Tagged: Cowboy Hat
Deadwood: Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bullock
Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bullock on the first season of Deadwood.
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Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bullock, taciturn Canadian-born lawman and hardware store owner
Deadwood, Summer 1876 to 1877
Series: Deadwood
Air Dates: March 21, 2004 to August 27, 2006
Creator: David Milch
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of my favorite shows of all time, Deadwood aired its final episode 20 years ago tonight on August 27, 2006, shot down in its prime by HBO before series creator David Milch could fully execute his vision. Milch micro-lensed his poetically profane reflection on civilization through the real-life settlement of Deadwood, from its rugged origins as a lawless frontier mining camp to an incorporated town in Dakota Territory within a year. While Deadwood frames its narrative with actual figures and events, the series dramatizes and fictionalizes when needed to serve the story’s greater impact.
Though arguably an ensemble series (and one of the best to do it), Deadwood‘s closest equivalent to a lead character is Timothy Olyphant’s portrayal of real-life lawman Seth Bullock. Continue reading
The Killer Inside Me: Casey Affleck as Texas Deputy Lou Ford
Casey Affleck in a promotional image for The Killer Inside Me (2010)
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Casey Affleck as Lou Ford, diabolical deputy sheriff and sadistic sociopath
West Texas, Summer 1952
Film: The Killer Inside Me
Release Date: June 18, 2010
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Costume Designer: Lynette Meyer
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The trouble with growin’ up in a small town is everybody thinks they know who you are…
…begins Casey Affleck’s narration as West Texas deputy sheriff Lou Ford in The Killer Inside Me, Michael Winterbottom’s 2010 adaptation of Jim Thompson’s 1952 novel of the same name. Ford exemplifies a favorite Thompson trope: the amoral Southern lawman who masks his murderous, psychopathic personality behind a dim, folksy exterior; imagine Barney Fife was secretly Ted Bundy, and you’ve got Thompson’s novels like The Killer Inside Me and, my personal favorite, the darkly comic Pop. 1280.
The cinematic possibilties of this rich plot naturally brought Hollywood calling, beginning with 20th Century Fox optioning The Killer Inside Me shortly after its publication with Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe to star. Despite this dream cast, setbacks kept The Killer Inside Me out of production for two decades. It finally arrived on screen in 1976, just six months before Thompson’s death, with Stacy Keach now playing Deputy Ford and the action transferred to 1970s Montana.
But Burt Kennedy’s 1976 adaptation wasn’t enough. Quentin Tarantino and Dominic Sena showed interest in directing, with rumors of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt to star. When a more faithful adaptation of The Killer Inside Me finally premirered at Sundance in January 2010, it starred Casey Affleck—born 51 years ago today on August 12, 1975—as Lou Ford. Continue reading
James Stewart’s Western Gear as The Man from Laramie
James Stewart in The Man from Laramie (1955)
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James Stewart as Will Lockhart, freight hauler and former cavalry officer
New Mexico, Late 1870s
Film: The Man from Laramie
Release Date: September 20, 1955
Director: Anthony Mann
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Since 2008, the National Day of the Cowboy has been observed on the fourth Saturday in July to recognize the spirit of the pioneering men and women who helped establish the American West. James Stewart’s homespun persona naturally lent itself to Western cinema as the actor’s prolific Western filmography includes Destry Rides Again (1939), Winchester ’73 (1950), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and John Wayne’s swan song The Shootist (1976). Among these, Stewart recalled that his favorite Western was his eighth and final collaboration with director Anthony Mann: The Man from Laramie. Continue reading
John Wayne’s Blue Cowboy Bib Shirt in The Searchers
John Wayne in The Searchers (1956)
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John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, obsessive Confederate Army veteran
West Texas and New Mexico Territory, Fall 1868 through 1873
Film: The Searchers
Release Date: May 26, 1956
Director: John Ford
Costume Designer: Charles Arrico (uncredited)
Background
Ten days after its Chicago premiere, John Ford’s Western epic The Searchers was released 70 years ago today on May 26, 1956—which coincided with its star John Wayne’s 49th birthday. Successful upon its release, The Searchers remains considered not just one of the greatest Westerns but also one of the best films of all time, influencing generations of contemporary and future filmmakers including David Lean, George Lucas, Sam Peckinpah, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Wim Wenders. Continue reading
The Wild Bunch: Ben Johnson as Tector Gorch
Ben Johnson as Tector Gorch in The Wild Bunch (1969)
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Ben Johnson as Tector Gorch, tough outlaw
Texas to Mexico, Spring 1913
Film: The Wild Bunch
Release Date: June 18, 1969
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Costume Designer: James R. Silke
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today is the 30th anniversary since the death of one of my favorite actors: Oklahoma-born cowboy, rancher, and Oscar winner Ben Johnson. The son of a rodeo champion who later won a world championship himself, Johnson’s screen cowboy credentials were bona fide. He caught the eye of director John Ford while working as a stuntman in the 1940s, swiftly translating his presence into acting.
Due to his horsemanship and manner, Johnson typically appeared in war films and westerns like 3 Godfathers (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and Shane (1953)—the latter being his last film during his brief hiatus to compete in the Rodeo Cowboys Association and be named Team Roping World Champion, which he later described as the greatest honor in his life. He was soon back on screen, eventually diversifying his roles including the sagacious “Sam the Lion” in Peter Bogdanovich’s coming-of-age drama The Last Picture Show (1971), for which he won the Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe among a host of other accolades.
Amidst this, Johnson also joined the grizzled cast of the revisionist western The Wild Bunch (1969), which starkly reimagined the romance of classic westerns through director Sam Peckinpah’s characteristically violent lens. Continue reading
Justifed: Raylan’s Grayscale Plaid Shirt and Henley in “The Collection”
Timothy Olyphant as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens on Justified (Episode 1.06: “The Collection”)
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Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, old-fashioned Deputy U.S. Marshal
Between Lexington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, Spring 2010
Series: Justified
Episode: “The Collection” (Episode 1.06)
Air Date: April 20, 2010
Director: Rod Holcomb
Creator: Graham Yost
Costume Designer: Ane Crabtree
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I’ve recently been rewatching Justified with my wife—her first time seeing the series—and it renewed my interest in how Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) dresses while both on- and off-duty working the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Debuting sixteen years ago this month in March 2010, Justified‘s first season especially blended a case-of-the-week format with the series mythology revolving around how the Givens family feud with Harlan County families like the Crowders and Bennetts translated to Raylan’s crusade against arch criminal Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) as well as his ongoing drama with his ex-wife Winona (Natalie Zea).
One of the last standalone episodes outside of this format was the sixth episode, “The Collection”, revolving around crooked Cincinnati art dealer Owen Carnes (Peter Jason), whom Raylan increasingly suspects was murdered by his wife Caryn (Katherine LaNasa), despite being reminded that murder alone doesn’t necessarily fall under the U.S. Marshals Service’s investigative purview. Continue reading
Twin Peaks: Michael Ontkean in Khakis and Fleck Jacket as Sheriff Harry Truman
Michael Ontkean as Sheriff Harry S. Truman in Twin Peaks (Episode 1.03: “Episode 2″, aka “Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer”)
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Michael Ontkean as Harry S. Truman, small-town sheriff
Twin Peaks, Washington, February and March 1989
Series: Twin Peaks (Seasons 1-2)
Air Dates: April 8, 1990 to June 10, 1991
Created by: Mark Frost & David Lynch
Costume Design: Sara Markowitz (seasons 1-2) & Patricia Norris (pilot episode only)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
For Canadian actor Michael Ontkean’s 80th birthday, today’s post continues the Twin Peaks theme started this week with series co-creator David Lynch’s appearance as FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole. Born just four days after Lynch on January 24, 1946, Ontkean rose to fame through the 1970s on the TV series The Rookies and the 1977 sports comedy Slap Shot before he took on the role of the even-tempered Sheriff Harry S. Truman—no known relation to the president of the same name, though the sheriff does hang the 33rd president’s portrait in his office. Continue reading
Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight
Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight (2015)
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Samuel L. Jackson as Maj. Marquis Warren, bounty hunter and veteran Union Army cavalry officer
Wyoming Territory, Winter 1877
Film: The Hateful Eight
Release Date: December 25, 2015
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Courtney Hoffman
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy birthday to Samuel L. Jackson! Born December 21, 1948, the actor hustled for two decades before his breakthrough performance as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction (1994), his first of six collaborations with Quentin Tarantino, and he is currently the highest-grossing actor of all time with his films having collectively grossed more than $27 billion worldwide.
The actor’s most recent prominent role in a QT joint was the wintry western The Hateful Eight, released ten years ago this month on Christmas 2015, and an appropriate watch for tonight’s winter solstice.
Jackson leads the ensemble cast as Major Marquis Warren, a former Union Army cavalry officer now working as a bounty hunter who prides himself on his deadly reputation:
My bounties never hang, ’cause I never bring ’em in alive.
Hell or High Water: Jeff Bridges’ Texas Ranger Western-wear
Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water (2016)
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Jeff Bridges as Marcus Hamilton, experienced Texas Ranger nearing retirement
West Texas, Summer 2016
Film: Hell or High Water
Release Date: August 12, 2016
Director: David Mackenzie
Costume Designer: Malgosia Turzanska
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One of the best to ever do it, Jeff Bridges turns 76 today. Born December 4, 1949, the actor was born into a family of talent including his parents Lloyd and Dorothy and older brother Beau, but he established his own path when he received his first Academy Award nomination for The Last Picture Show, released two months before his 22nd birthday. Bridges’ seventh and latest Oscar nod recognized his more grizzled, elegiac performance in the Taylor Sheridan-penned neo-Western crime thriller, Hell or High Water. Continue reading
Sam Shepard’s Denim Western-wear in Fool for Love
Sam Shepard in Fool for Love (1985)
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Sam Shepard as Eddie, rodeo stunt rider
Mojave Desert, Spring 1985
Film: Fool for Love
Release Date: December 6, 1985
Director: Robert Altman
Wardrobe Credit: Kristine Flones
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today marks eight years since the death of 10-time Obie Award-winning actor, director, and writer Sam Shepard, who died July 17, 2017 at the age of 73.
As someone who loves movies set in motels and thinks that Shepard and Harry Dean Stanton were two of the coolest guys to have walked on this planet, I had long been intrigued by Robert Altman’s 1985 adaptation of Shepard’s own play Fool for Love, starring Shepard and Stanton opposite Kim Basinger. Continue reading
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