Sophie Wachner (November 5, 1879 – September 13, 1960) was an American costumer who designed costumes for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Fox, and Selznick International Pictures in the early 20th century. Her work appeared in films such as Just Imagine, A Connecticut Yankee, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.
Early life Wachner was born in 1879 in Akron, Ohio, to Jewish immigrant parents from Hungary. She first began a career in teaching in Akron Public Schools, but in 1909 moved to New York City to design costumes on Broadway. She and her aunt, Frederica De Wolfe, spent ten years there, and during this time Wachner worked as a costumer for Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. In 1919, she moved to Los Angeles to work for Goldwyn Studios.
Career Wachner joined Goldwyn Studios in August 1919, as they set up a new headquarters for their costume department. Wachner was well known among the Los Angeles clothiers who supplied Goldwyn Studios' productions. While employed there, Wachner's opinion was greatly respected by the actors and directors she worked with, who "court[ed] her favor exactly as they court the favor of the public". William Wellman and G. B. Manly gave her the nickname 'Colonel Wachner'. Her early work for Goldwyn included costumes for the Hobart Henley film So This Is Marriage, which included a technicolor sequence depicting the story of Bathsheba and David, and He Who Gets Slapped, a 1924 psychological thriller starring Lon Chaney. For the 1930 film Just Imagine, she collaborated with Alice O'Neill and Dolly Tree to create a wardrobe for futuristic 1980s New Yorkers and Martians. Wachner left Goldwyn Studios for Fox in 1924, and worked there until 1930, when she was fired to cut costs. Wachner worked in Hollywood for over fifteen years, with her final film Little Lord Fauntleroy being released in 1936.
Filmography +YearTitle1924Daring Love1924He Who Gets Slapped1924His Hour1924Married Flirts1924The Snob1924So This Is Marriage1924Three Weeks1924Wife Of The Centaur1924Wild Oranges1925The Great Divide1928Red Wine1929Love, Live And Laugh1929Big Time1929Fox Movietone Follies Of 19291929Hot For Paris1929Married In Hollywood1929Nix On Dames1929Pleasure Crazed1929Seven Faces1929A Song Of Kentucky1929South Sea Rose1929Speakeasy1929Sunnyside Up1929They Had To See Paris1929Thru Different Eyes1929Words And Music1930El Precio De Un Beso1930The Arizona Kid1930The Big Party1930Born Reckless1930Cameo Kirby1930City Girl1930Common Clay1930Crazy That Way1930The Dancers1930A Devil With Women1930Double Cross Roads1930Fox Movietone Follies Of 19301930The Golden Calf1930Happy Days1930High Society Blues1930Just Imagine1930Last Of The Duanes1930Lightnin'1930Liliom1930The Lone Star Ranger1930Man Trouble1930Not Damaged1930Oh, For A Man1930On The Level1930On Your Back1930The Princess And The Plumber1930Renegades1930Scotland Yard1930So This Is London1930Song O' My Heart1930Such Men Are Dangerous1930Under Suspicion1930Up The River1930Wild Company1930Women Everywhere1931Charlie Chan Carries On1931Mr. Lemon Of Orange1931Young Sinners (1931 film)1931Quick Millions1931Don't Bet On Women1931East Lynne1931A Connecticut Yankee1931Girls Demand Excitement1931Fair Warning1931Are You There?1931Doctors' Wives1931The Man Who Came Back1931Once A Sinner1931Three Girls Lost1931Corsair1931Men On Call1931Seas Beneath1931Six Cylinder Love1931Body And Soul1931Not Exactly Gentlemen1931The Spy1931Young As You Feel1931Their Mad Moment1936Little Lord Fauntleroy
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