Category: Sport Jackets and Blazers
And Justice for All: Al Pacino’s Corduroy Jacket on Thanksgiving
Al Pacino in …And Justice for All (1979)
Vitals
Al Pacino as Arthur Kirkland, determined defense attorney
Baltimore, Fall and Winter 1978
Film: …And Justice for All
Release Date: October 19, 1979
Director: Norman Jewison
Costume Designer: Ruth Myers
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Al Pacino closed out the 1970s with his fifth Academy Award-nominated performance, portraying frazzled Baltimore lawyer Arthur Kirkland in Norman Jewison’s 1979 dark comedy …And Justice for All, satirizing the American legal system.
Kirkland’s host of issues that follow him through the fall and holiday season include troublesome clients like the unfairly arrested Jeff McCullaugh (Thomas Waites) and weekly visits to his steadfast but increasingly senile grandfather Sam (Lee Strasberg), whom he brings to Thanksgiving dinner with Sam’s slightly sharper friend Arnie (Sam Levene). Continue reading
Humphrey Bogart’s Blazer at Sea in Sabrina
Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina (1954)
Vitals
Humphrey Bogart as Linus Larrabee, industrious businessman
Long Island, New York, Summer 1954
Film: Sabrina
Release Date: September 3, 1954
Director: Billy Wilder
Costume Supervisor: Edith Head
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The talent-laden Sabrina was released in the United States 70 years ago today on September 23, 1954, debuting in New York and Los Angeles twenty days after its Toronto premiere on September 3rd. Directed by the prolific Billy Wilder, the romantic comedy stars Audrey Hepburn as the titular Sabrina Fairchild who finds herself romanced by the opposing Larrabee brothers: playboy David (William Holden) and workaholic Linus (Humphrey Bogart). Continue reading
Miami Vice: Sonny Crockett’s Peach Linen Jacket in the Pilot Episode
Don Johnson as Detective Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice (Episode 1.01: “Brother’s Keeper”)
Vitals
Don Johnson as James “Sonny” Crockett, smooth Miami-Dade vice detective
Miami, Spring 1984
Series: Miami Vice
Episode: “Brother’s Keeper” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: September 16, 1984
Director: Thomas Carter
Creator: Anthony Yerkovich
Costume Designer: Jodie Lynn Tillen
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Miami Vice premiered 40 years ago tonight on Sunday, September 16, 1984 when NBC aired the feature-length pilot “Brother’s Keeper” at 9:00 p.m., introducing audiences to stylish Metro-Dade Police Department detectives Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas). The two-part episode established the show’s signature pop-scored blend of fashion and fast action, set against the sun-bleached days and neon nights of Magic City. Continue reading
The Rockford Files: Jim’s Navy-and-Beige Houndstooth Jacket for “The Kirkoff Case”
James Garner in The Rockford Files (Episode 1.01: “The Kirkoff Case”)
Vitals
James Garner as Jim Rockford, wisecracking private detective and ex-convict
Los Angeles, Summer 1974
Series: The Rockford Files
Episode: “The Kirkoff Case” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: September 13, 1974
Director: Lou Antonio
Creator: Roy Huggins & Stephen J. Cannell
Costume Designer: Charles Waldo
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and number. I’ll get back to you…
Following the TV movie “Backlash of the Hunter” that served as the pilot when it aired six months earlier, The Rockford Files officially premiered 50 years ago tonight when NBC aired the first canonical episode “The Kirkoff Case” at 9 p.m. on Friday, September 13, 1974. Continue reading
California Split: Elliott Gould’s Tan Sport Jacket and Printed Shirts
Elliott Gould in California Split (1974)
Vitals
Elliott Gould as Charlie Waters, garrulous gambler
Los Angeles to Reno, Winter 1973
Film: California Split
Release Date: August 7, 1974
Director: Robert Altman
Costumer: Hugh McFarland
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
If I had a nickel for every great 1974 movie where the male lead had a bandaged nose for a significant portion of its runtime… well, California Split and Chinatown would yield me only 10 cents, but it would be well worth it for their shared existence.
Robert Altman’s excellently chaotic meditation on gambling, California Split, was released 50 years ago today on August 7, 1974, starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of two-time losers who meet over an L.A. card game. Initially more of a recreational gambler, Segal’s Bill Denny grows increasingly addicted through his friendship with Gould’s Charlie Waters, a charismatic hustler constantly on the make between card games and the horse track for his next big score. Continue reading
Gone in 60 Seconds (1974): H.B. Halicki’s Glen Plaid Jacket and “Eleanor” Mustang
H.B. Halicki in Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
Vitals
H.B. “Toby” Halicki as Maindrian Pace, insurance investigator and car thief
Long Beach, California, Spring 1974
Film: Gone in 60 Seconds
Release Date: July 28, 1974
Director: H.B. Halicki
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Fifty years ago today on July 28, 1974, independent filmmaker and stunt driver H.B. “Toby” Halicki released Gone in 60 Seconds, a high-octane parade of car chases and crashes.
In addition to directing, writing, and producing the film on a $150,000 budget, Halicki also starred and did his own driving as Maindrian Pace, a curiously named car thief whose respectable day job as an insurance investigator covers his criminal activity.
Working with a ring of professionals, Pace is hired to steal 48 very specific cars ranging from limousines to semi-tractor trucks and even Parnelli Jones’ famous ’71 “Big Oly” Bronco. Each of the target cars is assigned a female codename, with the final car—a bumblebee-colored 1973 Ford Mustang—designated as “Eleanor”. Continue reading
The Italian Connection: Woody Strode’s Plaid Sports Coat
Woody Strode in The Italian Connection (1972)
Vitals
Woody Strode as Frank Webster, taciturn Mafia hitman
Milan, Italy, Spring 1972
Film: The Italian Connection
(Italian title: La mala ordina)
Release Date: September 2, 1972
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Costume Designer: Francesco Cuppini
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Trailblazing actor and athlete Woody Strode was born 110 years ago today on July 25, 1914 in Los Angeles. Following his service in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, Strode was one of four Black players to break the NFL’s postwar color barrier when he signed with the Rams in 1946. In the years to follow, Strode continued both wrestling and acting, though he became significantly better known for the latter and was also one of the first Black performers to be nominated for a Golden Globe, recognizing his performance in Spartacus (1960).
With a filmography that also includes The Ten Commandments (1956), Pork Chop Hill (1959), Sergeant Rutledge (1960), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962), Genghis Khan (1965), The Professionals (1966), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), it was difficult to find one of Strode’s prominent roles that wasn’t in a western, war film, or historical drama so that I could highlight the actor dressed in a contemporary wardrobe. (He did have a significant role in the 1960 disaster drama The Last Voyage, but his costume as the sinking ship’s crewman Hank Lawson consisted only of a neckerchief and dark jeans.)
Following his appearance Once Upon a Time in the West, Strode joined fellow other American actors—think the fictional Rick Dalton—by appearing in Italian films through the ’70s, including the 1972 “poliziottesco” The Italian Connection, starring alongside Henry Silva as New York mob hitmen Frank Webster and Dave Catania. Continue reading
Bill Paxton in Twister
Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt in Twister (1996)
Vitals
Bill Paxton as Bill Harding, experienced storm chaser-turned-weatherman
Oklahoma, Summer 1996
Film: Twister
Release Date: May 10, 1996
Director: Jan de Bont
Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
With its standalone sequel Twisters starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell now arriving in theaters, let’s revisit the original Twister, Jan de Bont’s 1996 blockbuster centered around a group of storm-chasers pursuing and researching tornadoes across Oklahoma.
Our lead storm-chasers are the star-crossed Jo (Helen Hunt) and Bill Harding (Bill Paxton), in the midst of a divorce as Bill seeks to leave his dangerous storm-chasing days as “The Extreme” and settle into a more comfortable life as a TV weatherman with his new fiancée Dr. Melissa Reeves (Jami Gertz). “New job, new truck, new wife, it’s like a whole new you!” Jo observes as Bill arrives in his new Dodge Ram truck to request that she sign the papers to finalize their divorce.
In the meantime, Jo and her team are preparing to deploy their innovative tornado-measuring device—the realized execution of Bill’s original concept, nicknamed “Dorothy”—into the record-breaking storms wreaking havoc through Oklahoma. Continue reading
Don’t Look Now: Donald Sutherland’s Glen Plaid Jacket
Donald Sutherland in Don’t Look Now (1973)
Vitals
Donald Sutherland as John Baxter, architect and grieving father
Venice, Italy, Winter/Spring 1973
Film: Don’t Look Now
Release Date: October 16, 1973
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Wardrobe Credit: Anna Maria Feo
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today’s post pays tribute to the late, great Donald Sutherland (1935-2024), the Canadian-born actor who died last week at the age of 88. One of the actor’s most-discussed films is Nicolas Roeg’s haunting horror tale Don’t Look Now, for which he received a BAFTA nomination. Continue reading
Mystery Train: Masatoshi Nagase’s Rockabilly Style as Jun
Masatoshi Nagase as Jun in Mystery Train (1989)
Vitals
Masatoshi Nagase as Jun, taciturn tourist and rockabilly fan
Memphis, Tennessee, Summer 1988
Film: Mystery Train
Release Date: November 17, 1989
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Costume Designer: Carol Wood
Background
Jim Jarmusch’s triptych anthology Mystery Train debuted 35 years ago this month during the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
Taking its title from the Junior Parker song later covered by Elvis Presley, Mystery Train follows three narratives that overlap over a long night at a rundown Memphis motel overseen by a night clerk played by blues legend Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and all incorporate elements related to Elvis, whether it’s his music (specifically his early recording of “Blue Moon”), his name, or even his ghostly apparition to one of the Arcade Hotel’s guests.
The first segment, “Far from Yokohama”, centers around a young Japanese couple whose pilgrimage to the city includes a breakneck tour of Sun Studios and plans to visit Graceland. The charming Mitsuko (Youki Kudoh) is devoted to Elvis and even maintains a scrapbook chronicling her fandom for the singer she refers to as “still the King” while the more aloof Jun (Masatoshi Nagase) declares a broader appreciation for rockabilly—preferring Carl Perkins to Presley.
“King…”
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