Vitals

Vince Edwards as Claude, existential contract killer

Los Angeles, Spring 1958

Film: Murder by Contract
Release Date: December 4, 1958
Director: Irving Lerner
Wardrobe Credit: Norman Martien

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Thanks to a recommendation from BAMF Style reader Jake—and the fact that it was briefly hosted on the Criterion Channel—one of my favorite “first watches” of this year has been the swift and slick 1958 film noir Murder by Contract.

Vince Edwards stars as Claude, a bored comptometer operator who capitalizes on his sociopathy to develop a profitable side hustler as a contract killer. As his reputation grows among the underworld, Claude’s mysterious boss Mr. Brink offers him $5,000 to complete the high-profile hit of a heavily guarded government witness scheduled to testify against him at an upcoming trial.

Claude arrives in L.A. for the job and quickly irritates his mobbed-up minders Marc (Phillip Pine) and George (Herschel Bernardi) by treating his first trip to the Pacific coast as something of a vacation, dragging them everywhere from the beach to the driving range. Once he’s satisfied with his sightseeing and that the two men aren’t being tailed, Claude agrees to be briefed on the intended target, the high-strung jazz pianist Billie Williams (Caprice Toriel). After learning the target is a woman, Claude wrestles with the increasing difficulties—all logistical, not moral difficulties—of completing the assignment he ultimately believes to be “jinxed” after two failed attempts:

It’s not a matter of sex, it’s a matter of money. If I’d have known it was a woman, I’d have asked double. I don’t like women—they don’t stand still. When they move, it’s hard to figure out why or where for. Not dependable. It’s tough to kill somebody who’s not dependable.

Cited as a major influence by Martin Scorsese, this lean thriller was filmed in Los Angeles over a single week in February 1958. Murder by Contract makes the most of its shoestring budget, helped by Perry Botkin’s evocative guitar-driven score, Lucien Ballard’s moody cinematography, and a cynical screenplay by Ben Simcoe—with uncredited contributions by Ben Maddow—that all feels artistically and narratively ahead of its time. The marks of its influence can be seen across Scorsese’s filmography, such as the parallels between Claude’s monotonous workouts in his one-room apartment vs. Travis Bickle getting in shape in Taxi Driver, and one could draw parallels between the oft-disguised Claude’s creative kills and the way Agent 47 dispatches his victims in the Hitman video game series.

Perhaps best known for his portrayal of the titular doctor on the 1960s medical drama Ben Casey, Edwards also prominently co-starred in major films like The Killing (1956) and The Devil’s Brigade (1968). He died 29 years ago today on March 11, 1996.

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What’d He Wear?

When not dressed in his slubby silk suits and straight ties (or one of his job-specific disguises), Claude often dresses down in a dark leather blouson jacket that he prefers for “wet work” like the contract murder of his first employer, Mr. Moon (Michael Granger), back in New York and his second attempt to kill Billie Williams in L.A.

Likely made from a hardy dark-brown leather, Claude’s jacket echoes the look of fur-collared flight jackets issued to U.S. Navy aviators during World War II, though several details distinguish it as a commercial jacket. The waist-length jacket has dark ribbed wool cuffs and hem, with a straight front zip—with a YKK pull—up to the neck, where it meets the dark, plush mouton fur collar. The shoulders are finished with fixed epaulets, a military-informed detail where officers would wear rank insignia.

Claude’s jacket has simple slanted set-in hand pockets, as opposed to the flapped patch pockets on USN-issued jackets like the M-422A, AN-J-3, and G-1 series. His jacket also has a plain back, lacking the action-back pleats and lower half-belt found on Navy jackets.

Claude maintains his military-informed workwear by pairing his leather jacket with khaki slacks, assuming the light-colored cotton twill fabric is the muted shade of beige popularized on G.I. trousers. These comfortable slacks became a menswear staple in the years following World War II as returning servicemen continued wearing their khaki trousers in civilian life, though their soft cotton chino construction kept them generally reserved for workwear or casual situations.

Worn without a belt, these flat-front trousers have side pockets, jetted back pockets, and turn-ups (cuffs). He wears them with mid-colored socks that contrast against his dark leather penny loafers.

Claude wears the jacket over a short-sleeved sports shirt, a style that was increasingly popular as casual-wear grew more accepted through the 1950s. Made from a light-colored and lightweight woven cotton, the shirt has a flat camp collar with loop, a plain button-up front, and two chest pockets.

Murder by Contract predates most significant product placement in movies, but we still get a very prominent look at Claude’s Bulova Wrist Alarm watch, with the name and model clearly legible on the dial when he checks the time while perched in his sniper’s nest outside Billie’s home.

Produced through the 1950s and ’60s, these handsome wristwatches were powered by Bulova’s manual-winding 17-jewel 11AERC movement, which included an alarm function set by a crown at the 4 o’clock position that controlled a red-arrowed “alarm hand” and could be pulled out to activate the alarm—and pushed back in to turn it off; the higher-positioned crown at 2 o’clock set the time like a normal crown. Protected by a plexiglass crystal, the two-toned silver dial features an inner seconds/minute reserve and outer applied silver-tone hour indices, with 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock in Arabic numerals. The hour indices and dauphine-style hour and minute hands are detailed with tritium luminescence.

Though Vince Edwards’ screen-worn watch bracelet appears to be an edge-stitched dark leather band, the close-up on Claude’s wrist swaps this out for a more unique metal-framed lizard expansion band.

You can occasionally find well-maintained vintage examples of Bulova Wrist Alarm watches on eBay and other sites. Later versions featured a unique wiggly “serpent” alarm-hand.

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The Gun

Claude’s hesitation to use a gun makes him an unorthodox movie hitman, as “they’re illegal, and I never use anything illegal.” However, Billie’s additional protective measures after his attempt to bomb her through her TV have Claude rethinking his strategy and he requests that Marc purchase him “a Smith & Smith hunting rifle with a tripod and telescopic sight” from a local sporting goods shop.

The brand was invented for the dialogue, as there’s never been a significant firearms manufacturer called “Smith & Smith”; nor would it be a Smith & Wesson, which was not a major riflemaker until the 21st century. His rifle echoes common contemporary bolt-action designs like the stalwart Winchester Model 70, which has been steadily produced in dozens of calibers since its introduction in 1936.

The plan works… or at least it would have worked, if it wasn’t the first day that Billie had another woman among her police guards. When the unfortunate detective opened the door dressed in Billie’s negligee, she became the unintentional victim of Claude’s rifle shot. Believing the assassination a success, he ditches the rifle down a storm drain and leaps into Marc and George’s getaway coupe.

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What to Imbibe

After the kill, Marc and George take Claude to a nearby bar, where the latter drinks a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon, with the beer itself poured into a glass. Long before its association with urban hipsters in the 2000s, PBR was a favorite of the American working class.

First brewed in 1844 by the Best Brewing Company in Milwaukee, the award-winning beer grew popular through the turn of the 20th century when brewery president Frederick Pabst directed that blue silk ribbons be tied around the necks of each bottle to celebrate their many accolades. Consumers’ request for the “blue-ribbon beer” informed the eventual brand name, which remained a top seller for much of the century, peaking with 18 million barrels sold by the late 1970s.

Claude also keeps a bottle of Old Forester in his hotel room, which he uses to offer a drink to his escort Mary (Kathie Browne). This brand also appeared earlier as the preferred bourbon of Miss Wiley (Frances Osborne), the alcoholic former member of Billie’s household staff who was fired to make room for Billie’s extensive police guards.

First bottled in 1870, Old Forester remains the longest marketed brand of bourbon, remaining in production through Prohibition due to the Brown-Forman Corporation’s lawful license to continue producing whiskey for, uh, medicinal purposes. The bourbon was reportedly named after Dr. William Forrester, a physician who championed its consumption, though the spelling was changed from “Forrester” to “Forester” when it was marketed.

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How to Get the Look

Claude blends military-informed workwear like his fur-collared leather flight jacket and khakis with contemporary sportswear while carrying out his deadly work.

• Dark-brown leather flight jacket with mouton fur collar, straight-zip front, slanted set-in side pockets, and ribbed wool cuffs and hem
• Light-colored woven cotton short-sleeved sport shirt with loop collar, plain button-up front, and two chest pockets
• Khaki cotton flat-front trousers with side pockets, jetted back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Dark penny loafers
• Mid-colored socks
• Bulova Wrist Alarm stainless steel 34mm-cased manual-winding watch with silver two-toned dial (with alarm function) and steel-framed lizard expansion band

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie, included on the DVD set “Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics I” that also features 5 Against the House, The Big Heat, The Lineup, and The Sniper.

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The Quote

The human female is descended from the monkey—and the monkey’s about the most curious animal in the world. If anything goes on, it just can’t stand it not to know about it. Same thing with a woman.