My mom’s father recently gave her a framed print that her aunt had owned while she was alive. The only identification on the painting is the name “Tretchiko.” I Googled that to find this image. Unfortunately that site doesn’t have the name of the piece either.
She swears that she saw this painting hanging in the background of a John Wayne movie once, possibly in a woman’s apartment that his character was visiting. JinMom: “I remember seeing it and thinking Aunt [JinNotPayingAttention] has that picture!” I think if I know the name of the movie, it would get a better price somewhere like eBay.
I’m not about to watch every movie John Wayne ever made. Any big fans of the Duke have a clue what she’s talking about?
The artist you are looking for is Vladimir Tretchikoff. This piece is called Chinese Girl.
I haven’t yet found an exact date, but it seems to have been originally done in the fifties, so that doesn’t narrow down the John Wayne search too much.
Can’t find anything connecting the painting to a John Wayne film.
This is meaningless, but I can see that print fitting into the decors shown in Hellfighters very easily, but Wayne has several movies from that time frame that seem good candidates.
Well, if obfusciatrist has the date correct then one film to check would be the inestimable The Conqueror. Expect much pain should you choose to accept this assignment. Don’t say we didn’t warn you…
I’m inclined to believe the movie is Blood Alley (The film takes place mostly on a boat/ship in 1950s China). The style would correspond and the time frame does not run counter to what Obfusciatrist found in regard to the time frame. And the leading lady (Lauren Bacall) regularly dresses in dresses similar to the portrait.
If the time frame is not exact and we could dip into the World War II films, two films are possibilities. Flying Tigers is a possibility (it takes place in China and the dress styles were similar) and slightly so is Back to Bataan, but this second one is extremely slim (it actually takes place in the Philipines), but still…
There are three other possibilities: Big Jim McClain, The War Wagon and The Green Beret. The first is slim. The time frame is correct, early 50s and one could argue that the locale is OK. It takes place in Hawaii where G-man Wayne fights the godless communists. The second sounds strange I am sure since it is a western and not a war flick. But Wayne’s costar, Kirk Douglas, plays a cowboy obsessed with things Chinese and his women and art reflect the style indicated in the portrait and the film was well after the time frame set up. The final film in the group had few or no paintings that come to mind, but it does take place in the Orient (Viet Nam) and it is after the time frame established.
Well, as near as I can tell, this was a hugely popular print in the late fifties, early sixties. This indicates that it might have been jarring to see it in a period piece or used as a piece of local art in the Orient. Could be wrong, but that is my guess.
Using 1955-1970 as an initial time period, and further limiting to movies set in that time period, the list of candidates is surprisingly short (Jet Pilot is excluded because it was actually filmed in 1949 but released in 1957):
Blood Alley (1955)
Donovan’s Reef (1963)
Circus World (1964)
The Green Berets (1968)
Hellfighters (1968)
If you expand the range out a bit these are added:
Big Jim McLain (1952)
Trouble Along the Way (1953)
Island in the Sky (1953) (but it takes place in a barren Labrador landscape)
McQ (1974)
Brannigan (1975)
I would consider Blood Alley and Hellfighters to be the best bets. You’ll probably have to actually watch the movies though, unless someone has them and will review. Hellfighters is mildly good entertainment so it wouldn’t be entirely wasted time.
Awesome…I think I’ll check out Blood Alley. She had actually suggested Donovan’s Reef just a little while ago, but really couldn’t remember if that was it. I think she’s seen most of his films. They’re not really my cup of tea, but I’ve kind of turned it into a personal mission to find out where she saw this picture.
