Tagged: Gun
Sterling Hayden’s Four-Pocket Sport Jackets in The Killing
Sterling Hayden in The Killing (1956)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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
Val Kilmer’s Leather Jacket in Top Secret!
Val Kilmer and Lucy Gutteridge in Top Secret! (1984)
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Val Kilmer as Nick Rivers, American rock star who is not Mel Tormé
East Germany, Fall 1983
Film: Top Secret!
Release Date: June 22, 1984
Directed by: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker
Costume Designer: Emma Porteous
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Val Kilmer died one year ago today on April 1, 2025 at age 65, following a prolific career demonstrating his versatile talent for action, comedy, and drama across a range of genres. He made his screen debut in 1984 starring in Top Secret!, the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team’s follow-up to Airplane! and Police Squad. Filled with ZAZ’s trademark sight gags and wordplay, the movie was conceptualized as a modern spy spoof that blended elements of World War II espionage thrillers with Elvis Presley’s musicals of the 1950s and ’60s.
Even with a nonexistent screen resume before he was cast, Kilmer proved he was ready for the task with his signature dedication: dressed as Elvis for his audition and performing every song for the soundtrack, including the Beach Boys-inspired “Skeet Surfin'” over the opening credits.
Kilmer stars as Nick Rivers, a ’50s-like rockabilly singer whose global stardom seems to even eclipse Stevie Wonder, Linda Ronstadt, and Frank Sinatra on billings. After Leonard Bernstein is unable to attend, Nick is hired by the East German government to perform at the cultural festival that they’re hosting as a diversion from their plan to reunite Germany under totalitarian rule. Already something of a rebel, Nick’s trip grows more complicated as he falls for the mysterious Hillary Flammond (Lucy Gutteridge), a member of the local resistance group. Continue reading
Bullitt: Paul Genge as “Ice Pick Mike”
Paul Genge in Bullitt (1968)
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Paul Genge as Mike, silent syndicate hitman
San Francisco, Spring 1968
Film: Bullitt
Release Date: October 17, 1968
Director: Peter Yates
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today would have been the 113th birthday of actor Paul Genge, born March 29, 1913. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran, Genge’s screen career began after his return from World War II, almost always playing uncredited bit parts as cops, crooks, and the occasional coach. Despite these tough-guy roles, Genge was an advocate for regional theater whose penchant for performing Shakespeare included appearing in—and ultimately directing—stage productions of Hamlet and starring in the title role of King Henry IV when he was 26.
Bullitt provided Genge with one of his few credited movie roles, even though his character’s name isn’t uttered on screen—only referred to as “Ice Pick Mike” in the track listing for Lalo Schifrin’s jazzy soundtrack. Mike is arguably one of the most pivotal characters in this slick crime classic, as the slick triggerman whose execution of the witness known as Johnny Ross sets the action into motion. Continue reading
The Sopranos, Season 6: Christopher’s Houndstooth Sports Coat
Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos (Episode 6.09: “The Ride”)
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Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti, ambitious Mafia captain
New Jersey, Fall 2006
Series: The Sopranos
Episodes:
– “The Ride” (Episode 6.09, dir. Alan Taylor, aired 5/7/2006)
– “Walk Like a Man” (Episode 6.17, dir. Terence Winter, aired 5/6/2007)
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On Michael Imperioli’s 60th birthday, it feels right to look at one of the more matured looks from his acclaimed performance as Christopher Moltisanti. Christopher’s signature style throughout The Sopranos had been track suits and leather jackets, though his ascension through the ranks of the New Jersey underworld brought a more sophisticated style to fit his status. Continue reading
The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton’s Casual Tan Suit as 007
Timothy Dalton as James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987)
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Timothy Dalton as James Bond, British government agent
Tangier, Morocco, Fall 1986
Film: The Living Daylights
Release Date: June 27, 1987
Director: John Glen
Costume Designer: Emma Porteous
Costume Supervisor: Tiny Nicholls
Tailor: Benjamin Simon
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 80th birthday to Timothy Dalton! Born March 21, 1946 in Wales, Dalton became the fourth actor to portray James Bond when he starred in The Living Daylights in 1987. He had actually been approached several times for the role over the previous decades but initially felt too young—and too intimidated—to replace Sean Connery. Still, the part may have been in his blood: his father, Peter Dalton Leggett, served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), the real-life British World War II unit that inspired Ian Fleming to write several of Bond’s literary adventures.
Though he only officially starred as 007 twice on screen, Dalton’s portrayal has enjoyed renewed appreciation for its fidelity to the harder-edged tone of Fleming’s source material and how this may have inspired Daniel Craig’s later characterization.
One of my favorite suits and scenes from The Living Daylights takes Bond to Tangier, where the agent confronts KGB director Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies)—using the general’s girlfriend (Virginia Hey) as a decoy when a bodyguard storms in the hotel room. Commanding the situation with his silenced Walther PPK, Bond settles the tension with the Soviet general as they mutually agree to stage a public assassination.
Scripted by stalwart Bond screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, the scene plays like a lost Fleming chapter—firmly rooted in late Cold War-era espionage while also showcasing a sharp suit that feels like perfect inspiration for spring style and warmer days ahead. Continue reading
One Battle After Another: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Revolutionary Robe
Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another (2025)
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Leonardo DiCaprio as “Ghetto Pat” Calhoun, aka Bob Ferguson, burned-out ex-revolutionary
California, Spring 2024
Film: One Battle After Another
Release Date: September 26, 2025
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One Battle After Another has been a 2025 awards season favorite, collecting more than a few small accolades from organizations like the BAFTAs, Critics’ Choice, Golden Globes, heading into the Academy Awards this weekend with 13 nominations including Best Picture. While it was the most expensive production of Paul Thomas Anderson’s ten released features to date, it has also quickly become the director’s highest-grossing with a box office of $209 million and counting.
(Update: Sure enough, One Battle After Another received the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as wins for Anderson’s direction and adapted screenplay, Sean Penn’s supporting performance, editing, and the inaugural Oscar for Best Casting!)
In his seventh Oscar-nominated performance, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as “Ghetto Pat” Calhoun, a former revolutionary in an underground militant group known as the French 75, whose expertise in explosives resulted in his reputation as the “Rocket Man”. Amidst their explosive activities, Pat and his French 75 comrade Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) raise a daughter named Charlene, only for Pat forced to go on the run with Charlene after Perfidia’s perfidy sends the surviving revolutionaries sprawling.
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