Tagged: Ankle Boots
Chalky White’s Green Tweed Suit on Boardwalk Empire
Michael K. Williams as Albert “Chalky” White on Boardwalk Empire (Episode 4.12: “Farewell Daddy Blues”)
Vitals
Michael Kenneth Williams as Albert “Chalky” White, nightclub owner and bootlegger
Atlantic City, August 1924
Series: Boardwalk Empire
Episode: “Farewell Daddy Blues” (Episode 4.12)
Air Date: November 24, 2013
Director: Tim Van Patten
Creator: Terence Winter
Costume Designer: John A. Dunn
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This weekend is St. Patrick’s Day, a time when many observe the feast day of Ireland’s foremost patron saint by donning their greenest attire and celebrating in a range of style, whether it’s the customary indulgence in classic Irish recipes like corned beef and cabbage or the more contemporary tradition of getting plastered on Jameson and taking selfies next to an artificially viridescent Chicago River.
If you’re at a loss for what to wear, you can take a page from the Chalky White playbook and borrow some green tweeds. Continue reading
The Yakuza: Ken Takakura in Gray Herringbone
Ken Takakura as Ken Tanaka in The Yakuza (1974)
Vitals
Ken Takakura as Ken Tanaka, disciplined ex-Yakuza
Tokyo, Spring 1974
Film: The Yakuza
Release Date: December 28, 1974
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
Background
The Yakuza was the first screenplay credited to either Paul Schrader or Leonard Schrader, whose experiences in Japan inspired his brother to write the story. Leonard returned to the United States, where he spend the holiday season in Venice co-writing the screenplay’s first draft with Paul, who would later famously collaborate with Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver and Raging Bull among others. While the brothers watched many yakuza films for inspiration, what impressed them the most was the stoic screen presence of Ken Takakura, the Nakama-born actor who’d made his screen debut two decades earlier.
Tony Montana’s White Suit in Scarface
Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983)
Vitals
Al Pacino as Tony Montana, impulsive and hotheaded cocaine dealer
Miami, Summer 1981
Film: Scarface
Release Date: December 9, 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris
Tailor: Tommy Velasco
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Brian de Palma’s 1983 drug epic Scarface celebrated its 35th anniversary yesterday. A remake of a 1932 gangster film that itself took inspiration from the life of Al Capone, Scarface met with negative critical reception at the time of its release though it was a box office hit and racked up Golden Globe nods for lead actors Al Pacino and Steven Bauer.
As in the 1932 version, one scene finds the rising gangster returning home to flaunt his wealth in front of his concerned mother (Míriam Colón) and his devoted sister (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). Waiting out by the car is the gangster’s flashy young pal, who catches sight of the gangster’s younger sister and is immediately smitten. Continue reading
Mogambo: Clark Gable on Safari
Clark Gable with Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly in Mogambo (1953)
Vitals
Clark Gable as Victor Marswell, big game hunter
Kenya, Summer 1952
Film: Mogambo
Release Date: October 9, 1953
Director: John Ford
Costume Designer: Helen Rose
Tailor: H. Huntsman & Sons, London
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In my home state of Pennsylvania, the Monday after Thanksgiving is considered an unofficial holiday among hunters as the opening day of the state’s firearms deer season, a day when hunters are expected to bag approximately 25% of the season’s harvest, according to the Tribune-Review.
The 1953 adventure Mogambo stars Clark Gable as a hunter on safari in Africa with his eyes on even bigger game than deer: the hearts of Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly.
Sicario – Benicio del Toro’s Beige Sport Jacket
Benicio del Toro as Alejandro in Sicario (2015)
Vitals
Benicio del Toro as Alejandro Gillick, mysterious government “advisor” and mercenary
Texas border, Summer 2014
Film: Sicario
Release Date: September 18, 2015
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Costume Designer: Renée April
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I’ve had a few recent requests to cover the outfit that Benicio del Toro wears for his introduction in the 2015 crime thriller Sicario, where his mysterious character Alejandro Gillick joins fellow U.S. Department of Defense special task force operatives Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) and Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) on a joint agency mission flight taking off from Luke Air Force Base to El Paso, though Alejandro reveals to Macer that their eventual destination is just over the border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
The Godfather, Part II: Vito’s Brown Suit for Revenge
Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II (1974)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone, née Andolini, Sicilian-born gangster
Corleone, Sicily, Summer 1922
Film: The Godfather Part II
Release Date: December 12, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today’s #MafiaMonday post explores a much requested outfit – indeed, I’ve received at least three separate asks for it in the last 12 months alone – from The Godfather, Part II, often considered one of the greatest films of all time. In a mostly Italian-speaking performance that won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Robert De Niro reprised the role of Vito Corleone that had been originated by Marlon Brando in The Godfather two years earlier.
Mogambo: Clark Gable’s Navy Polo and Khakis
Clark Gable as Victor Marswell in Mogambo (1953)
Vitals
Clark Gable as Victor Marswell, big game hunter
Kenya, Summer 1952
Film: Mogambo
Release Date: October 9, 1953
Director: John Ford
Costume Designer: Helen Rose
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Red Dust was a steamy 1932 pre-Code drama that starred Clark Gable as a rugged yet caddish outdoorsman embroiled in a love triangle with the brassy Jean Harlow and the classy Mary Astor. The film was remade two decades later with Gable reprising his similar role though, in true Hollywood fashion, the two female leads were recast with the younger Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly, respectively.
