I was watching 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' the other day. I'd forgotten the part where Professor Henry Jones (played by Sean Connery), in trying to evade a Nazi attacker, nonchalantly pulls out his FP from his jacket pocket and squirts the hapless chap in the eyes. Such fun! As Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) replies - "The pen is mightier than the sword" - I couldn't agree more.

Does anyone else have any favourite 'FP moments' in the movies?

I recently watched "Thirteen Days", a movie about the Cuban Missile Crisis, and watched the actor who played John Kennedy sign a document with a desk fountain pen. I believe it was a Sheaffer, but can't confirm. Anyone else get a good look at it?

Please see the pinned Penspotting-thread in Chatter (going on 11 pages at the moment).

/Tojusi

Thanks Tojusi...didn't notice it there...(I never know where to put my posts!)

There's another "Penspotting" thread (shorter than the first one above) here: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...p?showtopic=811

It's not one of my favourite films or anything (but I found it interesting), but "The Ninth Gate" (Jack the Ripper film with Johnny Depp) had some nice shots with the Montblanc Agatha Christie LE.
Love that snake clip!!!

Hahaha, I loved that bit in the movie.

*Squirt!*
"Yaaarggh!!"
"I say, Henry! The pen is mightier than the sword, eh?"

I just laughed so much.

Question - Would a fountain pen REALLY squirt ink like that?

Alas, I will be a bit off topic, and on my first post, no less.

My most memorable pen reference was in a book, and I think it was a dip pen. The name of the story escapes me as does other detail, leaving me with the mere single line quote that has haunted me for years.

Two men discussing a piece of writing ( that may have even had something to do with the plot). One says he wishes he had something (no recall on my part). The other one says "I wish I had that nib!"

No detail about the writing sample or why he liked it so much or what kind of pen. Just that simple statement. Leaving it to the imagination is one thing; never leaving the imagination is another. That is the only thing I remember of the story.

I think I am going to like this Network. You are probably the only ones that would understand recalling only that one line.

I was watching the "Flying Leathernecks" with John Wayne. His character is writing a letter to the family of a pilot that was killed. He is writing with a fountain pen. It is only shown for a split second. He stops writing for a minute while talking to another character in the movie. During the conversation he gets frustrated and tosses the pen onto the desk. Something I had never noticed before I started writing with a FP.

Last evening I was watching Tora Tora Tora, and they had a bunch of scenes with the actors using fountain pens...
In fact, my 8 yr old pen collector mentioned to me "Daddy, they are using fountain pens, just like we do".... of course I had to explain to her that there were no other kind of pens during that period...

Yes OldGriz, its hard to imagine that at one time
fountain pens were it! Its almost as if the ball point
pen was a plot of the devil to do them in...NOT!

Not a fountain pen, but a dip pen...

At the end of THE THIRTEENTH WARRIOR, the Antonio Banderas character is writing of his expoits with a very elegant dip pen--the nib seems to be steel or silver and the holder ivory or white jade. A really beautiful pen...

Bill

I saw 'Finding Neverland' on BBC TV this evening and Johnny Depp (playing J.M. Barrie, playwright/author of Peter Pan etc) seemed to be using a black hard rubber Waterman with at least 1 engraved gold ring.

What a wonderful, entrancing film - and you can see why Johnny got the job as Jack Sparrow...

- Stuart

yes but it's a lowly BP not even worth counting

I think you might have two films confused 'from hell' is the ripper film, 9th gate is the bastardized version of "club Dumas" by A. Perez-Reverte. Read the book it's got more in it.

In Sleepy Hollow he also used a syringe/ tubular nib prop/ pen as well.

Kurt

There's lots of fountain pens in "King Kong" ('05).

And I'm sure there's at least ONE fountain pen in "Casablanca" ('42).

About Casablanca, I want someone to answer a question of mine - WHAT is that thing which Rick uses to sign the cheque (Or whatever it is) when we first see him in the movie? He takes it and under 'Authorisation', he writes "OK Rick" with some fat chunky thing. What is that?

It's definitely "The Ninth Gate" ( photo at http://www.whatdvd.net/WhatDVD-Graphics/main/961.jpg shows the pen in question ). Didn't know it was a BP. Heck, even if it *is* a BP, I'd take it!
Thanks for the book recommendation.

In _The Exorcist_ Father Merrit's helper uses what looks like a Parker 51.

My wife gave me the complete New Yorker magazine collection on CD's for Christmans and it's cool to see the ad's for fountain pens and ink. My mother inlaw was telling me that was all they used in school back in the 50's too.

Very interesting.

Mike

This wasn't a movie, but a BBC TV series called Torchwood, a spinoff from Dr. Who. Two characters ended up going through a rift in time to the 1940s. One said to the other, "I just can't get used to writing with these fountain pens." The other, who was much older, said, "Try using less pressure!"

I've had exactly the same conversation with people who normally use ballpoints, when they try one of my pens.

There's an old 1980s BBC miniseries on Oscar Wilde, where Michael Gambon (today's audiences know him as the new Dumbledore) is at his writing desk with a fountain pen. So that voice and those pens are intertwined in my mind.

Now I'll have to go watch my old Sherlock Holmes series to see if Rathbone or the other guys have scenes with FP.

I watched Three Days of the Condor tonight, and at the beginning someone is crossing off names to make sure all targets are in the office. He is using what looks like a black Pelikan M800 or so.

I was watching 'Schindler's List' today. And there's at least one fountain pen there. Looks like it MIGHT be a striped Duofold, but I wouldn't count on it.

It's a honking big MB149. The camera shot lovingly focuses in on it while he crosses off the names

Kurt

I was watching 'The Pianist' today.

Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody) writes down the names and addresses of some of his old friends with a fountain pen (can't tell exactly what it is). And Capt. Wilm Hosenfeld (Thomas Kretschmann) signs some documents with a Montblanc Meisterstuck fountain pen (Playing a German army officer, what else would he use, other than a German writing instrument? )

Just saw "Lust ! Caution" (new Ang Lee flick) and there are two scenes with fountain pens. In one, it seems like one of the main characters, Mr. Yi, is using a blue-black ink in a Chinese "calligraphy" pen, i.e. one with a nib that swoops upward to allow line thickness variation with Chinese characters. The result is very beautiful, although the "character" doing the writing is quite vile.

Come to think of it, the Yi character is collaborating with the Japanese during the occupation of China in the early 40's so if the film was trying to be accurate about his pen (and of course that's far from certain) he may have been writing with a Japanese pen, something like a Sailor with a Zoom nib (see Sailor nib page).

Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) uses what I believe to be a Mont Blanc 146 in the last picture of the Bourne series.

Do you remember which scene? I missed it. I have to laugh at myself when I see an interesting pen show up in movies-"Whoa, whoa, wait! What's that pen?"

Sweeney Todd! I think we could have a topic of just "Johnny Depp Movies With Fountain Pens."

Almost at the beginning, Marie (Franka Potente) tells Jason to write down everything that is bothering him. I was surprised to see that pen, because I find it too fancy for an action guy that is constantly on the run.

Oops, I just checked and it's not the third movie but the second one. The pen appears from 3:54 to 4:20 minutes of play time on my DVD. The MB star on the cap is clearly visible.

Yes, it looks pretty much like a black 51, but the man holding it is not Merrin's helper; it's his colleague and most probably the chief curator there.

Watched Gattaca (great movie!) last night. Though set in the "not too distant" future, Ethan Hawke's character is clearly using an Eversharp Skyline. Way cool. And in a Frank Lloyd Wright building!

And has anyone seen this still from There Will Be Blood? Are those Watermans poking out of Daniel Day-Lewis' pocket?

Who's the boy? And the picture's too small to tell what the pens are by the clips.

Hey all,

I love the movie "Topsy Turvy" which is about Gilbert and Sullivan and their collaboration on the play "The Mikado." In one scene set in a restaurant I forget which character is having lunch with another gentleman and Gilbert (or Sullivan) is going to write something down. The other gentleman pulls out a black hard rubber fountain pen and hands it to Gilbert or Sullivan and he comments on how to use it. I don't know what kind of pen it was. Maybe someone else out there remembers this movie and the pen.

Thank you and have a great day!!

James E. Merritt

Thank you, Bernardo! I enjoyed the "Bourne" series so I'll be sure to look for it next time I watch.

Except for Stylos. . . it would be interesting to see how often they show up in movies of the period (as opposed to modern ones set in the period).



It was a black hard-rubber eyedropper with 2 gold barrel bands. There were scads, and I do mean scads, of manufacturers who made that design - it would be pretty hard to tell from the view in the movie just which brand or maker it was. It could easily have been a Waterman, or a Wirt, or any number of makers. I rather like to think it was an early Madie-Todd Swan, being London and all, but I don't know that Swan's were more popular than other brands in the UK before M-T opened a factory about 5 years after the movie would have taken place.

If I recall correctly, the scene where he was shown writing with that pen was outside, on a sunny day (though in the shade). I cringed at the thought of him using that HR pen in the sun.



I do remember that - the other gentleman remarks "It's a reservior pen" and I believe it was Gilbert said "whatever will they think of next." Since the date was 1884-5, it was probably one of the earlier fountain pens. It could have been a Waterman, which debuted in 1883-1884, but they were a pretty small shop in New York at that time (though growing fast), so I don't think it that likely. More likely is one of the many earlier fountain pen designs, of which the UK had their share.

John

That scene was probably also paying homage to Sean Connery's James Bond scenes featuring Q's weapons that double as fountain pens. Of course they're fountain pens... can't imagine 007 with a ballpoint.

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg originally wanted to do a James Bond film, only copyright and licensing were unworkable issues that time. This is why Last Crusade is my favorite Indy installment. In addition to its focus on character's origins -- River Phoenix! -- and family relationships, it was brilliant that they brought in for the series Sean Connery, who, in my opinion (and just look at Ian Fleming's notes on 007's physical appearance!) is the actor most identified with 007, the character that inspired the creation of Indiana Jones.



Atonement. Robbie Turner writes a letter to Cecilia.

A friend told me about this scene from a M*A*S*H episide. One of the characters knew his wife was writing to another man.

"I know it's her, because she uses that fountain pen with the ink that makes everything look like it was written by some monk."