Tagged: Central California
Frank Lovejoy’s M-1941 Field Jacket in Try and Get Me!
Frank Lovejoy in Try and Get Me! (1950)
Vitals
Frank Lovejoy as Howard Tyler, unemployed family man and World War II veteran
Central California, Spring 1950
Film: Try and Get Me!
(Original title: The Sound of Fury)
Release Date: November 15, 1950
Director: Cy Endfield
Men’s Wardrobe: Robert Martien (uncredited)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In recognition of Veteran’s Day, today’s Noir-vember post focuses on one of the many films noir driven by the plight and cynicism of American servicemen in the years following World War II.
Originally released under the less lurid title The Sound of Fury, Try and Get Me! was adapted by Jo Pagano from his own 1947 novel The Condemned, which drew from the real-life 1933 lynching of two men who had confessed to kidnapping and murdering California heir Brooke Hart—the same incident which also inspired Fritz Lang’s 1936 film Fury. (For the trivia-inclined: Hart was kidnapped 92 years ago this week, on Thursday, November 9, 1933.)
The movie begins in the fictional town of Santa Sierra, California, where a seemingly innocent bowling alley conversation between the down-on-his-luck Howard Tyler (Frank Lovejoy) and gregarious fellow ex-serviceman Jerry Slocum (Lloyd Bridges) leads to the strong-willed Jerry enlisting Howard as his getaway driver for a series of holdups that escalate to a deadly kidnapping. Continue reading
Challengers: The “I TOLD YA” T-Shirt
Josh O’Connor as Patrick Zweig in Challengers (2024)
Vitals
Josh O’Connor as Patrick Zweig, professional tennis player
Stanford, California, Spring 2007 & Atlanta, Summer 2011
Film: Challengers
Release Date: April 26, 2024
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Costume Designer: Jonathan Anderson
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of the most talked-about (and memed) movies of 2024 is Challengers, directed by Luca Guadagnino who celebrates his 53rd birthday today. Challengers centers around a 13-year love triangle between three tennis players after lifelong friends Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) meet the driven star Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) during the 2006 U.S. Open. Continue reading
Cagney’s Corduroy Jacket in White Heat
James Cagney in White Heat (1949)
Vitals
James Cagney as Arthur “Cody” Jarrett, ruthless gang leader and devoted son
Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, Fall 1949
Film: White Heat
Release Date: September 2, 1949
Director: Raoul Walsh
Wardrobe Credit: Leah Rhodes
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One hundred years ago this week, brothers Ray, Roy, and Hugh DeAutremont attempted to rob a Southern Pacific Railroad “San Francisco Express” as it sped through the Siskiyou Mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Panicking when the heist didn’t go according to plan, the three brothers murdered four employees on the train and were forced to flee empty-handed. Famous forensic criminologist Edward Heinrich’s investigation eventually identified the DeAutremont brothers as the perpetrators, and the trio were captured after a four-year manhunt.
The “Siskiyou Massacre” of October 11, 1923 formed the basis for the opening scene in Raoul Walsh’s 1949 noir thriller White Heat, one of the great gangster movies of all time that returned James Cagney to the genre that made him famous. Continue reading
East of Eden: James Dean’s 1917 Sport Jacket
James Dean and Julie Harris in East of Eden (1955)
Vitals
James Dean as Caleb “Cal” Trask, angsty and entrepreneurial farmer’s son
Salinas, California, Fall 1917
Film: East of Eden
Release Date: March 9, 1955
Director: Elia Kazan
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone
Background
James Dean’s first of only three major credited screen roles also resulted in his first of two posthumous Academy Award nominations, starring as the moody Cal Trask in Elia Kazan’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden, itself a loose retelling of the story of Cain and Abel set in California’s Salinas Valley around the time of America’s entry into World War I.
Cal and his brother Aron (Richard Davalos) vie for the affections of their father Adam (Raymond Massey), a prominent farmer and draft board chairman, whom Cal hopes to impress by growing beans to raise funds that would support the family and supplant some of Adam’s own financial losses. As Cal’s success in the bean-fields grows, his competition with his brother extends to Aron’s girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris), growing closer to her after they meet up at a county fair. Continue reading