19 thoughts on “Fabulous Redheads in Historical Costume Movies

  1. Oh Kendra, you are funny! Esp. how you undercut your own arguments :)

    If anyone wants, they can re-listen to our Dracula & Wings of the Dove podcasts to hear your own complaints about Mina in her terrible lingerie & snake dresses & Titanic (“pedestrian” & “conservative” & I believe you consider Kate Winslet in those beaded evening dresses a big ol’ snooze that red hair can’t save).

    I would have included Nicole Kidman in my writeup bec. she looks pretty bad in most every historical movie she does, but her hair never looks red enough. “Far & Away” was terrible, but strawberry blonde? Weak. I have standards!

    1. 1) IF I said LUCY was crappy in our Dracula podcast, I should have clarified that she was LESS CRAPPY than Mina.

      2) Yes, I said that the COSTUMES in Titanic were pedestrian & conservative when COMPARED to Wings of the Dove. I never said that Kate Winslet didn’t rock, or that she wasn’t the saving grace of that movie.

      Mwah!

  2. Mina in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
    We’ve podcasted about this, and I’m pretty sure everyone agrees: Mina is mealy, Lucy is fabulous. Why? Well, Lucy is ready to roll when Dracula comes around, plus, RED HAIR.

    So, shouldn’t the title be Lucy in Bram Stoker’s Dracula?

    1. Trystan used her in her original “crappy redheads” post, so I was trying to come up with some alternatives! Plus, I refuted in the comments, that since Maureen O’Hara was partially responsible for the original Parent Trap, she can do no wrong!

      1. Maureen O’Hara cant do any wrong! She is a splendid actress and one of the last of the golden age..

  3. Let us not forget two great redheads from the past: Susan Hayward (Demetrius & the Gladiators — yeah, I know another crappy sandals epic) and The President’s Lady (opposite Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson), and Valerie Hobson (Great Expectations, Blanche Fury). The costumes might have been awful, but the ladies were glorious

  4. How could you possibly leave out the Weasleys? They are certainly some of the most famous movie redheads! (The fact that I look like Molly has nothing to do with it, I’m sure…)

  5. Deborah Kerr in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp–in my opinion her best performance, and she looks amazing as an Edwardian sufferagette.

    It’s fantasy/period, but Moira Shearer in Tale of Hoffmann! Too bad The Red Shoes isn’t period, because the costumes in that film are exceptional, too.

  6. Another very beautiful red haired woman in a costume movie is Glynis Johns as Mary Tudor in “The Sword and the Rose” (1953) . I recommend this movie, it’s gorgeous, with a very beautiful princess and great costumes.

  7. Good red hair – Christina Hendricks as Joan in Mad Men (I know not truly historical but late 50s/early 60s clothes were quite good).
    Good red hair – Jamie in season one of Outlander (yes, I know it was dyed).
    Truly awful red hair – Jamie in that f…ing horrible wig in seasons three and four of Outlander.

  8. If this post was a few years later, we would have to add Eleanor Tomlinson’s Demelza…but did I miss the original Demelza?

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