Tagged: Check Shirt
Desert Fury: Burt Lancaster’s Colorful Noir Cowboy Style
Burt Lancaster in Desert Fury (1947)
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Burt Lancaster as Tom Hanson, affable deputy sheriff
Nevada, Spring 1947
Film: Desert Fury
Release Date: August 15, 1947
Director: Lewis Allen
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
Born 110 years ago today on November 2, 1913, Burt Lancaster’s connection to film noir begins with his screen debut in The Killers (1946), followed by performances in Brute Force (1947), I Walk Alone (1947), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), Criss Cross (1949), and Sweet Smell of Success (1957)—to name just a few of his noir credentials.
While the existence of “color noir” may sound contradictory, there were a handful of films made during the ’40s and ’50s that have been qualified as such, including the 1947 drama Desert Fury which maintains its noir techniques and themes but with lush Technicolor cinematography as opposed to the shadowy black-and-white typically associated with the style.
Let’s kick off #Noirvember in post-World War II Nevada, where Lancaster’s friendly Tom Hanson takes a break from serving as deputy sheriff in the fictional town of Chickawalla to practice his equestrian abilities. Continue reading
Lone Starr in Spaceballs
Bill Pullman as Lone Starr in Spaceballs (1987)
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Bill Pullman as Lone Starr, cynical “hero for hire”
“Once upon a time warp… in a galaxy very, very, very, very far away…”
Film: Spaceballs
Release Date: June 24, 1987
Director: Mel Brooks
Costume Designer: Donfeld (Donald Lee Feld)
Background
Spaceballs was my first exposure to Mel Brooks, having appealed to my being a Star Wars fan through my childhood. Of course, as I was nine years old the first time I watched Spaceballs, many of the meta humor and more mature-minded jokes went straight over my head, but I still thought it was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen. More than two decades later, it’s still a fun watch, as this peerless master of modern comedy riffs on far more than just what had been my favorite sci-fi franchise.
Continuing the Star Wars parallels, Spaceballs merges Han Solo’s persona with Luke Skywalker’s folklore into one character, the swaggering space cowboy Lone Starr (Bill Pullman), traversing the galaxy in his Winnebago spaceship with his loyal half-canine sidekick Barf (John Candy).
The duo are recruited by the desperate King Roland of Druidia (Dick Van Patten) to save his daughter Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) and her gilt droid-of-honor Dot Matrix (Joan Rivers) from the clutches of the evil Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), who also turns out to be Lone Starr’s father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate. The adventure becomes a life-changing journey for Lone Starr as he learns how to harness the mysterious power of “the Schwartz”. Continue reading
The Sopranos: The Don Wearing Shorts
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 2.01: “Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist’s Office…”)
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James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob boss
North Caldwell, New Jersey, Summer 1999
Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist’s Office…” (Episode 2.01)
Air Date: January 16, 2000
Director: Allen Coulter
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
Background
“A Don doesn’t wear shorts.” Yeah, yeah, every fan of The Sopranos knows the story… but after the record-breaking heat last month, I think we can all agree that Tony Soprano would get a pash for that as we head into August.
Justified: The last time we saw Raylan Givens
Timothy Olyphant as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens on Justified (Episode 6.13: “The Promise)
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Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, old-fashioned Deputy U.S. Marshal
Miami to Lebec, California, Fall 2018
Series: Justified
Episode: “The Promise” (Episode 6.13)
Air Date: April 14, 2015
Director: Adam Arkin
Creator: Graham Yost
Costume Designer: Patia Prouty
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Raylan Givens is coming back to TV in just three days! The mini-series Justified: City Primeval will premiere on FX on Tuesday, July 18, with Timothy Olyphant reprising his extremely charismatic portrayal of the Deputy U.S. Marshal created by author Elmore Leonard.
I’m typically wary of revivals, reboots, and reunions, especially after a series finale as neatly wrapped as Justified, but I have faith in the team and the fact that it looks like the Detroit-set Justified: City Primeval will be focusing on an original story rather than revisiting the plot that had been so well-resolved in “The Promise”. Continue reading
Succession: Logan’s Navy Knit Blazer-Cardigan in “The Munsters”
Brian Cox as Logan Roy on Succession, Episode 4.01 (“The Munsters”)
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Brian Cox as Logan Roy, media mogul and domineering patriarch
New York City, Fall 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “The Munsters” (Episode 4.01)
Air Date: March 26, 2023
Director: Mark Mylod
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
Background
Succession fans welcomed the premiere of the fourth and final season on Sunday night, setting up the pieces for our final chapter with the profane and power-hungry Roy family.
As in the first episode, this installment centered around a birthday party in honor of Logan Roy (Brian Cox), the misanthropic head of the Waystar RoyCo media conglomerate. Continue reading
Michael Caine’s Thanksgiving Cardigan in Hannah and Her Sisters
Michael Caine as Elliot in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
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Michael Caine as Elliot, financial advisor
New York City, Thanksgiving 1985
Film: Hannah and Her Sisters
Release Date: February 7, 1986
Director: Woody Allen
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland
Background
Happy Thanksgiving! Hannah and Her Sisters is one of my favorite movies to keep in my Turkey Day rotation (I know, I know, Woody Allen… And no, I’m certainly not one of the Maxes in the “Woody Underground” described in Jason Diamond’s excellent recent article for his Substack, The Melt.)
Set between three Thanksgivings, the story centers on the eponymous Hannah (Mia Farrow) and those in her orbit, including her nebbish ex-husband Mickey (Allen) and her current husband Elliot (Michael Caine), a “glorified accountant” whom we meet at the outset harboring an impossible obsession with Hannah’s sister Lee (Barbara Hershey).
“God, she’s beautiful,” Elliot’s limerence-laden narration begins over Harry James’ “I’ve Heard That Song Before,” as he continues detailing his private admiration and lust for Lee while he and Hannah host their annual Thanksgiving party. Of course, he’s concerned less about the Thanksgiving turkey than at landing himself that elusive Hershey’s kiss (do you get it please?) Continue reading
The Hot Spot: Don Johnson’s Gray Linen Jacket and Studebaker
Don Johnson as Harry Madox in The Hot Spot (1990)
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Don Johnson as Harry Madox, drifter and used car salesman
Texas, Summer 1990
Film: The Hot Spot
Release Date: October 12, 1990
Director: Dennis Hopper
Costume Designer: Mary Kay Stolz
Background
I’m wrapping up this summer’s #CarWeek with the under-discussed neo-noir The Hot Spot, made among the wave of sweaty erotic crime dramas of the ’80s and ’90s exemplified by movies like Body Heat through Basic Instinct.
Don Johnson was nearing the end of his star-making tenure on Miami Vice when he was tapped for The Hot Spot‘s leading role as Harry Madox, an enigmatic drifter whose arrival in the quiet Texas berg of Landers sets forth a series of events straight out of James M. Cain or Jim Thompson’s poison pen.
The Hot Spot comes by its pulp credentials honestly, adapted from Charles Williams’ 1952 novel Hell Hath No Fury and originally intended to be adapted as a Robert Mitchum vehicle in the early ’60s. Though set in the present, The Hot Spot retains much of this retro style inspired by the era of its original conception, as seen in many of the costumes and cars, most specifically Harry’s black ’59 Studebaker Silver Hawk that he drives into town. Continue reading
Justified: Raylan’s Wool Coat and Double Denim
Timothy Olyphant as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens on Justified (Episode 6.11: “Fugitive Number One”). Photo by Prashant Gupta/FX.
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Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, old-fashioned Deputy U.S. Marshal
Harlan County, Kentucky, Spring 2010 to Fall 2014
Series: Justified
Creator: Graham Yost
Costume Designers: Ane Crabtree (Season 1) & Patia Prouty (Seasons 2-6)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Justified is one of my favorite fall shows (despite the fact that each season originally aired in the spring), and I always like to revisit the tangled, moonshine-soaked underworld of Harlan County every autumn.
The first episode established the series-long conflict between Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), who dug coal together in the mines of eastern Kentucky before their diverging career paths as Raylan rose through the ranks of the U.S. Marshals Service tracking down criminals like Boyd, who started the series as the explosives-loving leader of a gang of bank-robbing white supremacists.
Both Raylan and Boyd have frequently been the subjects of requests from fans of the series as the series costume designers neatly established each man’s signature style: Boyd, somewhat fussy for a country criminal, with his layered sport jackets, waistcoats with dangling pocket watch chains, and shirts buttoned to the neck; and Raylan, who blends old-fashioned cowboy aesthetics into his modern business apparel. Continue reading
Devil in a Blue Dress: Easy’s Champion Aircraft Jacket
Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlins in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
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Denzel Washington as Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, laid-off aircraft mechanic and World War II veteran
Los Angeles, Summer 1948
Film: Devil in a Blue Dress
Release Date: September 29, 1995
Director: Carl Franklin
Costume Designer: Sharen Davis
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Like a man told me once: you step out of your door in the morning, and you are already in trouble. The only question is are you on top of that trouble or not?
With its dark themes and moral questions, film noir emerged as a cinematic sanctum for depicting the struggles of returning World War II veterans. Movies like Crossfire (1947), Act of Violence (1948), and Thieves’ Highway (1949) showcased the psyche of servicemen who had been to hell and back, depicting them not solely as one-dimensional heroes but as three-dimensional humans whose postwar life requires them to come to terms not just with the trauma encountered overseas but also the impact of returning to a changed home. (I recommend reading more about the connection between veterans and noir in James Barber’s recent article “How the Struggles of WWII Veterans Came to Life in Film Noir” for Military.com.)
Protagonists made cynical by their experiences continued as a theme through the development of neo-noir, whether that’s J.J. Gittes trying to put Chinatown out of his mind or Easy Rawlins, whose lifetime has seen his mother’s early death, his father forced to leave, racial inequities, the scars of wartime service, and—where we find him at the start of Devil in a Blue Dress—just having lost his job at the Champion Aircraft assembly plant. Continue reading
The Shining — Jack’s Gray Tweed Interview Sport Jacket
Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in The Shining (1980)
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Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, former teacher, aspiring writer, and potential hotel caretaker
Silver Creek, Colorado, Fall 1979
Film: The Shining
Release Date: May 23, 1980
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Costume Designer: Milena Canonero
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Want to inject some Halloween spirit into your office attire this week without sending your co-workers into a panic? Take seasonal inspiration from Jack Torrance’s tweed jacket and tie as he successfully interviewed for the job of caretaker of the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining.