MovieChat Forums > Being Julia (2005) Discussion > A goof in the 'Goofs' section

A goof in the 'Goofs' section


The last item in the "Goofs" section is: "Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): A jeweler refers to Julia as "Miss Lambert," when she most certainly would have been referred to as "Mrs Lambert" in the 1930s, since she was married."

I just wanted to mention that this is wrong both ways. Actresses were among the first women in the English-speaking world to keep their own name after marriage, at least professionally. I'm not sure when it started, but this was the common custom both in the U.K. and in North America by the 1930s. "Lambert" is Julia's maiden name, and presumably the name by which she became known on the stage. The jeweller (and everyone else who knew her as an actress) would most definitely call her *Miss* Lambert. In (very) private life, she would be known as Mrs. Gosselyn.

Also, when you use the title "Mrs." in English, the implication is that the name following it is the woman's *husband's" last name, so "Mrs. Lambert" would be wrong in that sense, too. In fact, if you really wanted to follow the original ettiquette rules and call a married woman by her full name, the correct way would be "Mrs. Michael Gosselyn", not even "Mrs. Julia Gosselyn" (!) (I didn't say it made sense, but that was the original rule!)


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Yes, I saw that and immediately submitted a correction just now. Just watched the movie - what fun! I`ve never seen Jeremy Irons in such a lighthearted role. He is actually likeable when he`s not playing a pedophile or deranged gynecologist! :-)

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