Tagged: 1950s
Cary Grant’s Casual Shirt in North by Northwest
Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill in North by Northwest (1959)
Vitals
Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill, Madison Avenue ad man mistaken for an international spy
Mount Rushmore, Fall 1958
Film: North by Northwest
Release Date: July 28, 1959
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Wardrobe Department: Harry Kress
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Appropriately timed for Casual Friday, today’s post examines the off-the-rack casual duds that Cary Grant’s “mistaken man” Roger O. Thornhill wears during the climactic chase across Mount Rushmore during the film’s finale. Continue reading
Havana – Robert Redford’s Tan Suit
Robert Redford as Jack Weil in Havana (1990)
Vitals
Robert Redford as Jack Weil, smooth, cynical gambler and U.S. Navy veteran
Havana, December 1958
Film: Havana
Release Date: December 14, 1990
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Designer: Bernie Pollack
Background
Gambling is Jack Weil’s raison d’être. Having arrived in Havana on Christmas Day 1958 to make the most of the city’s poker scene, Weil never anticipated getting caught up in the throes of the Cuban Revolution… unless it would get him laid or make him an extra buck.
Of course, his chance meeting with Roberta Duran (Lena Olin) made both possibilities an enticing reason to help the cause. Continue reading
OSS 117’s Blue Suit
Jean Dujardin as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006)
Vitals
Jean Dujardin as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, suave French agent OSS 117
Cairo, Spring 1955
Film: OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
(French title: OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d’espions)
Release Date: April 19, 2006
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Costume Designer: Charlotte David
Tailor: Joseph Kergoat
Background
After exploring the handsome blue suit worn by Sean Connery in that most parodied of 007 flicks, You Only Live Twice, BAMF Style is continuing its theme of debonair international spies in blue suits with a look at Jean Dujardin’s tailored suit in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies. Continue reading
Sinatra’s Pink Shirt and Puppytooth Check in High Society
Frank Sinatra as Mike Connor in High Society (1956)
Vitals
Frank Sinatra as Macauley “Mike” Connor, swaggering tabloid reporter
Newport, Rhode Island, Summer 1956
Film: High Society
Release Date: July 17, 1956
Director: Charles Walters
Costume Designer: Helen Rose
Background
BAMF Style is fulfilling a timely request from Ryan to explore the puppytooth jacket, pink shirt, and tie worn by Frank Sinatra for his early scenes in High Society, the 1956 remake of The Philadelphia Story that found Sinatra acting with his idol, Bing Crosby. The film lives up to its title with an abundance of luxury cars, opulent homes, and plenty of champagne.
Though set in summer, Sinatra’s ensemble is a nice bold springtime look as the April showers turn to May flowers. Continue reading
Sweet Smell of Success – J.J.’s Flannel Suit
Burt Lancaster as J.J. Hunsecker in a colorized photo from Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Vitals
Burt Lancaster as J.J. Hunsecker, powerful and domineering newspaper columnist
New York City, Fall 1956
Film: Sweet Smell of Success
Release Date: June 27, 1957
Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Costume Designer: Mary Grant
Background
One of my favorite movies is Sweet Smell of Success, the atmospheric film noir starring Burt Lancaster as a Walter Winchell-like columnist and Tony Curtis as the opportunistic young PR flack desperate to get in good with him.
Ernest Lehman, who contributed to the screenplay based on his own novelette, declined to direct the film due to his fear of Lancaster, but the actor’s aggressive and volatile temperament paid off to create the needed aura of his intimidating character, the sort of man who could and would destroy an enemy’s career on a whim. Continue reading
Havana – Robert Redford’s Turquoise Blue Suit
Robert Redford as Jack Weil in Havana (1990)
Vitals
Robert Redford as Jack Weil, smooth, cynical gambler and U.S. Navy veteran
Havana, December 1958
Film: Havana
Release Date: December 14, 1990
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Designer: Bernie Pollack
Background
Blue is one of my favorite colors to wear for spring, and Robert Redford wore a bold turquoise blue suit for a memorable sequence in Havana shortly after Redford’s character Jack Weil arrives in the titular city.
The time is December 1958, and anyone with any clue about Cuban history could tell you that that is a hell of a time to find yourself in Havana. Continue reading
Magic City: Ben the Butcher in Black
Danny Huston as Ben “the Butcher” Diamond in “…And Your Enemies Closer”, episode 2.07 of Magic City (2012-2013)
Vitals
Danny Huston as Ben “the Butcher” Diamond, sadistic and volatile Miami gangster
Miami Beach, spring 1959
Series: Magic City
Episodes:
– “Castles Made of Sand” (Episode 1.03, dir: Ed Bianchi, aired April 20, 2012)
– “Time and Tide” (Episode 1.08, dir: Ed Bianchi, aired June 1, 2012)
– “Crossroads” (Episode 2.04, dir: Ed Bianchi, aired July 12, 2013)
– “World in Changes” (Episode 2.05, dir: Simon Cellan Jones, aired July 19, 2013)
– “…And Your Enemies Closer” (Episode 2.07, dir: Simon Cellan Jones, aired August 2, 2013)
Creator: Mitch Glazer
Costume Designer: Carol Ramsey
Background
In these waning weeks of spring, some folks may be anxious to get an early start to summer fun, so light up a Habanas Partagas cigar and head for a warm weekend retreat – or at least a Sunday in the sun – in the spirit of Magic City‘s baddest antagonist. Continue reading
