Tagged: Fall
Against All Odds: Jeff Bridges’ White Shirt and OG-507 Trousers
Jeff Bridges in Against All Odds (1984)
Vitals
Jeff Bridges as Terry Brogan, recently cut football player
Cozumel, Mexico, Fall 1983
Film: Against All Odds
Release Date: March 2, 1984
Director: Taylor Hackford
Costume Designer: Michael Kaplan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
A loose remake of Jacques Tourneur’s seminal 1947 noir Out of the Past, Against All Odds recasts the typical private eye as Terry Brogan (Jeff Bridges), a pro football player sidelined after a career-ending shoulder injury. Cut from the fictional Los Angeles Outlaws, Terry turns to his shady bookie friend Jake Wise (James Woods), who offers him a job finding his missing girlfriend Jessie (Rachel Ward)—who also happens to be the daughter of the Outlaws’ owner.
Terry’s search leads him to Cozumel, a sun-drenched island off the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, where Jessie invites him to her secluded tropical refuge. There, amid the crashing surf and flowing tequila, the two plunge headlong into a dangerous affair. Continue reading
Night Moves: Gene Hackman’s Blue Lacoste Shirt
Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby in Night Moves (1975)
Vitals
Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby, private detective and former professional football player
Florida Keys, Fall 1973
Film: Night Moves
Release Date: June 11, 1975
Director: Arthur Penn
Costumer: Arnie Lipin
Costume Supervisor: Rita Riggs
Background
I love sweaty ’70s movies during the summer, especially when our star is rocking a superb soup-strainer.
Released 50 years ago in June 1975, the dolorous detective thriller Night Moves features the marvelous mustached private eye Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman) dressed in array of casual attire, from super-trendy safari shirts and suede shirt-jacs to more timeless attire like a smart tweed sports coat and a classic Lacoste tennis shirt to beat the heat when his work takes him to the Florida Keys. Continue reading
Terence Stamp’s Dark Plaid Suit in The Limey
Terence Stamp as Wilson in The Limey (1999)
Vitals
Terence Stamp as David Wilson, hardened English professional criminal
Los Angeles to Big Sur, California, Fall 1998
Film: The Limey
Release Date: October 8, 1999
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One week ago today, British screen icon Terence Stamp died at the age of 87, following a six-decade career that began with his Oscar-nominated titular performance in Billy Budd (1962) and roles in the Superman and Star Wars franchises.
Steven Soderbergh’s offbeat crime caper The Limey (1999) provided the rare late-career starring role for the sixtysomething Stamp, starring as the laconic English criminal Wilson who arrives in Los Angeles seeking answers—and revenge—after his actress daughter Jenny’s death in a mysterious car accident. Continue reading
The Two Jakes: Jack Nicholson’s Gray Donegal Tweed Jacket
Jack Nicholson as J.J. Gittes in The Two Jakes (1990)
Vitals
Jack Nicholson as J.J. “Jake” Gittes, world-weary private investigator and ex-policeman
Los Angeles, Fall 1948
Film: The Two Jakes
Release Date: August 10, 1990
Director: Jack Nicholson
Costume Designer: Wayne A. Finkelman
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I had only just turned one when The Two Jakes was released 35 years ago today on August 10, 1990, so I can’t say whether anyone was really asking for a sequel to Roman Polanski’s 1974 neo-noir masterpiece Chinatown. What I can say is that there’s been surprisingly steady interest from BAMF Style readers in how Jack Nicholson’s wardrobe evolved from Anthea Sylbert’s Oscar-nominated designs for the 1930s-set Chinatown to suit the sequel’s setting in the fall of 1948. Continue reading
One Way Passage: William Powell’s Shipboard Flannel Suit
William Powell in One Way Passage (1932)
Vitals
William Powell as Dan Hardesty, recaptured death row fugitive
Hong Kong to San Francisco, via Honolulu, Fall 1932
Film: One Way Passage
Release Date: October 22, 1932
Director: Tay Garnett
Costume Designer: Orry-Kelly (gowns)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On the anniversary of William Powell’s July 29, 1892, birthday, let’s look at how the dashing actor brought his marvelous sense of style to the screen in the last of his six major films opposite Kay Francis, the pre-Code drama One Way Passage.
Crafted from a story by Robert Lord, who won the Academy Award for Best Story, One Way Passage stars Powell and Francis as Dan Hardesty and Joan Ames, star-crossed lovers who meet over Paradise cocktails at the International Bar in Hong Kong. Shortly after, they reconnect aboard the S.S. Maloa steaming across the Pacific to San Francisco. Continue reading
Blood Simple: Dan Hedaya’s Slate Leisure Suit
Dan Hedaya in Blood Simple (1984)
Vitals
Dan Hedaya as Julian Marty, surly bar owner
Texas, Fall 1982
Film: Blood Simple
Release Date: January 18, 1985
Director: Joel & Ethan Coen
Costume Designer: Sara Medina-Pape
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In honor of Dan Hedaya’s 85th birthday—born July 24, 1940—it’s worth revisiting one of the most memorable early showcases for his talents: the Coen brothers’ 1984 feature debut, Blood Simple. With a screen career stretching back to 1970, Hedaya has long been one of cinema’s most welcome character actors, equally at home playing sleazeballs and softies—from Carla Tortelli’s scummy ex-husband Nick on Cheers to Cher Horowitz’s gruff but loving dad in Clueless.
In Blood Simple, Hedaya takes on one of his most tragic and pathetic roles as Julian Marty, the cuckolded Texas bar owner whose simmering jealousy leads him to hire crooked private detective Loren Visser (a sweaty, unforgettable M. Emmet Walsh) to trail his wife Abby (Frances McDormand, also making her screen debut). Continue reading
Back to the Future: Marty McFly’s Denim and DeLorean from 1985 to 1955
Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985)
Vitals
Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, time-traveling high schooler and guitarist
Hill Valley, California, Fall 1985—then 1955
Film: Back to the Future
Release Date: July 3, 1985
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
If my calculations are correct… anyone with a functioning DeLorean time machine who punches in July 3, 1985 and floors it to 88 mph would indeed see some serious shit—the release of Back to the Future, which premiered 40 years ago today.
One of the most celebrated movies of all time (and featuring the now-iconic DeLorean very appropriate for Car Week), Back to the Future became an instant cultural phenomenon upon release. It earned an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing, grossed over $380 million worldwide to become the top-earning movie of 1985, and propelled the careers of director and co-writer Robert Zemeckis (then riding high off Romancing the Stone) and star Michael J. Fox (best known at the time for playing Reaganite teen Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties), who replaced Eric Stoltz in the now-iconic role of Marty McFly. Continue reading
Night Moves: Gene Hackman’s Ivory Levi’s Shirt-Jacket
Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby in Night Moves (1975)
Vitals
Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby, private detective and former professional football player
Florida Keys, Fall 1973
Film: Night Moves
Release Date: June 11, 1975
Director: Arthur Penn
Costumer: Arnie Lipin
Costume Supervisor: Rita Riggs
Background
Arthur Penn’s neo-noir Night Moves premiered 50 years ago today on June 11, 1975, starring the late Gene Hackman as football pro-turned-private eye Harry Moseby, one of the most effective roles in demonstrating Hackman’s talent for balancing traditional masculinity with emotional depth and vulnerability.
Harry was recently hired by a washed-up Hollywood starlet to find her 16-year-old daughter Delly (Melanie Griffith), whom he eventually traces to the Florida Keys, where she’s living with her stepfather Tom (John Crawford) and his girlfriend Paula (Jennifer Warren) who eventually spends a night with Harry before he returns to L.A.
After a simple runaway case twists into murky layers of smuggling, betrayal, incest, and an increasing body count, Harry takes a late TWA flight back to the Keys—to the resigned dismay of his estranged wife Ellen (Susan Clark). Continue reading
Sweet Smell of Success – Tony Curtis’ Dark Pinstripe Suit
Tony Curtis as Sidney Falco in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Vitals
Tony Curtis as Sidney Falco, unscrupulous publicity agent
New York City, Fall 1956
Film: Sweet Smell of Success
Release Date: June 27, 1957
Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Costume Designer: Mary Grant
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today would have been the 100th birthday of prolific actor Tony Curtis.
Born Bernard Schwartz in East Harlem on June 3, 1925, Curtis was inspired by war movies made by his screen heroes Cary Grant and Tyrone Power to join the U.S. Navy, serving aboard a submarine in the Asiatic Fleet through the end of World War II.
Arriving in Hollywood after the war, the rechristened “Anthony Curtis” grew his fandom after memorable bit parts in Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949) and Winchester ’73 (1950). His career grew to being one of the biggest stars of the ’50s, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in The Defiant Ones (1958) and iconic cross-dressing role in Some Like It Hot (1959).
While the latter is one of my favorite movies, my favorite Tony Curtis performance is the shameless Sidney Falco in Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Alexander Mackendrick’s slick and satirical film noir featuring the whip-fast dialogue of Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman’s screenplay and James Wong Howe’s atmospheric cinematography of New York City during the fabulous fifties. Curtis taps his inner Gemini to convincingly portray all aspects of Falco’s cutthroat ambition, from the wily Manhattan publicist to the subservient PR flack desperate to please the powerful columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster).
Near Dark: Bill Paxton as a Vampire Biker
Bill Paxton in Near Dark (1987)
Vitals
Bill Paxton as Severen, vampire biker
Oklahoma to Kansas, Fall 1986
Film: Near Dark
Release Date: October 2, 1987
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Costume Designer: Joseph A. Porro
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today would’ve been the 70th birthday of Bill Paxton, born May 17, 1955. After his uncredited screen debut in Jonathan Demme’s period crime flick Crazy Mama (1975), Paxton emerged as one of director James Cameron’s favorite supporting players through the 1980s and ’90s as seen in The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), True Lies (1994), and Titanic (1997).
Amidst these, Paxton also appeared as the memorably psychotic vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow’s solo directorial debut, the 1987 neo-Western horror film Near Dark. Despite an underwhelming initial box office performance, many contemporary critics praised the film—specifically Paxton’s “exceptional [performance]… as the undead sex symbol,” according to Jay Scott for The Globe and Mail. Near Dark has continued growing a cult following in the decades since its release. Continue reading
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