Above: Worn by actor Burt Lancaster in his 1979 role of Lt. Col. Anthomy Durnford in Zulu Dawn, the Royal Engineers frock coat was produced by the bespoke tailoring firm of Lerwill, Pope & Wills of Durban, KwaZulu/Natal. Lancaster woe this coat during the garden party sequence early in the film.
The coat is made from lightweight wool cloth. The piping, shoulder cords, and tape trim of black while the collar is dark blue velvet. The buttons and rank insignia were molded from originals and recast in resin then painted gold. When purchased at auction, the gold color on the buttons and insignia had largely worn off leaving the white resin casting material clearly visible. These items were carefully restored with Rub & Buff.
Above: The back of Lancaster's Royal Engineers Frock coat.
Above: A detail closeup of Lancaster's costume frock coat.
Above: the Lerwill, Pope & Wills label showing the actor's name and the 1978 production date.
Below: Two screencaps from Zulu Dawn, both sowing Lancaster wearing the coat in the garden party sequence early in the film.
