Yesterday, an angry Christmas queen! Today, a pensive yuletide lover. In director John Huston’s The Dead, based on the James Joyce short story in The Dubliners, his daughter Anjelica Huston plays Gretta, the wife of Gabriel Conroy, a writer and academic. In 1904 Dublin, they attend a Twelfth Night party given by the Morkan sisters to a group of friends, family members and former music students of theirs. The night is filled with dances, recitals and conversation; a gentle and soothing gathering that unveils hidden fears, quiet secrets, and potential romances. We first see the Conroys as they come in from the cold and Greta changes into her dancing shoes. Once again, we’d like to point out that any time a character is fussing with elements of their costume, putting things on or taking them off on screen, something is being said about this moment, this character, this outfit.
She’s ready to party. It’s interesting to us how dramatic her entrance is, with that scarf and dark coat, and how it reveals a much less dramatic ensemble underneath.
As holiday dresses go, this one’s not exactly festive or full of the spirit of the season, but costume designer Dorothy Jeakins understood that wouldn’t have been appropriate for the setting or the characters. These are all very proper people having a very proper social engagement and Gretta’s dress, which is lovely if plain, fits right into the gathering.
Lots of lace and muted colors at this holiday party. Attempting to delve too deeply into the themes and motifs of James Joyce is a bit above our pay grade, but this is a gathering of proper, middle class Dubliners who sing, play music, and write. It’s not quite a gathering of intellectuals, but as an Epiphany party put on by two elderly spinster music teachers, it has an overwhelming sense of appropriateness to it. Gretta is a supportive wife and a well-regarded member of this community. Everything about the dress speaks to her own deathless appropriateness, her stature among like-minded women. She doesn’t just coordinate with the other costumes, she matches the very house she’s standing in. But as we said, there are untold stories and hidden agendas in this gathering, as there are in all gatherings, and Gretta comes face to face with her own past just as she’s ready to leave.
One of the attendees sings the mournful Irish ballad (is there any other kind?) “The Lass of Aughrim,” which stops her in her tracks. She stands on the stairs and listens to the whole song sadly, revealing later to her husband that it was sung to her by her first love, who died when she was a teenager. It’s clear she’s been mourning him her whole life.
Her dress is the dress of a ghost, making her way through the world seemingly effortlessly, ruffling no feathers and causing no ripples, but her outerwear is very clearly mourning clothes, with a touch of the bride to them.
Next up: A Christmas con artist!
[Photo/Still Credit: Vestron Pictures]
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Christmas Movie Dress Advent Calendar Day 20: Katharine Hepburn in THE LION IN WINTER Next Post:
T LOunge for December 22nd 2025
Christmas Movie Dress Advent Calendar Day 20: Katharine Hepburn in THE LION IN WINTER Next Post:
T LOunge for December 22nd 2025
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Christmas Movie Dress Advent Calendar Day 24: Vera Ellen in WHITE CHRISTMAS
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Christmas Movie Dress Advent Calendar Day 23: Judy Garland in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS
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Christmas Movie Dress Advent Calendar Day 22: Barbara Stanwyck in CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT
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