Category: Movies
Odds Against Tomorrow: Harry Belafonte’s Heist Turtleneck
Harry Belafonte in Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
Vitals
Harry Belafonte as Johnny Ingram, nightclub entertainer-turned-bandit
Upstate New York, Spring 1959
Film: Odds Against Tomorrow
Release Date: October 15, 1959
Director: Robert Wise
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today is the first anniversary of Harry Belafonte’s March 1, 1927 birthday since the multi-talented entertainer’s death last April at the age of 96. In addition to a singing career that popularized Calypso music around the world and his tireless activism, Belafonte acted on screen in more than a dozen films spanning over 65 years.
One of Belafonte’s standout performances is also from one of the coolest movies of the 1950s: Odds Against Tomorrow. This Robert Wise-directed film noir features Belafonte as Johnny Ingram, a New York nightclub entertainer whose gambling addiction leads to his recruitment into an upstate bank heist with ex-cop David Burke (Ed Begley) and bigoted career crook Earl Slater (Robert Ryan). Continue reading
Al Pacino in Scarecrow
Al Pacino in Scarecrow (1973)
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Al Pacino as Francis Lionel “Lion” Delbuchi, scrappy drifter and former sailor
California to Detroit, Fall 1972
Film: Scarecrow
Release Date: April 11, 1973
Director: Jerry Schatzberg
Costume Designer: Jo Ynocencio
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Scarecrow was Al Pacino’s first film after his Oscar-nominated breakthrough performance in The Godfather, reuniting him with Jerry Schatzberg, who had previously directed the actor to success in The Panic in Needle Park two years earlier.
After he portrayed the cunning and reserved Michael Corleone, Scarecrow brought Pacino back to that Needle Park-type of scrappily ambitious and affable street-smart drifter, now characterized as the simple and seemingly carefree Francis “Lion” Delbuchi who teams up with the temperamental ex-con Max Millian (Gene Hackman) in their transformative trek across the country to realize Max’s dream of opening a car wash in Pittsburgh. Continue reading
Get Out: Chris’ Plaid Jacket, Henley, and Hoodie
Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington in Get Out (2017)
Vitals
Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington, Brooklyn photographer
Upstate New York, Spring 2016
Film: Get Out
Release Date: February 24, 2017
Director: Jordan Peele
Costume Designer: Nadine Haders
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy birthday to Daniel Kaluuya, who received his first Academy Award nomination for Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out, released on Kaluuya’s 28th birthday seven years ago today.
Peele won the Oscar for his original screenplay, centered around Brooklyn photographer Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) joining his new girlfriend Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) to meet her parents Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy (Catherine Keener) for the first time. Continue reading
Point Blank: Lee Marvin’s Green Suit
Lee Marvin in Point Blank (1967)
Vitals
Lee Marvin as Walker, revenge-driven armed robber
Los Angeles, Summer 1967
Film: Point Blank
Release Date: August 30, 1967
Director: John Boorman
Costume Designer: Margo Weintz
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The legendary Lee Marvin was born 100 years ago today on February 19, 1924. After his service with the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, Marvin began acting on the stage and screen. His lead role on the 1950s police series M Squad elevated him to starring film roles across the ’60s, including The Killers (1964), The Professionals (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967).
After winning the Academy Award for his performance in the 1965 Western comedy Cat Ballou, Marvin wielded his considerable Hollywood clout for the production of Point Blank, including the selection of English director John Boorman. Continue reading
Lassiter: Tom Selleck’s Herringbone Blouson
Tom Selleck in Lassiter (1984)
Vitals
Tom Selleck as Nick Lassiter, debonair jewel thief
London, June 1939
Film: Lassiter
Release Date: February 17, 1984
Director: Roger Young
Costume Designer: Barbara Lane
Background
Released 40 years ago today, Lassiter was one of a pair of back-to-back period-set adventure films in which Tom Selleck starred at the height of his stardom on Magnum, P.I.
Perhaps Selleck was looking to make up for the missed opportunity when his commitment to Magnum, P.I. forced him to turn down the chance to be Indiana Jones before the role went to Harrison Ford, as both High Road to China (a 1920s-set aviation adventure) and Lassiter (set on the eve of World War II) echo the roguish yet risk-averse hero epitomized by Dr. Jones.
Lassiter centers around the titular Nick Lassiter, an American “gentleman thief” living the high life in London in June 1939. A joint task force led by Scotland Yard and the FBI recruit Lassiter to locate and steal a cache of $10 million in diamonds that the Nazis intend to sell to support their espionage efforts and plans for war. Of course, perhaps suspecting that law enforcement has additional plans for him after he’s served his purpose for them, Lassiter arranges a few twists of his own—including a gambit right out of The Sting. Continue reading
Ethan Hawke in Before Sunset
Ethan Hawke as Jesse in Before Sunset (2004)
Vitals
Ethan Hawke as Jesse Wallace, bestselling author
Paris, Summer 2003
Film: Before Sunset
Release Date: July 2, 2004
Director: Richard Linklater
Costume Designer: Thierry Delettre
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Continuing the romantic themes after Valentine’s Day, today’s post reviews Ethan Hawke’s style in Before Sunset, Richard Linklater’s 2004 follow-up to Before Sunrise (1995) that premiered at the 54th Berlin International Film Festival (BIFF) 20 years ago this week on February 10, 2004.
Before Sunset reteamed Hawke with Julie Delpy as Jesse and Céline, set nearly a decade after the two had spent an evening wandering Vienna, planning to meet again in six months. Continue reading
The Longest Yard: Burt Reynolds’ 1970s Flashy Football Star Style
Burt Reynolds in The Longest Yard (1974)
Vitals
Burt Reynolds as Paul “Wrecking” Crewe, washed-up ex-pro football quarterback
Palm Beach, Florida, Fall 1973
Film: The Longest Yard
Release Date: August 21, 1974
Director: Robert Aldrich
Wardrobe Credit: Charles E. James
Background
You take your football down here real serious, don’t you?
What do you do when you’re a style writer facing a Super Bowl aligns with Burt Reynolds’ birthday? Why, you focus on the super-seventies duds that Reynolds wears at the beginning of his sports comedy classic, The Longest Yard, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year! Continue reading
Moonraker: Roger Moore’s Double-Breasted Dinner Jacket
Roger Moore as James Bond in Moonraker (1979). Photo sourced from thunderballs.org archive.
Vitals
Roger Moore as James Bond, suave and sophisticated British MI6 agent
Rio de Janiero, Brazil, February 1979
Film: Moonraker
Release Date: June 26, 1979
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Costume Designer: Jacques Fonteray
Tailor: Angelo Vitucci
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 00-7th of February! To warm up, let’s join James Bond on assignment in Rio de Janiero, his last stop in Moonraker before an unexpected detour into outer space, following both our villain Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) and the overall sci-fi trends of the late ’70s thanks to blockbusters like Star Wars.
Before strapping on a Drax Industries spacesuit, Bond dons a more characteristic suit with the tailored tuxedo he chooses to wear for Carnival, the annual Brazilian festival held every February—scheduled to start at the end of this week. Continue reading
George Clooney’s Charcoal Car Coat in Out of Sight
I’m pleased to again present a guest post contributed by my friend Ken Stauffer, who has written several pieces for BAMF Style previously and chronicles the style of the Ocean’s film series (and beyond!) on his excellent Instagram account, @oceansographer.
George Clooney as Jack Foley in Out of Sight (1998). Photo credit: Merrick Morton.
Vitals
George Clooney as Jack Foley, charismatic bank robber and prison escapee
Detroit, February 3-5, 1999
Film: Out of Sight
Release Date: June 26, 1998
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
When people lament that Hollywood studios should go back to making more high quality, mid-budget movies, Out of Sight is exactly what they’re referring to, even if they don’t realize it. Looking back on it today, the film is not only perfectly cast and beautifully shot, but it manages to strike the perfect balance of character and plot, humor and drama, while telling a unique story.
Based on a then-just-published novel by Elmore Leonard, the movie stars George Clooney as lifelong bank robber Jack Foley who breaks out of prison in Florida, getting away by hiding himself in a car trunk with U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez). With the law hot on his tail, Foley and his best friend Buddy (Ving Rhames) hoof it to Detroit to pull off one last score at the home of two-faced businessman Richard Ripley (Albert Brooks), whom they did time with years earlier. They’re forced to form an uneasy alliance with a far more violent crew led by the murderous “Snoopy” Miller (Don Cheadle). Continue reading
Shaft: Richard Roundtree’s Brown Leather Asymmetrical-Zip Jacket
Richard Roundtree as John Shaft in Shaft (1971)
Vitals
Richard Roundtree as John Shaft, tough private detective
New York City, January 1971
Film: Shaft
Release Date: June 25, 1971
Director: Gordon Parks
Costume Designer: Joseph G. Aulisi
Background
Through his life and after his death in October 2023, Richard Roundtree was often considered the “first Black action hero” for his groundbreaking performance as the smooth private detective John Shaft across a trio of thrillers released across the early 1970s. The fact that Shaft had been Roundtree’s first major movie after starting his career as a model makes his dynamic screen presence all the more impressive.
Initially followed by two sequels and a short-lived TV series, the original 1971 movie Shaft—adapted from Ernest Tidyman’s novel of the same name—contained all the elements for success: the gritty New York location, Isaac Hayes’ iconic Oscar-winning theme song and funky score, and the smooth-talking, ass-kicking, leather-clad Roundtree as the lead character.
The start of Black History Month feels like the ideal time to celebrate Roundtree’s legacy as the the cat that won’t cop out when there’s danger all about… right on. Continue reading
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