Vitals

Walter Matthau as Charley Varrick, clever crop-dusting pilot and bank robber

Albuquerque to Reno, Summer 1973

Film: Charley Varrick
Release Date: October 19, 1973
Director: Don Siegel
Costume Designer: Helen Colvig

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Although International Crop Duster’s Day is observed on May 27th, August 3rd was established as Airplane Crop Duster Day to commemorate U.S. Army pilot Lt. John A. Macready’s first-ever aerial crop-dusting flight on this day in 1921. More than a half century later, Walter Matthau broke from his usual comedic roles to portray the the titular crop-duster who broke bad in Charley Varrick, Don Siegel’s 1973 adaptation of John H. Reese’s crime novel The Looters.

Down on his luck as “the last of the independents” as he bills himself, Charley had organized a bank robbery in Tres Cruces, New Mexico, that tragically resulted in the death of his wife Nadine (Jacqueline Scott) and another accomplice. Charley and his remaining accomplice, hotheaded Harman (Andy Robinson), spirit away with the $765,118 haul—a surprisingly hefty take which tips Charley off to the fact that they must have robbed a Mafia drop bank.

Without waiting for confirmation beyond TV news only reporting that less than $2,000 was taken, Charley swiftly begins securing plans to make his final escape.

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What’d He Wear?

Aside from the outmoded gray worsted suit and tie he wears for his “old man” bank-robbing disguise at the start, Charley Varrick wears all-khaki working clothes for most of the film until the final act, when he changes into a striped suit to make his getaway. The wool suiting is a two-toned gray-on-gray mini-houndstooth check overlaid with a repeating burgundy pinstripe, spaced less than an inch apart.

The suit reflects typical characteristics of 1970s fashions, from the exaggerated width of the jacket’s notch lapels to the foot-long single vent up its back. The jacket styling is otherwise conventional with its welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, and three-button cuffs, but the fit occasionally looks clumsy as evident by the collar gap. Still, the flat-front trousers rise appropriately high to Matthau’s natural waist—just under the jacket’s buttoning point—where they are held up by a black leather belt.

The trousers have plain-hemmed bottoms with a short break that keeps them totally covered when he zips on his branded coveralls. His thin black ribbed socks continue the leg-line into his black calfskin plain-toe loafers, a simple slip-on shoe style with black elastic side gussets to ease his feet in.

Charley’s light-blue poplin shirt balances neutrality with colorfully visual interest, styled with a long point collar in a manner characteristic of ’70s menswear. The shirt also has a front placket and single-button mitred barrel cuffs. He wears a matte-finished maroon tie that nicely calls out the burgundy stripes on his suit.

After Nadine’s death following the opening bank robbery, he slips her two-tone wedding band off of her hand and slips it onto his pinky to join his own matching band shining on the adjacent finger. Aside from the subtle difference in size, both rings are identical: a rope-like band alternating between twists of rose-gold and yellow-gold, with a small single diamond gleaming from one of the yellow-gold twists.

At one point while setting up his escape, Charley instinctively looks at his wrist to check the time… forgetting that he had already pulled off his wristwatch—and his own wedding ring—to set up his endgame of switching places with the dead Harman for a cleaner getaway. Charley’s distinctive watch is a 17-jewel racing chronograph made by the Swiss brand Alsta, which also produced the Nautoscaph diver that Richard Dreyfuss wore in Jaws. (The once-defunct brand was revived by Glasgow businessman Angus MacFadyen in 2014.)

Charley’s Alsta has a stainless steel cushion case and fixed bezel encircling its unique variation on a “panda dial”, worn on a matching Jubilee-style five-piece link bracelet. This silver dial features a blue-printed tachymeter and an orange 1/5-second track around the outer edge. Luminous baton-style indices mark each hour against a black ring, except for a white-wheeled date window at the 6 o’clock position and two squared black sub-registers: a second-counting display at 9 o’clock and a 30-minute chronograph counter at 3 o’clock. The hour and minute hands are luminous, supplemented by a prominent bright orange central seconds hand. Likely powered by a Valjoux caliber manual-wind movement, the watch also incorporates the Incabloc shock protection system.

Less prominently worn with this outfit than his khaki working gear, Charley does sport his black acetate rectangular sunglasses while purchasing nine dollars worth of dynamite in Albuquerque.

In his cropdusting plane, Charley wears his usual branded coveralls—personalized with “Charley Varrick” embroidered in red script across the back, flanked with the gray-printed text “LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS” and “CROP DUSTING” above and below his name, respectively. These white cotton coveralls have been aged and dusted to a warmer cream patina, styled with a full-zip front from crotch to mid-chest. The waist is elasticized for a close yet malleable fit that allows him to wear it over a variety of clothing without providing too much bulk in his plane’s cockpit, with plenty of pockets—two over the chest, two slanted on the hips, and two over the seat—for any personal cargo.

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The Car

Charley shows no allegiance to either competitors among Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers, initially selecting a yellow 1971 Lincoln Continental four-door hardtop (described in dialogue as “a ’72 Connie”) for the opening bank robbery, then driving his company’s dirty 1964 Dodge van through Albuquerque, before finally traveling to Reno where he rents a white 1972 Buick Skylark coupe.

After Buick introduced the “Skylark” nomenclature as a Roadmaster convertible-only trim, it reappeared as its own luxury model in 1961, available in a range of two- and four-door body styles. 1972 was the final model year for a third generation redesign that launched in ’68, echoing a fastback appearance shared by General Motors’ other mid-sized cars like the Chevrolet Chevelle, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Pontiac GTO/LeMans/Tempest.

Charley’s rented Skylark without any Gran Sport branding would almost certainly be powered by Buick’s small-block 350 cubic-inch V8 (5.7 L), generating 150 horsepower with a Rochester 2-barrel carburetor (or up to 180 horsepower with a 4-barrel Rochester.) The standard transmission was a three-speed manual, though Charley’s Skylark appears fitted with GM’s three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic.

For what it’s worth, Charley seems to ultimately settle on GM—driving away from the final confrontation in a blue duo-toned 1962 Chevy Impala Sport Sedan.

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How to Get the Look

Charley Varrick’s getaway suit is an exercise in sartorial coordination, balancing the cool tones of a gray-forward suit and light-blue poplin shirt with a solid maroon tie that calls out the stripes on his suit.

• Gray houndstooth and burgundy-striped wool suit:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with wide notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and long single vent
  • Flat-front trousers with belt loops and plain-hemmed bottoms
• Light-blue poplin shirt with long point collar, front placket, and single-button mitred cuffs
• Maroon matte-finished tie
• Black leather belt with single-prong buckle
• Black calfskin leather side-gusset loafers
• Black ribbed dress socks
• Black acetate-framed rectangular-shaped sunglasses
• Rose- and yellow-gold rope-twist wedding band with single diamond
• Stainless steel Alsta 17-jewel racing chronograph with black-ringed silver dial (with two black sub-registers and 6 o’clock date window) on steel Jubilee-style five-piece bracelet

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

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The Quote

Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you… which doesn’t mean I won’t throw you right out that window if I have to.