Robert Redford’s Blue Bank Robbery Suit in The Old Man & the Gun

Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek in The Old Man & the Gun (2018). Photo credit: Eric Zachanowich.

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Robert Redford as Forrest Tucker, aging and amiable bank robber and escape artist

Texas, Summer to Fall 1981

Film: The Old Man & the Gun
Release Date: September 28, 2018
Director: David Lowery
Costume Designer: Annell Brodeur

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

After screen legend Robert Redford’s death earlier this month at age 89, I revisited his final leading role in David Lowery’s The Old Man & the Gun—a project Redford chose for his feel-good farewell film because he wanted his “last acting job to be fun.” Lighthearted yet elegiac, this crime caper premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival before its wider release seven years ago tomorrow. Continue reading →

Kill Me Again: Michael Madsen’s Leather Jacket

Michael Madsen in Kill Me Again (1989)

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Michael Madsen as Vince Miller, ruthless armed robber

Nevada, Spring 1989

Film: Kill Me Again
Release Date: October 27, 1989
Director: John Dahl
Costume Designer: Terry Dresbach

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

This year has seen the loss of screen legends across generations, from Gene Hackman and Robert Redford to Val Kilmer and Michael Madsen. On the first anniversary of Madsen’s September 25, 1957 birthday, let’s look at the one film where he and Kilmer starred together—the 1989 crime thriller Kill Me Again, where both men are drawn into a dangerous web spun by Fay, a femme fatale played by Kilmer’s then-wife Joanne Whalley.

Madsen steadily grew his career as a supporting actor through the ’80s in movies like WarGames (1982) and The Natural (1984) before appearing in Kill Me Again as the murderous thief Vince Miller, who could be argued as a template for the vicious villains he would play in movies like Reservoir Dogs (1992), The Getaway (1994), and Donnie Brasco (1997). Continue reading →

Evil Under the Sun: Colin Blakely’s Blazers as Sir Horace Blatt

Colin Blakely as Sir Horace Blatt in Evil Under the Sun (1982)

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Colin Blakely as Sir Horace Blatt, bombastic millionaire yachtsman

Mediterranean Sea, Summer 1939

Film: Evil Under the Sun
Release Date: March 5, 1982
Director: Guy Hamilton
Costume Designer: Anthony Powell

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Born 95 years ago today on September 23, 1930 in Northern Ireland, Colin Blakely was an underrated actor who excelled both on stage and screen. He won acclaim for his Shakespearean performances, his portrayal of Dr. Watson in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), and BAFTA-nominated turn in Equus (1977), while also standing out among the star-studded casts of two lavish Agatha Christie adaptations.

Following his small part as the quickly uncovered American private detective in Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Blakely returned to the Christie-verse for a juicier role in Evil Under the Sun (1982)—loosely adapted from the Queen of Crime’s 1941 novel of the same name, with many characters consolidated and the action transferred from the English coast to a fictional island in the Adriatic Sea. Continue reading →

Almost Famous: Billy Crudup’s Denim Wrangler Shirt

Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond in Almost Famous (2000)

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Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond, moody rock guitarist

On tour through the U.S., Spring 1973

Film: Almost Famous
Release Date: September 22, 2000
Director: Cameron Crowe
Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Following its Toronto International Film Festival premiere and a limited theatrical release a week later, Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical Almost Famous was widely released 25 years ago this week on September 22, 2000.

Inspired by Crowe’s own teenage years as a freelance music journalist—and Rolling Stone‘s youngest-ever contributor—interviewing the likes of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, and bands including Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, and Yes. The 16-year-old Crowe spent three weeks on the road with the Allman Brothers Band for his first cover story, forming the basis for Almost Famous‘ central narrative through the spring of 1973.

Crowe’s on-screen surrogate is the 15-year-old William Miller (Patrick Fugit), who receives the life-changing assignment of following the rising band Stillwater on their national tour. Despite his mentor, rock critic Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), urging him to maintain an emotional distance, William falls under the spell of the band and their groupies “band aids” like Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), who is embroiled in an affair with Stillwater’s enigmatic guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup)—also the most reluctant member of the band to grant William an interview. Continue reading →

Goodfellas: De Niro’s Windowpane Sport Jacket as Jimmy Conway

Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas (1990)

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Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway, feared mob associate

Queens, New York, Spring 1980

Film: Goodfellas
Release Date: September 19, 1990
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Richard Bruno

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today marks 35 years since the release of Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese’s kinetic crime epic chronicling three decades of Mafia life through the eyes of real-life Lucchese family associate-turned-informant Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). Though Henry was the ostensible protagonist, top billing went to Robert De Niro as one of Henry’s mentors-in-crime, Jimmy Conway. Continue reading →

Hogan’s Heroes: Colonel Hogan’s USAAF Flight Jacket and Crusher Cap

Bob Crane on Hogan’s Heroes (1965-1971)

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Bob Crane as Robert E. Hogan, resourceful U.S. Army Air Forces Colonel

“Stalag Luft 13” near Hammelburg, Germany, Winter 1945

Series: Hogan’s Heroes
Created by: Bernard Fein & Albert S. Ruddy
Costume Design: Reeder P. Boss, Ray Harp, and Marjorie Wahl

Background

Hogan’s Heroes debuted sixty years ago today on September 17, 1965 with a black-and-white pilot episode, followed by 167 episodes in full color. Debuting twenty years after the end of World War II, the series twisted the typical POW formula as 1) a comedy in which 2) the Allied characters showed no actual desire to escape from their imprisonment. As the titular Colonel Robert E. Hogan (Bob Crane) explains to one of his “heroes” in the first-season finale, “we’re not just ordinary POWs, we’re here on a mission. Our orders are very plain: assist Allied prisoners to escape, and sabotage the enemy wherever possible.” Continue reading →

David Suchet’s Herringbone Suit as Hercule Poirot in The Mysterious Affair at Styles

David Suchet as Hercule Poirot in the 1990 episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot: “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”

Vitals

David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, fastidious Belgian refugee and former detective

Essex, England, Summer 1917

Series: Agatha Christie’s Poirot
Episode: “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” (Episode 3.01)
Air Date: September 16, 1990
Director: Ross Devenish
Costume Designer: Linda Mattock

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

“Queen of Crime” Agatha Christie was born 135 years ago today on September 15, 1890. Among her most prolific creations was the character of Hercule Poirot, a fussy Belgian detective whom she included in more than three dozen novels and short stories despite her own eventual exhaustion with the character she decried as “insufferable.” Poirot first appeared in Christie’s debut novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, first published 105 years ago next month in October 1920.

Recommended by Christie’s own family for the role, David Suchet crafted the definitive portrayal of the detective throughout 13 seasons of the ITV series Agatha Christie’s Poirot, originated by writer Clive Exton in 1989. To commemorate the centenary of Christie’s birth, ITV aired the feature-length episode “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” between the second and third seasons which, to date, remains the only major English-language adaptation of Christie’s novel. Continue reading →

Trap: Josh Hartnett’s Chore Coat and Striped Sweater

Josh Hartnett in Trap (2024)

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Josh Hartnett as Cooper Abbott, firefighter, family man, and fugitive killer

Philadelphia, Fall 2023

Film: Trap
Release Date: August 2, 2024
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Costume Designer: Caroline Duncan

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

I’ve been eager to see Josh Hartnett’s career renaissance after a fascinating arc, from late-’90s heartthrob turned prestige TV lead on Penny Dreadful to his triumphant reemergence on the silver screen with a supporting role in Oppenheimer and his crispy leading role in Trap, M. Night Shyamalan’s darkly comic psychological thriller Trap that was released last summer.

Hartnett stars in the latter as Cooper Abbott, a Philadelphia firefighter who takes his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a sold-out pop concert headlined by superstar Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan)… only for the entire show to be the titular trap designed by law enforcement to ensnare him, as it turns out the minivan-driving family man has a dark, deadly secret under his affable persona. Continue reading →

Three Days of the Condor: Cliff Robertson’s Fur-collared Coat and Tweeds as Higgins

Cliff Robertson in Three Days of the Condor (1975)

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Cliff Robertson as Higgins, pragmatic CIA deputy director and Korean War veteran

New York City and Washington, D.C., Winter 1975

Film: Three Days of the Condor
Release Date: September 24, 1975
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Designer: Joseph G. Aulisi

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Sydney Pollack’s Christmas-set political thriller Three Days of the Condor. While Robert Redford’s rugged casual-wear as the bookish CIA analyst Joe Turner (codename “Condor”) has commanded considerable sartorial attention—including one of my very first blog posts!—the men pursuing him from the shadows are also stylish dressers, from Max Von Sydow as the professional European hitman Joubert to the workaholic CIA deputy director Higgins played by Cliff Robertson, who died fourteen years ago today on September 10, 2011. Continue reading →

Peter Sellers as Dr. Strangelove

Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove (1964)

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Peter Sellers as Dr. Strangelove (né Merkwürdigliebe), ex-Nazi nuclear war expert

Washington, D.C., September 1963

Film: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Release Date: January 29, 1964
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Costume Designer: Bridget Sellers

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Comedy icon Peter Sellers was born 100 years ago today on September 8, 1925, making today an ideal opportunity to celebrate Stanley Kubrick’s political satire that featured Sellers in one three of his most memorable roles. Continue reading →