Rations during World War II limited many resources and affected every industry–even the visuals of Hollywood movies. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, rationing was enforced in January 1942 beginning with tires. Rations continued until the end of 1945, except sugar, and ceased by June 1947, according to The National World War II Museum.

During the spring of 1942, the War Production Board set a limit of $5000 on raw materials for set designs in movies, as reported by the San Pedro News Pilot in May of that year. This posed a difficulty to the look of movies, which had long been seen as delivering glamour or a retreat from worries. Two months later on July 3, 1942, Imperial Valley Press reported that some crew members were willing to comply, while others were angry and felt that their work of keeping morale would be impeded. Yet every person had to do their part and this sparked a period of resourcefulness.

Fabric and Metal Rations in Costume DesignWhile those on the home front managed to make their clothes and shoes last, costumes in movies also had to be repurposed. Decades later, model and actress Marsha Hunt, reflected on her career and the costume designers from the era in her book, The Way We Wore: Styles of the 1930s and ’40s and Our World Since Then. Hunt recalled during the making of Human Comedy (1943), imported fabrics were out of stock in the wardrobe department and were rarely delivered, due to ships being attacked during their journey to America. For a scene requiring a gown, she remembered costume designer Irene found a piece of lace. Since it wasn’t enough for the costume, Irene added white mousseline de soie from the waist to the hem as well as ruffles to conceal this. Similarly, Hunt remembered wearing costumes that other actresses had worn a few years earlier.

Marsha Hunt (far left) in a scene from The Human Comedy (1943) wearing a lace gown designed by Irene during a fabric shortage. Source: IMdB

Jewelry was another element complementing costumes, however metal was also rationed. The Alamosa Daily Courier on February 3, 1943, printed a syndicated photo of actress Deanna Durbin modeling velvet earrings that matched the velvet buttons of her dress suit. Furthermore, San Bernardino Sun on August 12, 1942, printed costume designer Milo Anderson’s tip to women facing challenges with fabric. Anderson suggested a fabric with no nap, such as velvet, to save on the amount of yards and prevent a patchwork effect.

Limited Food and Sourcing PropsLavish banquet scenes were soon perceived as self-absorbed due to food shortages. Columnist H.I. Phillips of The Once Over, printed in The Cambridge Sentinel on April 10, 1943, wrote that movies would “ban or greatly tone down” food scenes since they were “resented by the public”. However, this was also out of practicality. A food scene requires keeping the items fresh under hot studio lights over several takes during twelve or more hours. For instance, 3 years before Calexico Chronicle reported in February 1940, that during the making of Our Town (1940), there was a breakfast scene. The scene took 2 days to film and reportedly actress Fay Bainter “cooked four dozen eggs, burnt several pieces of toast, and fried a couple of pounds of bacon.”

Dane Clark and John Garfield at the Warner Brothers commissary during the making of Destination Tokyo (1943). Studio commissaries were also affected by WWII shortages. Source: Pinterest

Another situation with props was having to source them in unlikely places, even borrowing from the crew. During Masquerade in Mexico (1945), Dorothy Lamour’s character was to be seen traveling with extensive luggage. The property department struggled to find a matching set, as reported in the Healdsburg Tribune on July 13, 1945, prompting director Mitchell Leisen to loan his luggage for the scene.

Repurposing for Illusions in Set DesignThe limit on raw materials posed a challenge for set designers, who were accustomed to having a larger budget to work with a short time before. Art director Jack Otterson told syndicated columnist Paul Harrison of Hollywood’s Fancies, printed in Imperial Valley Press on July 3, 1942, about how he had been assigned to make a moonlit tropical palm tree grove. Otterson noted that this type of set would have cost $12,000. Instead, he created “the palm leaves from discarded cardboard cartons, foliage from soda straws and strips of paper and flows from conical ice cream cups.” Harrison added that movie studios had started to rent sets and scenery to each other.

Actress Sheila Ryan and Broadway dancer Tony DeMarco dance to Benny Goodman’s Orchestra in The Gang’s All Here (1943) on the estate garden set designed by art director Joseph Day. Screenshot by me. Source: Youtube

Another example of making do with less included another set depicting an exterior. During The Girls He Left Behind, later released under the title The Gang’s All Here (1943), 20th Century-Fox art director Joseph Day had to create an estate garden. Prior to the war, Day may have been able to incorporate real plants or high quality artificial made to order. According to the Daily News of Los Angeles on May 31, 1943, Day achieved the garden by using chicken wire across frameworks of wood with “leaf laden twigs and branches laced throughout to give a solid photographic surface of greenery.”

The visuals of movies always require creativity. During World War II, the ingenuity of designers and technicians was tested even more. While remembering the movies released during the era, it’s worth observing the subtle, yet effective, resourcefulness the art departments of the different movie studios used.