Vitals

Peter Sellers as Dr. Strangelove (né Merkwürdigliebe), ex-Nazi nuclear war expert

Washington, D.C., September 1963

Film: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Release Date: January 29, 1964
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Costume Designer: Bridget Sellers

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Comedy icon Peter Sellers was born 100 years ago today on September 8, 1925, making today an ideal opportunity to celebrate Stanley Kubrick’s political satire that featured Sellers in one three of his most memorable roles.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb began as a straight adaptation of the 1958 thriller novel Red Alert by Peter George, who was working on the screenplay with Kubrick when the latter noted the comic potential in the absurdity of the situation. To push their screenplay in this direction, Kubrick brought in Terry Southern, whose contributions included the addition of the eponymous madman, whom Sellers would portray in addition to the timid RAF officer Lionel Mandrake and mild-mannered U.S. President Merkin Muffley.

Citing Sellers’ assuming multiple identities within one role for Kubrick’s successful adaptation of Lolita the previous year, Columbia Pictures only agreed to the financing if Sellers played four roles in Dr. Strangelove. While this was intended to be the case, his difficulty mastering a Texan accent and broken ankle resulted in Slim Pickens ultimately taking the role of the cowboy USAF Major T.J. “King” Kong. Sellers’ million-dollar salary ate more than half of the film’s budget, prompting Kubrick to joke “I got three for the price of six.”

Though the film was obviously named after him, Dr. Strangelove consumed the shortest screen time of Sellers’ three characters. Sellers disputed theories that he based his performance on Henry Kissinger, instead inspired by the unique speech patterns of New York photographer Arthur “Weegie” Fellig, the German inflections of former Nazi rocket scientist Werner von Braun, and Hungarian-American mathematician John von Neumann who used a wheelchair during his final years. He also appended the character with agonistic apraxia, also known as “alien hand syndrome” or—thanks to the film—”Dr. Strangelove Syndrome”, characterized by involuntary hand motions caused by nerve damage connecting the brain’s two hemispheres.

Kubrick’s famous preference for multiple takes stymied Sellers, whose penchant for genius improvisations that he rarely repeated meant the director often had to line up multiple cameras to capture what became some of the film’s most unforgettable moments:

Dr. Strangelove received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor for Sellers’ triple performance, though the film became that year’s only Best Picture nominee to be shut out from any Oscars.

Some have credited the rigors of three intensely different performances in one film to have contributed to the massive heart attack he suffered shortly after production ended… while others cite the poppers he inhaled seeking “the ultimate orgasm” with his new wife Britt Ekland, resulting in eight heart attacks over the span of three hours. Either way, Sellers wisely chose to slow the pace of his career—particularly difficult as he mentioned struggling to find his own identity when not performing.

After reprising his role as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in a trio of Pink Panther movies through the 1970s, Sellers balanced his comedy with gravitas in Hal Ashby’s 1979 satire Being There, which led to his second and final Academy Award acting nomination before his death in July 1980 of another heart attack at age 54.

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What’d He Wear?

Standing out among the conservative suits and military uniforms in President Muffley’s war room, Dr. Strangelove’s black suit, white shirt, and skinny black tie may read like the blueprint for a journeyman Tarantino gangster, but costume designer Bridget Sellers (no relation to Peter) adds character through Strangelove’s slubby silk suiting, monk shoes instead of lace-ups, and the choice to keep his sunglasses on. Indoors. At night. In a classified government briefing room.

These square-shaped specs are shown in color photography to have gold metal frames and amber-tinted lenses.

The black-and-white photography conceals the actual color of Strangelove’s suit, though the same set photos clearly show it to be solid black. Black suits are rarely advisable for serious business, but the choice does suit the potential villainy of a not-so-ex-Nazi nuclear war expert. A smart dresser in real life, Sellers keeps Strangelove’s black suit more visually interesting by wearing one made of raw silk—as indicated by its slubby sheen under the war room’s artificial lighting.

The suit jacket is trendy for the early ’60s with its high three-button front—worn with the top two buttons fastened—and minimalist details including notch lapels, straight jetted hip pockets, and no breast pocket. Unseen due to Strangelove spending most of his screen time in a wheelchair, the back of the jacket may be ventless or it may be rigged with single or double vents that are undoubtedly short—consistent with ’60s tailoring. The sleeves are finished with three buttons on each cuff.

As with the back of the jacket, little details of the trousers can be discerned on screen aside from the fact that the waistband is beltless—likely suspended with side-adjuster tabs—and the bottoms are plain-hemmed. The double monk straps on his black leather shoes add another distinctive touch to the outfit, as do his mid-gray silk socks which present an unusual contrast between the black trousers and shoes.

Strangelove’s white cotton shirt has a semi-spread collar and squared double (French) cuffs that he fastens with round links, and his skinny black silk tie is appropriately proportional to his lapels and collar.

The gleaming case of a wristwatch attached to a dark leather strap briefly shines from under his left shirt cuff, but we only see enough of this dress watch to know that it’s not the sportier “Pepsi bezel” Rolex GMT Master that Sellers wore on screen in contemporary comedies like A Shot in the Dark (1964) and Casino Royale (1967).

It was reportedly Sellers’ decision to borrow one of Kubrick’s own black leather gloves to wear on Strangelove’s right hand—the one he fails to control due to his agonistic apraxia.

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The Gun

In the extended ending that was planned (but eventually cut) during a pie fight, Dr. Strangelove would draw a Luger P08 from inside his jacket with his gloved “alien hand”, which then points the pistol at Strangelove’s own temple until the doctor realizes what his hand is doing and struggles with himself, eventually firing a 9mm round into the ceiling of the war room.

This quintessentially German sidearm perfectly suits Strangelove’s ex-Nazi character, as the Luger had seen action across both World War I and II until it was superseded by more modern pistols like the Walther P38.

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How to Get the Look

Let Dr. Strangelove teach you how to stop worrying and love the black suit.

• Black raw silk suit:
  • Single-breasted 3-button jacket with narrow notch lapels, straight jetted hip pockets, and 3-button cuffs
  • Flat-front trousers with beltless waistband and plain-hemmed bottoms
• White cotton shirt with semi-spread collar and squared double/French cuffs
• Black silk tie
• Black calf leather double-strap monk shoes
• Gray silk socks
• Gold square-framed sunglasses with amber-tinted lenses
• Black leather glove
• Dress watch on dark leather strap

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

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The Quote

Mein Führer, I can walk!