Eastman BS, Horse-pucky, and a Hornswaggle

[Brettafett]

BK agrees

It’s a well-known fact among fans and enthusiasts that the screen used jacket was made by Rough Wear Clothing Co. and most experts would agree that it is one from the W535-AC-27752 contract.

The story we hear goes that the jacket was an original, remnant from the war, which was handpicked by the starring actor from a thrift store before filming started. Moreover, it appears that the jacket was a depot re-dye to a darker color as the color of Rough Wear 27752 jackets when issued was seal brown.

Also found this from 2017

ELC Great Escape A-2

For sometime now I have been keen to see what the ELC Hilts A2 looks like in the flesh. Recently I managed to obtain a very reasonably priced example in a size 44. The jacket has been hand re-dyed like a depot re-issued jacket and of course like the original RW worn in the Great Escape. On the...

www.thefedoralounge.com

Mr Swatland also considered there were two jackets.

 

[Brettafett]

Ok so I remember a thread about the Great Escape jacket and I found it but don’t know how to attach the link
I take no credit for original thread and if someone attaches it I thank the owner of the original post
Thread is in Repro’s, posted under GW 18091 by I think Heissenberg…page two of that thread is probably the bit to read …posted April 2020

GW Rough Wear 18091

RW 27752 will be my next GW in some months ...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

 

[blackrat2]

Ah nice one..thanks for finding that link

 

[bseal]

Another cleaner photoView attachment 88879

This looks like an illustration.

 

[Chandler]

This looks like an illustration.

I think you're right. Barbed wire looks forced.

 

[Micawber]

Now this is like the VLJ of old. More than one jacket - sure it's common practice for wardrobe to have more than one 'hero' costume on the rack.

 

[Chandler]

If you watch any of the "making" documentaries of the movie Judd Taylor (Goff) talks about being shown to a table full of uniforms to pick for his costume. He says he immediately gravitated to an A-2, but said he was told he couldn't take that because Steve McQueen was wearing one.

I guess they wanted McQueen to stand out.

If course, the question comes up why the (an) A-2 was still on the table if it couldn't be chosen.

 

[ties70]

This topic has been the subject of a number of discussions here. A few here, including myself, believe that the jacket that MCQueen wore was a 27752 RW. Others hold to the ELC thought that it was a RW 16159. Along these lines someone here claimed to have learned that the original A2 worn by MCQueen eventually ended up in the collection of a Japanese gentleman living in Japan. Unless the actual jacket surfaces again someday, I think the speculation will continue regarding whether it’s a 27752 or a 16159, without any definitive proof as to what contract the jacket actually was.

@Pilot , could your contact to Aota-San bring some light on the whereabouts of McQueen's jacket?

 

[ZuZu]

Wow- this took off. First of all this isn't Steve McQueen- it's probably a modern recreation for something... Second- if you are very observant you can see that at least in the film the same jacket is used always. It has a very distinctive fold to the collar which is almost impossible to replicate. It has a distinct shape to the body with a very tight waistband. There weren't 2 jackets IMO. Thirdly- BILL KELSO_ this is for you- 27752s were NOT always seal brown- in fact most were a russet brown or a brown brown. I've only seen a couple made natively with that dark seal brown which legend has it they were made from.

 

[blackrat2]

ZuZu, it took off because even after all this time there is a lot of interest in “that jacket”
I would love to see John do his interpretation on the jacket as I just think he would nail it

 

[blackrat2]

The Heisenberg thread that popped up today , may or may not contain some of JC’s thoughts on the jacket..not withstanding that the poster has shown himself to be a liar and untrustworthy as you might recall or can certainly read about later

 

[MauldinFan]

View attachment 88909


Wow- this took off. First of all this isn't Steve McQueen- it's probably a modern recreation for something...

It's a painting...

 

[Skyhawk]

Case closed. With multiple jackets, possibly with one or two in reserve and not filmed...
Everyone is right!

 

[ZuZu]

It's a painting...

So much for MY powers of observation...

 

[MauldinFan]

Now this is like the VLJ of old. More than one jacket - sure it's common practice for wardrobe to have more than one 'hero' costume on the rack.

I've never seriously studied every image of the Virgil Hilts A2, but I have worked on a few film projects, and it is common to always have a backup for everything just in case when it comes to 'hero' props and costumes. There are exceptions, such as the case of something the production has to make that is expensive and elaborate, but seeing how easily found an original A2 in McQueen's size would have been at the time, it'd been silly not to have another around just in case.

 

[Chandler]

So much for MY powers of observation...

And @bseal 's before you, but it's not a competition, is it?

 

[mulceber]

Yeah, I'm not convinced by the multiple jackets theory either. I know it's absolutely routine in movie making (thinking of Indiana Jones movies, where there's always at least 10 copies of the jacket), but...

• The jacket isn't really used in any action scenes, where it could get damaged, and apart from a few interior shots that were done in the studio, it mostly just appears in the exterior scenes at the prison camp. If it had gotten lost in transit (another reason studios normally have tons of copies of the costume), McQueen could have just gone without it for the interior shots, as he does from the escape onward.
• McQueen seems to have exercised a lot of control over his costume - the weird short-sleeved sweatshirt he wears apparently was part of the costume because his wife advised him to show off his forearms. He allegedly found the A-2 himself in a thrift store (according to BK's website). Could the costume department have gone to a bunch of trouble finding a jacket and making it match his? Yeah, but I doubt they'd go to the trouble - the risk of it getting damaged was minimal, and if it did they could either stitch it up, have him go without it for the rest of the production, or go to a surplus store and get another one that was close, whichever was most feasible.

Based on that and @ZuZu 's observation that the collar folds the same way throughout the film, I don't see a reason to think there were multiple jackets.

 

[ZuZu]

I guess it's been discussed a skillion times. Steve Mcqueen's look in that movie is a pure American look- substitute jeans for the tightened khakis he wore. My dad was a corporal in the AAF but after the war as a plant pathologist he wore almost the same outfit as Mcqueen on days he went to the fields. Khaki pants, black A-2 type jacket, Red Wing irish Setters. For 40 or so years.

 

[Grant]

McQueen was keenly aware of his image and very selective when it came to his wardrobe, hence the sweat shirt and form fitting 60's khakis vs WWII issue high rise wide cut khakis. As for which Rough Wear he's wearing, unless the owner in Japan comes forward, it's all of our best guesses which RW contract it is.

 

[Chandler]

• McQueen seems to have exercised a lot of control over his costume - the weird short-sleeved sweatshirt he wears apparently was part of the costume because his wife advised him to show off his forearms. He allegedly found the A-2 himself in a thrift store (according to BK's website). Could the costume department have gone to a bunch of trouble finding a jacket and making it match his? Yeah, but I doubt they'd go to the trouble - the risk of it getting damaged was minimal, and if it did they could either stitch it up, have him go without it for the rest of the production, or go to a surplus store and get another one that was close, whichever was most feasible.

How do you suppose the V. Hiltz name tag came about?

In the same docs I mentioned above (maybe even in his autobio) James Garner also mentions McQueen being envious of his Irvin and turtleneck -- so I wonder if that was before he opted for what he wore?

FWIW -- Taylor also mentions in the interview that after his A-2 was kaboshed, he assembled his curious costume from the clothing on the table. So I'm not sure just how the cast was outfitted.