Twin Peaks Prop – Vari-Vue Poodle at The Johnson House

One of my great joys writing for this blog is identifying props from Twin Peaks and sharing their fascinating history with you. This time, we return to the Johnson house for a prop in the kitchen that is seen in the first two seasons. I was researching something completely different when I came across this scene of Bobby Briggs pushing Leo-stein’s wheelchair through the kitchen. On a whim, I cropped the image of the dog photograph by the telephone and searched Google Images. I quickly found a match.

VARI-VUE 3-D POODLE

The seller, how_vari_weird, described this image as Vintage Vari-Vue 3D Poodle With Basket of Flowers 11″x16″. It was pretty easy to see that it was an exact match to the prop used in the show

From what I could tell, this image was G-31 and it was made by Vari-Vue(R) out of Mount Vernon, New York. The patent number for Vari-Vue is 2,815,310.

I was familiar with the term “lenticular image,” the kind of image that appears to leap from the page when viewed at certain angles. I didn’t realize, however, that lenticular images date to the 1930s.

PICTORIAL PICTURES, INC.

During World War II, Victor G. Anderson was introduced to 3-D imaging while creating military instructional products for the Sperry Corporation. Following the war, he founded Pictorial Pictures, Inc. and filed a lenticular image patent on March 1, 1952 (“Process in the assembling of changeable picture display devices”). This patent – U.S. patent 2,815,310 – was granted on December 3, 1957.

The first item Anderson’s company produced was a lenticular presidential campaign button for Dwight D. Eisenhower (it copyrighted on May 14, 1952). By December 1953, the company registered their trademark Vari-Vue.

Anderson elaborates about the Ike button in a 1996 article by Geoffrey Sherrard : “The first application was just after the Second World War when I made the ‘I Like Ike!’ buttons. That was the first animated button ever made. From there I did a whole series of animations for Cheerios, I made about 40 million of them. Originally they stuck them to the outside of the box, but they were so intriguing that they were frequently stolen even before they made the stores’ shelves. So that was when breakfast cereals first started putting things ‘Free Inside.‘”

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a connection to President Eisenhower. You may recall seeing his image on the walls of the FBI Office in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

VARI-VUE / DIDIK HISTORY

According to Didik.com, Vari-Vue “coined the name ‘lenticular’ to describe their linier [sic] lenses.” From album covers to wall hangings to Cracker Jack prizes, Vari-Vue produced “millions of animated and stereographic lenticular images” by the late 1940s and through the mid-1950s. The company licensed its technology in the 1960s to printing companies around the world. 

In 1986, Frank Dudik purchased almost all of the Vari-Vue production line which included their intellectual property and archives.  Mr. Dudik wrote a now-out-of-print book, “History and Guidebook to Lenticular Technology” which is only available on CD-ROM. If you’d like a blast from the internet past, check out Dudik.com which appears like it hasn’t been updated since the early 2000s.

APPEARANCES IN TWIN PEAKS SEASON ONE

This image first appears in episode 1.001 where Leo Johnson cuts a hole in a football.

If you look closely when Leo turns to Shelly after putting a bar of soap in a sock, you’ll notice that the Poodle image is the only thing on the wall.

By episode 1.003, the Johnson’s added a phone. Leo receives a call from Jacques who noticed the “bust light” was flashing on top of the Roadhouse. Time for a border run and it’s none of Shelly’s business.

The image is barely seen in episode 1.005 when Shelly lights her cigarette and Leo enters the kitchen after being beaten by Hank Jennings.

A partial view of the image is found in episode 1.007 just before Shelly washes her hair. It’s the final appearance in season one.

APPEARANCES IN TWIN PEAKS SEASON TWO

While the Twin Peaks Crime Scene Unit is examining the Johnson’s kitchen in episode 2.001, you can spot the dog image on the wall.

For episode 2.006, you can see the dog photo in the aforementioned scene with Bobby and Leo that trigged my search. It’s barely seen later in the episode when Shelly and Bobby throw a party for Leo.

When Shelly gets a call from Bobby in episode 2.010, you can see half of the Poodle image.

The final appearance of the Johnson house in season two is found in episode 2.014. The image is barely scene while Leo attacks Shelly in the dark.

While we return to the Johnson’s kitchen in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the camera angle prevents us from confirming if the Poodle image was on the wall. My gut tells me that it wasn’t.

TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME