Tagged: Costume Design by Dorothy Jeakins
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
The Way We Were: Robert Redford’s Navy CPO Shirt
Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardiner in The Way We Were (1973)
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Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardiner, Hollywood screenwriter and Navy veteran
Malibu, California, Fall 1947 through Spring 1948
Film: The Way We Were
Release Date: October 19, 1973
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Design: Dorothy Jeakins & Moss Mabry
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This week marks the 50th anniversary of The Way We Were, released October 19, 1973. Adapted by Arthur Laurents from his own novel of the same name, the story follows the privileged and carefree Hubbell Gardiner (Robert Redford) and politically driven Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand) through a decade of their on-and-off romance.
After a contentious and unrequited flirtation while at the same college in the late 1930s, Hubbell and Katie reunite by chance during the latter years of World War II, when Hubbell is serving in the U.S. Navy. Despite some early tumultuousness, the two gently compromise their differing personalities and enter a relationship that continues after the war and through the Red Scare of the late ’40s. The growing paranoia of McCarthyism—and Katie’s reignited activism in response—threatens their livelihood as Hubbell is working as a Hollywood screenwriter. Continue reading
Niagara: Max Showalter’s Navy Printed Camp Shirt on Honeymoon
Jean Peters and Max Showalter in Niagara (1953)
Vitals
Max Showalter as Ray Cutler, honeymooning salesman
The Canadian side of Niagara Falls, Summer 1952
Film: Niagara
Release Date: January 21, 1953
Director: Henry Hathaway
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
Background
Niagara remains one of the rare examples of colorful film noir, a seemingly oxymoronic cinematic phenomenon that had been established nearly a half-decade earlier by the great Leave Her to Heaven. Of course, many early 1950s dramas that would eventually be classified “film noir” were still being made in color, but Joseph MacDonald’s stunning Technicolor cinematography of Niagara captured the picturesque beauty of the titular falls… as well as the titillating beauty of its breakout star, Marilyn Monroe.
Niagara Falls brings honeymooning to mind, and that was exactly what had inspired producer Charles Brackett, who co-wrote the script with Richard Breen and Walter Reisch, with the latter specifically recommending that the story be a murder mystery.
Monroe stars as Rose Loomis, the seductive wife of volatile Korean War veteran George Loomis (Joseph Cotten), whose erratic depression and irritability suggest he suffers from PTSD. The troubled marriage is contrasted by the saccharine dynamic of their cheerful fellow vacationers, Polly (Jean Peters) and Ray Cutler (Max Showalter). Continue reading
Robert Redford Dressed for Tennis in The Way We Were
Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were (1973)
Vitals
Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardiner, Hollywood screenwriter
Los Angeles, September 1947
Film: The Way We Were
Release Date: October 19, 1973
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Design: Dorothy Jeakins & Moss Mabry
Background
Tomorrow will be the final day of the 2021 Wimbledon tennis championships, which—due to COVID-19—were canceled last year for the first time since World War II. In the spirit of the oldest tennis tournament in the world, I wanted to highlight the classic tennis garb worn by Robert Redford for a brief scene in The Way We Were.
More than a decade after the popular athlete Hubbell Gardiner and passionate activist Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand) kindled their mutual attraction in college, the two have reunited and have moved out to southern California, where the carefree Hubbell is all too comfortable turning his successful novel into a much tamer screenplay, aimed for mainstream audiences.
Robert Redford’s Tweed Jacket and Navy Polo in The Way We Were
Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardner in The Way We Were (1973)
Vitals
Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardiner, Hollywood screenwriter
Malibu, California, September 1947
Film: The Way We Were
Release Date: October 19, 1973
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Design: Dorothy Jeakins & Moss Mabry
Background
Don’t take any crap…to the both of us… and all the absent friends, class of ’37.
Navy pals-turned-Tinseltown teammates Hubbell (Robert Redford) and J.J. (Bradford Dillman) cynically reflect on the decade since they graduated from college together, one world war and sold-out script later.
The Yakuza: Ken Takakura in Blue Denim
Ken Takakura as Ken Tanaka in The Yakuza (1974)
Vitals
Ken Takakura as Ken Tanaka, disciplined ex-Yakuza
Kyoto, Japan, Spring 1974
Film: The Yakuza
Release Date: December 28, 1974
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
Background
Today would have been the 90th birthday of Ken Takakura, the Nakama-born actor with a record four Japan Academy Prizes for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. His presence in yakuza films through the 1960s brought him to the attention of screenwriting brothers Leonard and Paul Schrader, who wrote their action drama The Yakuza with Takakura in mind. Continue reading
The Sound of Music: Christopher Plummer’s Flap-Pocket Country Suits
Christopher Plummer as Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965)
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Christopher Plummer as Captain Georg von Trapp, widowed ex-Imperial Austro-Hungarian Navy officer
Salzburg, Austria, Spring 1938
Film: The Sound of Music
Release Date: March 2, 1965
Director: Robert Wise
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
Background
Happy birthday, Christopher Plummer! Born 91 years ago in Toronto, the distinguished actor continues to be a familiar face on screen, most recently as the doomed mystery writer at the center of Knives Out (2019). Plummer’s most recognizable performance remains arguably that of Georg von Trapp, the Austro-Hungarian patriarch whose family of young singers was depicted in The Sound of Music.
Robert Redford’s Colorful Fair Isle Sweater in The Way We Were
Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardiner in The Way We Were (1973)
Vitals
Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardiner, privileged college student
Upstate New York, Spring 1937
Film: The Way We Were
Release Date: October 19, 1973
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Design: Dorothy Jeakins & Moss Mabry
Background
Happy birthday, Robert Redford! As the actor celebrates his 84th birthday today, and college students prepare to go back to school under surreal conditions, it feels right to take another look at Redford’s style as Hubbell Gardiner, a popular and privileged scholar athlete at “Wentworth College” (filmed at Union College in Schenectady, New York.)
The Yakuza: Ken Takakura’s Navy Baracuta G9
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
Fans of ’70s action would no doubt appreciate The Yakuza, Paul Schrader’s debut screenplay, co-written with his brother Leonard Schrader based on Leonard’s own experiences in Japan. A driving factor that compelled the brothers to finish their initial script was the stoic screen presence of Ken Takakura, who appeared in the film as the ex-akuza gangster who now teaches kendo.
Ken takes up his sword as part of his giri with Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum), formerly a U.S. Marine MP who had dated Ken’s sister while serving in Tokyo during the post-WWII occupation of Japan. Loosely defined as a lifelong debt that can never truly be repaid, the giri concept is central to The Yakuza, in which Ken describes it to Harry as “the burden hardest to bear” and refuses to rid himself of his obligation even when Dusty (Richard Jordan) suggests that the nature of his debt is relatively arbitrary.
Having arrived in Japan in search of his associate’s kidnapped daughter, Harry seeks out Ken’s assistance, but the blood they spill rescuing the young woman results in Yakuza contracts placed on both Harry and Ken, a threat that can only be eliminated by Ken killing the powerful gangster Tono (Eiji Okada) with a sword. While Harry arms himself with a .45 and a double-barreled shotgun, Ken takes a katana to appropriately exact his vengeance on the dangerous crime boss.
John Wayne in True Grit
John Wayne as Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn in True Grit (1969)
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John Wayne as Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, tough Deputy U.S. Marshal
Fort Smith, Arkansas, into Indian Territory, Fall 1880
Film: True Grit
Release Date: June 12, 1969
Director: Henry Hathaway
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
Wardrobe: Luster Bayless (uncredited)
Background
To commemorate John Wayne’s birthday 113 years ago today on May 26, 1907, let’s take a look at one of Duke’s most enduring roles and the one that won him the Academy Award after more than forty years making over 200 movies.
Swiftly adapted from Charles Portis’ source novel of the same name, True Grit follows 14-year-old Mattie Ross as she seeks the help of a drunken U.S. Marshal, chosen by virtue of his reputation as the meanest marshal, to avenge the murder of her father. Continue reading
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