Tagged: Slip-on Loafers
Cape Fear (1991): Robert De Niro’s Red Aloha Shirt as Max Cady
Robert De Niro as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1991)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Max Cady, psychopathic parolee
New Essex, North Carolina, Summer 1991
Film: Cape Fear
Release Date: November 15, 1991
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Rita Ryack
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In the spirit of Aloha Friday as we get closer to summer, let’s revisit Robert De Niro’s unhinged turn as Max Cady in Martin Scorsese’s 1991 reimagining of Cape Fear. Continue reading
Casino: Ace Rothstein’s Pink Golf Sweater
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 1979
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
It’s still early enough in spring for sweaters to be appropriate—especially when worn lightly and layered in bright, seasonal colors, like the pastels that costume designers Rita Ryack and John A. Dunn worked into Robert De Niro’s vibrant wardrobe in Casino, Martin Scorsese’s neon-lit 1995 crime epic celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. De Niro stars as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a meticulous gambler and mob-connected gaming executive based on real-life figure Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust Hotel and Casino from the 1960s through the early ’80s.
With an array of period-detailed pastel suits, silk shirts, and coordinated ties lining his closet, Ace rarely appears on screen in casual attire, but Ryack shared in 2002 that one of her favorite of Ace’s outfits from among her and Dunn’s costume design was “a pink bouclé golf sweater and trouser ensemble,” as cited in a 2002 New York Post article by Megan Turner. Continue reading
In the Mood for Love: Tony Leung’s Gray Silk Suit
Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love (2000)
Vitals
Tony Leung as Chow Mo-wan, sensitive journalist
Hong Kong, Spring 1962
Film: In the Mood for Love
(Chinese title: 花樣年華)
Release Date: September 29, 2000
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Costume Designer: William Chang
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Valentine’s Day feels like the appropriate time to discuss In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar-wai’s lush and compelling exploration of loneliness, loss, and love set in Hong Kong’s Shanghainese community in 1962. Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung), live with their respective spouses in neighboring apartments but each often find themselves alone in their rooms, venturing out only for noodles from a street stall where they occasionally make contact. As the two connect over their oft-absent spouses, Chow and Su slowly come to the realization that his wife and her husband are engaged in an affair. Continue reading
Scrooged: Bill Murray’s Navy Pinstripe Suit
Bill Murray as Frank Cross in Scrooged (1988)
Vitals
Bill Murray as Frank Cross, cynical TV executive
New York City, December 1988
Film: Scrooged
Release Date: November 23, 1988
Director: Richard Donner
Costume Designer: Wayne A. Finkelman
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy December! I’m already in the the midst of rewatching many of my favorite Christmas movies, which range in vibe from sentimental to cynical. Action director Richard Donner helmed two of the most cynical holiday-themed movies—Lethal Weapon and Scrooged—released back-to-back in 1987 and 1988, respectively.
A comic update of Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol, Scrooged stars Bill Murray as Frank Cross, president of the fictional IBC television network who gets the chance to prove whether Murray still ain’t afraid of no ghosts. Continue reading
The Rockford Files: Jim’s Navy-and-Beige Houndstooth Jacket for “The Kirkoff Case”
James Garner in The Rockford Files (Episode 1.01: “The Kirkoff Case”)
Vitals
James Garner as Jim Rockford, wisecracking private detective and ex-convict
Los Angeles, Summer 1974
Series: The Rockford Files
Episode: “The Kirkoff Case” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: September 13, 1974
Director: Lou Antonio
Creator: Roy Huggins & Stephen J. Cannell
Costume Designer: Charles Waldo
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and number. I’ll get back to you…
Following the TV movie “Backlash of the Hunter” that served as the pilot when it aired six months earlier, The Rockford Files officially premiered 50 years ago tonight when NBC aired the first canonical episode “The Kirkoff Case” at 9 p.m. on Friday, September 13, 1974. Continue reading
La Piscine: Alain Delon’s Herringbone Suit for a Funeral
Alain Delon in La Piscine (1969)
Vitals
Alain Delon as Jean-Paul Leroy, moody ad agency writer
French Riviera, Summer 1968
Film: The Swimming Pool
(French title: La Piscine)
Release Date: January 31, 1969
Director: Jacques Deray
Costume Designer: André Courrèges
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
French screen icon Alain Delon died yesterday on August 18, 2024. Today’s post pays tribute to the actor’s cinematic legacy by returning to La Piscine, Jacques Deray’s stylish psychological thriller set at a Saint-Tropez villa where a couple spends an increasingly uncomfortable summer holiday.
La Piscine reunited former real-life lovers Alain Delon and Romy Schneider as the vacationing writer Jean-Paul and his girlfriend Marianne, who welcome Marianne’s past paramour Harry (Maurice Ronet) and his 18-year-old daughter Penelope (Jane Birkin). As is wont to happen among a group so attractive, dissatisfied, and French, flirtatious dynamics emerge among the quartet as Marianne drifts back to the hard-drinking Harry while Jean-Paul focuses his attention on the young Penelope. Continue reading
Cape Fear (1991): Robert De Niro’s White Terrycloth Shirt as Max Cady
Robert De Niro as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1991)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Max Cady, psychopathic parolee
New Essex, North Carolina, Summer 1991
Film: Cape Fear
Release Date: November 15, 1991
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Rita Ryack
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy birthday to Robert De Niro, born August 17, 1943. One of the prolific actor’s less-discussed but still acclaimed performances is his Academy Award-nominated characterization of the dangerously psychotic Max Cady in Cape Fear, Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake of the 1962 thriller and the 7th of ten collaborations to date between De Niro and Scorsese. Continue reading
Dennis Weaver in Duel
Dennis Weaver in Duel (1971)
Vitals
Dennis Weaver as David Mann, traveling salesman
Southern California, Summer 1971
Film: Duel
Release Date: November 13, 1971
Director: Steven Spielberg
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I’d like to report a truck driver who’s been endangering my life.
Steven Spielberg made his directorial debut with the suspenseful “road rage” thriller Duel starring Dennis Weaver, the actor best known for his TV roles like Gunsmoke and McCloud who was born 100 years ago today on June 4, 1924. Duel was no exception as it first aired on ABC in November 1971; Spielberg would continue to distinguish himself with extraordinary TV direction for series like Columbo until he transitioned to the silver screen with The Sugarland Express (1974).
Weaver stars as David Mann, a mild-mannered and married salesman whose Plymouth Valiant is terrorized by a dilapidated Peterbilt 281 tanker truck driven by an unseen and murderous opponent antagonizing him across the desert highways, pitting this easygoing everyman as a valiant David against a gas-guzzling Goliath seeking to destroy him. Continue reading
Desert Fury: John Hodiak’s Suede Loafer Jacket
John Hodiak as Eddie Bendix in Desert Fury (1947)
Vitals
John Hodiak as Eddie Bendix, smooth gangster and gambler
Nevada, Spring 1947
Film: Desert Fury
Release Date: August 15, 1947
Director: Lewis Allen
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
John Hodiak was born 110 years ago today on April 16, 1914 in Pittsburgh. The actor’s first prominent role was in Alfred Hitchcock’s seagoing 1944 drama Lifeboat, followed by a brief but memorable career—consisting largely of war movies and westerns—before his October 1955 death of a heart attack at age 41.
One of Hodiak’s screen credits was the 1947 crime drama Desert Fury, a “color noir” among the likes of Leave Her to Heaven (1945) and Niagara (1953) that maintain the themes, style, and story elements frequently associated with traditional film noir. Continue reading
Jaws: Mayor Vaughn’s Colorful Striped Blazer
Murray Hamilton as Mayor Larry Vaughn in Jaws (1975)
Vitals
Murray Hamilton as Larry Vaughn, ineffective mayor of Amity Island
Amity Island, July 1974
Film: Jaws
Release Date: June 20, 1975
Director: Steven Spielberg
Costume Design: Louise Clark, Robert Ellsworth, and Irwin Rose
Background
Today would have been the 101st birthday of Murray Hamilton, the marvelous character actor whose talents were perhaps best showcased as the hopelessly stubborn mayor of Amity Island, the fictional New England beach town being terrorized by a great white shark in Steven Spielberg’s iconic 1975 blockbuster Jaws. Continue reading