Johnny Cash on Columbo

Johnny Cash as Tommy Brown on Columbo

Johnny Cash as Tommy Brown on Columbo (Episode 3.07: “Swan Song”)

Vitals

Johnny Cash as Tommy Brown, homicidal gospel singer

From Bakersfield to Los Angeles, Spring 1974

Series: Columbo
Episode: “Swan Song” (Episode 3.07)
Air Date: March 3, 1974
Director:
Nicholas Colasanto
Credited by: Richard Levinson & William Link

Background

Johnny Cash was born 90 years ago today on February 26, 1932. Following more than a decade and a half of country hits, the Man in Black riffed on his own image as the villainous guest star in the penultimate episode of Columbo‘s third season, airing just a week after his 42nd birthday. Continue reading

Zodiac: Robert Graysmith’s Blue Quilted Jacket

Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith in Zodiac

Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith in Zodiac (2007)

Vitals

Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, newspaper cartoonist and crusading crime investigator

San Francisco Bay Area, Fall 1975 thorough summer 1979

Film: Zodiac
Release Date: March 2, 2007
Director: David Fincher
Costume Designer: Casey Storm

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

By the mid-1970s, active investigations for the infamous Zodiac Killer had cooled; the intrepid San Francisco detective Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) had been urged to refocus his efforts, his partner Bill Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) had requested to move on, and investigative reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) was no longer writing about the case… leaving the burden of investigation in the surprising hands of San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith. Continue reading

Skyfall: James Bond’s SIS Training Gear

Daniel Craig as James Bond in Skyfall

Daniel Craig as James Bond in Skyfall (2012). Adapted from an image sourced at thunderballs.org.

Vitals

Daniel Craig as James Bond, “resurrected” British secret agent

London, Spring 2012

Film: Skyfall
Release Date: November 9, 2012
Director: Sam Mendes
Costume Designer: Jany Temime

Background

Having been assumed dead after taking friendly fire in the field, James Bond returns from self-imposed exile. However, before he can go from “resurrection” to active duty, the British Secret Service needs to make sure their most famous secret agent can still shoot straight.

Following the attack on their Vauxhall Cross headquarters, SIS has set up temporary shop in the concrete bowels of the Old Vic tunnels under London, and it’s here that Bond runs through a variety of exercises from treadmills to crash drills. The service’s ever-affable chief of staff, Bill Tanner (Rory Kinnear), attempts to save time by bringing 007 up to speed on his new assignment, but months on a Greek beach fueled by Heineken and vintage Macallan haven’t made it easy for Mr. Bond to catch his breath.

Tanner: We can always do this later.
Bond: You know what? Let’s.

Although Daniel Craig’s 007 was often referred to by his Royal Navy rank, Commander Bond never actually appeared in uniform on film during Craig’s era. In fact, the closest we saw to Craig’s James Bond in any sort of uniform—aside from when the actor himself received his honorary commission in 2021—was when he was put to these tests in Skyfall, resurrected and ready to be retrained by his superiors… and dressed the part in an SIS-marked track jacket and training shirt.

SIS Training Gear recognized the opportunity for Bond fans to borrow from our favorite secret agent’s style, not with a tailored suit or trim navy polo but through an increasingly growing selection of activewear that started with just a pair of T-shirts and joggers, designed to resemble Craig’s screen-worn apparel. Since then, the collection has grown to a wide and exciting lineup of a range of casual styles that reference Bond films across the franchise’s 60 years. Continue reading

Point Blank: Lee Marvin’s Flashback N-1 Deck Jacket

Lee Marvin as Walker in Point Blank (1967)

Lee Marvin as Walker in Point Blank (1967)

Vitals

Lee Marvin as Walker, drunken sailor and future thief

San Francisco, early 1960s

Film: Point Blank
Release Date: August 30, 1967
Director: John Boorman
Costume Designer: Margo Weintz

Background

Lee Marvin, Academy Award-winning actor and U.S. Marine Corps veteran of World War II, was born 98 years ago today on February 19, 1924. Marvin would be established as one of the most charismatic tough guys of the screen, particularly due to movies like The Killers (1964), The Professionals (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Point Blank (1967).

Adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s pulp crime novel The Hunter (published under the pseudonym Richard Stark), Point Blank stars Marvin as the mononymous Walker, a thief left for dead by his wife Lynne (Sharon Acker) and his double-crossing partner-in-crime Mal Reese (John Vernon) after a dangerous heist. Continue reading

Nightmare Alley: Bradley Cooper’s Plaid Mackinaw Jacket

Bradley Cooper as Stanton Carlisle in Nightmare Alley

Bradley Cooper as Stanton “Stan” Carlisle in Nightmare Alley (2021)

Vitals

Bradley Cooper as Stanton “Stan” Carlisle, opportunistic drifter-turned-carny

Rural Kentucky, Summer into fall 1939

Film: Nightmare Alley
Release Date: December 17, 2021
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Costume Designer: Luis Sequeira

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

William Lindsay Gresham’s novel Nightmare Alley was first adapted to the screen in 1947, just a year after its initial publication, via Edmund Goulding’s classic noir starring Tyrone Power. Guillermo del Toro’s newly released version is a less a remake of Goulding’s movie and more a reimagining of the source material from a screenplay he co-wrote with Kim Morgan, presented as a vividly stylish Gothic quasi-horror that landed a quartet of worthy Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design.

Continue reading

True Romance: Clarence’s Rockabilly Wedding Style

Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette in True Romance

Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette in True Romance (1993)

Vitals

Christian Slater as Clarence Worley, comic store clerk and rockabilly enthusiast

Detroit, Winter 1992

Film: True Romance
Release Date: September 10, 1993
Director: Tony Scott
Costume Designer: Susan Becker

Background

Happy Valentine’s Day! In the spirit of today’s love-centered holiday, it felt like the right time to start exploring the style of True Romance, specifically the slapdash quasi-rockabilly wardrobe worn by its leading character, the energetic comic enthusiast-turned-killer Clarence Worley (Christian Slater).

True Romance begins with Clarence striking out at a bar before celebrating his birthday in solitude at a local cineplex with a Sonny Chiba triple feature… instantly signaling writer Quentin Tarantino’s involvement to the informed viewer. Among the scattered audience, Clarence makes the acquaintance of the bleach-haired amateur call girl Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette). Despite Alabama’s post-coital admission that Clarence’s boss hired her to assuage Clarence’s birthday loneliness, the two almost immediately fall in love and impulsively marry, appropriately scored by Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”. Continue reading

Death on the Nile: Simon MacCorkindale’s White Mess Jacket

Simon MacCorkindale as Simon Doyle in Death on the Nile (1978)

Simon MacCorkindale as Simon Doyle in Death on the Nile (1978)

Vitals

Simon MacCorkindale as Simon Doyle, newlywed honeymooner

Egypt, September 1937

Film: Death on the Nile
Release Date: September 29, 1978
Director: John Guillermin
Costume Designer: Anthony Powell

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today would have been the 70th birthday of Simon MacCorkindale, the English actor whose breakthrough role was in Death on the Nile, the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery of the same name.

Continue reading

The Pink Panther: Robert Wagner’s Après-ski Style

Robert Wagner and Capucine in The Pink Panther

Robert Wagner and Capucine in The Pink Panther (1963)

Vitals

Robert Wagner as George Lytton, smooth con artist and aspiring jewel thief

Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Winter 1963

Film: The Pink Panther
Release Date: December 18, 1963
Director: Blake Edwards
Wardrobe Supervisor: Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca

Background

Given the ridiculous nature of the later entries that focus more heavily on the madcap misadventures of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers), it may surprise first-time viewers to see The Pink Panther so fashionably depict the elegance of winter jet-setters as they take to the Alpine ski resorts of Cortina d’Ampezzo in northern Italy, spending days on the slopes and evenings by the fire.

As February extends into the Olympic games and ski-trip season, I had wanted to revisit the stylish skiwear seen in The Pink Panther, only to realize that Robert Wagner’s 92nd birthday today coincides with the timing of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Wagner appeared in The Pink Panther as George Lytton, a small-time con man and nephew of the suave Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven). After George discovers his urbane uncle is actually a master jewel thief known as “The Phantom”, he sets out to learn from Sir Charles… even attempting to seduce his mistress, Simone Clouseau (Capucine), who just happens to be the wife of the bumbling Sûreté inspector on their trail. Continue reading

Jack Lemmon’s Bachelor Tuxedo in How to Murder Your Wife

Jack Lemmon in How to Murder Your Wife

Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford in How to Murder Your Wife (1965)

Vitals

Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford, comic strip artist and dedicated bachelor

New York City, Summer 1964

Film: How to Murder Your Wife
Release Date: September 20, 1965
Director: Richard Quine
Wardrobe: Izzy Berne & Marie Osborne

Background

On what would have been the birthday of one of my favorite actors—Jack Lemmon, born February 8, 1925—I want to revisit his style in the first of his filmography that I had ever seen, the swingin’ ’60s comedy How to Murder Your Wife which, as the title implies, balances black comedy with classic screwball elements.

Lemmon stars as Stanley Ford, a successful newspaper cartoonist whose spun his success writing the daily adventures of super-spy “Bash Brannigan” into an enviable bachelor lifestyle, complete with a swanky Lenox Hill townhouse and his devoted valet Charles (Terry-Thomas), whose daily duties include cleaning up after Stanley’s latest romantic conquests, providing reassurance and advice, and ensuring that a “properly chilled” vodka martini awaits Stanley at the end of each day. Continue reading

Downhill Racer: Redford’s Ski Jacket and Olympic Team Sweater

Robert Redford as David Chappellet in Downhill Racer

Robert Redford as David Chappellet in Downhill Racer (1969)

Vitals

Robert Redford as Dave Chappellet, U.S. Olympic ski team star

Switzerland, Winter 1968

Film: Downhill Racer
Release Date: November 6, 1969
Director: Michael Ritchie
Costume Designer: Edith Head (uncredited!)
Wardrobe Credit: Cynthia May

Background

In the spirit of the 2022 Winter Olympics that opened last night in Beijing, I wanted to revisit one of my favorite movies around the winter games, Downhill Racer.

Released just a month after his breakthrough performance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Robert Redford stars as the cocky skier Dave Chappellet, whose well-honed talent on the slopes lands him on the U.S. Olympic team. His only internal competition had been the promising talent Johnny Creech (Jim McMullan), whose own hopes for the gold were dashed after he was badly injured just weeks before the games. The resentful team and their passionate coach, Eugene Claire (Gene Hackman), find themselves looking to Chappellet as their best hope fo securing a gold medal. Continue reading