Club Obi Wan

I dont think I remember ever seeing a thread on this subject, so here goes. In one shot in ROTLA, just as the camera cranes down from the flying wing to Indy and Marion hiding behind the gas drums, check out Indys right shoulder. When he is saying, "When that ark gets loaded were already gonna be on the plane", you can see what look like stretch marks in the leather of his jacket. Sorry, I'm not tech savvy enough to post a pick. If you have ever seen a pregnant womans belly, you know what they look like. Basically they resemble a uniform series of... not quite scratches... but stretches. Can a leather jacket get stretch marks? Its basically skin, though no longer living. Anyone?Anyone?Anyone?

I always thought they were scratches or perferations

Ken

Hey... you're making the lambs terribly self-conscious!
Seriously, strech marks are a result of, what I believe, living skin being stretched due to mass gain - pregnancy, bodybuilding or being a little too much into Philadelphia Cheese Steak sandwiches too late at night. A leather jacket couldn't get those kind of marks. Probably some kind of wear & tear making interesting patterns...
However, I'll have to dig out ROTLA and watch for those marks...

I dont have the exact shot you are talkign about but this is at least the same scene. You can certainly see scratches here. I cant remember off hand if the marks are on front or back of the jacket in the shot you are talking about?

Ken

Nope, can't see any stretch marks either... scratches, yes.
Come to think of it, the only "stretch marks" I can imagine on a soft leather jacket are the ones visible here:



Due to strain from the side straps, there are marks on the lower back... this is what may form on soft leather. Not really "mommy's belly" marks, but stretch marks nevertheless...

I remember a thread similar to this sometime back. I think it was concluded that the marks we caused by the use of a knife during the distressing process.

I believe that leather can get stretched - no doubt. The easiest example is the hanger marks you get on the sholders. I have owned a few light leather jackets where previous owners actually used the pockets. They probably jammed their hands in there good too. The constant pulling on the jacket left long marks down the entire front of the jacket, and the front had a "pot-bellied" appearance even on a hanger.

I do not doubt that a wet leather (esp. lamb) can easily be easily stretched - at the expense of compromising the skin though. I will bet there is a very small difference between a stretch and a tear.

Are we speaking of the 'bubbly' appearance of the leather? If we are, I always thought it was the result of water damage.

I know the scene you are talking about obiwampa. It does look like 'strech marks' on the shoulder area. As J_Weaver wrote, there was a thread on this a while ago and the result was probably from distressing. The jacket looks to have taken a terrible beating during the filming process. Too bad its whereabouts are unknown. It belongs in a museum.