Happy 92nd birthday Shirley MacLaine, seen here with Edith Head in 1959. Discovered in A HELL OF A DRINK research: William Peter Blatty based Chris McNeil in THE EXORCIST on MacLaine, who was his neighbor, and she wanted to play the role in the movie.

Award-winning American actress Shirley MacLaine was born #OnThisDay in 1934. She wore this Edith Head designed yellow abstract "painted" dress as Louisa May Foster in the 1964 film, What a Way to Go. Collection of Greg Schreiner. #film #costume #dress

ICYMI at Cocktails and Crime, I learn that "Paying attention is the gateway drug to giving a shit." Plus recent movies and some other stuff. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-94...

NEW COCKTAILS AND CRIME. Jane Leavy's prescription to fix baseball could fix society. Plus new Petzold and Soderbergh movies and a decade of writing under a pseudonym. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-94...

NEW NEWSLETTER COMING! Celebrating ten years - 10! - of the Lillian Frost and Edith Head mysteries! Subscribe and receive a free essay on Edith's noir fashions! reneepatrickbooks.com

It is always a good day when there is Joan Crawford news to share. LETTY LYNTON is back: www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ap...

Excellent thread. The true joy of research - for nonfiction and historical fiction - is being surprised, finding what I DON'T know about, what I don't even know exists. An algorithm theoretically attuned to my needs won't show that to me.

ICYMI at Cocktails & Crime, a new book on the Spielberg/Lucas/Coppola friendship and novelist Daniel Kraus' beautiful obsession with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-93...

NEW COCKTAILS AND CRIME. The friendship that shaped Hollywood, and the deepest dive on a movie I've ever read. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-93...

American actress and producer Gloria Swanson was born #OnThisDay in 1899. She was Oscar nominated for her performance as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1950). Edith Head designed this silk embroidered evening jacket with peplum for the film. Sold by Profiles in History Auctions. #film #costume

Lizabeth Scott and Barbara Stanwyck in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) wearing costumes by Edith Head #OldHollywood #filmnoir

Today in A HELL OF A DRINK research: reading a January 1974 article about people waiting hours in line to see THE EXORCIST, I came across this quote from "Bill Hurt," a 23-year-old drama student "who talked like a sociologist." William Hurt was 23 and in Julliard at the time.

In honor of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival screening of IT (1927) at the Castro Theater this weekend, Eat Drink Films has reprinted my look at the Clara Bow cocktail. eatdrinkfilms.com/2026/03/07/d...

Clark Gable, Cocktail wizard.

Edith Head and Elizabeth Taylor during a break from filming A Place in the Sun (1951)

Edith Head wins her eighth award for Costume Design for “The Sting,” presented by Twiggy, April 1974. #EdithHead #OscarNight #FilmSky

Costume designer Edith Head (1897–1981) still holds the record for most Oscars won by a woman (she took home eight #Oscars over her lifetime). #EdithHead holding her Oscar at the 1954 #AcademyAwards, via Margaret Herrick Library: digitalcollections.oscars.org/digital/sear... #WHM

Olivia de Havilland won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in To Each His Own #OnThisDay in 1947. She wore this Edith Head designed sheer brown linen dress with a ruffled collar with faux mother-of-pearl buttons as Jody Norris. Sold by Bonhams. #Oscars #costume

Edith Head was "the" Costume Designer for Classic Hollywood with over 550+ films and the most Oscars, she outfitted these #filmnoir classics: Sunset Boulevard Double Indemnity Notorious Blue Dahlia This Gun for Hire Ace in the Hole #WomenInNoir #WomensHistoryMonth

Guess who tops the list? collider.com/women-with-m...

Happy International Women's Day from Edith Head and Gail Patrick, the Paramount actress who would go on to create the original PERRY MASON TV series.

Edith Head, Alma Reville, Alfred Hitchcock and Ingrid Bergman review costume designs for "Notorious" (released in 1946).

Last night I dreamed I was in a coffee shop talking with David Lynch about Johnny Carson's line of menswear. I hate when the week peaks on Monday.

ICYMI at Cocktails & Crime: Backstage at Noir City, why you should see the Oscar-nominated SIRAT, and why you should also (kinda) see the newly restored NYC crime drama NIGHT OF THE JUGGLER. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-92...

NEW COCKTAILS & CRIME. A Noir City Seattle recap. The Academy Award nominated film that rewired my brain. And the vintage New York crime drama that killed other parts of it. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-92...

Edith Head outside her Universal Studios bungalow greeting fans on the Universal Studios Tour, ca. 1975.

Whoever plays Edith Head gets nominated for Best Supporting Actress, I assume. variety.com/2026/film/ne...

That's a wrap on another Noir City Seattle, the most fun and the most challenging one yet. I introduced eight movies in four days. These were my closing night shoes.

Ask me to introduce a double bill of SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS and Elvis Presley in KING CREOLE at Noir City Seattle, and this is how I'm going to dress. Thanks to @pxcaballero.bsky.social for the photo.

Created by legendary costume designer Edith Head, Grace Kelly’s 1955 Oscar dress redefined red-carpet elegance—and still shapes how we think about timeless glamour. Here’s the story of the gown that changed Oscar fashion: 29secrets.com/style/the-st...

My Film Noir Valentines! I'm the George Macready of this Gilda-style throuple, obviously. With @eddiemuller.bsky.social and @vpkeenan.bsky.social

We are, of course, all in favor of whippersnappers reviving old-fashioned palaver. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...

See TCM #NoirAlley host Eddie Muller in the shadows as he returns to Seattle for the Noir City Film Festival. See mayhem, music and murder on the big screen beginning on 2/13. All the details here: https://bit.ly/3MtRjiL

ICYMI at Cocktails & Crime: two jazz-centric films from the Noir City festival, and the new documentary THE DONN OF TIKI. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-91...

We're challenging you to read a book set in the 1930s in February. Have you tried The Lillian Frost & Edith Head Mysteries by Renee Patrick? cozymystery.com/links/design...

NEW COCKTAILS & CRIME. The newsletter lives up to its title for once, with looks at a pair of musical noir curios in advance of Noir City Seattle and a new documentary on the godfather of tiki culture. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-91...

NEW NEWSLETTER COMING! Noir City Seattle returns! Half the team is cowriting a new (movie-themed) book! And Oscars, Oscars, Oscars! Subscribe and receive a free essay on Edith Head's noir fashions! reneepatrickbooks.com

In 1942, RKO slashed 43 minutes from Orson Welles's "The Magnificent Ambersons" and slapped on a happy ending. Now, an A.I. company wants to restore what was lost. Are they righting a historic wrong or descrating a classic? My deep dive, in this week's New Yorker. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Today in Yeah, We're Totally Screwed. Although I do love the idea of making students watch JEANNE DIELMAN to break their conditioning. (h/t @thesundaylongread.bsky.social) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

It's a great day for a trip back in time! Let's head to the 1930s with a book by Renee Patrick, Design for Dying. cozymystery.com/links/design...

ICYMI at Cocktails and Crime, next month's full Noir City Seattle lineup including the films I'll be on hand to introduce. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-90...

NEW COCKTAILS AND CRIME. Noir City Seattle returns next month, and I'm back on cohosting duties. All the details: vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-90...

ICYMI at Cocktails and Crime, I finally get around to naming my five favorite movies of 2025, and it's telling that I saw all of them in the theater. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-89...

NEW COCKTAILS & CRIME. Everything I watched and read in 2025, and why I'm not talking about it. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-89...

Man Gets Into Mess Usually Reserved For Stars Of Silent Film Era https://theonion.com/man-gets-into-mess-usually-reserved-for-stars-of-silent-1819570481/

Road-testing cocktails for A HELL OF A DRINK. 1) Yes, all these ingredients are in one cocktail created by friend & coauthor Chris Elford. 2) Yes, it tastes amazing. 3) No, I won't say what horror movie inspired it, but some of you can probably guess. All will be revealed in the book, out in 2027.

In 1977, designer Edith Head--the direct inspiration for Edna Mode from The Incredibles--designed this outfit for Blitzen, a champion Siberian husky owned by Phyllis Castleton of Anchorage. Head was in town for a benefit premiere for the film Airport '77. #alaskahistory #alaska

ICYMI, a recap of 2025 at Cocktails & Crime. And with that said, let's put that godawful 12 months behind us and concentrate on 2026. Happy new year, kids. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-88...

NEW COCKTAILS & CRIME. The year, such as it was, in review. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-88...

ICYMI at Cocktails & Crime: Playing catch up with movies from two filmmakers in their 80s, David Cronenberg (THE SHROUDS) and Barry Levinson (THE ALTO KNIGHTS), prompting a jazz tangent. vincekeenan.substack.com/p/c-and-c-87...