Tagged: Gambler
Casino – De Niro in Blue on Blue (on Blue) Silk
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Spring 1973
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
It does littleto advance the plot and it’s unnecessary to establish the traits an already well-established character, but watching Ace Rothstein’s brand of justice for two men caught cheating at blackjack under his watch in the Tangiers casino is one of the most entertaining and memorable in Casino. Continue reading
Havana – Robert Redford’s Blue Dupioni Silk Jacket
Robert Redford as Jack Weil in Havana (1990)
Vitals
Robert Redford as Jack Weil, charmingly smooth yet cynical gambler and U.S. Navy veteran of World War II
en route Havana, December 1958
Film: Havana
Release Date: December 14, 1990
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Designer: Bernie Pollack
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Robert Redford’s attire in Havana has been a frequent request on this blog, so I ordered the DVD, screencapped every outfit, researched, and have posts scheduled throughout the next year. You’re welcome!
This inaugural Havana post will focus on the first major outfit that Jack Weil (Redford) wears on screen. It appears to be his preferred travel outfit, as he wears it when ferrying to and from Havana. The film begins on Christmas Eve 1958, mid-way through the ferry’s crossing and toward the end of a poker game between Weil, the ferry captain, and several other bigwigs on board. After Cuban authorities discover a contraband Walther PPK on board, Weil claims ownership and charms bribes his way out of trouble and shrewdly blackmails the pistol’s true owner for a few extra bucks in his pocket.
Weil’s behavior is observed by the alluring Roberta Durán (Lena Olin), who recognizes a potential mercenary that will assist her husband’s revolutionary activity for a fee… and a Casablanca-inspired plot ensues as Weil’s cynical exterior is gently broken down out of romantic feelings for a woman already married to a passionate, dedicated fighter. Continue reading
Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday – Gray Western Suit
Kirk Douglas as John “Doc” Holliday in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957).
Vitals
Kirk Douglas as John “Doc” Holliday, hot-tempered gambler, gunslinger, and ex-dentist
Tombstone, AZ, October 1881
Film: Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Release Date: May 30, 1957
Director: John Sturges
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
Today would have been the 165th birthday of Doc Holliday, the irritable dentist who shot to Old West superstardom after his involvement with the Earp brothers during the infamous 1881 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, immortalized on film in the appropriately-named Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) and Tombstone (1993). Continue reading
Casino – De Niro’s Cream Fleck Jacket
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Summer 1980
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
Last week’s Mafia Monday post examined a moody but visionary Jewish mobster in the middle of the desert outside Las Vegas, and you’ll be surprised to see that I’m doing the exact same thing today.
That scene from Bugsy showed the trailblazer Benny Siegel making his mark in the so far undeveloped Las Vegas. In Casino, more than three decades later, Vegas is now a hopping nightspot whose best years are already slipping behind it. Many guys who tried to follow Bugsy’s example are now buried out in the desert where Sam Rothstein has been summoned to meet his old friend, the volatile Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci).
Normally, my prospects of coming back alive from a meeting with Nicky were 99 out of 100. But this time, when I heard him say “a couple of hundred yards down the road”, I gave myself 50-50.
Things haven’t been so great for Sam and Nicky. They were best buds coming up together “back home” but Sam embraced the analytical aspects of their criminal ventures while Nicky was all about the violence. Having heard that Sam was potentially plotting behind his back, Nicky has now called him to meet out where the heads of their predecessors are buried. Continue reading
Casino – De Niro’s Yellow Linen Jacket
Sharon Stone and Robert De Niro as Ginger and Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Los Angeles, Summer 1974
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
As the weather is warming up here in the Northern Hemisphere, folks are swapping out the heavy flannel in their closets for linen and planning their trips to sunny locales.
Sam “Ace” Rothstein and his new wife Ginger touched down in L.A. after their ill-advised wedding in Casino although it was technically more of a business trip than a vacation. This outfit, one of Ace’s loudest in the movie (and that’s saying something), is shocking in that it’s what he wears for banking… of course, when you show up with a few million dollars in cash and jewels to deposit, I would imagine no banker would judge. Continue reading
Casino – Ace’s Green Western Suit
Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone as the new Mr. and Mrs. Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Spring 1974
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
Many Americans are rocking green today for St. Patrick’s Day, so BAMF Style is taking a look at an all-green outfit sported by Robert De Niro in Casino, one of his more than four dozen costume changes.
In the context of the film timeline, De Niro’s “Ace” Rothstein isn’t buying shots of Jameson in a cheaply decorated bar or vomiting in an alleyway while a parade of leprechauns walks by; he’s taking his new wife Ginger (Sharon Stone) to their first new home after their marriage. Continue reading
Casino – De Niro’s Burnt Orange Jacket
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Fall 1980
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
I could probably dedicate an entire blog to the stellar wardrobe of Sam “Ace” Rothstein. It’s no coincidence either; clothes were very important to the real life Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, and Martin Scorsese invested at least $1 million of the film’s budget into costuming alone. Robert De Niro wore a staggering 70 different costumes over the course of the nearly three hour movie, and Casino fans know that very little of Ace’s attire can be easily found out in the real world. Continue reading
Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday – Charcoal Western Suit
Kirk Douglas as John “Doc” Holliday in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957).
Vitals
Kirk Douglas as John “Doc” Holliday, hot-tempered gambler, gunslinger, and ex-dentist
Tombstone, AZ, October 1881
Film: Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Release Date: May 30, 1957
Director: John Sturges
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
Friday’s post focused on Raylan Givens, the dark-suited U.S. Marshal who would’ve been more at home in the Old West rather than the era of cell phones, electric cars, and Bieber. In fact, Raylan would have fit in perfectly 134 years ago today as Doc Holliday joined the Earps for their long walk toward the O.K. Corral and a showdown that would engrain them in western lore.
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, as it became known, became a pop culture phenomenon almost instantly. Dime books, paintings, and sketches romanticized the showdown for half a century until 1934’s Frontier Marshal incorporated the events into it largely fictional showdown between fearless lawman Michael Wyatt (George O’Brien) and local crime boss Doc Warren. Half a dozen films and more than two decades later, filmmakers finally came close to getting the names and events straight with the 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, directed by John Sturges and starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, respectively. Continue reading
Casino – Ace’s Ivory Western Suit with Red-on-Red Silk
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Summer 1977
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
By the mid-1970s, Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal appeared to have it all. Having tried his hardest to leave his mob affiliations behind him back east, he was now running the Stardust Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas with a beautiful ex-showgirl wife and a massive wardrobe pull of bespoke suits and sport coats.
Unfortunately, his mob affiliations were chasing him to Vegas in the form of vicious Chicago enforcer Tony “the Ant” Spilotro; he still didn’t have a license to legally be managing his casino; and his troubled wife Geri was still in contact with her shitty ex, Lenny Marmor. Continue reading
The Cincinnati Kid’s Gray Tweed Sportcoat
Steve McQueen as Eric “The Kid” Stoner in The Cincinnati Kid (1965).
Vitals
Steve McQueen as Eric “the Kid” Stoner, hotshot poker player
New Orleans, Fall 1936
Film: The Cincinnati Kid
Release Date: October 15, 1965
Director: Norman Jewison
Costume Designer: Donfeld (Donald Lee Feld)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The World Series of Poker started yesterday, hosted by the Rio in Las Vegas. We already had a look at some Vegas cool with Monday’s post, so BAMF Style is gonna examine a look from one of the coolest poker movies of all time, The Cincinnati Kid.
The Cincinnati Kid was Steve McQueen’s first major starring role after kicking Nazi ass in The Great Escape two years earlier, and it also throws him back in time… to the Great Depression, in fact. McQueen plays Eric “the Kid” Stoner, a confident and talented young poker player bumming around the streets of New Orleans from one crooked card game to the next. His life is full of colorful characters including his sweet girlfriend Christian (Tuesday Weld), crooked aristocrat Mr. Slade (Rip Torn), The Kid’s ex-pro buddy “Shooter” (Karl Malden), and Shooter’s sultry wife Melba (Ann-Margret). Continue reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.