Category: Two-Piece Suit
Summertime: Rossano Brazzi’s Gray Suit
Rossano Brazzi as Renato de Rossi in Summertime (1955)
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Rossano Brazzi as Renato de Rossi, antique store owner
Venice, Summer 1954
Film: Summertime
Release Date: June 21, 1955
Director: David Lean
Costume Designer: Rosi Gori (uncredited)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Prolific Italian actor and director Rossano Brazzi was born 110 years ago tomorrow on September 18, 1916. An on-screen fixture of Italian cinema since the late 1930s, Brazzi rose to global fame after three consecutive roles as a suave Italian romancing American women visiting his country in The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), and Summertime (1955).
The latter paired Brazzi opposite Katharine Hepburn, who portrayed American secretary Jane Hudson visiting Venice at the end of her lifelong dream vacation to Europe. Over evening drinks in Piazza San Marco, she spies the dashing antiques dealer Renato de Rossi (Brazzi), who romantically pursues her with goblets and gardenias until the two embark on a brief but passionate aestival affair.
With summertime officially ending after this weekend, let’s explore how Brazzi dressed for, well, the ending of Summertime. Continue reading
Christopher Plummer’s Cream Suit in The Return of the Pink Panther
Christopher Plummer in The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
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Christopher Plummer as Sir Charles Litton, retired jewel thief
The Middle East, Summer 1974
Film: The Return of the Pink Panther
Release Date: May 21, 1975
Director: Blake Edwards
Wardrobe Supervisor: Bridget Sellers
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
If you’re one of the sartorial purists who subscribe to rules like “no white after Labor Day”, then let this post serve as inspiration for the upcoming weekend; if you don’t believe in such restrictions, then this post can inspire you all year long.
After an eleven-year hiatus (ignoring Alan Arkin’s take on the role in ’68), director Blake Edwards and actor Peter Sellers brought the bumbling Inspector Clouseau back to the big screen in The Return of the Pink Panther. Unlike subsequent films that seemed to redefine the titular “Pink Panther” as Clouseau himself, this title correctly refers to the reappearance of the priceless pink gem from the first film.
Clouseau again finds himself facing off against the master thief Sir Charles Litton, now portrayed by Christopher Plummer since David Niven—who played Sir Charles Lytton in the Pink Panther—was now unavailable. The role was then offered to Douglas Fairbanks Jr., only four months older than Niven, who would have brought a similar dashing gravitas. After Fairbanks also declined, the role ultimately went to Plummer, who was twenty years younger than both Niven and Fairbanks and infused a more sinister than suave characterization.
This time, however, Sir Charles is innocent and—realizing he has been framed for the diamond’s theft—flies from his villa in Nice to the fictional Middle Eastern nation of Lugash to clear his name. Continue reading
Charles Bronson’s Brown Suit in Farewell, Friend
Charles Bronson in Farewell, Friend (1968)
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Charles Bronson as Franz Propp, opportunistic thief, pimp, and former French Foreign Legion sergeant
Paris, December 1963
Film: Farewell, Friend
(French title: Adieu l’ami)
Release Date: August 14, 1968
Director: Jean Herman
Costume Designer: Tanine Autré
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Charles Bronson was a steady supporting tough-guy presence in films like The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), and The Dirty Dozen (1967), though the western Pennsylvania-born actor found his first major breakthrough fame in Europe after starring opposite French superstar Alain Delon in the Franco-Italian heist caper Adieu l’ami (Farewell, Friend), released this month in 1968. Continue reading
Walter Matthau’s Gray Striped Suit as Charley Varrick
Walter Matthau in Charley Varrick (1973)
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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. Continue reading
Miami Vice: Jamie Foxx’s Brown Silk Suit as Tubbs
Jamie Foxx in Miami Vice (2006)
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Jamie Foxx as Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs, Miami-Dade PD detective
Miami, Summer 2005
Film: Miami Vice
Release Date: July 28, 2006
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Design: Michael Kaplan & Janty Yates
Jamie Foxx’s Costumer: Yaa Boaa Aning
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Michael Mann’s frequently memed update of Miami Vice was widely released 20 years ago today on July 28, 2006, reintroducing cooler-than-ice detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs as Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, respectively.
As portrayed by EGOT hopeful Philip Michael Thomas, Tubbs may have lived within Crockett’s [five o’clock] shadow in the series, but the 2006 movie gives the character more room to breathe with Jamie Foxx—fresh off his Oscar win for Ray—in the role. In fact, it was reportedly Foxx who suggested the idea of a Miami Vice film to Mann, who had executive-produced the 1980s TV series.
Despite his increased degree of characterization, the 2006 film still leaves some questions about Tubbs’ character unanswered; for example, how does he feel about mojitos? Is he fiendish or ambivalent? Continue reading
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me — Chris Isaak’s Black FBI Suit as Chet Desmond
Chris Isaak as FBI Agent Chester “Chet” Diamond in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
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Chris Isaak as Chester “Chet” Desmond, FBI agent
Deer Meadow, Washington, February 1988
Film: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Release Date: August 28, 1992
Director: David Lynch
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
GET ME SPECIAL AGENT CHESTER DESMOND OUT IN FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA!
Kyle MacLachlan had been intended to more prominently reprise his role as FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, David Lynch’s 1992 cinematic prequel to the then-recently canceled series. But the actor’s reluctance to be typecast prompted Lynch to reimagine the first act’s federal investigator as the more laconic Chester “Chet” Desmond—which became the first major acting role for singer Chris Isaak, born 70 years ago today on June 26, 1956. Isaak’s music career had already received a boost after his breakthrough song “Wicked Game” was featured in Lynch’s previous film, Wild at Heart. Continue reading
A Face in the Crowd: Andy Griffith’s Silky Shirt, String Tie, and Sport Suit
Andy Griffith as Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd (1957)
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Andy Griffith as Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, folksy yet power-hungry media personality
Memphis to New York City, Spring 1956
Film: A Face in the Crowd
Release Date: May 28, 1957
Director: Elia Kazan
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today would have been the 100th birthday of Andy Griffith, born June 1, 1926. Already somewhat known as a comedian for routines like his breakthrough 1953 monologue “What It Was, Was Football”, Griffith made his explosive screen debut in Elia Kazan’s excellent 1957 drama A Face in the Crowd, a devastatingly prescient depiction of how susceptible American culture is to populism and celebrity cycloning into demagoguery. Budd Schulberg adapted his own short story “Your Arkansas Traveler” into the screenplay centered around Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, a charismatic drifter-turned-demagogue plucked from obscurity by radio producer Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal) who ascends out of control into an influential public figure. Continue reading
Insomnia: Al Pacino’s Leather Jacket in the Alaskan Midnight Sun
Al Pacino as Will Dormer in Insomnia (2002)
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Al Pacino as Will Dormer, shrewd but increasingly sleepy LAPD detective
Northern Alaska, June 2002
Film: Insomnia
Release Date: May 22, 2002
Director: Christopher Nolan
Costume Designer: Tish Monaghan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
By this time in mid-May, towns like Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) in the northern tip of Alaska are experiencing the midnight sun, typically lasting 83 days from May 10th or 11th through the beginning of August. The mid-June setting of Insomnia—to date, the only film Christopher Nolan directed without an official writing credit—is set during this phenomenon, to the initial puzzlement of legendary LAPD homicide detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino), visiting on request to help solve the murder of young high school student. Continue reading
Gregory Peck’s Herringbone Tweed Huntsman-Tailored Suit in Arabesque
Gregory Peck with Sophia Loren on the set of Arabesque (1966)
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Gregory Peck as David Pollock, American hieroglyphics professor
London, June 1965
Film: Arabesque
Release Date: May 5, 1966
Director: Stanley Donen
Tailor: H. Huntsman & Sons, London
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The stylish espionage-themed romantic comedy thriller Arabesque was released sixty years ago tomorrow on May 5, 1966. Producer and director Stanley Donen had hoped to replicate Charade‘s success with Cary Grant in the lead, but the now-retired Grant wasn’t thrilled enough with the script to make this his return to the silver screen. Donen himself wasn’t impressed with the script either, adapted from Gordon Cotler’s 1961 novel The Cipher (published under his pseudonym Alex Gordon.)
With Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren contracted as the leads, the script was constantly being rewritten, but cinematographer recalled that “the more the script was rewritten, the worse it got,” and that Donen told him their “only hope was to make it so visually exciting the audience will never have time to work out what the hell is going on.” Continue reading
Ryan O’Neal’s Seersucker Suit in What’s Up, Doc?
Ryan O’Neal in What’s Up, Doc? (1972)
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Ryan O’Neal as Dr. Howard Bannister, awkward musicologist
San Francisco, Summer 1972
Film: What’s Up, Doc?
Release Date: March 9, 1972
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Costume Designer: Polly Platt (uncredited)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The late Ryan O’Neal was born 85 years ago today on April 20, 1941. Though perhaps best known for his roles in Love Story (1970), Paper Moon (1973), Barry Lyndon (1975), or The Driver (1978), the first O’Neal performance that I ever watched was Peter Bogdanovich’s 1972 comedy What’s Up, Doc?, which Maureen Lee Lenker posited for Entertainment Weekly after his death as the actor’s strongest performance. Continue reading
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