Tagged: 1960s
Bob Dylan’s Black Leather Jacket at Newport 1965: Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown
Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (2024). Photo by Macall Polay.
Vitals
Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, folk singer-songwriter
Newport, Rhode Island, Summer 1965
Film: A Complete Unknown
Release Date: December 25, 2024
Director: James Mangold
Costume Designer: Arianne Phillips
Jacket Maker: Jimmy McBride
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Sixty years ago tonight, Bob Dylan closed out his third consecutive appearance at the annual Newport Folk Festival by taking the stage with a backing band, signaling a seismic shift in music that stunned and polarized the attendees.
The controversial Sunday night set became the climactic scene in James Mangold’s acclaimed A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as Dylan alongside Ed Norton as Pete Seeger and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. Continue reading
La Collectionneuse: Patrick Bauchau’s Slate Sweater and Swimwear
Patrick Bauchau and Haydée Politoff in La Collectionneuse (1967)
Vitals
Patrick Bauchau as Adrien, art gallery owner
French Riviera, Summer 1966
Film: The Collector
(French title: La Collectionneuse)
Release Date: March 2, 1967
Director: Éric Rohmer
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Bastille Day feels like a fitting occasion to celebrate French director Éric Rohmer’s first color film, the 1967 drama La Collectionneuse, which has recently resurfaced across summer mood boards. No surprise, given its sun-drenched palette courtesy of cinematographer Néstor Almendros, a frequent Rohmer collaborator who also shot aesthetically satisfying masterpieces like Days of Heaven.
Considered the fourth entry in Rohmer’s “Six Moral Tales”, La Collectionneuse was made with extreme efficiency while the director waited for Jean-Louis Trintignant’s availability to shoot My Night at Maud’s. Rohmer and Almendros worked with a minimal crew, relying on natural light and long takes to ground the characters in their idyllic—and quietly volatile—setting.
La Collectionneuse was also the first starring role for Belgian actor Patrick Bauchau, who had appeared uncredited in Rohmer’s La Carrière de Suzanne four years earlier and would later be known to 007 fans as the henchman Scarpine in Roger Moore’s final James Bond film, A View to a Kill. Here, he plays the narcissistic gallery owner Adrien, who intends to take advantage of the monastic conditions at his rich friend Rodolphe’s rented villa near Saint-Tropez to enjoy “a real vacation” in peace and solitude:
I even tried not to think. I was face-to-face alone with the sea, far from cruises and beaches, fulfilling a childhood dream put off year after year. I lost myself completely in the play of shadow and light, sinking into a lethargy heightened by the water. That state of passivity, of complete availability, promised to last much longer than the euphoria of one’s first summer dip into the ocean. I could easily see myself spending a whole month this summer this way.
However, this peace and solitude are threatened by the feisty young Haydée (Haydée Politoff), unexpectedly staying at the villa. Adrien and his friend Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle) are initially distrustful of the girl who brings a different lover to the villa every night, but he gradually comes to appreciate her company when she joins him on his early morning swims. Continue reading
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: Dick Shawn’s Red Dodge Dart and Beach Duds
Dick Shawn as Sylvester Marcus in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Vitals
Dick Shawn as Sylvester Marcus, impulsive lifeguard
Southern California, Summer 1962
Film: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Release Date: November 7, 1963
Director: Stanley Kramer
Costume Designer: Bill Thomas
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I like to spend a week every summer exploring the intersection of costumes and cars as they define characters on screen. For this year’s first Car Week post, I’m revisiting a sentimental favorite: the 1963 slapstick comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World with its sprawling cast of the era’s most recognizable comic actors from Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, and Buddy Hackett to Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Shawn.
The latter is introduced later in the daylong pursuit of $350,000 stashed under a “big W” by the late Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante), portraying beach lifeguard Sylvester Marcus, described by his brother-in-law J. Russell Finch (Berle) as “an irresponsible, unreliable, big loudmouth, no-good bum who, if he isn’t a crook, it’s only because he hasn’t got the brains or ambition to even become a crook.”
Finch and his wife Emeline (Dorothy Provine) are traveling with her overbearing mother, Mrs. Marcus (Ethel Merman), whose relentless nagging during their search for the buried loot finally pushes Finch over the edge. The resulting blow-up leaves Emeline and her mother to fend for themselves, but—knowing she can count on her hopelessly devoted son—Mrs. Marcus calls Sylvester to send him ahead of them to Santa Rosita to find the loot.
Unfortunately for her quick payday, Sylvester’s sole brain cell is distracted somewhere between a beer and a bikini-clad brunette. Distracted by his mother’s description of Finch’s “assault”, Sylvester leaps into action and into the brunette’s shining red Dodge Dart convertible, tearfully determined to rescue his mother and sister without actually having listened to why they called him in the first place. Continue reading
Thunderball: Rik Van Nutter’s Tropical Shirts as Felix Leiter
Rik Van Nutter as Felix Leiter in Thunderball (1965)
Vitals
Rik Van Nutter as Felix Leiter, CIA agent
Nassau, The Bahamas, Summer 1965
Film: Thunderball
Release Date: December 29, 1965
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Designer: Anthony Mendleson
Background
Just as I ended last summer by looking at one of James Bond’s aloha-wearing allies in Thunderball, let’s kick off the first weekend of summer during Thunderball‘s 60th anniversary year with Bond’s “brother from Langley” dripped out for days in the tropics. Continue reading
Don Draper’s Gray Jacket and Striped Tie for a “Zou Bisou” Birthday Surprise
Jon Hamm and Jessica Paré on Mad Men, Episode 5.01: “A Little Kiss, Part 1”. Photo by Ron Jaffe/AMC.
Vitals
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, 40-year-old remarried ad man
New York City, June 1966
Series: Mad Men
Episode: “A Little Kiss, Part 1” (Episode 5.01)
Air Date: March 25, 2012
Director: Jennifer Getzinger
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Mad Men‘s fifth season double-episode premiere “A Little Kiss” begins on Memorial Day 1966 and follows through the next weekend, when Don Draper’s new wife Megan (Jessica Paré) curiously decides to throw her husband a surprise 40th birthday party… despite knowing literally anything about him. Continue reading
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan: Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown
Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro in A Complete Unknown (2024). Photo by Macall Polay.
Vitals
Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, folk singer-songwriter
New York City and Monterey, California, Spring to Summer 1963
Film: A Complete Unknown
Release Date: December 25, 2024
Director: James Mangold
Costume Designer: Arianne Phillips
Jacket Maker: Jimmy McBride
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 84th birthday, Bob Dylan! Born as Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, the iconoclastic musician’s early career was recently depicted in James Mangold’s biopic A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet. Chalamet’s extensive work to achieve Dylan’s distinctive voice, mannerisms, and playing style resulted in a characteristically dedicated performance that earned the actor his second Academy Award nomination—one of eight total for the film, including Best Picture.
A Complete Unknown begins in early 1961 when the young Minnesota-born troubadour arrives in New York City, seeking out his ailing idol Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy). As Dylan’s star power evolves among the Greenwich Village folk scene, so do his tumultuous relationships and friendships with contemporaries like Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), and Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook)—who had previously been the subject of the Mangold-directed 2005 biopic Walk the Line starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Adapted from Elijah Wald’s nonfiction volume Dylan Goes Electric!, the film spans these four crucial years of Dylan’s early career leading up to his controversial performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, fifty years ago this summer.
Dylan’s primary motivation through A Complete Unknown is presented as total musical freedom, often at the cost of public popularity or traditional friendships. Baez and other characters bemoan their struggle to know Dylan on a deeper level; indeed, some reviewers even cited this as a flaw of the film—however, I see it as part of its overall thesis: even after a career of 60+ years and hundreds of compositions and recordings, Dylan remains the titular “complete unknown”, to borrow a lyrics from his 1965 hit “Like a Rolling Stone”. The only human connection that never frustrates the cinematic Dylan is his bond with Woody Guthrie, centered purely around music—and no doubt helped by the fact that Woody’s medical condition has rendered him all but mute, never asking Dylan anything about himself that he doesn’t want to answer.
After his self-titled first album is comprised primarily of cover songs, Dylan embraces the opportunity to make a stronger musical signature by recording more original tracks on his follow-up record, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. A Complete Unknown very briefly depicts CBS staff photographer Don Hunstein’s cover photo shoot on the streets of Greenwich Village in February 1963, with a casually dressed Dylan and his then-girlfriend, Suze Rotolo—renamed at Dylan’s own request to “Sylvie Russo” (Elle Fanning) for the screen, citing that the late Ms. Rotolo was one of the few people in his life who never sought fame.
“It is one of those cultural markers that influenced the look of album covers precisely because of its casual down-home spontaneity and sensibility,” Rotolo wrote in her memoir, A Freewheelin’ Time. “Most albums were carefully staged and controlled, to terrific effect on the Blue Note jazz album covers… and to not-so-great effect on the perfectly posed and clean-cut pop and folks albums. Whoever was responsible for choosing that particular photograph for The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan really had an eye for a new look.”
Denzel Washington as Malcolm X: Gray Suit and Astrakhan Hat for the Finale
Denzel Washington in Malcolm X (1992)
Vitals
Denzel Washington as Malcolm X, revolutionary minister and civil rights activist
New York City, February 1965
Film: Malcolm X
Release Date: November 18, 1992
Director: Spike Lee
Costume Designer: Ruth E. Carter
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Malcolm X was born 100 years ago today on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. A charismatic and complex voice in the civil rights movement, he became the subject of Malcolm X, Spike Lee’s sweeping 1992 biopic starring Denzel Washington in the title role.
Washington had first portrayed Malcolm a decade earlier in Laurence Holder’s one-act play When the Chickens Come Home to Roost was always Lee’s top choice for the film. His performance earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor—one of two Oscar nominations for Malcolm X, the other recognizing Ruth E. Carter’s striking costume design. Continue reading
Rosemary’s Baby: John Cassavetes’ Light Blue Summer Sport Jacket
John Cassavetes and Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby (1968). Photo by Paul Slade.
Vitals
John Cassavetes as Guy Woodhouse, ambitious actor
New York City, Summer 1965
Film: Rosemary’s Baby
Release Date: June 12, 1968
Director: Roman Polanski
Costume Designer: Anthea Sylbert
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy Mother’s Day! In honor of one of cinema’s most infamous pregnancies, today’s post looks at the enduring style of Rosemary’s Baby—Roman Polanski’s 1968 adaptation of Ira Levin’s best-selling horror novel, which had been published less than six months before filming began.
Though the film’s fashion legacy largely belongs to Mia Farrow’s iconic pixie cut and stylish wardrobe as the titular Rosemary Woodhouse, her on-screen husband Guy—a struggling actor played by John Cassavetes—also exhibits a sharp and understated sense of style. Continue reading
Ten Little Indians: Hugh O’Brian’s Three-Piece Tuxedo as Lombard
Hugh O’Brian in Ten Little Indians (1965)
Vitals
Hugh O’Brian as Hugh Lombard, romantic adventurer
Austrian Alps, Winter 1965
Film: Ten Little Indians
Release Date: September 10, 1965
Director: George Pollock
Wardrobe Credit: John McCorry
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
American movie and TV actor Hugh O’Brian was born 100 years ago today on April 19, 1925.
During World War II, the teenage Hugh Krampe followed his father’s footsteps and joined the U.S. Marine Corps, becoming the youngest drill instructor in the branch’s history. While a young recruit at Camp Pendleton, Hugh participated in a boxing match refereed by none other than John Wayne, who was shooting a film nearby. More than three decades later, the two actors’ paths would cross again when Hugh appeared in Duke’s final film, The Shootist (1976), portraying the last character that John Wayne would shoot on screen.
After his discharge from the Marines, Sgt. Krampe embarked on an acting career initially marred by misspellings. When a program incorrectly spelled his name as “Hugh Krape”, the young actor decided to avoid even more embarrassing clerical errors and took his mother’s maiden name O’Brien as his last name; when even this was misspelled as “O’Brian”, the re-christened actor shrugged and stuck with it. It was thus as Hugh O’Brian that he rose to fame portraying the title character in 229 episodes of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp on ABC, establishing himself as a strapping and charismatic leading man.
O’Brian was a substantial enough star by the mid-1960s to command the “Tony Danza treatment” when he was cast in British filmmaker Harry Alan Towers’ first of three increasingly ill-advised adaptations of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery novel And Then There Were None; Christie had named one of the ten strangers Philip Lombard, though O’Brian’s casting evidently prompted someone to rechristen the character as Hugh Lombard. Continue reading
In the Mood for Love: Tony Leung’s Gray Silk Suit
Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love (2000)
Vitals
Tony Leung as Chow Mo-wan, sensitive journalist
Hong Kong, Spring 1962
Film: In the Mood for Love
(Chinese title: 花樣年華)
Release Date: September 29, 2000
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Costume Designer: William Chang
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Valentine’s Day feels like the appropriate time to discuss In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar-wai’s lush and compelling exploration of loneliness, loss, and love set in Hong Kong’s Shanghainese community in 1962. Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung), live with their respective spouses in neighboring apartments but each often find themselves alone in their rooms, venturing out only for noodles from a street stall where they occasionally make contact. As the two connect over their oft-absent spouses, Chow and Su slowly come to the realization that his wife and her husband are engaged in an affair. Continue reading
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