Tagged: Texas
Clyde Barrow’s Brown Striped Easter Suit
Emile Hirsch as Clyde Barrow in Bonnie & Clyde (2013)
Vitals
Emile Hirsch as Clyde Barrow, amateur armed robber
Texas, Easter 1934
Series Title: Bonnie and Clyde
Air Date: December 8, 2013
Director: Bruce Beresford
Costume Designer: Marilyn Vance
Background
The turning point in Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker’s criminal career came on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1934. The couple was sitting inside their Ford V8 on a dusty road outside Grapevine, Texas, with their latest recruit, a shifty young son of Louisiana named Henry Methvin. Two months earlier, Clyde was in command of the closest thing he’d ever had to a “gang”, though the few criminal members with any experience quickly disassociated from the trigger-happy amateur, leaving only Clyde, Henry, and Bonnie making up the ranks of “The Barrow Gang”.
No Country for Old Men: Sheriff Ed Tom Bell
Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in No Country for Old Men (2007)
BAMF Style is delighted to present another post from the masterful pen of contributor “W.T. Hatch”. Enjoy!
Vitals
Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell
Terrell County, Texas, Summer 1980
Film: No Country for Old Men
Release Date: November 9, 2007
Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Costume Designer: Mary Zophres
Background
The crime you see now, it’s hard to even take its measure.
Sheriff Ed Tom Bell first won election as the sheriff of Terrell County, Texas, when he was just 25 years old. A World War II veteran, Bell saw firsthand the horrors of that particular conflict and likely sought solace in serving his community back home. Still on duty in the summer of 1980, what is truly surprising about Sheriff Bell – and the other law enforcement officers in the movie – is how little gear they carry while on duty when compared to today’s law enforcement professionals. Bell, for example, carries just his trusted M1911 pistol sans protective vest, handcuffs, baton, pepper spray, taser, or even a spare magazine. Continue reading
No Country for Old Men: Llewelyn’s Carhartt Chore Coat
Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss in No Country for Old Men (2007)
Vitals
Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss, welder, hunter, and Vietnam veteran
Terrell County, Texas, Summer 1980
Film: No Country for Old Men
Release Date: November 9, 2007
Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Costume Designer: Mary Zophres
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
As the Monday after Thanksgiving marks the start of deer hunting season here in western Pennsylvania, today seems a fitting day to revisit one of my favorite hunters from modern cinema, Josh Brolin’s laconic Llewelyn Moss in the Coen Bros. masterpeice No Country for Old Men. Continue reading
Steve McQueen in The Hunter
Steve McQueen as Ralph “Papa” Thorson in The Hunter (1980)
Vitals
Steve McQueen as Ralph “Papa” Thorson, real-life bounty hunter
Los Angeles (among other locales), Fall 1979
Film: The Hunter
Release Date: August 1, 1980
Director: Buzz Kulik
Costume Designer: Thomas Welsh
Background
On the anniversary of Steve McQueen’s passing, I’d like to explore his style in the final film he made before his untimely death at the age of 50 on November 7, 1980.
The Hunter starred McQueen as Ralph “Papa” Thorson, a colorful real-life bounty hunter who had reportedly logged more than 5,000 cases throughout his career including the capture of would-be presidential assassin and Manson family follower Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme.
The concept of a bounty hunter conjures the image of a deadly serious and dangerous enforcer. The real Ralph Thorson certainly looked the part at 310 pounds and 6’2″ though Christopher Keane’s 1976 biography counters this image by describing Thorson’s many roles and talents as “a church bishop, Master bridge champion, renowed astrology, criminology alumnus of the University of California Berkeley, child nutritionist, [and] aficionado of classical music.” Continue reading
Lee Marvin’s Brown Shawl Cardigan in The Professionals
Lee Marvin as Henry “Rico” Fardan in The Professionals (1966)
Vitals
Lee Marvin as Henry “Rico” Fardan, tough mercenary
Texas, January 1917
Film: The Professionals
Release Date: November 2, 1966
Director: Richard Brooks
Wardrobe Credit: Jack Martell
Background
Written, produced, and directed by prolific auteur Richard Brooks, The Professionals depicts a band of mercenaries hired by rancher baron Joe Grant (Ralph Bellamy) to rescue his wife. Though it is often overlooked in the shadow of its “bigger” contemporaries like The Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Sergio Leone’s “Man With No Name” trilogy of spaghetti westerns, The Professionals was Columbia Pictures’ biggest hit of 1966.
Lee Marvin starred as Henry “Rico” Fardan, a cynical weapons specialist whose experience fighting under Pancho Villa’s command makes him invaluable to the team pursuing one of Villa’s former revolutionaries who supposedly kidnapped Grant’s wife Maria (Claudia Cardinale). Continue reading
Clyde Barrow’s Brown Peak-Lapel Suit (2013 Version)
Emile Hirsch and Holliday Grainger as Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde (2013)
Vitals
Emile Hirsch as Clyde Barrow, amateur armed robber
Texas, Spring 1932
Series Title: Bonnie and Clyde
Air Date: December 8, 2013
Director: Bruce Beresford
Costume Designer: Marilyn Vance
Background
Earlier this week, I posted about the (possibly brown) single-breasted, peak-lapel suit worn by Derrick De Marney in Hitchcock’s 1930s thriller Young and Innocent. Today’s post expands on that theme, exploring a similar suit worn by another desperate young man on the run during the 1930s.
Frank Underwood’s Dressed-Down Blue-Gray Suit
Kevin Spacey as President Frank Underwood (with Robin Wright as Claire Underwood) in “Chapter 40” of House of Cards (2016).
Vitals
Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, ruthless and calculating U.S. President
Dallas, January 2016
Series: House of Cards
Episode: “Chapter 40” (Episode 4.01)
Streaming Date: March 4, 2016
Director: Tucker Gates
Costume Designer: Johanna Argan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In the fourth season premiere of the Netflix U.S. version of House of Cards, Frank Underwood’s presidential re-election campaign takes him from his own home state of South Carolina to his wife’s home state of Texas, where Claire (Robin Wright) has been visiting with her mother, Elizabeth (Ellen Burstyn), who has been suffering from terminal lymphoma. Continue reading
