Tagged: Linen Suits and Jackets
Live and Let Die: Bond’s Beige Tropical Suit
Roger Moore as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973). Promotional photo by Ian Vaughan.
Vitals
Roger Moore as James Bond, British secret agent
“San Monique” (actually Jamaica), Spring 1973
Film: Live and Let Die
Release Date: June 27, 1973
Director: Guy Hamilton
Costume Designer: Julie Harris
Tailor: Cyril Castle
Background
Released 50 years ago today, Live and Let Die officially began Roger Moore’s 12-year, seven-film tenure as James Bond. Eon Productions’ first attempt recast Sean Connery in the iconic role resulted in the excellent On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), though some audiences—as well as George Lazenby himself—had trouble accepting the inexperienced Aussie as agent 007.
With credits like Maverick, The Saint, and The Persuaders! to his name, Roger Moore brought considerably more experience to the role when he was recruited after Connery’s brief return in Diamonds are Forever (1971). Continue reading
Once Upon a Time in America: Max’s Beige Beachwear
James Woods and Tuesday Weld in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
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James Woods as Max Bercovicz, ambitious mob bootlegger
Miami Beach, Fall 1933
Film: Once Upon a Time in America
Release Date: May 23, 1984
Director: Sergio Leone
Costume Designer: Gabriella Pescucci
Background
Happy first weekend of summer… at least to my fellow readers in the Northern Hemisphere! Today’s post continues embracing sun-friendly resort-wear, this time by way of Sergio Leone’s controversial gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America.
Robert De Niro and James Woods star as Noodles and Max, a pair of gangsters who worked their way up from teenage street hoods to bootleggers viciously ruling the streets of New York in the latter Prohibition era. Between Max’s megalomania and Noodles having spent much of their mob’s formative years in prison, resentments grow between the pair, but the influx of cash is enough to bury any problems… at least until late 1933.
While lazing under the sun with their respective molls in Miami Beach to the dulcet tones of Cole Porter’s “Night and Day”, Noodles learns from the newspaper that they’re about to be “unemployed” with the repeal of the Volstead Act just weeks away. Continue reading
Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider
Jack Nicholson as George Hanson in Easy Rider (1969)
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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
Succession: Tom’s Cream Suit in Tuscany
Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans on Succession (Episode 3.09: “All the Bells Say”).
Photo credit: Graeme Hunter.
Vitals
Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans, obsequious corporate media executive
Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy, Summer 2020
Series: Succession
Episode: “All the Bells Say” (Episode 3.09)
Air Date: December 21, 2021
Director: Mark Mylod
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Succession‘s fourth and most likely final season returns tonight! When we last saw the conniving Roy family, the setting was a Tuscan wedding… though, as usual with the Roys, love was the furthest thing from everyone’s mind. Continue reading
Brendan Fraser in The Mummy
Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell in The Mummy (1999)
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Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell, American adventurer and former Legionnaire
Egypt, Summer 1926
Film: The Mummy
Release Date: May 7, 1999
Director: Stephen Sommers
Costume Designer: John Bloomfield
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
A quarter-century after its release, The Mummy is finding renewed love among audiences, no doubt due to star Brendan Fraser who has been enjoying a own career renaissance following his Oscar-nominated turn in The Whale that has already won the actor more than two dozen awards.
Directed and written by Stephen Sommers, The Mummy updated Karl Freund’s 1932 thriller of the same name, released among a wave of Universal’s now-iconic horror films including Dracula and Frankenstein. Sommers’ adaptation retained the supernatural elements while playing down the horror in favor of a more lighthearted adventure story inspired by Errol Flynn’s screen swashbucklers and the classic serials that influenced the character of Indiana Jones, to whom Fraser’s roguish Rick O’Connell has been likened. Continue reading
The Great Gatsby: Sam Waterston’s Beige Linen Birthday Suit
Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby (1974)
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Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway, impressionable bachelor and bond salesman
Long Island to New York City, Late Summer 1925
Film: The Great Gatsby
Release Date: March 29, 1974
Director: Jack Clayton
Costume Designer: Theoni V. Aldredge
Clothes by: Ralph Lauren
Background
Just as the summer began with a look at Nick Carraway’s white linen suit as his portrayer Sam Waterston narrated his arrival at a pivotal dinner with the Buchanans in the 1974 cinematic adaptation of The Great Gatsby, let’s bring it to a close by looking at how Nick dresses when returning to their estate on the climactic afternoon of his 30th birthday, which likely would have been sometime around Labor Day. (The movie updated the setting to 1925, though F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel was set throughout the summer of 1922, which would have placed Nick’s birthday around 100 years ago today on Monday, September 4.)
The White Lotus: Armond’s Pink Linen Suit
Murray Bartlett as Armond on The White Lotus (Episode 1.01: “Arrivals”)
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Murray Bartlett as Armond, frantic resort hotel manager and recovering addict
Maui, Hawaii, Summer 2020
Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “Arrivals” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: July 11, 2021
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This week, the Primetime Emmy Award nominations were announced, with HBO’s limited series The White Lotus tied with Ted Lasso for the second-most nominations (20), behind only Succession‘s staggering 25 nominations. Most of The White Lotus‘ cast was nominated in the acting categories, with Murray Bartlett emerging as a favorite for his performance as Armond, the obsequious and increasingly distressed manager of the eponymous Hawaiian resort. Continue reading
The Hot Spot: Don Johnson’s Gray Linen Jacket and Studebaker
Don Johnson as Harry Madox in The Hot Spot (1990)
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Don Johnson as Harry Madox, drifter and used car salesman
Texas, Summer 1990
Film: The Hot Spot
Release Date: October 12, 1990
Director: Dennis Hopper
Costume Designer: Mary Kay Stolz
Background
I’m wrapping up this summer’s #CarWeek with the under-discussed neo-noir The Hot Spot, made among the wave of sweaty erotic crime dramas of the ’80s and ’90s exemplified by movies like Body Heat through Basic Instinct.
Don Johnson was nearing the end of his star-making tenure on Miami Vice when he was tapped for The Hot Spot‘s leading role as Harry Madox, an enigmatic drifter whose arrival in the quiet Texas berg of Landers sets forth a series of events straight out of James M. Cain or Jim Thompson’s poison pen.
The Hot Spot comes by its pulp credentials honestly, adapted from Charles Williams’ 1952 novel Hell Hath No Fury and originally intended to be adapted as a Robert Mitchum vehicle in the early ’60s. Though set in the present, The Hot Spot retains much of this retro style inspired by the era of its original conception, as seen in many of the costumes and cars, most specifically Harry’s black ’59 Studebaker Silver Hawk that he drives into town. Continue reading
The Great Gatsby: Sam Waterston’s White Linen Suit
Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby (1974)
Vitals
Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway, impressionable bachelor and bond salesman
Long Island, New York, Summer 1925
Film: The Great Gatsby
Release Date: March 29, 1974
Director: Jack Clayton
Costume Designer: Theoni V. Aldredge
Clothes by: Ralph Lauren
Background
“Do you ever wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it,” laments Daisy Buchanan—somewhat redundantly—to her cousin Nick Carraway over a visit that kicks off the romantic drama of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. (The summer solstice today makes this the longest day of the year, so take note, Daisy!)
Set 100 years ago across the summer of 1922, The Great Gatsby begins with Nick joining the Buchanans, Daisy being his second cousin once removed and Tom one of his former classmates at Yale. The wealth disparity is represented in the fictionalized areas of Long Island where they live, Nick describing his home “at West Egg, the—well, the less fashionable of the two” when compared to their elaborate mansion located among “the white palaces of fashionable East Egg… across the courtesy bay.”
The novel merely has Nick driving around the sound to arrive for dinner, while the movie follows Sam Waterston’s Nick across the bay in a small boat, fumbling for his nearly-drowned hat while his narration relays his father’s time-tested advice to check one’s privilege prior to criticizing anyone. Continue reading
Casino Royale: Bond’s Navy Linen Pre-Credits Suit
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006). Photo by Greg Williams.
Vitals
Daniel Craig as James Bond, tough British government agent
Lahore, Pakistan, Summer 2005
Film: Casino Royale
Release Date: November 14, 2006
Director: Martin Campbell
Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming
Background
On the 00-7th of August, with just two months until Daniel Craig’s final Bond movie will [likely] be released, I wanted to reflect on the start of his tenure and also include some insights from my friend Caleb Daniels, who many in the Bond fan-iverse know as the creator of the @CommandoBond Instagram and blog, discussing the then-significant return of 007’s trademark Walther PPK! Continue reading