Category: Casual
Chilly Scenes of Winter: John Heard’s Moth-eaten Maroon Sweater
John Heard in Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)
Vitals
John Heard as Charles Richardson, obsessive state analyst
Salt Lake City, Winter 1979/80
Film: Chilly Scenes of Winter
Release Date: October 19, 1979
Director: Joan Micklin Silver
Costume Designer: Rosanna Norton
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The wintry weather this first full week of the year feels appropriate to slip into John Heard’s deceptively cozy wardrobe in Joan Micklin Silver’s 1979 comedy Chilly Scenes of Winter. Originally marketed by United Artists as a zany, lighthearted rom-com that the studio re-titled Head Over Heels (much to its cast and crew’s dismay), Chilly Scenes of Winter is actually an all-too-real exploration of the depths to which a seemingly sane person can fall when tortured by their concept of love.
Heard plays Charles Richardson, a seemingly normal Utah State Department of Development report analyst who begins dating his colleague Laura (Mary Beth Hurt), only to grow increasingly and desperately obsessed with winning back her affection after she ends their relationship. Continue reading
The Killer Elite: Robert Duvall’s Navy Shacket and Watch Cap
Robert Duvall in The Killer Elite (1975)
Vitals
Robert Duvall as George Hansen, mercenary-for-hire
San Francisco, Spring 1975
Film: The Killer Elite
Release Date: December 19, 1975
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Costume Designer: Ray Summers
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
My post about the late James Caan’s style in The Killer Elite for the film’s 50th anniversary last month received more attention than I expected, as well as requests to cover his co-star Robert Duvall. So, ahead of Duvall’s 95th birthday tomorrow, let’s look at how he dresses as the double-crossing mercenary George Hansen across The Killer Elite‘s second act.
After betraying his partner Mike Locken (Caan) and leaving him with a crippling bullet to the knee, George has been profiting as a freelance mercenary most recently hired to assassinate a Taiwanese politician visiting the United States. Mike had been out of commission for weeks while recovering from his wound, but his old employer ComTeg finally welcomes him back into the fold—hoping he can foil his former partner’s plot. Continue reading
Rocky: Sylvester Stallone’s Black Leather Jacket
Sylvester Stallone in Rocky (1976)
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Sylvester Stallone as Robert “Rocky” Balboa, ambitious boxer and mob enforcer
Philadelphia, Fall/Winter 1975
Film: Rocky
Release Date: December 3, 1976
Director: John G. Avildsen
Costumer: Robert Campbel
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy New Year! Fifty years ago tonight, scrappy southpaw Rocky Balboa went the distance against the heavyweight champ, turning a Philadelphia club fighter into an American myth—so, in the spirit of “new year, new you”—let’s punch into the style of Sylvester Stallone’s era-defining breakthrough role. Continue reading
The Family Stone: Luke Wilson’s New Plaid Polo Jacket on Christmas Morning
Luke Wilson as Ben Stone in The Family Stone (2005)
Vitals
Luke Wilson as Ben Stone, documentary film editor
New England, Christmas 2005
Film: The Family Stone
Release Date: December 16, 2005
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Costume Designer: Shay Cunliffe
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Merry Christmas!
Released twenty years ago this month, The Family Stone (written and directed by Thomas Bezucha) has quietly earned its place in the modern Christmas-movie canon—not through spectacle or sentimentality, but by capturing something far more recognizable: the particular emotional chaos of being home for the holidays with people who know you a little too well.
Already an emotionally demanding watch, The Family Stone feels newly poignant in the wake of Diane Keaton’s death in October 2025 at age 79. Her characteristically stylish, warm yet acerbic, and ultimately devastating performance as the matriarch Sybil Stone has long been the film’s emotional anchor, and revisiting it now adds an unavoidable layer of grief and gratitude to a story already steeped in both.
Headed by the formidable Sybil and her husband Kelly (Craig T. Nelson), the Stones live in the fictional New England town of Thayer, likely somewhere in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley. Each Christmas, their five adult children—and an assortment of significant others—descend on the family home for a few days of overlapping traditions, unresolved resentments, and aggressively honest conversation.
Most families have a Ben. Luke Wilson’s youngest Stone sibling is the laid-back, free-spirited one—sometimes too laid-back, if his two consecutive missed flights are any indication. An excessive stoner even by his liberal New England family’s standards, Ben’s unbothered demeanor ultimately establishes him as the family diplomat: the only one who really gets along with his brother Everett’s tightly wound girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), gradually thawing her icy, defensive exterior. Continue reading
The Killer Elite: James Caan’s Brown Suede Jacket
James Caan in The Killer Elite (1975)
Vitals
James Caan as Mike Locken, government mercenary
San Francisco, Spring 1975
Film: The Killer Elite
Release Date: December 19, 1975
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Costume Designer: Ray Summers
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The Godfather co-stars and real-life friends James Caan and Robert Duvall reunited as rival mercenaries in The Killer Elite, widely released fifty years ago today on December 19, 1975, following its L.A. premiere two days earlier. Adapted by Marc Norman and Stirling Silliphant from Robert Syd Hopkins novel Monkey in the Middle, the film’s mixed reception hasn’t improved much with age, and Caan himself considered it a dud that he took merely to work with director Sam Peckinpah—even if Peckinpah’s creative control was limited by United Artists.
The Killer Elite takes a lighter, action-oriented hand to the anti-government paranoia that defined ’70s thrillers, capitalizing on the easy chemistry between Caan and Duvall who portray the friends-turned-foes on opposing sides in a San Francisco proxy war. They begin the story as Mike Locken (Caan) and George Hansen (Duvall), colleagues in ComTeg—a private intelligence network often hired by the government. “What’s that? ‘Circumsized Italian Americans’?” Mike jokes when they’re asked if they work for the CIA. Continue reading
Rob Reiner in This is Spinal Tap
Rob Reiner as Marty Di Bergi in This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Vitals
Rob Reiner as Marty Di Bergi, documentary filmmaker
Across the United States, Fall 1982 to Spring 1983
Film: This is Spinal Tap
Release Date: March 2, 1984
Director: Rob Reiner
Costume Stylist: Renee Johnston
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
To celebrate the life of the late Rob Reiner following his and his wife Michele’s tragic deaths over the weekend, today’s post turns it up to eleven with his directorial debut: the 1984 mockumentary—if you will, rockumentary—This is Spinal Tap.
As the son of comedy legends Carl and Estelle Reiner, Rob established his own career on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family as Mike “Meathead” Stivic, whose passion for political activism mirrored the actor’s own. “I could win the Nobel Prize and they’d write ‘Meathead wins the Nobel Prize’,” the two-time Emmy-winning Reiner once commented of the nickname’s lasting association. Though he continued to act, Reiner pivoted behind the camera with a prolific and wide-ranging filmography as the director of genre-spanning modern classics like Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Misery (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), and The American President (1995)—adept at everything from rom-coms and courtroom drama to fantasy and suspense.
Designed to satirize more hagiographical music documentaries, This is Spinal Tap popularized—if not effectively launched—the mockumentary: a comedic format that continues to thrive through titles like Abbott Elementary, Borat, Documentary Now!, The Office, Parks & Recreation, and What We Do in the Shadows.
Reiner allows Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer to shine as the fictional metal band Spinal Tap, also appearing on screen as Marty Di Bergi, a filmmaker tasked with chronicling the titular band’s American comeback tour. Continue reading
My Night at Maud’s: Jean-Louis Trintignant’s Sheepskin Jacket
Jean-Louis Trintignant in My Night at Maud’s (1969)
Vitals
Jean-Louis Trintignant as Jean-Louis, serious-minded engineer and conflicted Catholic
Clermont-Ferrand, France, Christmas 1968
Film: My Night at Maud’s
(French title: Ma nuit chez Maud)
Release Date: June 4, 1969
Director: Éric Rohmer
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Considered one of the best French actors of the post-war era, the late Jean-Louis Trintignant was born 95 years ago today on December 11, 1930. Trintignant worked with many prolific directors but his sole collaboration with Éric Rohmer was the Nouvelle Vague drama My Night at Maud’s—the fourth-released of Rohmer’s “Six Moral Tales”.
My Night at Maud’s premiered at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival and would be nominated for two Academy Awards. Trintignant portrays the ambitious engineer Jean-Louis, deeply in love with the young biology student Françoise (Marie-Christine Barrault) he has seen at his church, until just before Christmas when his friend Vidal (Antoine Vitez) introduces him to the eponymous Maud (Françoise Fabian). The night of their first meeting features intense discussions ranging from ethics to existence until, at Maud’s existence, Jean-Louis spends an awkward—and initially platonic—night in her bed, acting only on his newfound attraction by kissing her before he leaves in the morning.
Through their subsequent interactions, Jean-Louis’ faith conflicts with his growing attraction to the outspoken, divorced atheist as he and Maud recognize the tragic unlikelihood of lasting love between them. Continue reading
Salt and Pepper: Sammy Davis Jr. in Green Suede
Sammy Davis Jr. in Salt and Pepper (1968)
Vitals
Sammy Davis Jr. as Charles Salt, nightclub singer and co-owner
London, Spring 1968
Film: Salt and Pepper
Release Date: June 21, 1968
Director: Richard Donner
Costume Designer: Cynthia Tingey
Tailor: Charles Glenn
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Multi-talented entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. was born 100 years ago today on December 8, 1925. Davis started performing on stage at only three years old when he joined his father and godfather in a touring act named after the latter: the Will Mastin Trio. After serving in the Army during World War II and maintaining his stardom through the ’50s, Davis developed an informal but enduring association with fellow entertainers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford that has become immortalized as the “Rat Pack”. (It was reportedly at Davis’ insistence that Sinatra changed the group’s initial name from “the Clan” to “the Summit”.)
The Rat Pack’s heyday was through the early 1960s, consisting primarily of stage shows and feature films like Ocean’s 11 (1960), playing a group of Army vets teaming up to rob five Vegas casinos. But as Dino’s character declares in that flick, “old times are only good when you’ve had ’em,” and the group’s cultural domination began to sizzle within a few short years. Sinatra had spent a small fortune to renovate part of his Palm Springs estate in anticipation of a visit from Lawford’s brother-in-law—who happened to be then-President John F. Kennedy—until Attorney General RFK advised his brother to limit his association with the mob-connected Ol’ Blue Eyes… so both JFK’s visit and Lawford’s upcoming role in 4 for Texas went to Bing Crosby instead.
Ever the diplomat, Davis maintained professional ties with Lawford as the two pallies starred in three more films through the end of the ’60s, adapting their Rat Pack personas to the times in Salt and Pepper (1968) and the Jerry Lewis-directed sequel, One More Time (1970).
Salt and Pepper was the second film directed by Richard Donner, who would more successfully revisit the black-and-white buddy comedy subgenre two decades later with the Lethal Weapon series. Davis and Lawford play swingin’ London nightclub operators-turned-spies Charlie Salt and Christopher Pepper, respectively, who uncover a plot to overthrow the British government. Continue reading
Marriage on the Rocks: Dino’s Red Sweater and Green Slacks
Dean Martin in Marriage on the Rocks (1965)
Vitals
Dean Martin as Ernie Brewer, playboy advertising executive
Los Angeles, Fall 1965
Film: Marriage on the Rocks
Release Date: September 24, 1965
Director: Jack Donohue
Costume Designer: Walter Plunkett
Background
As we’re gliding through December, my playlist is increasingly loaded with Christmas classics—often sung by the great mid-century entertainers like Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Rat Pack icons Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
After the Rat Pack’s heyday in the early ’60s had all but ended, the latter two pallies co-starred in Marriage on the Rocks, released sixty years ago in September 1965 amidst their career highs that included Sinatra recording September of My Years and appearing in an Emmy-winning documentary about his life and career, while Martin had just debuted his long-running variety show on NBC after knocking the Beatles from the top of the charts with “Everybody Loves Somebody”. Continue reading
Hell or High Water: Jeff Bridges’ Texas Ranger Western-wear
Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water (2016)
Vitals
Jeff Bridges as Marcus Hamilton, experienced Texas Ranger nearing retirement
West Texas, Summer 2016
Film: Hell or High Water
Release Date: August 12, 2016
Director: David Mackenzie
Costume Designer: Malgosia Turzanska
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of the best to ever do it, Jeff Bridges turns 76 today. Born December 4, 1949, the actor was born into a family of talent including his parents Lloyd and Dorothy and older brother Beau, but he established his own path when he received his first Academy Award nomination for The Last Picture Show, released two months before his 22nd birthday. Bridges’ seventh and latest Oscar nod recognized his more grizzled, elegiac performance in the Taylor Sheridan-penned neo-Western crime thriller, Hell or High Water. Continue reading