BrianRxm Coins in Movies 187/387
The Locket (1946)
Woman spills contents of purse onto table and shows coins not stolen jewels
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The 1946 film "Locket" is about a young woman named Nancy (Laraine Day) who is pretty, charming, and somewhat mentally ill. Her mental problems started when she was a child. The film was based on the story "What Nancy Wanted" by Norma Barzman.
 
At one point Nancy dumps the contents of her purse onto a table and two coins are shown. Both coins are imitation coins and are Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company Motion Picture prop coins.
 
The company made film prop coins in sizes to match current US coins, from the one cent to one dollar, and higher gold denominations of 5, 10, and 20 dollars.
 
The Locket
1. Title
The first scene is of a car travelling up to a New York City building where a society wedding is to be held.
 
The Locket
2. New York society wedding
The bride, Nancy Patton, is about to marry a wealthy man named John (Gene Raymond).
 
The Locket
3. Nancy greets a guest
A man approaches John and tells him that a man would like to see him.
The man is Dr. Harry Blair (Brian Aherne), a medical doctor and psychiatrist.
 
The Locket
4. Dr. Blair talks to John Willis
Dr. Blair tells John that he saw a notice of the wedding in the newspaper and wants to warn John that Nancy Patton has a "twisted personality", that she has "ruined the lives of three men", and that she has committed a murder. Dr. Blair then tells John that he was married to Nancy for five years.
 
Dr. Blair tells John about an artist named Norman Clyde (Robert Mitchum) who also knew Nancy. After Dr. Blair married Nancy, Norman came to him to ask his help in freeing a man wrongfully convicted of murder.
 
The Locket
5. Norman Clyde talks to Dr. Blair
Norman tells Dr. Blair about his experience with Nancy. Norman was a struggling artist and was teaching art classes for money. A new student, Nancy, appears in his class.
 
The Locket
6. Norman meets Nancy
Nancy immediatly charms Norman and introduces him to the wealthy man she works for, Mr. Drew Bonner (Ricardo Cortez).
 
The Locket
7. Norman shows a painting to Mr. Drew Bonner
Mr. Bonner asks if he can purchase the painting and Norman asks for a high price. Nancy takes Norman to a party hosted by Mr. Bonner where a valuable jeweled bracelet has gone missing.
 
Norman takes Nancy to an Italian restaurant which has table juke boxes (record playing devices). Nancy goes to the women's room.
 
The Locket
8. Norman plays the table juke box
Norman handles some coins and plays a song. He is then out of change and looks in Nancy's purse for some change.
 
The Locket
9. Norman finds something
He finds the missing bracelet. He questions Nancy about it and she first starts crying and then tells him what happened when she was a child (played by Sharyn Moffett) and falsely accused of stealing a jeweled locket.
 
Nancy's mother Mrs. Monks (Helene Thimig) works as a maid for a wealthy woman named Mrs. Willis (Katherine Emery). Mrs. Willis has a son who is in school and a daughter Karen who lives with her. Karen and Nancy become friends but Mrs. Willis tells Karen that she can only associate with children of society people and not the maid's daughter.
 
At Karen's birthday party which Nancy can't attend Karen is given a locket with a diamond in it. After the party Karen gives the locket to Nancy.
 
The Locket
10. Nancy with her locket
Mrs. Wilson tells Nancy to give the locket back to Karen. Later the locket disappears and Mrs. Wilson questions Nancy.
 
The Locket
11. Mrs. Willis questions Nancy
Nancy denies taking the locket which is later found in one of Karen's clothes. Mrs. Wilson then fires Mrs. Monks and orders her to leave the house. This injustice had preyed on Nancy's mind ever since.
 
At another of Mr. Bonner's parties which Nancy and Norman attend, a maid and the butler Myron Dexter find Mr. Bonner lying on a bed.
 
The Locket
12. The maid finds the butler and Mr. Bonner
Mr. Bonner has been stabbed to death and Dexter is arrested for the murder.
 
Norman tells Dr. Blair that he broke off with Nancy. Blair invites Norman to visit him and Nancy (now Mrs. Blair) at their house.
 
The Locket
13. Norman questions the Blairs
Nancy makes some remarks about rejecting Norman and Norman leaves. Norman, after the execution of Dexter, goes to see Dr. Blair, and then commits suicide by jumping out a window.
 
Because of the publicity, Dr. Blair and Nancy relocate to England (in 1938). When England and Germany start fighting the doctor takes a job with a British hospital and Nancy joins a group of women ambulance drivers.
 
The Blairs are a social couple and are invited to the home of Lord and Lady Wyndham.
 
The Locket
14. The Blairs at the Wyndham's party
The Wyndhams have a collection of jewelry.
 
The Locket
15. Lord Wyndham shows his jewels
Included with the jewels on display is a locket with a diamond which disappears when Nancy and Dr. Blair leave.
 
The Locket
16. Dr. Blair suspects
Dr. Blair suspects that Nancy has the locket in her purse and tries to get a look inside it but fails. Nancy has noticed the attempts and when they arrive home they start arguing.
 
The Locket
17. Nancy empties her purse
The purse contents land on a table.
 
The Locket
18. The purse contents on the table
Included are two coins but no locket.
 
The two coins are Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company Motion Picture prop coins, a ten cent coin and a fifty cent coin.
 
Motion Picture Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Cent 10
19. Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company 10 cent prop coin
Aluminum, 19 mm, 0.77 gm, the same size as a US dime
 
Obverse:
LOS ANGELES RUBBER STP CO.
MFR'S OF / BADGES / MEDALS / SIGNS
 
Reverse:
RETURNABLE / FOR CREDIT AT LB. RATE / 10 CTS
 
Los Angeles Rubber Stamp prop Coin
20. Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company 50 cent prop coin
Copper-nickel, 31 mm, 10.38 gm, the same size as a US 50 cent coin
 
Obverse:
LOS ANGELES RUBBER STAMP CO.
MFR'S OF / MOVING / PICTURE / MONEY / AND / BADGES
Reverse:
RETURNABLE / FOR CREDIT AT LB. RATE / 50¢
 
For more information on these prop coins please visit: Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Coins
 
Back to the film:
 
Dr. Blair, back at work, finishes for the evening and returns home to find that his house has been hit by a bomb. He looks through the rubble and finds something.
 
The Locket
21. Dr. Blair finds the jewels
Nancy appears in a uniform.
 
The Locket
22. Dr. Blair shows the jewelry to Nancy
Nancy is shocked by their appearance.
 
The Locket
23. Nancy
She wears the uniform of the Anglo-American Ambulance Unit (American Ambulance, Great Britain).
This was an organization of women volunteers who helped with the British war effort.
 
Dr. Blair has a nervous breakdown and is sent to a hospital. Later the Blairs end their marriage and return to the United States separately.
 
Back at the New York John and Nancy wedding Dr. Blair finishes telling John his story.
 
The Locket
24. Dr. Blair finishes
John's mother appear and John is revealed to be John Willis, the older brother of Karen Willis, the girl who was Nancy's childhood friend. Mrs. Willis then appears with a gift for the bride.
 
The Locket
25. Mrs. Willis has a gift for the bride
The gift is the same locket which gave Nancy so much trouble as a child. Mrs. Willis explains that her daughter Karen died sometime previously.
 
The Locket
26. The locket
Nancy has a breakdown and a nurse appears.
 
The Locket
27. The nurse leads Nancy away
Cast, Directors, Writers:
 
Laraine Day as Nancy
Gene Raymond as John
Brian Aherne as Dr. Harry Blair
Robert Mitchum as Norman Clyde
Ricardo Cortez as Mr. Drew Bonner
Helene Thimig as Mrs. Monks (Nancy's mother)
Katherine Emery as Mrs. Willis
Sharyn Moffett as Nancy (as a child)
Gloria Donovan as Karen
 
Director: John Brahm
Writers: Sheridan Gibney, Norma Barzman
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