Tagged: Desert Boots
Q’s Tropical Style in Thunderball
Desmond Llewelyn as “Q” in Thunderball (1965)
Vitals
Desmond Llewelyn as “Q”, MI6’s trusted quartermaster and gadgeteer
Nassau, Summer 1965
Film: Thunderball
Release Date: December 29, 1965
Director: Terence Young
Wardrobe Designer: Anthony Mendleson
Background
Welsh actor Desmond Llewelyn, best known for his portrayal of the steadfast “Q” in 17 James Bond films over 36 years, was born 110 years ago today on September 12, 1914. Llewelyn may have been destined to be indelibly intertwined with James Bond’s world of gadgetry, as his father purchased the first production Bentley in 1921, decades before Ian Fleming assigned agent 007 a Bentley 4½ Litre in his early novels.
After serving in the Royal Welch Fusiliers during World War II, Llewelyn resumed his acting career, which consisted largely of uncredited bit parts in films such as Hamlet (1948) and A Night to Remember (1958). His big break came when director Terence Young invited him to audition for the role of MI6’s equipment officer in the second Bond film, From Russia With Love (1963). Both Young and Fleming envisioned the character of Major Boothroyd—named after firearms expert Geoffrey Boothroyd—with a Welsh accent, although Llewelyn believed the character should speak with the upper-class accent that he ultimately adopted for the role. Although the name Boothroyd was occasionally referenced (most notably in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977), the character became widely known as “Q,” a nod to his title as quartermaster and head of MI6’s “Q branch.”
Llewelyn returned for Goldfinger (1964), where he and Sean Connery established Bond and Q’s signature relationship, marked by affectionately antagonistic banter during the now-iconic scenes where Q introduces Bond to his latest innovative gadgets—often destined for considerable abuse. This playful dynamic continued in Thunderball (1965), during a memorable scene where a tropically dressed Q arrives in the Bahamas to equip his most troublesome agent with a selection of pocket-sized gadgets… provided Bond has a convenient pocket, of course. Continue reading
Two for the Road: Albert Finney’s Cream Trucker Jacket and Jeans
Albert Finney in Two for the Road (1967)
Vitals
Albert Finney as Mark Wallace, young architect and amateur photographer
Northern France, Spring 1954
Film: Two for the Road
Release Date: April 27, 1967
Director: Stanley Donen
Wardrobe Coordinator: Sophie Issartel-Richas
Albert Finney’s Clothes: Hardy Amies
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Born 88 years ago today on May 9, 1936, the late, great Albert Finney’s prolific stage and screen career spanned six decades from his 1956 stage debut in Henry V to his final screen appearance as the grizzled Scottish groundskeeper Kincade in Daniel Craig’s 2012 James Bond adventure Skyfall.
The 1967 romantic road comedy Two for the Road presented one of Finney’s most stylish performances—appropriate for starring as the romantic lead opposite Audrey Hepburn. The story chronicles the 12-year relationship between the English couple Mark and Joanna Wallace through a series of trips taken together through northern France, including the first trip when they meet on the ferry from England to Dieppe. Continue reading
Lassiter: Tom Selleck’s Herringbone Blouson
Tom Selleck in Lassiter (1984)
Vitals
Tom Selleck as Nick Lassiter, debonair jewel thief
London, June 1939
Film: Lassiter
Release Date: February 17, 1984
Director: Roger Young
Costume Designer: Barbara Lane
Background
Released 40 years ago today, Lassiter was one of a pair of back-to-back period-set adventure films in which Tom Selleck starred at the height of his stardom on Magnum, P.I.
Perhaps Selleck was looking to make up for the missed opportunity when his commitment to Magnum, P.I. forced him to turn down the chance to be Indiana Jones before the role went to Harrison Ford, as both High Road to China (a 1920s-set aviation adventure) and Lassiter (set on the eve of World War II) echo the roguish yet risk-averse hero epitomized by Dr. Jones.
Lassiter centers around the titular Nick Lassiter, an American “gentleman thief” living the high life in London in June 1939. A joint task force led by Scotland Yard and the FBI recruit Lassiter to locate and steal a cache of $10 million in diamonds that the Nazis intend to sell to support their espionage efforts and plans for war. Of course, perhaps suspecting that law enforcement has additional plans for him after he’s served his purpose for them, Lassiter arranges a few twists of his own—including a gambit right out of The Sting. Continue reading
Ethan Hawke in Before Sunset
Ethan Hawke as Jesse in Before Sunset (2004)
Vitals
Ethan Hawke as Jesse Wallace, bestselling author
Paris, Summer 2003
Film: Before Sunset
Release Date: July 2, 2004
Director: Richard Linklater
Costume Designer: Thierry Delettre
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Continuing the romantic themes after Valentine’s Day, today’s post reviews Ethan Hawke’s style in Before Sunset, Richard Linklater’s 2004 follow-up to Before Sunrise (1995) that premiered at the 54th Berlin International Film Festival (BIFF) 20 years ago this week on February 10, 2004.
Before Sunset reteamed Hawke with Julie Delpy as Jesse and Céline, set nearly a decade after the two had spent an evening wandering Vienna, planning to meet again in six months. Continue reading
Terry-Thomas in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Terry-Thomas as J. Algernon Hawthorne in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Vitals
Terry-Thomas as J. Algernon Hawthorne, British Army officer and rare plant collector
Southern California, Summer 1962
Film: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Release Date: November 7, 1963
Director: Stanley Kramer
Costume Designer: Bill Thomas
Background
Today wraps up Car Week and a mini-celebration of the 60th anniversary year of the star-studded madcap road comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, following on Wednesday’s post by commemorating yet another star’s birthday. Although many sources list July 10 as his birthday, Terry-Thomas himself listed July 14, 1911 as his birthday in his autobiographies, so we’ll celebrate the famously gap-toothed English character actor today by way of his Jeep-driving Lieutenant Colonel J. Algernon Hawthorne. Continue reading
Jimmy Stewart in The Flight of the Phoenix
James Stewart as Frank Towns in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
Vitals
James Stewart as Frank Towns, experienced cargo pilot and war veteran
Libyan desert, Spring 1965
Film: The Flight of the Phoenix
Release Date: December 15, 1965
Director: Robert Aldrich
Costume Designer: Norma Koch
Background
James Maitland Stewart had to fly. His earliest memories of flight involved colorful covers of Literary Digest depicting the Great War, then in progress, and the incredible use of air power by both sides. Jim tacked up each magazine cover on the wall in his bedroom. “Airplanes were the last thing I thought of every night and the first thing I thought of every morning,” he would say as an adult.
— Robert Matzen, Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe, Chapter 1
Born 115 years ago today on May 20, 1908, Jimmy Stewart had a lifelong passion for flight that followed him through his career, from the model airplane he lovingly constructed with Henry Fonda during their salad days on Broadway through his celebrated service flying dangerous combat missions as a U.S. Army Air Forces officer during World War II. Reticent to discuss his service after the war, Stewart flew B-24 Liberators on 20 combat missions over Europe and, by war’s end, was one of only a handful of Americans to rise from the rank of private to colonel in only four years.
Aviation continued to be a theme of Stewart’s life during his postwar film career, often starring in flight-themed dramas like No Highway in the Sky (1951), The Glenn Miller Story (1954), Strategic Air Command (1955), and The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), playing famed aviator Charles Lindbergh.
One of the last—and perhaps best—of Stewart’s aviation-centered films is The Flight of the Phoenix, Robert Aldrich’s 1965 survival drama based on Elleston Trevor’s novel of the same name. Stewart plays civilian cargo pilot Frank Towns, described by his navigator Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough) as “one of the few really great pilots left in this push-button world of yours.” Continue reading
Bugsy’s Houndstooth Sports Coat
Warren Beatty as Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel in Bugsy (1991)
Vitals
Warren Beatty as Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, “celebrity” gangster and casino builder
Los Angeles, Spring 1945 and Las Vegas, Fall 1946
Film: Bugsy
Release Date: December 13, 1991
Director: Barry Levinson
Costume Designer: Albert Wolsky
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Everybody deserves a fresh start once in a while.
At least three times while wearing this outfit alone, Warren Beatty’s Bugsy Siegel pontificates on the power of fresh starts. While the real Siegel may not have been quite as forgiving, Beatty plays him with the actor’s characteristic charisma to better communicate to audiences how a violent gangster could have charmed the stars of “golden age” Hollywood.
New Girl – Nick’s Holiday Party Tweed for “The 23rd”
Jake Johnson as Nick Miller on New Girl (Episode 1.09: “The 23rd”)
Vitals
Jake Johnson as Nick Miller, grumpy bartender
Los Angeles, December 23, 2010 (“Christmas Eve Eve“)
Series: New Girl
Episode: “The 23rd” (Episode 1.09)
Air Date: December 13, 2011
Director: Jason Winer
Creator: Elizabeth Meriwether
Costume Designer: Debra McGuire
Background
Nick: All dressed up. What, are you in The Temptations tonight?
Winston: That’s so cute, Nick, you’re intimidated by my style. But one of us is walking out of here with a job.
Nick Miller is easily the least fashion-conscious of the dwellers of the 4D loft. Between Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris) with his colorful printed “bird shirts” to the materialistic Schmidt (Max Greenfield), who is obsessive about his tailoring and whose heart could be won over by a pair of gray Calvin Klein slacks, Nick is the most content to roll out of bed in a stained henley shirt and unwashed sweatpants before heading straight to work at his bar. Continue reading
Bugsy’s Checked Jacket and Mint Green Shirt
Warren Beatty as Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel in Bugsy (1991)
Vitals
Warren Beatty as Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, “celebrity” gangster and casino builder
Los Angeles, Spring 1945
Film: Bugsy
Release Date: December 13, 1991
Director: Barry Levinson
Costume Designer: Albert Wolsky
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
BAMF Style goes green for the first #MafiaMonday after St. Patrick’s Day!
We catch up with Ben “don’t-call-him-Bugsy” Siegel in the middle of realizing his dream – the Flamingo Hotel and Casino and, by extension, Las Vegas. Continue reading
The Rum Diary: Gabardine Windbreaker and Chinos
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp in The Rum Diary (2011)
Vitals
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp, expatriate American journalist
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Summer 1960
Film: The Rum Diary
Release Date: October 28, 2011
Director: Bruce Robinson
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood
Background
“In summary, this airman, although talented, will not be guided by policy,” heralded Hunter S. Thompson’s honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force in November 1957, a considerable understatement given the iconic writer’s eventual symbolic anti-authoritarian status.
Following his discharge, Thompson tried a few journalistic stints in New York but was fired by Time (for insubordination) and the Middletown Daily Record (for damaging a candy machine) and moved to Puerto Rico in 1960.
Having failed to procure a position with the San Juan Star, Thompson wrote for the El Sportivo sporting magazine… though it folded quickly after his arrival. His experiences in San Juan formed the basis of The Rum Diary, a novel that he penned shortly after his return to the U.S. the following year, although it wasn’t published for more than three decades.
While it would be inaccurate to describe The Rum Diary as a strict roman à clef, its morose, restless narrator Paul Kemp is clearly modeled on Thompson himself, and Thompson’s friend Johnny Depp was naturally tapped to play the role in the film adaptation. Continue reading
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