I was recently contacted by an owner of a miniature mechanised rowing boat which is purported to be a movie miniature. The owner has asked if any reader is able to identify from which movie the miniature has come.
The owner writes;
"The boat originally had a motor that drove gears that caused the oars to row. I have one oar and an oar handle with a doll's forearm attached. I surmise that the large appendage below is a buoyancy chamber to cause the boat to float at the correct depth. The wood is very weathered, and the wire is brittle, so I guess that it is from the 1930's to the 1960's. Any suggestions as to which film the boat is from? I found a photo of a similar whaleboat model from Moby Dick (1956) (model maker Babs Gray). That boat had the same buoyancy chamber below, but the hull was lapstrake, not smooth, and there were ten oars, not four (made in the same model shop, perhaps?). Another possibility is Lifeboat (1944) for which Sersen also did the visual effects. In another of Peter's blog posts, the lifeboats in Titanic (1953) may be a match to this one; four oars, smooth sides, double pointed ends, mechanical puppets and oars (visual effects by Ray Kellogg). "
He also adds that "there are short tubes (about ¼-inch diameter X 3 inches long) attached to a spar which is in turn attached to the bottom of the hull in which a guide wire ran. The spar sticks out about eight inches beyond each end of the hull."
To me it has the hull form of a whale boat rather than a double ended lifeboat. For comparison look at the pictures below and contrast the miniature boats from Down to the Sea in Ships 1949 and Titanic 1953.
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| Whaleboat miniature from Down to the Sea In Ships 1949 |
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| Down to the Sea In Ships 1949 |
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| Miniature lifeboat from Titanic1953 |
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| Scene including miniature lifeboats from Titanic 1953 |
I also like the very useful stand on which the model sits which is quite typical of a studio model. You can clearly see the circular clamp that would have located the motor in the hull.
If any readers have any suggestions or recognise the movie from where the miniature was used, please let us know in the comments.
