Tagged: Classic Hollywood
Killer’s Kiss: Jamie Smith’s Nailhead Jacket and Knitwear
Jamie Smith as Davey Gordon in Killer’s Kiss (1955)
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Jamie Smith as Davey Gordon, washed-up welterweight boxer
New York City, Fall 1954
Film: Killer’s Kiss
Release Date: October 1, 1955
Director: Stanley Kubrick
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Stanley Kubrick’s independently produced sophomore film Killer’s Kiss was released 70 years ago this fall—premiering in New York City on September 21, 1955, followed by a wider release on October 1st.
Pittsburgh-born Jamie Smith stars as burned-out ex-boxer Davey Gordon, whose growing romantic involvement with his neighbor—the alluring blonde taxi dancer Gloria Price (Chris Chase, credited as Irene Kane)—sets him dangerously at odds with her shady employer, Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera). Inventively shot and economically packaged (if somewhat underwritten) on a $75,000 budget, this tight thriller clocks in just under 70 minutes, benefiting from on-location shooting across New York from Penn Station and Times Square to the Brooklyn waterfront and “Hell’s Hundred Acres” in SoHo.
As Davey and Gloria plot their escape from the neon-lit nights of 1950s New York, the storyline and atmosphere read like a blend of Detour (1945) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957), making this little-known landmark noir an ideal starting point for Noirvember! Continue reading
Dead End: Humphrey Bogart’s Dandy Gangster Suit
Humphrey Bogart in Dead End (1937)
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Humphrey Bogart as Hugh “Baby Face” Martin, gangster
New York City, Summer 1937
Film: Dead End
Release Date: August 27, 1937
Director: William Wyler
Costume Designer: Omar Kiam
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
After his breakthrough screen role as the menacing Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest (1936), Humphrey Bogart followed it up the next year as another swaggering gangster in Dead End (1937), adapted from Sidney Kingsley’s hit play—which had premiered 90 years ago today, on October 2, 1935.
The play had run for 687 performances on Broadway, so bringing it to the screen became a passion project for producer Samuel Goldwyn and director William Wyler. Goldwyn spent a then-staggering $165,000 for the rights, bracing himself for battles with the Hays Office to keep the play’s thematic grit intact. He even hired the “Dead End Kids”, the scrappy young actors from the stage version, though their chaotic behavior on set soon had Goldwyn regretting it and he later sold their contract to Warner Brothers, where—under names like the East Side Kids and Bowery Boys—they made more than 60 films across the next two decades. Despite his dedication to replicating the realism that made the play a success, the famously fastidious Goldwyn also clashed with Wyler, who had the set decorated with actual garbage to recreate an actual slum atmosphere.
Goldwyn first hoped to cast James Cagney or George Raft as the central gangster “Baby Face” Martin, but the role ultimately went to Humphrey Bogart—already 37 years old at the time, though it still feels like watching a “young” Bogie. Continue reading
Richard Arlen’s White Suit in Island of Lost Souls
Richard Arlen in Island of Lost Souls (1932)
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Richard Arlen as Edward Parker, shipwrecked sailor
South Pacific, Summer 1932
Film: Island of Lost Souls
Release Date: December 23, 1932
Director: Erle C. Kenton
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The old maxim that a gentleman shouldn’t wear white after Labor Day has long grown outdated, but those looking for one last hurrah in summer whites can find inspiration in Erle C. Kenton’s pre-Code sci-fi/horror adventure Island of Lost Souls.
Set on the titular island (but actually filmed on Catalina), this adaptation of H.G. Wells’ 1896 novel The Island of Doctor Moreau stars Charles Laughton as the eponymous Moreau and Richard Arlen as the shipwrecked Edward Parker, who finds himself at Moreau’s mercy on the island.
The sole survivor from the sunken S.S. Lady Vain, Parker is plucked from the sea aboard the Covina, where he’s treated by the enigmatic ex-doctor Montgomery (Arthur Hohl)—who seems more in command of the ship and its strange animal cargo than the drunken Captain Davies (Stanley Fields), who grumblingly describes their mysterious destination as “Dr. Moreau’s island, and it stinks all over the whole South Seas.”
Parker soon understands this criticism firsthand after discovering that Moreau has been dissecting men and beasts and combining their DNA into grotesque hybrid creatures, snarling in response: “Now I can understand why you and your island stink from one end of the South Seas to the other!” To keep Parker distracted and further his own experimentation, Moreau introduces him to the alluring Lota (Kathleen Burke) without explaining that she is part-panther.
Born 126 years ago today on September 1, 1899 (and shockingly only two months younger than Laughton), Arlen was cast after Randolph Scott was initially considered to play Parker. One of the most prominent actors of the 1920s and ’30s, Arlen brought his experience as a Canadian Royal Flying Corps pilot to his starring role in the first-ever winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, Wings (1927). Though his stature waned in later decades, Arlen was one of the few major silent-era stars to successfully transition onto television, with guest appearances on dozens of shows until his death in March 1976. Continue reading
Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter
Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter (1955)
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Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell, self-described preacher and serial-killing swindler
West Virginia, Summer 1930
Film: The Night of the Hunter
Release Date: July 26, 1955
Director: Charles Laughton
Wardrobe Credit: Jerry Bos
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Born 108 years ago today on August 6, 1917, Robert Mitchum delivered arguably the greatest performance of his prolific career in Charles Laughton’s 1955 gothic horror masterpiece The Night of the Hunter, which premiered 70 years ago last month in Des Moines, Iowa. Laughton’s first and only directorial effort was negatively received upon its release, though decades of reassessment have elevated its reputation and it’s now included on lists among the best movies ever made. Continue reading
Summertime: Rossano Brazzi’s Glen Plaid Suit
Rossano Brazzi as Renato de Rossi in Summertime (1955)
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Rossano Brazzi as Renato de Rossi, antique store owner
Venice, Summer 1954
Film: Summertime
Release Date: June 21, 1955
Director: David Lean
Costume Designer: Rosi Gori (uncredited)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Summertime is here! And by that I mean both the fact that Friday was the summer solstice and that David Lean’s Venetian romance Summertime was released in the United States seventy years ago yesterday on June 21, 1955, nearly a month after its Venice premiere.
Like Lean’s 1940s dramas Brief Encounter and The Passionate Friends, Summertime lushly depicts the intense romance between two strangers—in this case, the American tourist Jane Hudson (Katharine Hepburn) and the dashing local antiques dealer Renato de Rossi (Rossano Brazzi), whom she meets during her long-awaited summer vacation to Venice.
Lazing across a few chairs in Piazza San Marco, Renato first observes Jane while she’s filming the square. She’s initially oblivious to his attention, then becomes uncomfortably befuddled by it and hurries out of the area. Continue reading
Niagara: Joseph Cotten in Shades of Gray
Joseph Cotten as George Loomis in Niagara (1953)
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Joseph Cotten as George Loomis, former sheep rancher and Korean War veteran
The Canadian side of Niagara Falls, Summer 1952
Film: Niagara
Release Date: January 21, 1953
Director: Henry Hathaway
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of 20th Century Fox’s biggest box-office hits of 1953, Niagara is one of the most accessible movies to be described with the seemingly oxymoronic “color noir,” blending elements of dark film noir with stunning three-strip Technicolor, photographed by cinematographer Joseph MacDonald.
The action is set at picturesque Niagara Falls—specifically on the Canadian side, though the American side became New York’s first state park 140 years ago today when Governor David B. Hill signed legislation creating the Niagara Reservation on April 30, 1885. The tradition of newlyweds journeying to Niagara Falls dates back to at least 1801, when Aaron Burr’s daughter Theodesia joined her new husband Joseph Alston at the falls.
The destination’s self-dubbed reputation as the “Honeymoon Capital of the World” inspired producer Charles Brackett, who co-wrote the script for Niagara with Richard Breen and Walter Reisch. The story centers around the honeymooning Cutlers—Ray (Max Showalter) and Polly (Jean Peters)—who arrive at the Rainbow Cabins, only to find their reserved suite still occupied by George Loomis (Joseph Cotten) and his sultry wife Rose (Marilyn Monroe), who explains to the couple that George was recently discharged from an Army mental hospital. Continue reading
Murder by Contract: Vince Edwards’ Leather Jacket
Vince Edwards in Murder by Contract (1958)
Vitals
Vince Edwards as Claude, existential contract killer
Los Angeles, Spring 1958
Film: Murder by Contract
Release Date: December 4, 1958
Director: Irving Lerner
Wardrobe Credit: Norman Martien
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Thanks to a recommendation from BAMF Style reader Jake—and the fact that it was briefly hosted on the Criterion Channel—one of my favorite “first watches” of this year has been the swift and slick 1958 film noir Murder by Contract.
Vince Edwards stars as Claude, a bored comptometer operator who capitalizes on his sociopathy to develop a profitable side hustler as a contract killer. As his reputation grows among the underworld, Claude’s mysterious boss Mr. Brink offers him $5,000 to complete the high-profile hit of a heavily guarded government witness scheduled to testify against him at an upcoming trial.
David Niven’s Blazer and Cravats in Separate Tables
David Niven in Separate Tables (1958)
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David Niven as David Angus Pollock, charming yet deceitful retired British Army officer
Bournemouth, England, Spring 1958
Film: Separate Tables
Release Date: December 18, 1958
Director: Delbert Mann
Costume Supervisor: Mary Grant
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The legendary David Niven was born 115 years ago today on March 1, 1910. Though he’d been an Academy Awards host for three different ceremonies, Niv was only once nominated—and awarded—an Oscar.
As of this date, Niven’s performance in Separate Tables remains the shortest ever to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, clocking in at just under 24 minutes of screen time. Coincidentally, he was also one of the hosts during the 31st Academy Award ceremony when he won, making him the only person to ever win an Oscar at the same ceremony he hosted. In honor of Niv’s birthday and tomorrow night’s Academy Awards ceremonies, let’s look deeper at the acclaimed actor’s Oscar-winning performance. Continue reading
Sunset Boulevard: William Holden’s New Year’s Evening Dress
William Holden and Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Vitals
William Holden as Joe Gillis, “well-known screenwriter, uranium smuggler, and Black Dahlia suspect”
Los Angeles, New Year’s Eve 1949
Film: Sunset Boulevard
Release Date: August 10, 1950
Director: Billy Wilder
Costume Designer: Edith Head
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy New Year! Billy Wilder’s iconic 1950 noir Sunset Blvd. features one of the most lavish yet depressing celebrations of this holiday, as the washed-up “silent movie queen” Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) organizes an intimate evening with her latest obsession, desperate screenwriter Joe Gillis.
“It was at her New Year’s party that I found out how she felt about me,” Joe narrates. “Maybe I’d been an idiot not to have sensed it was coming… that sad, embarrassing revelation.”
Clad in the new full evening tailcoat and white tie that Norma purchased for him, Joe strolls into Norma’s ballroom for the party… only to discover that he’s the only guest. Following an awkward tango, the two quarrel when he demands that she not fall in love with him. With less than an hour to midnight, Joe abandons the house “to be with people my own age… I had to hear somebody laugh again.” Continue reading
Kiss of Death: Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo
Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death (1947)
Vitals
Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo, psychopathic mob hitman
New York City, Spring 1947
Film: Kiss of Death
Release Date: August 13, 1947
Director: Henry Hathaway
Wardrobe Director: Charles Le Maire
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Born 110 years ago today on December 26, 1914, Richard Widmark made his explosive and Academy Award-nominated screen debut in Henry Hathaway’s 1947 noir thriller Kiss of Death, filmed on location that spring in New York City and the surrounding area. Though Hathaway had fought Darryl F. Zanuck on casting Widmark, the director and actor developed a mutual respect for the other that would lead to five additional cinematic collaborations and Widmark serving as pallbearer during Hathaway’s 1985 funeral.
After a Christmas Eve jewelry heist gone wrong, Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) shares a jail cell with the sadistic Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark), a psychopathic criminal “picked up just for shovelin’ a guy’s ears off his head…. traffic ticket stuff.” Refusing to name his accomplices, Nick is sentenced to 20 years in Sing Sing, handcuffed on the train to Tommy who remembers that it’s his birthday… making this an especially appropriate post for today!
