Our 10 favorite Sean Connery looks at the movies – Reel

(Cover photo credit: Sean Connery and John Hallam in "The Offence," 1972 - photo United Artists/Getty Images)

On Saturday, October 31, 2020, we learned of the passing of Scottish actor Sean Connery. In the wake of this, many clothing brands paid tribute to him, revealing, if necessary , the style icon and his influence on those who make today's fashion.

Unsurprisingly, it is his most famous role that still attracts the most attention today. But beyond the legendary character of 007, what can we remember from the sixty films shot by Sean Connery? While waiting for your testimonies, we take a look back at our 10 favorite looks of the actor.

1. THE SIRENS OF SHEARLING

“ HELL TRAIN ” (CY ENDFIELD, 1957)

In 1957, Sean Connery was not yet 30 years old. "Hell Train" was one of his very first films and it was of the social, realistic, frankly brutal kind. Its subject? Asphalt, the difficult condition of truck drivers and to a lesser extent shearling jackets.

The voice and stature are already there, even though Sean Connery only plays a very small role as a truck driver. Let's remember here, as Jordan said in our recent Podcast , that Sean Connery is not only a deep and virile voice but also a body, which imposes itself from the start with his 1.90 meters and his athletic silhouette .

Here he shares the bill with Patrick McGoohan, future star of the TV series "The Prisoner". If Cy Endfield's film is no longer talked about these days, it has the merit of showing the actor as a real driving madman and in a style very different from the famous character to come.

Imagine instead: a leather jacket, a wide-necked sweater or a tired turtleneck , depending on your taste, a good belt to mark the waist, pants that could well be moleskin, some ease in the thighs, and workwear boots to finish.

All this is a little worn, dirty, well patinated: it is a solid work outfit and if Sean Connery does not give in to the sirens of shearling like some of his fellow chauffeurs, his style is certainly one of the most successful in the film.

By the way, two of my recent gems would not be out of place in this world of men in a hurry. Can you guess which ones?

2. THE ART OF TAILORING

“ THE STRAW WIFE ” (BASIL DEARDEN, 1964)

For Sean Connery, the 60s were a prosperous period: although he had triumphed since "Dr. No" in the role of the British agent 007, he occasionally escaped from his character in favor of more complex roles and less spectacular projects.

This is demonstrated by "The Straw Woman" and "No Spring for Marnie", two films without gadgets or explosions which nevertheless do not fail to shed light on his relationship with women and clothes.

If the first one does not particularly shine by its staging, its characters and their wardrobe are still worth the detour today: Dior and sensuality for Gina Lollobrigida, Machiavelli and art tailoring for Sean Connery .

You have to see him donning suits and tuxedos as if they were a second skin , going to sea with simple pleated trousers and a striped sweater, trying on an orange raincoat or a navy turtleneck and a light jacket. And what about when he runs up the stairs of his luxurious home in a beautiful gray flannel suit?

" NO SPRING FOR MARNIE " (ALFRED HITCHCOCK, 1964)

Like "The Woman of Straw," the film "No Spring for Marnie," released the same year, is a psychoanalytic dive, a sick masterpiece. Hitchcock's directorial genius blossoms from the first images: the film advances on a body and a tweed garment then retreats, revealing a brunette woman, a train platform and the beginning of the story.

If there are a thousand things to review in Alfred Hitchcock's films, you can start here with Sean Connery's beige herringbone suit, thin tie and white shirt , with shoes on his feet that will inevitably remind you of them . In any case, do not be fooled by Basil Dearden or Alfred Hitchcock: clothes do not always make the man .

3. BERMUDA SHORTS AND MILITARY STYLE

" THE HILL OF LOST MEN " (SIDNEY LUMET, 1965)

For once, the French title is both apt and beautiful. If, as we have seen in the previous looks, Sean Connery excels in the choice of attire and the wearing of suits in particular, you will quickly discover that he has continued to diversify throughout his career.

Here, for example, no suits or nice shoes in this 1965 film, but a moustache and military attire reduced to its bare essentials : a kit, a beret, a shirt with pockets and braid, Bermuda shorts with a nice belt that you might find here , knee-length socks and a pair of all-terrain shoes.

Add to that a white T-shirt and utility pants for the rest of the wardrobe and you get another man, less concerned with his appearance than with his mental state, here gradually broken by the hierarchical system and the military code.

It's a film that has lost none of its power, and for those of you who have never heard of Sidney Lumet, you should know that he is responsible for, among other things, "Serpico" and the inimitable style of Al Pacino that goes with it, or even the relentless "Twelve Angry Men", a film that also revolves around justice and which Loan has already spoken to us about here .

For Sean Connery, this is the beginning of a beautiful artistic collaboration with the filmmaker. We will come back to this.

4. BRITISH ELEGANCE AND STYLE ICON

“ GOLDFINGER ” (GUY HAMILTON, 1964)

About the adventures of James Bond in the cinema, probably everyone has their preferences. Benoit for example does not hide his love for Daniel Craig , Jordan his for Pierce Brosnan. Question of time, perhaps. It is of Moreover, one of the particularities of the saga is to reflect the fashion of its time.

For Sean Connery, it will be the origin of the world: the first James Bond, the 60s and the first outfits, of an incredible richness and variety . We could list them all, stop at each film, each detail.

So what can we do but remind ourselves that Sean Connery wears a suit like no one else , that he probably made many men want to dress up and that he symbolizes a certain British elegance all by himself?

Maybe just rewatch the movies, starting with the most iconic of them all: "Goldfinger." It's the quintessence of Sean Connery's James Bond style and that's definitely where you should start: remarkably well-worn suits, always-right colors, strong character, shirts and many other things.

When it comes to style, if you had to have only one source of inspiration, it would be Sean Connery's James Bond. Elegance, versatility, timelessness : there are multiple reasons to be interested in clothing in his incarnation of the character.

5. AMERICAN COUSINS

" TRAITOR ON COMMAND " (MARTIN RITT, 1970)

Firedamp and black faces, like in Zola. At just 40 years old, Sean Connery is preparing to return the 007 costume that he has worn successfully since 1962.

While waiting for "Diamonds are Forever", he plays a modest character here, both silent and angry, and inspired by the true story of the Molly Maguires.

His world: the mine, coal and all the shades of gray. Suffice to say that the clothing is constantly tarnished and mistreated in this mining region of Pennsylvania, a thousand leagues from the usual luxury of adventures and James Bond's wardrobe.

Don't be fooled by the title, though: there's more to this underrated Martin Ritt film than its poor French translation. It's actually what you might call a gem, and not just because it's full of outfits from brands like Thomas Farthing and Universal Works .

Between the characterful attire and the workwear spirit, Richard Harris and Sean Connery refuse to choose: you will therefore find a jumble of tweed, blue and brown, newsboy caps, henleys everywhere and scarves around the neck, worn shirts and rustic blazers on top, all in a mixture of Irish culture and late 19th century America.

Another particularity: the strength of the images and the omnipresence of the sleeveless vest on most men, enough to recognize the beautiful patina of the film as the magic of fashion cycles .

6. THE BAD DAY MUSTACHE

“ THE OFFENCE ” (SIDNEY LUMET, 1972)

Another gem, another style: The Offence is probably Sean Connery's best-kept secret . If you've never seen it, I'd like to warn you: you're likely to be shaken by the atmosphere, the acting and the direction. It's a disturbing film, one of those that likes to leave the screen to better haunt its viewers.

Long invisible, Sidney Lumet's hidden masterpiece features a police inspector prey to his darkest thoughts. Ambiguous, dark and willingly violent, it is Sean Connery's most personal film, the one for which he will have invested himself the most to the point of participating in the writing of the screenplay and leaving his stamp as an actor.

"The Offence" sees Sean Connery trade his image as a seducer for that of a lost man who is clearly not attracted to fashion . "The more I drink, the more lucid I am," he declares in the film. Except that no one believes it: you only have to take a look at his appearance to understand that he is gradually losing his mind.

If his character has death on his heels, he still has a few points of reference to cling to the living a little and against all expectations, these are clothes. He never leaves his tweed hat or his sheepskin coat . To complete the look without being totally reassuring: a nondescript suit and tie, which sometimes rediscovers the splendors of past James Bond. Except that the Sean Connery of "The Offence" has a mustache for bad days . This is among other things what makes the film and its style so fascinating. The thriller of his career.

7. THE UNDERWEAR, THE BRUTE AND THE NOTHINGNESS

“ ZARDOZ ” (JOHN BOORMAN, 1974)

Here's one that will either provoke mockery or admiration: it's the most WTF look Sean Connery has ever attempted in cinema and "Zardoz" is probably the strangest and most kamikaze film of his career.

Mustache, braids and sideburns: with this new look, Sean Connery could apply to join Motörhead. With "Zardoz", the British elegance of James Bond is over.

Here we have flower power style, Irish nature and almost nakedness , which you might see differently after reading Jordan's Undress Yourself .

But let's take a closer look at Sean Connery: riding boots, red briefs and an ammunition belt under a hairy chest . That's about all you'll see of Sean Connery's style in this futuristic film by John Boorman. Unless curiosity pushes you to go beyond the kitsch of some of the images.

Because John Boorman is not just any filmmaker: "Deliverance", "Excalibur", "The Emerald Forest", so many films likely to make you want to understand the very existence of "Zardoz".

Under its cosmic nanar airs hides a more philosophical reflection and some visually stunning passages. Charlotte Rampling is both icy and disturbing and if you get to the end of the story, a reward awaits you. It is an indescribable green coat and it unknowingly announces the royal outfit that the actor will regularly take on in the cinema, from "The Man Who Would Be King" to "Lancelot".

8. FOR THE LOVE OF THE CARDIGAN

" THE UNTOUCHABLES " (BRIAN DE PALMA, 1987)

Relaunched by the success of Jean-Jacques Annaud's "The Name of the Rose", Sean Connery made his debut the following year in the highly referenced cinema of Brian de Palma. As always, Hitchcock is never far away and if it is not the most personal film of its author, let's admit that "The Untouchables" ages rather well.

At almost 60 years old, the Scottish star shares the bill with Kevin Costner and Robert de Niro in this free transcription of Al Capone's forbidden America. Unsurprisingly for the underworld and Chicago in the 1930s, it is the reign of the formal: hat, three-piece suit, tie and overcoat.

If we had already stopped at Scarface's shirts, we can why not take a look at the costumes concocted by Giorgo Armani for The Untouchables. The only downside: not everything is wonderful, far from it, and in particular for the character of an old warhorse played by Sean Connery.

What it may lack: a master of color to make it less old-fashioned. If we don't know what to think of his brown character jacket and its association, we can, on the other hand, stop at his beautiful thick cardigans or his wool pants .

Here Sean Connery also wears the buttoned shirt up to the collar and the tweed cap . And for the shoes, as you know from our recent Podcast , the color is debated: you will find for example here a pair of pants tucked into black boots. It's up to you to find it cool. That's my case, as well as the wearing of the shawl collar cardigan which finds here one of its most illustrious wearers.

9. HOLY GRAIL, TWEED AND BOW TIES

" INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE " (STEVEN SPIELBERG, 1989)

We knew the leather, the hat and the Alden boots of Indiana Jones : an immediately identifiable style, copied many times , no doubt at the origin of some vocations for adventure and archaeology.

We can add the three-piece suit and the bow tie , less adventurous but just as successful. As you will discover later, Harrison Ford's character has someone to take after when it comes to style. It's a family thing.

What about the father? Glasses, white beard, endless obsession with the Holy Grail and old grimoires: we discover him in 1989 in the guise of an aging Sean Connery but at the height of his style . However, we will have to be patient, following one by one the clues that will lead us to him.

In this sense, the first half of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is particularly successful. Steven Spielberg knows his job, Sean Connery too and the tandem he forms with Harrison Ford is quite tasty.

Here he appears more dressed than ever: three brown tweed pieces like at Thomas Farthing, bow tie and beautiful pair of burgundy shoes . It is certainly the most remarkable outfit of the film. To complete the look, a small bucket hat, like those found at Lock & Co.

It's perfectly balanced, full of character and slightly old-fashioned elegance, even if perhaps more reserved for the more experienced. In the meantime, Sean Connery is stocking up on beautiful clothes and that's a good thing: the next decade will be more complicated for him.

10. STYLE FOUND

" MEETING FORRESTER " (GUS VANT SANT, 2000)

It's the story of a pen withdrawn from the world: William Forrester could just as well have been called JD Salinger. If the scenario is not very original, the filmmaker Gus Van Sant has many other assets, mainly of an aesthetic nature.

Sean Connery's last major film role was that of a reclusive writer who watches the world go by from the window of his Bronx apartment building. Outside, young people play basketball, dress in streetwear and go to high school.

At 70, Sean Connery is the archetypal grumpy old man here. He is a distant cousin of Hemingway, a white beard who loves sports and caps. What you can remember is that he dresses as if he were going for a Sunday stroll and that he wears his socks inside out. "In some cultures, it brings good luck to wear your clothes inside out," he will tell us.

Pajama pants, turtlenecks or funnel neck sweaters , most often with additional layers: shirts, long-sleeved polo shirts, cardigans, leather jackets. There is untapped potential in his wardrobe, but the bulk of the film takes place elsewhere, very close to the library, in transmission and writing.

As in Jean-Jacques Annaud's "The Name of the Rose", Sean Connery plays the role of the wise man and white-haired mentor, here alongside his student Rob Brown.

The staging takes its time, and of course the old man will return both to the world and to the taste for beautiful clothing. Here a camel Duffle-coat like those found at Gloverall, there a beautiful gray three-piece . It is also in this last image that Sean Connery leaves, in a suit and on a bicycle, towards his native Scotland: "Finding Forrester" is the story of a style rediscovered.