Tagged: U.S. President
Secret Honor: Philip Baker Hall as Nixon
Philip Baker Hall as Richard M. Nixon in Secret Honor (1984)
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Philip Baker Hall as Richard M. Nixon, disgraced former U.S. President
New Jersey, early 1980s
Film: Secret Honor
Release Date: July 6, 1984
Director: Robert Altman
Background
This week, we learned that the great Philip Baker Hall died at the age of 90. Familiar as a recurring face in Paul Thomas Anderson movies and as the anachronistic, straight-talking “library cop” Bookman on an early Seinfeld episode, Hall’s breakthrough screen performance was reprising his stage role as a disgraced Richard Nixon in Secret Honor.
“You have read in the press the reasons for the Watergate affair. Today, my client is going to reveal to you the reasons behind the reasons,” Hall narrates into a tape recorder as the now-former President Nixon. It was fifty years ago today when five burglars were caught breaking into the DNC headquarters at the Watergate hotel, igniting a political scandal that resulted in the fall of a president and a widespread cynical distrust of American government.
Subtitled “A Political Myth”, Secret Honor was originally a one-man play written by Donald Freed and Arnold M. Stone, who adapted their work for Robert Altman’s film of the same name. Avoiding caricature of an easily caricatured man, Hall portrayed Nixon—the only human who ever appears on screen—who spends the film’s hour-and-a-half runtime ranting to the contents of his study, specifically a tape recorder, an increasingly empty bottle of Scotch, a loaded revolver, his mother’s grand piano, and portraits of presidents and significant figures in his life from Henry Kissinger to his own mother. Continue reading
JFK at Sea, 1962
John F. Kennedy, 1962. Photo by Robert Knudsen.
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John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States and U.S. Navy veteran
Off the New England coast, August 1962
Photographs by Robert Knudsen
Part of BAMF Style’s Iconic Photo Series, focusing on style featured in famous photography of classic stars and style icons rather than from specific productions.
Background
On the anniversary of his May 29, 1917 birthday, I wanted to revisit the 35th President of the United States, who has often been credited as the man who brought a new sense of style to the White House during the brief Age of Camelot.
One of my most visited posts on this page was a comprehensive look at John F. Kennedy’s style, from suits and sport jackets to white tie and windbreakers, which I had published to commemorate his legacy on the 50th anniversary of his November 1963 assassination… and which I imagine is in dire need of revision after nearly a decade.
Kennedy once said: “Sailing has given me some of the most pleasant and exciting moments of my life. It also has taught me something of the courage, resourcefulness, and strength of men who sail the seas in ships.” Continue reading
Arsenic and Old Lace’s “Teddy Roosevelt”
John Alexander as “Teddy Roosevelt” Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace (1941)
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John Alexander as “Teddy Roosevelt” Brewster
Brooklyn, Halloween 1941
Film: Arsenic and Old Lace
Release Date: September 23, 1944
Director: Frank Capra
Background
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, was born this day 159 years ago on October 27, 1858. A son of New York City, the timid Theodore overcame his childhood asthma with his robust physical pursuits matched only by his professional ambition as a career soldier, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York, and finally the youngest President of the United States when he assumed office at the age of 42 after the assassination of William McKinley.
The proximity of T.R.’s birthday to Halloween always makes me think of Arsenic and Old Lace, the Frank Capra-directed dark comedy set one Halloween in Brooklyn involving Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant), his two dangerous but darling elderly aunts, and – like all of the best movies of the 1940s – Peter Lorre being Peter Lorre.
Originally a play (and doubtlessly one that your high school has performed), actor John Alexander reprised his role from the stage as “Teddy” Brewster, Mortimer’s delusional but harmless brother who believes that he is Teddy Roosevelt.
“So what?” says a friendly local cop who visits the Brewsters on his beat. “There’s a lot worse guys he could think he was.” Continue reading
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).
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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
Frank Underwood’s Blue Suit at the DNC
Kevin Spacey as President Frank Underwood in “Chapter 48” of House of Cards (2016).
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Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, ruthless and calculating U.S. President
Atlanta, July 2016
Series: House of Cards
Episode: “Chapter 48” (Episode 4.09)
Streaming Date: March 4, 2016
Director: Robin Wright
Costume Designer: Johanna Argan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Tomorrow is Election Day here in the U.S. and hopefully the end of one of the ugliest campaign seasons in modern American politics.
In the political world of House of Cards, voters tomorrow would be choosing between Democratic incumbent Frank Underwood and Republican candidate Will Conway (Joel Kinnaman). In Chapter 48 of the series, Underwood notes about his opponent:
You’re a New York Republican. That’s an attractive fiction, isn’t it?
Chapter 48 spans the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta from Monday, July 25 through Wednesday, July 27. (The actual 2016 DNC was held in Philadelphia, in case you’d forgotten, and was quite dramatic in itself… which I’m sure you hadn’t forgotten.) President Underwood’s team seemingly makes a play for Secretary of State Catherine Durant (Jayne Atkinson) to be chosen as his running mate while secretly working behind the scenes to secure the spot for the First Lady, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright, who also directed this installment.)
One of the episode’s more outstanding scenes finds the unlikely situation of both candidates meeting alone, sifting through the heavy haze of dirty politics permeating the air while channeling their opposition into a discussion of video games. Continue reading
Inauguration Suits of Every U.S. President
Happy Independence Day, USA!
To celebrate America’s 240th birthday, BAMF Style is showing off a great, well-researched infographic from the folks at SunglassWarehouse.com that breaks down the suit worn at the first inauguration of every American president from George Washington’s brown broadcloth suit in 1789 right up to Barack Obama’s dark, bullet-resistant suit in 2009.
I was especially interested to see what was worn by William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States and the deliverer of the longest inaugural speech at 8,495 words… far longer than George Washington’s shortest address which came in at only 135 words. Harrison’s speech was the longest thing about his presidency, which lasted hardly a month before he succumbed to the fatal pneumonia that he had likely contracted by delivering such lengthy remarks without any outerwear on that cold wet morning in March. In fact, the greatest product of William Henry Harrison’s presidency may be the Parks and Recreation episode that lampooned it.
For a BAMF Style breakdown of suits worn by presidents both real and fictional, check out these posts:
- Harrison Ford as President James Marshall in Air Force One
- Frank Underwood’s Cream Linen Suit (House of Cards, Chapter 33)
- Frank Underwood’s Blue Linen Suit (House of Cards, Chapter 34)
- John F. Kennedy’s Ivy League Style
Frank Underwood’s Cream Linen Suit
Kevin Spacey as President Frank Underwood in “Chapter 33” of House of Cards (2015).
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Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, ruthless and calculating U.S. President
Gaffney, SC, August 2015
Series: House of Cards
Episode: “Chapter 33” (Episode 3.07)
Streaming Date: February 27, 2015
Director: John Dahl
Costume Designer: Johanna Argan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The Week of Weddings comes to an end with a subdued renewal of vows for that coldest of TV couples, Frank and Claire Underwood.
“Chapter 33” is a particularly meditative episode for a show that has found its lead character throw another major character in front of a train. The episode uses the creation and subsequent destruction of a Hindu mandala to tell the story of the unorthodox Underwood marriage. While political murders and extramarital affairs aren’t enough to kill their marriage, the President and his wife find themselves more divided than ever after the events of the previous episode. It’s significant that they return to the original church in Gaffney where their formation was created in order to rejuvenate their relationship, and it’s while talking to Yates in front of their first home together that he can admit:
I can tell you this, though, there would have been no White House without Claire.
Of course, Gaffney was also the place where Frank Underwood was created, and it is here – through the increasingly less biased eyes of biographer Thomas Yates – that he is as removed from his ruthless political self as possible. He is disarmingly introspective and charismatic, pouring out stories and wisdom though it were from a bottle of bourbon in his office. Continue reading
Frank Underwood’s Blue Linen Suit
Kevin Spacey as President Frank Underwood in “Chapter 34” of House of Cards (2015).
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Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, ruthless and calculating U.S. President
Washington, DC, September 2015
Series: House of Cards
Episode: “Chapter 34” (Episode 3.08)
Streaming Date: February 27, 2015
Director: John Dahl
Costume Designer: Johanna Argan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
According to the Netflix version of House of Cards, today – September 7, 2015 – would have found the American eastern seaboard in trouble as Hurricane Faith rumbled on its way. Luckily for dwellers in both the show’s universe and the real universe, the Category 4 hurricane ended up offering no real threat… leaving President Underwood in the frustration position of having provided emergency funding when it wasn’t needed. While this wouldn’t necessarily mean trouble for a politician, it meant the end of Frank’s “AmericaWorks” pet project and thus the beginning of his 2016 presidential run. Continue reading
John F. Kennedy’s Ivy League Style
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States.
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John F. Kennedy, U.S. President
Early 1960s, Washington, D.C.
Background
Not every commemoration on BAMF Style is a happy one. To honor JFK on the 50th anniversary of his assassination, I’ll be examining the style of a man often described as our country’s most stylish president.
Whether he was in his office, at a cocktail party, or sailing off of Narragansett Bay, the Kennedys’ style captured the attention of the nation, with men taking hints from Jack’s fashion-forward sartorial sense and women envying Jackie’s elegance.
Everyone has their own conspiracy theory about who truly ended his life in Dallas fifty years ago today, but this isn’t the place to discuss that. Instead, I’ll be delving into the look and style of a man who became an American icon. Continue reading
Air Force One
As we in the United States celebrate President’s Day this week, BAMF Style also celebrates Air Force One, where Harrison Ford played the most badass U.S. President since Teddy Roosevelt.
Harrison Ford as U.S. President James Marshall in Air Force One (1997).
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Harrison Ford as James Marshall, U.S. President
Russia, September 1997
Film: Air Force One
Release Date: July 25, 1997
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Costume Designer: Erica Edell Phillips
Background
No matter what your politics are, every American can agree on one thing: Harrison Ford was a badass President in Air Force One.
When I was eight years old, I was incredibly excited for this movie’s release. As the brilliant website TV Tropes describes: “It’s Die Hard on Air Force One and President Harrison Ford is taking back his plane. That’s the entire movie in one short sentence.” Continue reading