Laurence Olivier’s Tailored Shades of Gray in Marathon Man

Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man (1976)

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Laurence Olivier as Dr. Christian Szell, escaped war criminal aka “Christopher Hess”

New York City, Fall 1975

Film: Marathon Man
Release Date: October 8, 1976
Director: John Schlesinger
Costume Credit: Robert De Mora

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

One of the defining paranoid thrillers of the ’70s, Marathon Man was released 50 years ago today on October 8, 1976 and has spent the subsequent half-century spreading as much positive PR for dentistry as Psycho did for showers.

Adapted by William Goldman from his novel of the same title, Marathon Man follows Columbia grad student “Babe” Levy (Dustin Hoffman), who falls teeth-first into a scheme involving escaped Nazi war criminal Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier) and his cache of diamonds obtained by trading the gold fillings he extracted from Holocaust victims. Babe’s unwitting involvement culminates in Szell’s famously gruesome orthodontic torture as the doctor attempts to learn where the diamonds have been hidden. Continue reading →

The Departed: Leo’s Leather Belstaff Jacket as Billy Costigan

Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan in The Departed (2006)

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Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, undercover Massachusetts State Police trooper

Boston, Fall 2006 to Spring 2007

Film: The Departed
Release Date: October 6, 2006
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Sandy Powell

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The Departed was widely released 20 years ago today on October 6, 2006, days after its September 26th premiere at the Ziegfield Theater. William Monahan adapted the material from the 2002 Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, also taking inspiration from real-life Boston crime figures like Winter Hill Gang leader Whitey Bulger and his crooked FBI handler, John Connolly. After six nominations, the prolific Martin Scorsese finally won his first Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed—which was also honored with Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay to Monahan, and Best Film Editing to Scorsese’s regular collaborator, Thelma Schoonmaker.

This was also Scorsese’s third consecutive collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars as the working-class Massachusetts State Police (MSP) recruit Billy Costigan tapped by Captain Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) to infiltrate a ruthless Boston mob run by Francis “Frank” Costello (Jack Nicholson). Continue reading →

Written on the Wind: Rock Hudson’s Beige Tweed Jacket for a Fall Picnic

Rock Hudson and Dorothy Malone in Written on the Wind (1956)

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Rock Hudson as Mitch Wayne, oil company geologist

Texas, Fall 1956

Film: Written on the Wind
Release Date: October 5, 1956
Director: Douglas Sirk
Costume Designer: Bill Thomas (credited for gowns)

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

German-born director Douglas Sirk’s third in a trio of lushly photographed melodramas starring Rock Hudson, Written on the Wind, premiered in London seventy years ago this week on October 5, 1956.

This Southern Gothic melodrama follows a Texas oil dynasty, adapted from Robert Wilder’s 1946 novel of the same name—a roman à clef inspired by the scandal surrounding torch singer Libby Holman and the mysterious 1932 death of her tobacco-heir husband, Zachary Smith Reynolds, at his family’s estate. Threats from the Reynolds family kept a film adaptation out of production for a decade, until screenwriter George Zuckerman transplanted the drama from a North Carolina tobacco dynasty to a Texas oil family, evidently distancing it enough from its real-life inspiration for production to proceed.

Zuckerman and Sirk’s narrative centers on the family of oil baron Jasper Hadley (Robert Keith), including his irresponsible playboy son Kyle (Robert Stack) and self-destructive daughter Marylee (Dorothy Malone, who won the Academy Award for her performance). Both grew up alongside Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson), an honest, hardworking geologist who remains employed by the family and earns Jasper’s admiration for his work ethic. While Marylee lusts after Mitch, Mitch longs for Lucy (Lauren Bacall), a company secretary whom Kyle impulsively marries after meeting her on a business trip.

Despite all the romantic turmoil, Mitch does find time for a covert lunch among the fall foliage with Marylee, who jokes, “There’s nothing like a picnic! I’ve brought everything but rain and ants.” Continue reading →

Sanchez’s Studded Red Leather Jacket in Bastard, Go and Kill

Franco Lantieri in Bastard, Go and Kill (1971)

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Franco Lantieri as Sanchez, dangerous Mexican henchman

Mexico, circa 1890

Film: Bastard, Go and Kill
(Italian title: Bastardo… vamos a matar!)
Release Date: March 6, 1971
Director: Gino Mangini
Costume Credit: Teresa Miccinelli (credited as seamstress)

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Like so many new parents, I always have plenty of time on my hands to idle away by watching movies I know little about. For those who recognized the sarcasm in that last sentence, you’ll also recognize what a gamble it was when I decided to spend just over an hour with the little-known 1971 Spaghetti Western Bastard, Go and Kill, knowing little about it other than it was called Bastard, Go and Kill and that some guy wore a sick red leather jacket in it.

Said guy turned out to be Franco Lantieri—a Sicilian actor who bears quite a resemblance to Gian Maria Volonté (from the first two films of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars trilogy”)—in the supporting role of Sanchez. Sanchez serves as a henchman for ruthless Mexican landowner Don Felipe Morena (Furio Meniconi), often placing him at odds against the wily, mischievous Chaco (George Eastman). While hardly among the best Spaghetti Westerns, Sanchez’s style alone made Bastard, Go and Kill worth the fistful of minutes I spent watching it earlier this year. Continue reading →

East of Eden: James Dean’s Tan Sweater and Sport Shirt

James Dean in East of Eden (1955)

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James Dean as Caleb “Cal” Trask, angsty and entrepreneurial farmer’s son

Monterey to Salinas, California, Spring 1917

Film: East of Eden
Release Date: March 9, 1955
Director: Elia Kazan
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone

Background

Despite his profoundly lasting cultural impact as a 1950s screen and style icon, James Dean only starred in three credited films before his death 71 years ago today on September 30, 1955. Of these, Elia Kazan’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s epic novel East of Eden was the only to actually be released during his lifetime.

Steinbeck took inspiration from the biblical story of Cain and Abel, graphed onto the moody Cal Trask (Dean) and his brother Aron (Richard Davalos), who both vie to impress their devout father Adam (Raymond Massey) as well as Aron’s girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris).

The novel follows the Trask family settling in California’s Salinas Valley during the 1860s through Cal and Aron’s drama through the end of World War I. The 1955 film was entirely set during these later years, though the new 2026 miniseries (releasing on Netflix tomorrow!) likely follows the family saga across Steinbeck’s full timeline.

What’d He Wear?

Costume designer Anna Hill Johnstone dressed James Dean primarily in layered neutrals as Cal Trask, perhaps signaling his impartial vulnerability while also allowing him to be both literally and mentally stripped down over the course of his emotional journey. His open-neck shirts and sweaters may seem surprisingly contemporary to modern viewers—and Johnstone surely wanted younger audiences to relate to Cal by not making him look inaccessibly old-fashioned—but historical photography and catalogs depict younger men increasingly embracing casual sportswear throughout the 1910s. Continue reading →

The Long Goodbye: Sterling Hayden’s Avant-Garde Writing Tweeds

Sterling Hayden in The Long Goodbye (1973)

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Sterling Hayden as Roger Wade, larger-than-life alcoholic writer

Los Angeles, Summer 1972

Film: The Long Goodbye
Release Date: March 7, 1973
Director: Robert Altman
Men’s Costume Designer: Kent James (uncredited)

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Sterling Hayden storms into The Long Goodbye like a force of nature, a happily hulking 6’5″ direct counter to Elliott Gould’s laidback characterization of private eye Philip Marlowe. It’s a magnificent performance, underscored by Hayden’s own classic noir credentials from films like The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and The Killing (1956) brought to Robert Altman’s inversive deconstruction of the genre.

A year after portraying the crooked Captain McKlusky in The Godfather, Hayden stepped into the ragged tweeds and fisherman sandals of Roger Wade, a gruff, buff, and hard-drinking Hemingway-esque writer who reflects on suicide and “beautiful broads” in the same train of thought. Continue reading →

Aldo Ray’s M-1943 Field Jacket in Nightfall

Aldo Ray in Nighfall (1956)

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Aldo Ray as Art Rayburn, aka Jim Vanning, commercial artist and war veteran

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Winter 1956

Film: Nightfall
Release Date: December 5, 1956
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Costume Designer: Jean Louis (credited for gowns)

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today would have been the 100th birthday of Aldo Ray, born September 25, 1926. A tough and resilient U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, the raspy-voiced Ray often incorporated these traits into his characters—perhaps most skillfully in Jacques Tourneur’s 1956 thriller Nightfall, released 70 years ago this December. The film has been celebrated as a favorite by crime fiction experts James Ellroy and Quentin Tarantino, the latter citing it as inspiration for Bruce Willis’ character in Pulp Fiction.

Based on a 1948 novel by David Goodis, Nightfall both follows and subverts many film noir tropes; though often photographed against bright, snowy countryside rather than exclusively urban shadows, Ray’s protagonist Art Rayburn is cut from the noir mold, forced to reinvent himself (as commercial artist Jim Vanning) after running afoul of criminals. Continue reading →

The Four Seasons: Alan Alda’s Fall Soccer Sweatshirt and Wranglers

Alan Alda in The Four Seasons (1981)

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Alan Alda as Jack Burroughs, married lawyer

Connecticut, Fall 1980

Film: The Four Seasons
Release Date: May 22, 1981
Director: Alan Alda
Costume Designer: Jane Greenwood

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The start of each new season this year tends to send me back to The Four Seasons for content. Written and directed by Alan Alda, this 1981 comedy follows three couples on their seasonal group trips as they navigate their own complicated relationships.

Alda stars as Jack Burroughs, stably centered in a marriage with Kate (Carol Burnett), who typically plans each vacation. The fall trip follows the Burroughses and their four friends up to Connecticut for Parents’ Weekend with two of their daughters who are enrolled in the same college, resulting in a hyper-competitive soccer game which reveals a deeper conflict within the group, from Jack’s anger at the womanizing Nick (Len Cariou) to Kate’s resentment at having to plan each trip. Continue reading →

When Harry Met Sally: Billy Crystal’s Field Jacket as Harry

Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

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Billy Crystal as Harry Burns, sarcastic political consultant and recent divorcée

New York City, Fall 1988

Film: When Harry Met Sally…
Release Date: July 14, 1989
Director: Rob Reiner
Costume Designer: Gloria Gresham

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Rob Reiner’s 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally is often (deservedly) included on lists compiling the greatest fall movies. As tomorrow will be the first day of autumn here, I return to my own frequent celebration of Billy Crystal’s fall wardrobe as Harry—specifically during his fateful visit to comfort Sally (Meg Ryan) at her apartment after she learns that her ex-boyfriend is getting married. Continue reading →

Death by Lightning: Michael Shannon’s Frock Coat for President James Garfield’s Assassination

Michael Shannon as President James A. Garfield in Death by Lightning (Episode 4: “Destiny of the Republic”)

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Michael Shannon as James A. Garfield, Ohio farmer-turned-20th President of the United States

Washington, D.C., Summer 1881

Series: Death by Lightning
Episode: “Destiny of the Republic” (Episode 4)
Streaming Date: November 6, 2025
Director: Matt Ross
Creator: Mike Makowsky
Costume Designer: Michael Wilkinson

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

President James Garfield died 145 years ago today, more than two months after he was shot on July 2, 1881 by Charles Guiteau—the culminating incident of last year’s excellent miniseries Death by Lightning, starring Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen as Garfield and Guiteau, respectively. Adapted from Candace Millard’s book Destiny of the Republic, the four-part series takes its title from Garfield’s own stated sentiment regarding the unlikelihood of preventing political murder: “Assassination could be no more guarded against than death by lightning,” which Shannon’s Garfield responds in the third episode when his wife Lucretia (Betty Gilpin) and secretary Joe Brown (Archie Fisher) urge stricter security measures given the president’s fondness for meeting with the public. Continue reading →