Tagged: Lawyer
Death on the Nile: George Kennedy’s Brown Striped Sport Jacket
George Kennedy as Andrew Pennington in Death on the Nile (1978)
Vitals
George Kennedy as Andrew Pennington, crooked American lawyer
Egypt, September 1937
Film: Death on the Nile
Release Date: September 29, 1978
Director: John Guillermin
Costume Designer: Anthony Powell
Background
It seems like just yesterday that George Kennedy died at age 91 rocked my corner of Twitter for how so many obituaries eulogized him as a “beefy character actor,” and yet it’s been ten years since the Oscar winner’s death on February 28, 2016.
Kennedy rose to fame after his Academy Award-winning performance in Cool Hand Luke (1967) and was a mainstay of American cinema for decades, often playing tough guys or cops in movies like the Airport and Naked Gun franchises, though the first time I first saw the actor was in John Guillerman’s lavish, star-studded 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Egyptian-set murder mystery Death on the Nile. Continue reading
The Four Seasons: Alan Alda’s Après-ski Sweater in Winter
Alan Alda in The Four Seasons (1981)
Vitals
Alan Alda as Jack Burroughs, married lawyer
Stowe, Vermont, Winter 1980
Film: The Four Seasons
Release Date: May 22, 1981
Director: Alan Alda
Costume Designer: Jane Greenwood
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 90th birthday to Alan Alda, the movie and TV icon born January 28, 1936. Alda rose to prominence through the 1970s playing Army surgeon “Hawkeye” Pierce in the TV adaptation of M*A*S*H—an early style inspiration for yours truly, as I was particularly obsessed with Hawkeye’s rakish pairing of aloha shirts with his G.I.-issue OG-107 fatigue trousers.
In addition to being the only cast member to appear in all 256 episodes, Alda also ignited his talents behind the camera, ultimately writing 17 and directing 32 episodes during the series’ eleven-season run. Even before M*A*S*H ended, Alda penned his screenwriting debut, The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), starring as the eponymous fictional senator. As Alda’s own grandson Jake would summarize in his Letterboxd review: “My grandpa has an affair with a young Meryl Streep… what more can I ask for?”
Two years later, Alda released his directorial debut, The Four Seasons (1981), which he also wrote and—of course—starred in. Alda portrays New York lawyer Jack Burroughs who, along with his wife Kate (Carol Burnett), join two other middle-aged couples for quarterly getaways: one for each of the titular four seasons, and thus framed by Vivaldi’s violin concerti of the same name. Continue reading
And Justice for All: Al Pacino’s Corduroy Jacket on Thanksgiving
Al Pacino in …And Justice for All (1979)
Vitals
Al Pacino as Arthur Kirkland, determined defense attorney
Baltimore, Fall and Winter 1978
Film: …And Justice for All
Release Date: October 19, 1979
Director: Norman Jewison
Costume Designer: Ruth Myers
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Al Pacino closed out the 1970s with his fifth Academy Award-nominated performance, portraying frazzled Baltimore lawyer Arthur Kirkland in Norman Jewison’s 1979 dark comedy …And Justice for All, satirizing the American legal system.
Kirkland’s host of issues that follow him through the fall and holiday season include troublesome clients like the unfairly arrested Jeff McCullaugh (Thomas Waites) and weekly visits to his steadfast but increasingly senile grandfather Sam (Lee Strasberg), whom he brings to Thanksgiving dinner with Sam’s slightly sharper friend Arnie (Sam Levene). Continue reading
Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider
Jack Nicholson as George Hanson in Easy Rider (1969)
Vitals
Jack Nicholson as George Hanson, civil rights attorney
New Mexico to Louisiana, February 1968
Film: Easy Rider
Release Date: July 14, 1969
Director: Dennis Hopper
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today is the 86th birthday of Jack Nicholson, the screen icon who recently [sort of] made headlines—and more than a few memes—after being photographed for the first time in 18 months, proving that not even an octogenarian retiree is spared superficial judgements about appearance.
Nicholson’s prolific career spanned six decades, and his 12 Academy Award nominations establish him as the most nominated male acting nominee in Oscar history. His first nomination recognized his memorable turn in Easy Rider as George Hanson, the easygoing lawyer who joins countercultural bikers Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) on their freewheeling trek across America. Continue reading
The Birds: Mitch’s Donegal Tweed Suit
Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren filming The Birds (1963)
Vitals
Rod Taylor as Mitch Brenner, defense lawyer
Bodega Bay, California, Summer 1962
Film: The Birds
Release Date: March 28, 1963
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Wardrobe Supervisor: Rita Riggs
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today is the 60th anniversary of the release of The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock’s avian horror yarn adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 novella and a real-life incident in August 1961 as scores of birds crashed into the streets and rooftops of the central California town of Capitola.
The Birds centers around Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), an attractive travelers’ aid secretary from San Francisco whose flirtatious pranks with the charming attorney Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) lead about an hour north to the idyllic seaside village of Bodega Bay. Melanie’s surprise visit isn’t ultimately unwelcome, and Mitch invites her to join his little sister Cathy’s 11th birthday parry the following day. Continue reading
The Ivy Newlywed — Robert Redford’s Gray Suit in Barefoot in the Park
Robert Redford as Paul Bratter in Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Vitals
Robert Redford as Paul Bratter, newlywed lawyer
New York City, February 1967
Film: Barefoot in the Park
Release Date: May 25, 1967
Director: Gene Saks
Costume Designer: Edith Head
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
With Valentine’s Day a few days behind us, I want to focus on a movie that takes a lighthearted look at that awkward period in a new marriage between the “honeymoon phase” and the hard truths of reality setting in. Adapted from Neil Simon’s play of the same name, Barefoot in the Park was an early star-making role for Robert Redford, reprising the role of Paul Bratter that he had played in more than 1,500 performances over nearly four years on Broadway. Continue reading
Fatal Attraction: Michael Douglas’ Plaid Sport Jacket
Michael Douglas as Dan Gallagher in Fatal Attraction (1987)
Vitals
Michael Douglas as Dan Gallagher, lawyer
New York City, Fall 1986
Film: Fatal Attraction
Release Date: September 18, 1987
Director: Adrian Lyne
Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick
Background
Inspired by costume designer Ellen Mirojnick’s recent podcast appearance on From Tailors With Love that clarified a few misconceptions held around Michael Douglas’ tailored costumes in some of his most prominent movies, let’s finally cover the 35-year-old noir-ish thriller that spawned a cinematic sub-genre centered around Douglas’ sex life getting him in deep trouble. Continue reading
JFK: Kevin Costner’s Shirt Collars as Jim Garrison
Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison in JFK (1991)
Vitals
Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison, District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, and World War II veteran
New Orleans, Fall 1963 through Spring 1969
Film: JFK
Release Date: December 20, 1991
Director: Oliver Stone
Costume Designer: Marlene Stewart
Background
Today would have been the 100th birthday of Jim Garrison, the Louisiana district attorney whose prosecution of New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw remains the only trial to be brought for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was murdered in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
Born November 20, 1921, Earling Carothers “Jim” Garrison had just celebrated his 42nd birthday and was nearly halfway through his first of three four-year terms as Orleans Parish District Attorney when Kennedy was killed.
Body Heat: William Hurt’s Lawyerly Seersucker
William Hurt as Ned Racine in Body Heat (1981)
Vitals
William Hurt as Ned Racine, unscrupulous attorney
Palm Beach, Florida, Summer 1981
Film: Body Heat
Release Date: August 28, 1981
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Costume Designer: Renié
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I couldn’t let the hottest summer of my lifetime end without talking about Body Heat, especially as Lawrence Kasdan’s sweaty directorial debut will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release in two days.
The term “neo-noir” has often been used—and, indeed, overused—to describe stylish, shadowy, and sexy crime dramas with elements recalling film noir’s golden era in the ’40s and ’50s, though Body Heat struck me as one of the prized handful of movies most deserving of the description, perfectly balancing the spirit of classic noir with contemporary cinematic expectations without falling too far in either direction. Continue reading
Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird
Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Vitals
Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, principled Southern lawyer
Maycomb, Alabama, Summer 1932 and 1933
Film: To Kill a Mockingbird
Release Date: December 25, 1962
Director: Robert Mulligan
Costume Designer: Rosemary Odell
Tailor: H. Huntsman & Sons, London
Background
Today marks the birthday of Gregory Peck, born April 5, 1916. Peck’s arguably most iconic role was that of the patient, humble, and earnest defense attorney Atticus Finch, a portrayal that earned Peck the Academy Award and was voted the #1 screen hero of all time in a 2003 AFI poll, outranking cinematic badasses like James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Ellen Ripley and illustrating that the most heroic strength is strength of moral character.
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