Category: Throwback
Nucky Thompson’s Red, White, and Blue
Steve Buscemi as “Nucky” Thompson in “The Emerald City”, episode 1.10 of Boardwalk Empire.
Happy 4th of July to all American followers of BAMF Style.
Vitals
Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, corrupt Atlantic City treasurer and Republican political boss
Atlantic City, November 1920
Series: Boardwalk Empire
Episodes:
– “The Emerald City” (Episode 1.10, aired November 21, 2010, dir. Simon Cellan Jones)
– “A Return to Normalcy” (Episode 1.12, aired December 5, 2010, dir. Tim Van Patten)
– “Two Boats and a Lifeguard” (Episode 2.08, aired November 13, 2011, dir. Tim Van Patten)
Creator: Terence Winter
Costume Designer: John A. Dunn
Tailor: Martin Greenfield
Background
While our nation may be politically divided today, there is one politician that all of America can agree on: Enoch “Nucky” Thompson. Continue reading
Sidney Reilly Goes Undercover in Russia
Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly in the seventh episode of Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983).
Vitals
Sam Neill as Capt. Sidney Reilly, British secret service agent and Canadian Royal Flying Corps airman
Russia, Spring 1918
Series: Reilly: Ace of Spies
Episode: “Gambit” (Episode 7)
Air Date: October 12, 1983
Director: Jim Goddard
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Waller
Background
The mini-series Reilly: Ace of Spies, being based on Sidney Reilly’s own exaggerated account of his life, certainly stretches the truth – if not downright fictionalizes – many parts of Reilly’s story. However, the show does a fine job of serializing Reilly’s most important and life-altering adventure: the attempted overthrow of the Bolshevik government. Continue reading
Real Men Wear Pink: Redford as Gatsby
Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby in the 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby. The little girl on his left is Patsy Kensit, who would later play Mel Gibson’s ill-fated love interest in Lethal Weapon 2.
Vitals
Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby, enigmatic millionaire and eager romantic
Long Island, New York, Late Summer 1925
Film: The Great Gatsby
Release Date: March 29, 1974
Director: Jack Clayton
Costume Designer: Theoni V. Aldredge
Clothes by: Ralph Lauren
Background
Today is the day that Baz Luhrmann is releasing his interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great American novel The Great Gatsby. Saving any comment on that for the end, it only seems appropriate to look at some of the iconic suits that Robert Redford donned for his portrayal of Gatsby almost forty years ago.
By the early to mid 1970s, men’s suits were beginning to revert back to styles popular during the height of the Roaring Twenties: bright three-piece suits with wide lapels, double-breasted waistcoats, and flared legs. Some credit the fact the coke-and-disco fueled ’70s were a replication of the booze-and-jazz fueled ’20s and that the style would naturally gravitate towards excess. Others point to the award-winning costumes made by Theoni V. Aldredge for 1974’s The Great Gatsby. Continue reading
The Sundance Kid in Bolivia
Robert Redford in Bolivia as “The Sundance Kid” in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).
Vitals
Robert Redford as “The Sundance Kid”, exiled American outlaw in Bolivia
Bolivia, 1901-1908
Film: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Release Date: October 24, 1969
Director: George Roy Hill
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is brilliant. Whether it was Conrad Hall’s alluring photography, George Roy Hill’s groundbreaking direction, William Goldman’s screenplay that ranges from insanely hilarious to poignantly touching, or – most often cited – the perfect chemistry of leads Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
The film was a new kind of Western. No longer was John Wayne fighting Injuns with his rifle, kerchief, and ten gallon hat. Tom Mix’s white hat vs. black hat days were over. By 1969, the world had moved on into a place of crystal-clear ambiguity. Cheering for the outlaws was not only acceptable, it was preferred.
Of course, that’s much easier when the outlaws are charming, hilarious, and generally non-violent. Paul Newman was a natural choice for the film. After a series of cast rotations that could’ve seen Jack Lemmon, Warren Beatty, Marlon Brando, or Steve McQueen paired up with Newman, Hill and Newman rallied and got up-and-coming Robert Redford the part, despite Fox’s protestations. Interestingly, the older Newman was originally to play younger gunslinger Sundance before Redford was brought on board. The roles were switched and a now-classic film pairing was born. Continue reading
Sidney Reilly’s Edwardian Gray Suit
Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly in “An Affair With A Married Woman”, the first episode of Reilly: Ace of Spies.
Had he not been killed by the Soviets in 1925, Sidney Reilly may have lived to be 140 last weekend- March 24th to be specific. However, a 140-year-old man is very unlikely, especially with his lifestyle and habits, so something would’ve probably gotten him anyway.
Vitals
Sam Neill as Sigmund Rosenblum, later renamed “Sidney Reilly” upon his entry into the British Secret Service
London, Spring 1901
Series: Reilly: Ace of Spies
Episode: “An Affair with a Married Woman” (Episode 1)
Air Date: September 5, 1983
Director: Jim Goddard
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Waller
Background
This is the first we see of Reilly – still known as Rosenblum – back home in London after his first mission, the details of which will be covered in a later post. After an assignation with his prostitute mistress Rose, he resurfaces at a public meeting in Covent Garden where the British Secret Service is denying his own existence. In a cheeky fashion that recalls James Bond, he gets the best of everyone. Later, we also see him wearing the same suit for a series of meetings and the funeral of his aforementioned mistress. Continue reading
The Many Marriages of Sidney Reilly
Yet another Week of Weddings two-partner, this time looking at the many marriages of Sidney Reilly, just in time for Throwback Thursday.
1901
Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly during his first wedding on Reilly: Ace of Spies (Episode: “An Affair with a Married Woman”).
Vitals
Sam Neill as the former Shlomo Rosenblum, now Sidney Reilly, an ex-professor hired as an informant for the British Secret Service
Southampton, Summer 1901
Series: Reilly: Ace of Spies
Episode: “An Affair with a Married Woman” (Episode 1)
Air Date: September 5, 1983
Director: Jim Goddard
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Waller
Background
Hopefully you know all about Reilly from the first Reilly: Ace of Spies post on this blog. What? You don’t want to go back and read all million paragraphs I wrote? Too bad, here’s a million more:
The first episode, “An Affair with a Married Woman”, quickly establishes Reilly as a cunning man who will stop at nothing in pursuit of his goals. In the summer of 1901, the young Reilly’s primary goal is money. Thus, the following sequence is appealing to him:
- Reilly meets a young woman who is married to a rich older man
- Reilly sleeps with the young woman, who falls in love with him
- The rich older man dies, leaving the young woman with a lot of money
The Sting: Robert Redford’s Russet Striped Suit
Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker in The Sting (1973).
Vitals
Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker, small-time Depression-era grifter
Joliet to Chicago, September 1936
Film: The Sting
Release Date: December 25, 1973
Director: George Roy Hill
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
Four years after their successful pairing in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman and Robert Redford met up once again for The Sting, a 1973 crime-comedy about two con men (“grifters”, in the film’s and Jim Thompson’s parlance) who team up to take down a brutal syndicate big shot against the backdrop of the corruption of 1930s Chicago.
But before all of that, Redford finds himself flush with money after conning a mob numbers runner. He struts into a store armed with his $4,000 and leaves with a bold striped suit. Continue reading
Al Swearengen on Deadwood
Ian McShane as Al Swearengen on Deadwood.
For something a little different, here’s a throwback in honor of vintage badass Al Swearengen from HBO’s prematurely cancelled series Deadwood. If you’re not familiar with Deadwood, you’d be doing yourself a favor to familiarize yourself.
Al’s suit may not translate literally to what looks good these days, but the attitude is there.
Vitals
Ian McShane as Al Swearengen, frontier saloon owner and pimp
Deadwood, Summer 1876
Series: Deadwood
Air Dates: March 21, 2004 – August 27, 2006
Creator: David Milch
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
Background
Deadwood, one of the most underrated and criminally discontinued shows of all time, was a brilliant ensemble show that reflected larger American themes through the founding of a frontier camp. It featured well-known real life characters such as “Wild Bill” Hickok, “Calamity Jane”, and Wyatt Earp interacting with lesser-known historical figures Seth Bullock, Sol Star, and Al Swearengen. It was the latter that proved to be the breakout hit of the show, thanks to Ian McShane’s masterful performance. Continue reading
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