Tagged: Gun
Manhunter: William Petersen’s Dark Sport Jackets as Will Graham
William Petersen as Will Graham in Manhunter (1986)
Vitals
William Petersen as Will Graham, tortured FBI criminal profiler
Across the United States, Fall 1986
Film: Manhunter
Release Date: August 15, 1986
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
While the Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs is a deservedly great movie that brought Thomas Harris’ fictional killer psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter to widespread public attention, the cannibalistic murderer had actually made his cinematic debut a half-decade earlier when Brian Cox portrayed the renamed Dr. Lecktor in Manhunter. Adapted by writer/director Michael Mann from Harris’ 1981 novel Red Dragon (with its title changed by producer Dino De Laurentiis), Manhunter was released 40 years ago this week on August 15, 1986.
Cox starred opposite William Petersen as FBI agent Will Graham, establishing the characters’ antagonistically layered screen dynamic that would be repeated in the 2002 remake Red Dragon and the NBC TV adaptation Hannibal. 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)
Vitals
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)
Vitals
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
Passenger 57: Wesley Snipes’ Biker Jacket with Layered Shirts and Jeans
Wesley Snipes as John Cutter in Passenger 57 (1992)
Vitals
Wesley Snipes as John Cutter, airline security chief and ex-Secret Service agent
In flight from Miami to Los Angeles, Spring 1992
Film: Passenger 57
Release Date: November 6, 1992
Director: Kevin Hooks
Costume Designer: Brad R. Loman
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, sometimes there’s nothing more necessary than to sit back and turn off your brain to watch a pleasantly absurd ’90s action movie. Luckily for us, Kevin Hooks directed the 1992 action thriller Passenger 57—its title literally inspired after writer Stewart Raffill spied a bottle of Heinz ketchup.
Wesley Snipes stars as John Cutter, a former* Secret Service agent whose stalwart reputation has followed him into his latest career as an airline security consultant, training flight attendants like Marti Slayton (Alex Datcher) how to handle hijacking scenarios. After his pal Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore) helps Cutter secure an executive position as the vice president of security for the fictional Atlantic International Airlines, Cutter boards Atlantic Flight 163… the same flight on which FBI agents are escorting the dangerous international criminal Charles Rane (Bruce Payne)—who is not insane—back to California to face trial.
With his history of commercial airline bombings that makes us—and Delvecchio—wonder why the feds would choose this particular method of transportation, “the Rane of terror” has more explosive ideas for securing his freedom, which becomes an unfortunate situation for his fellow passengers—all except passenger #57, who happens to be the nation’s foremost expert in combating air terrorism. Continue reading
John Wayne’s Blue Cowboy Bib Shirt in The Searchers
John Wayne in The Searchers (1956)
Vitals
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
Sterling Hayden’s Four-Pocket Sport Jackets in The Killing
Sterling Hayden in The Killing (1956)
Vitals
Sterling Hayden as Johnny Clay, professional armed robber and ex-convict
Los Angeles, Fall 1955
Film: The Killing
Release Date: May 19, 1956
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Wardrobe Credit: Jack Masters
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Stanley Kubrick’s third directorial feature The Killing arrived in select theaters 70 years ago today on May 19, 1956. The limited release hurt its box office, though it was well-received by critics and even received a BAFTA nomination for Best Film. In addition to establishing Kubrick as a more mainstream talent, it remains a quintessential example of heist film noir, influencing filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino who described his own debut Reservoir Dogs as his own take on The Killing.
Kubrick collaborated with pulp novelist Jim Thompson on the hard-boiled screenplay, adapted from Lionel White’s novel Clean Break. The action centers around recently paroled Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden), who is already planning his next heist: the two-million-dollar robbery of a thoroughbred racetrack. Johnny’s scrappy gang includes two track employees, a crooked cop, a self-destructive former associate, and a sharpshooter whose job will be to shoot the favored horse and create chaos that distracts from the robbery. Continue reading
Bonnie and Clyde: Michael J. Pollard’s Type I Denim Jacket as C.W. Moss
Michael J. Pollard as C.W. Moss in Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
Vitals
Michael J. Pollard as C.W. Moss, slow-witted mechanic-turned-bank robber
Texas to Missouri, Spring 1933
Film: Bonnie & Clyde
Release Date: August 13, 1967
Director: Arthur Penn
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
My last post centered around one of the many quick-and-dirty Depression-set crime films released in the wake of Bonnie & Clyde‘s popularity, so let’s refocus today’s sartorial attention back on the groundbreaking 1967 drama that started it all. Starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty (who also produced the film), Bonnie & Clyde fictionalized the exploits of real-life Texas outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, whose two-year crime spree of mostly unprofitable robberies left a trail of at least twelve dead lawmen and civilians until they were ultimately killed by law enforcement in May 1934.
Robert Benton and David Newman’s Academy Award-nominated screenplay emphasized the twenty-something couple’s youth, capitalizing on the prevailing countercultural sentiment of the late 1960s in the stylized spirit of French New Wave cinema. Presumably even younger than Bonnie or Clyde is their first on-screen accomplice: small-town gas station attendant C.W. Moss (Michael J. Pollard), whose simplicity often suggests excessive exposure to fuel fumes. Moss served as a composite for several real-life associates of the gang, specifically eventual turncoat Henry Methvin and Dallas teenager W.D. “Deacon” Jones.
Born 110 years ago today on May 12, 1916, Jones was only 16 years old when the 23-year-old Clyde and 22-year-old Bonnie recruited him into their scrappy band on Christmas Eve 1932. After a car theft gone wrong resulted in the murder of Temple, Texas family man Doyle Johnson the next day, Jones became inextricably linked with the Barrow gang for more than a year until his eventual arrest in November 1933, six months before his more famous friends were gunned down in Louisiana. Continue reading
Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw: Marjoe Gortner’s Blue Cutoff Western Shirt
Marjoe Gortner and Lynda Carter in Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)
Vitals
Marjoe Gortner as Lyle Wheeler, wannabe outlaw
New Mexico, Summer 1975
Film: Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw
Release Date: April 28, 1976
Director: Mark L. Lester
Costume Designer: Cornelia McNamara
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
People typically cite two major reasons to watch the low-budget ’70s crime flick Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw… neither of which are Marjoe Gortner’s wardrobe. Is that going to stop me from writing about it for the film’s 50th anniversary? No, of course not.
Released in Los Angeles on April 28, 1976, this was also Lynda Carter’s big-screen debut, finally hitting screens nearly six months after she became an instant sensation when Wonder Woman premiered on ABC. Made with the same exploitative “guilty pleasure” watchability that defined so much of American Independent Pictures’ contemporary output, Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw is known to many for Carter’s sole (but frequent) nude screen appearance—often in varying states of undress playing the, uh, titular Bobbie Jo Baker, who abandons her dead-end job and alcoholic mother to join the charismatic car thief Lyle Wheeler on a crime spree through the southwest. Prior to his Rocky fame, Sylvester Stallone was producers’ first choice to play Lyle until ex-child preacher Marjoe Gortner was cast.
Yep, you read that right. Continue reading
Romeo + Juliet: Leo’s Blue Aloha Shirts
Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Vitals
Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague, moody romantic mob heir
Verona Beach, Summer 1996
Film: Romeo + Juliet
Release Date: November 1, 1996
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Costume Designer: Kym Barrett
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Baz Luhrmann’s brash update of Romeo + Juliet remains the highest-grossing live-action William Shakespeare adaptation nearly thirty years after its release. While his tendency toward spectacle isn’t my preferred cinematic style, I appreciate Luhrmann embracing the challenge of retaining the Bard’s original dialogue in a contemporary American setting that includes custom handguns, flashy Hawaiian shirts, and “Lovefool”. Continue reading
The Wild Bunch: Ben Johnson as Tector Gorch
Ben Johnson as Tector Gorch in The Wild Bunch (1969)
Vitals
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
You must be logged in to post a comment.