From the opening images of a sewing treadle in motion, and then street scenes in Liverpool 1944, I was hooked. The Dressmaker is an independent drama film, 90 minutes long, released in 1988.
Then a fleet of US Army trucks came through. Scores of Yanks in uniform came pouring out into the streets, and the story was on.
There’s no official trailer that I can find, so here are some screenshots from the movie.
The colors in the movie are vibrant, which pleasantly offsets the reminders of life in wartime Liverpool, such as grocery store lines, crowded homes and blackout curtains. I love all of the colorful calico dresses and the household textiles, along with all of the 1940s fixtures, settings and scenes.
The story line of an orphan teenage girl living with her two very different aunts, and dating a Yank soldier, was intriguing. But even if the story wasn’t my kind of thing, I still would have watched with no sound, just to see the scenes and clothing.
The movie is based on the book ‘The Dressmaker“, by Dame Beryl Bainbridge, a writer who was born and raised in and around Liverpool.
As the credits rolled, a surprise appeared. The delightful Freda Kelly, former longtime secretary to The Beatles, had a role in the movie, as part of ‘Couple in Doorway’. So of course, I had to rewind to find a couple in a doorway. No luck. I’ll have to watch the movie again more closely, if I’m going to spot her.
The Dressmaker is currently available for free on these channels:
- The Roku Channel https://www.roku.com/whats-on/the-roku-channel
- Direct link to the movie: https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/w.pWbgrq0l41IRJkkz7P8etgKNNBy4oYFZeKBagY30IJ8oxj77JAsDDmY
- Amazon Prime Video (with Prime subscription) https://smile.amazon.com/Dressmaker-Jane-Horrocks/dp/B01N5M73AW
More on The Dressmaker (1988) movie:
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dressmaker_(1988_film)
- Imdb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095066/
There is a 2015 movie by the same name starring Kate Winslet. It is not the same story.
run | sew | read 
The movie sounds wonderful! The screen shots are awesome! I’m going to try to watch it later today. Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
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Thanks; I hope you like it. I’d never seen or heard of it before this.
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I definitely want to check this film out – anything involving sewing and history is right up my alley! The clothes look absolutely stunning and the story seems incredibly interesting!
And thanks for recommending the Roku channel as well, I’d never heard of it and it looks amazing!
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Hope you like the film! The Roku Channel is fairly new, but a nice selection, with commercial interruptions that aren’t too annoying. I’ve just updated the post with a direct link to the movie. I realized it wasn’t that easy to find among the Roku selections.
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I’ve never heard of this film before. Thanks for the recommendation. I will check it out.
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Glad to share my find. Hope you enjoy it.
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