Tagged: Thief
Point Blank: Lee Marvin’s Green Suit
Lee Marvin in Point Blank (1967)
Vitals
Lee Marvin as Walker, revenge-driven armed robber
Los Angeles, Summer 1967
Film: Point Blank
Release Date: August 30, 1967
Director: John Boorman
Costume Designer: Margo Weintz
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The legendary Lee Marvin was born 100 years ago today on February 19, 1924. After his service with the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, Marvin began acting on the stage and screen. His lead role on the 1950s police series M Squad elevated him to starring film roles across the ’60s, including The Killers (1964), The Professionals (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967).
After winning the Academy Award for his performance in the 1965 Western comedy Cat Ballou, Marvin wielded his considerable Hollywood clout for the production of Point Blank, including the selection of English director John Boorman. Continue reading
Lassiter: Tom Selleck’s Herringbone Blouson
Tom Selleck in Lassiter (1984)
Vitals
Tom Selleck as Nick Lassiter, debonair jewel thief
London, June 1939
Film: Lassiter
Release Date: February 17, 1984
Director: Roger Young
Costume Designer: Barbara Lane
Background
Released 40 years ago today, Lassiter was one of a pair of back-to-back period-set adventure films in which Tom Selleck starred at the height of his stardom on Magnum, P.I.
Perhaps Selleck was looking to make up for the missed opportunity when his commitment to Magnum, P.I. forced him to turn down the chance to be Indiana Jones before the role went to Harrison Ford, as both High Road to China (a 1920s-set aviation adventure) and Lassiter (set on the eve of World War II) echo the roguish yet risk-averse hero epitomized by Dr. Jones.
Lassiter centers around the titular Nick Lassiter, an American “gentleman thief” living the high life in London in June 1939. A joint task force led by Scotland Yard and the FBI recruit Lassiter to locate and steal a cache of $10 million in diamonds that the Nazis intend to sell to support their espionage efforts and plans for war. Of course, perhaps suspecting that law enforcement has additional plans for him after he’s served his purpose for them, Lassiter arranges a few twists of his own—including a gambit right out of The Sting. Continue reading
George Clooney’s Charcoal Car Coat in Out of Sight
I’m pleased to again present a guest post contributed by my friend Ken Stauffer, who has written several pieces for BAMF Style previously and chronicles the style of the Ocean’s film series (and beyond!) on his excellent Instagram account, @oceansographer.
George Clooney as Jack Foley in Out of Sight (1998). Photo credit: Merrick Morton.
Vitals
George Clooney as Jack Foley, charismatic bank robber and prison escapee
Detroit, February 3-5, 1999
Film: Out of Sight
Release Date: June 26, 1998
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
When people lament that Hollywood studios should go back to making more high quality, mid-budget movies, Out of Sight is exactly what they’re referring to, even if they don’t realize it. Looking back on it today, the film is not only perfectly cast and beautifully shot, but it manages to strike the perfect balance of character and plot, humor and drama, while telling a unique story.
Based on a then-just-published novel by Elmore Leonard, the movie stars George Clooney as lifelong bank robber Jack Foley who breaks out of prison in Florida, getting away by hiding himself in a car trunk with U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez). With the law hot on his tail, Foley and his best friend Buddy (Ving Rhames) hoof it to Detroit to pull off one last score at the home of two-faced businessman Richard Ripley (Albert Brooks), whom they did time with years earlier. They’re forced to form an uneasy alliance with a far more violent crew led by the murderous “Snoopy” Miller (Don Cheadle). Continue reading
After the Sunset: Pierce Brosnan’s White Linen Beach Shirt
Pierce Brosnan as Max Burdett in After the Sunset (2004)
Vitals
Pierce Brosnan as Max Burdett, retired(?) jewel thief
The Bahamas, Summer 2004
Film: After the Sunset
Release Date: November 12, 2004
Director: Brett Ratner
Costume Designer: Rita Ryack
Pierce Brosnan’s Costumer: Edward T. Hanley
Background
Happy 70th birthday to Pierce Brosnan!
Perhaps in response to playing well-tailored protagonists like Remington Steele, Thomas Crown, and—of course—James Bond, Brosnan seemed to delight in defining his post-007 screen persona as an opportunistic and oft-oversexed beach bum, as seen in varying degrees in the excellent The Tailor of Panama, the entertaining The Matador, and the escapist heist flick After the Sunset. Continue reading
The Hot Rock: George Segal’s Seersucker Suit
George Segal as Andy Kelp in The Hot Rock (1972)
Vitals
George Segal as Andy Kelp, jewel thief and locksmith
New York City, Summer 1971
Film: The Hot Rock
Release Date: January 26, 1972
Director: Peter Yates
Costume Designer: Ruth Morley
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The start of spring this week means warmer weather ahead, with linen and seersucker replacing tweed and flannel at the front of my closet. One of my favorite cinematic seersucker suits is the colorfully appointed two-piece suit worn in The Hot Rock by George Segal, the prolific and versatile actor who died two years ago today on March 23, 2021. Continue reading
John Garfield in He Ran All the Way
John Garfield as Nick Robey in He Ran All the Way (1951)
Vitals
John Garfield as Nick Robey, desperate small-time thief
Los Angeles, Summer 1951
Film: He Ran All the Way
Release Date: June 19, 1951
Director: John Berry
Wardrobe Credit: Joe King
Background
John Garfield, one of the most talented and naturalistic actors of Hollywood’s “golden age”, died 70 years ago today on May 21, 1952. Garfield had long been troubled with heart health issues, but it’s been argued that the resulting stress brought on by harassment from the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee contributed to his early death at the age of 39, nearly a year after the release of his final film, He Ran All the Way (1951).
Point Blank: Lee Marvin’s Flashback N-1 Deck Jacket
Lee Marvin as Walker in Point Blank (1967)
Vitals
Lee Marvin as Walker, drunken sailor and future thief
San Francisco, early 1960s
Film: Point Blank
Release Date: August 30, 1967
Director: John Boorman
Costume Designer: Margo Weintz
Background
Lee Marvin, Academy Award-winning actor and U.S. Marine Corps veteran of World War II, was born 98 years ago today on February 19, 1924. Marvin would be established as one of the most charismatic tough guys of the screen, particularly due to movies like The Killers (1964), The Professionals (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Point Blank (1967).
Adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s pulp crime novel The Hunter (published under the pseudonym Richard Stark), Point Blank stars Marvin as the mononymous Walker, a thief left for dead by his wife Lynne (Sharon Acker) and his double-crossing partner-in-crime Mal Reese (John Vernon) after a dangerous heist. Continue reading
The Pink Panther: Robert Wagner’s Après-ski Style
Robert Wagner and Capucine in The Pink Panther (1963)
Vitals
Robert Wagner as George Lytton, smooth con artist and aspiring jewel thief
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Winter 1963
Film: The Pink Panther
Release Date: December 18, 1963
Director: Blake Edwards
Wardrobe Supervisor: Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca
Background
Given the ridiculous nature of the later entries that focus more heavily on the madcap misadventures of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers), it may surprise first-time viewers to see The Pink Panther so fashionably depict the elegance of winter jet-setters as they take to the Alpine ski resorts of Cortina d’Ampezzo in northern Italy, spending days on the slopes and evenings by the fire.
As February extends into the Olympic games and ski-trip season, I had wanted to revisit the stylish skiwear seen in The Pink Panther, only to realize that Robert Wagner’s 92nd birthday today coincides with the timing of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Wagner appeared in The Pink Panther as George Lytton, a small-time con man and nephew of the suave Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven). After George discovers his urbane uncle is actually a master jewel thief known as “The Phantom”, he sets out to learn from Sir Charles… even attempting to seduce his mistress, Simone Clouseau (Capucine), who just happens to be the wife of the bumbling Sûreté inspector on their trail. Continue reading
M: The Safecracker
Gustaf Gründgens in M (1931)
Vitals
Gustaf Gründgens as “The Safecracker”, criminal community leader
Berlin, Fall 1930
Film: M
(German title: M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder)
Release Date: May 11, 1931
Director: Fritz Lang
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Fritz Lang’s groundbreaking masterpiece M was released 90 years ago. Self-described by the director as his magnum opus, M drew on the wave of sadistic child-murderers that had terrorized Germany through the previous decade—monsters like Carl Großmann, Fritz Haarmann, and Peter Kürten—to create a fictionalized cautionary tale centered around the crimes of Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre), a creepy little killer who signals his presence by whistling “In the Hall of the Mountain King”, one of the first leitmotifs on screen as Lang experimented with the capabilities of sound in his first non-silent film.
As the increased police attention has disrupted Berlin’s underworld, the ruthless master criminal known only as “Der Schränker” (The Safecracker) calls together the city’s crime lords to form a united front against the killer. Continue reading
James Caan in Thief: Frank’s ’80s Gray Leather Blousons
James Caan as Frank in Thief (1981)
Vitals
James Caan as Frank, professional jewel thief
Chicago, Spring 1980
Film: Thief
Release Date: March 27, 1981
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Supervisor: Jodie Lynn Tillen
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Considered by many to be one of the director’s best movies, Michal Mann’s debut Thief was released in theaters 40 years ago today. Thief established many of what would become Mann trademarks, from its “principled” yet ruthless professional character who expertly handles a .45 to the setting city elevated to a secondary character itself, particularly its less glamorous underbelly as photographed at night. (Originally titled Violent Streets, even the one-word title would become a Mann signature as evidenced by his future features Ali, Blackhat, Collateral, Heat, and Manhunter.)
Mann adapted the 1975 novel The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar by real-life thief John Seybold (writing as “Frank Hohimer”) for his screen debut, retaining the first name of Seybold’s nom de plume for the taciturn thief that would be memorably played by James Caan, who celebrated his 81st birthday yesterday.