to be fully covered in that era, but that still doesn't explain why they never seem to be bothered by the heat. It's just Hollywood, I guess.

[–] nkm56 11 years ago

My mom grew up in Oklahoma during the depression. The heat was terrible back then, and there was no a/c either. 1936 was one of the hottest summers on record, but work had to go on. She said you just got acclimated to the heat. We notice the heat more today because we're going in and out of a cool environment into a hot environment. However, I can remember episodes of BV where they very obviously did sweat. Jarrod working on the fence in Man from Nowhere, Nick and Heath working on the fence in Joaquin. There were others, but those two come to mind immediately.

As for the clothes, I don't think anyone could ever accuse Hollywood of being very accurate on much of anything, including the clohes. Victorian fashion did not include women's pants or knee length divided skirts, such as the kind worn by Victoria and Audra (the few women who did wear divided skirts wore floor-length skirts). A decade earlier, during the Civil War, the officers always wore heavy woolen uniforms, even in the heat of the South's summers. I'm sure many of them went down with heat exhaustion. But they wore them. The Victorian era was very prim and proper.

[–] elvisforever-633-689384 10 years ago

When you watch the show again I suggest you watch Lee Majors as he perspired quite a bit

[–] brendanchenowith 10 years ago

I was going to say "air conditioned studios"

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked.

[–] bradford-1 10 years ago

The sweating on BV is nothing compared with the sweating on GUNSMOKE. On the latter, the characters' clothes often show huge sweat stains, even the females. People wipe their faces with grimy hankies and are fanning themselves constantly. You can just smell the funk!

May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

[–] brendanchenowith 10 years ago

This is sort of the exact opposite of the "Batman" question - how does Robin keep from catching pneumonia wearing that skimpy little outfit in NEW YORK during certain times of year?

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked.

[–] janet-conant 9 years ago

Gunsmoke and Rifleman were more realistic than BV. Nick and Heath come walking into the big house after working out on the range or after a long trip on horseback and look like they stepped out of a bandbox.

[–] kmj-35654 9 years ago

I guess it would not have been very becoming to show dignified ladies like Victoria and Audra sweating. It was odd that Nick and Victoria ran around with those black leather jackets even on the hottest days. Heath was usually the only one to unbutton his shirt and roll up his sleeves while in the heat.

[–] SuCue 9 years ago

Good point. Heath was the only one who really did any hard work. Probably because he was "the bastard."

[–] mlbroberts 8 years ago

I remember reading that Cameron Mitchell (who wore black leather on High Chaparral) did it so that he could jump into a water trough to cool off between shots - black leather didn't show up as wet on film, it just showed up as its normal shiny self. Maybe some of that was going on on BV too.

[–] BWGrainy 9 years ago

The servants do it for them.

So many a$$holes, so few bullets.

[–] phillindholm 9 years ago

I suppose these days with TV'S new ''realism'', they'd be throwing up, etc. on camera. Anybody really want to see that?.

[–] connorarroyo-1 8 years ago

Some of the location shoots for these shows were inland valley areas, North of Los Angeles.; hot, but very dry.. I worked on several productions where the make up people had spray bottles of water to spray our clothes and faces to simulate sweat on camera.

Sure, it's hot as hell, but so dry that perspiration evaporates almost immediately.