Barry Newman in Fear is the Key (1972)
Vitals
Barry Newman as John Talbot, “truculent, insolent, and a man of violence”
Louisiana, Spring 1972
Film: Fear Is the Key
Release Date: December 26, 1972
Director: Michael Tuchner
Wardrobe Credit: Mike Jarvis
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I had never heard of Fear Is the Key before I had the pleasure of catching it streaming on the Criterion Channel last November, so I feel comfortable describing it as underrated—the kind of raw ’70s-style adventure intended for pure entertainment with a thrilling momentum, great score, and a fine cast led by Barry Newman that also included Suzy Kendall, John Vernon, Dolph Sweet, and a “young”—well… middle-aged—Ben Kingsley. Perhaps best known for his performances in Vanishing Point and the TV series Petrocelli, the Boston-born Newman died one year ago today on May 11, 2023 at the age of 92.
Based on Alistair MacLean’s 1961 novel centered around one man’s mission for revenge against a criminal organization that killed his family, the movie blends classic adventure, ’70s grit, and international intrigue into a package adjacent to contemporary “hick flicks”. Maybe you’d describe it as Smokey and the Bandit meets Crank—or James Bond meets The Dukes of Hazzard—all with a twist of Three Days of the Condor.
“Take it easy, kid… it’s Sunday,” Newman’s underwater salvage expert-turned-drifter John Talbot tells a brawling policeman called to the scene after Talbot attracted trouble at Johnny’s Country Bar in the sleepy Assumption Parish, Louisiana. After the judge at his indictment reveals that Talbot is wanted around the world for more serious crimes, Talbot steals a bailiff’s service revolver to shoot his way out of the courtroom. Taking beautiful British blonde Sarah Ruthven (Kendall) hostage, Talbot’s V8-powered escape has shades of Newman’s iconic role in Vanishing Point as he commandeers a muscle car through dusty roads and country road blocks.
Our desperado eventually finds relative safety in a remote finishing camp, only to realize that his troubles are just beginning.
What’d He Wear?
With the exception of a brief prologue, John Talbot wears the same outfit throughout the entirety of Fear Is the Key, anchored by a trucker jacket and trousers, made by Kansas-based denim outfitter Lee in a matching slate-blue moleskin, a heavy cotton brushed to a napped finish similar to mole fur—though, despite the name, not actually made from mole pelts.
Talbot’s matching set echoes the leisure suits that characterized the nadir of ’70s menswear but with a more action-oriented cut echoing the “LeeSures” line that the brand introduced in 1959 with outfits like the off-white Lee Westerner jacket and jeans.
Talbot’s blue Lee jacket with its rivet buttons, shirt-style collar, dual flapped chest pockets, and waist-length cut resembles contemporary trucker jackets; I haven’t seen a specific trade name for this specific style that Lee produced through the 1970s, though modern resellers like Blue17, eBay, and exaghules typically describe it a as a trucker jacket or work jacket. Unlike the Lee Rider and contemporary trucker jackets from competition like Levi’s and Wrangler, this Lee jacket has a boxy, cropped fit without front pleats tapering the cut toward the waist, though there are seams that curve down the back from the armholes to the waistband.
The jacket has five branded brass-toned rivet buttons up the front with matching buttons on the cuffs and pockets, though the two-button side tabs on the waistband have tonal blue indented plastic two-hole buttons instead. The two patch pockets are positioned with the tops aligned with the horizontal chest yokes, styled with mitred bottom corners and a pointed flap that closes through a single button. The left pocket flap is branded with a small black rectangular tag featuring “LEE” embroidered in yellow.
Talbot’s blue moleskin flat-front trousers are trendier than traditional jeans, lacking back pockets and styled with patch-style front pockets that have curved openings extending out from the waistband to the side seams, with a watch/coin pocket inset on the right side. These seams run down the sides of each leg down to the plain-hemmed bottoms, which are gently flared in keeping with the ’70s cut. The yellow-embroidered black Lee-branded patch is sewn onto the horizontal seam over the top-right side of the seat. Talbot wears them with a wide dark-brown leather belt that closes through a large rectangular brass-toned double-prong buckle.
Talbot wears a light-blue poplin work shirt, likely made from a cotton/polyester blend, with a straight hem that he typically keeps tucked into the Lee pants. The shirt has a point collar, six-button front placket, single-button cuffs, and two box-pleated chest pockets that each close with a pointed flap. All the buttons are silver-toned two-hole buttons with black outer trim.
Worn to a slightly napped finish, Talbot’s brown leather square-toed boots have calf-high shafts (like cowboy boots) seen under the flared bottoms of his trousers.
Talbot’s stainless watch is the iconic Rolex GMT Master ref. 1675 with a “Pepsi” bezel, so-named the bi-directional 24-hour bezel’s anodized aluminum insert being split in half with a red-colored bottom from 6 to 18 and a blue-colored top—reflecting the familiar soda brand logo.
Rolex introduced the GMT Master chronometer in 1954 in collaboration with Pan Am, intended for its pilots to wear during long-haul international flights. The ref. 1675 was launched five years later in 1959, upsized to a 39mm case with an improved movement and crown guards. Available in steel, gold, and two-toned, this iteration would undergo several additional more improvements during its 21-year timeline. (You can read more about the ref. 1675 at the definitive online resource GMTMaster1675.com.)
In Fear Is the Key, Talbot appears to wear the stainless steel ref. 1675/1 from the early 1970s timeframe that was powered by the “Superlative Chronometer” caliber 1575 movement and featured round crown guards and a robust black matte dial, rather than the pointed crown guards, glossy “gilt” dials, and 1565 cal. movements of earlier models. Under the plexiglass T116 crystal that was universal across all ref. 1675 GMT Master watches, the dial features luminous hands and hour markers and a white-wheeled date complication at the 3 o’clock position. He wears the watch strapped to its stock steel three-piece “Oyster”-style link bracelet.
Talbot’s steel Rolex GMT Master shines in the dim light as he surprises Sarah in her room. Note the “Superlative Chronometer” text on the lower half of the black matte dial, indicating that he wears the cal. 1575 movement that was introduced for GMT Masters from 1965 onward.
When Talbot briefly escapes from the Ruthven house to join his handlers at the diving vessel, he pulls on a navy parka made of lightweight water-resistant polyester. The thigh-length coat has a straight-zip front, covered by a short storm flap with snaps to close at the top and bottom. The large hood has drawstrings to pull it tight over the wearer’s head, and the waist is cinched with an internal drawcord as well. There are at least four outer pockets—two over the chest, two over the hips—all with large rectangular flaps that close with two dark-blue snaps.
During the climactic finale that begins on an oil platform, Vyland’s henchman Larry (Peter Marinker) issues Talbot a yellow PVC two-piece rain slicker suit identical to the one he pulls on over his own clothes. These consist of a matching jacket and pants—the simple hip-length jacket styled with a tapered bomber-style standing collar and four black-covered snaps up the front.
Talbot begins Fear Is the Key by driving up to Johnny’s Country Bar in a set of gold-framed aviator-style sunglasses that immediately establish his sense of ’70s cool but, unfortunately, never reappear after his introduction.
The Cars
A year after Kowalski raced his alpine white 1970 Dodge Challenger across the western United States in Vanishing Point, Barry Newman abandoned Mopar to show the other “Big Three” Detroit auto manufacturers some love in Fear Is the Key, beginning with the stolen dark-green 1968 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight convertible he pulls up to Johnny’s Country Bar service station in rural Louisiana.
Built on the full-size GM “C” platform, the luxurious Ninety-Eight dates back to a trim option for the 1941 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser until it was reintroduced as the marque’s top-of-the-line model in the 1950s. The Ninety-Eight had been redesigned more than a half-dozen times before the eighth generation debuted for the 1965 model year. The only engine was Oldsmobile’s venerable “Rocket V8”, mated to GM’s three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission.
The Rocket V8’s engine displacement increased to 455 cubic inches (7.2 L) for the ’68 model year that featured in Fear Is the Key, though Newman never gets the opportunity to show off what the car can do. The two-door convertible was one of five body styles available in ’68, all with a 126-inch wheelbase that would be expanded by an inch the following year. Production continued through 1996, by which time the model was restyled “98”.
When Talbot escapes from the courthouse with Sarah, he steals a “medium coral” red 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport from a man who was grocery shopping and foolishly left the keys in the ignition. Unlike the relatively placid appearance of Talbot’s dented Ninety-Eight, the Gran Torino Sport provides stunt coordinator Carey Loftin with a grand showcase for what he and the car can do together, including jumping the car onto a ferry boat to hasten Talbot’s getaway. At one point during the chase, the car kicks up enough rocks and dirt that it cracks the camera lens from several yards away—a shot that director Michael Tuchner thankfully left intact.
Ford introduced the mid-sized Torino—named after Turin (“the Italian Detroit”)—for the 1968 model year, launched with a range of 2- and 4-door body styles and engine options ranging from a tame straight-six to the formidable 428 cubic-inch “Cobra Jet” V8.
The Torino underwent several design changes during its brief timeframe, with the third and final generation debuting for the 1972 model year that also heralded two new subseries: the mid-level Gran Torino and performance-oriented Gran Torino Sport. Given its purpose, the latter was only powered with V8 engines in a two-door body, specifically the standard hardtop and the “SportsRoof” fastback featured in Fear Is the Key as well as the eponymous car in Clint Eastwood’s 2008 drama Gran Torino.
The base engine was a small-block 302 cubic-inch V8 mated to a three-speed manual transmission, though all ’72 Gran Torino Sports were offered with an optional three-speed Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. Engine options also included the 351-2V “Cleveland”, 351-4V “Cobra Jet”, the new 400-2V, and the high-torque but low-revving 429-4V offered in response to the stricter emissions and fuel requirements that were enacted in 1972.
Though it wasn’t the largest, the 351-4V “Cobra Jet” was the most competitive engine available for the ’72 Gran Torino Sport, generating 248 horsepower as opposed to the 168-hp 400 V8 and the 208-hp 429-4V. Other than the 302, the 351-4V was the only engine for ’72 that could also be mated with a manual transmission, though the lack of a clutch seen in Fear Is the Key informs us that Talbot’s stolen Gran Torino Sport has the Cruise-O-Matic.
Talbot’s stolen red ’72 Gran Torino Sport gets increasingly damaged as he guns and jumps it through the Louisiana countryside.
After losing the pursuing cops on a Louisiana beach, Talbot ditches the conspicuous—and considerably damaged—Gran Torino Sport, stealing a wood-paneled beige 1971 Mercury Marquis Colony Park to make a more leisurely paced escape with Sarah.
Mercury introduced the Colony Park wagon in the 1950s as a standalone model until it was incorporated as a trim level of the full-size Marquis in 1969, though this generation of four-door Colony Park wagons were based on the Ford Country Squire’s 121-inch wheelbase rather than the Marquis sedan. These were exclusively powered by V8 engines, with the 1971 lineup consisting of a 400-2V (260 hp) and two 429 cubic inch engines—the 320-hp 2V and the 360-hp 4V. All three motors were mated to a three-speed Select-Shift automatic transmission.
These wagons would be redesigned on the downsized Ford “Panther” platofrm for the 1979 model year, though the nearly 8 million Ford Country Squire and Mercury Colony Park wagons sold between 1969 and 1978 made it the second best-selling Ford platform after the famous Model T.
The Gun
“This isn’t New York City, kid,” Talbot tells Wally (Ernie Heldman), the bartender at Johnny’s Country Bar when he tries to pull a subcompact pistol that looks like a .25-caliber Colt Junior. Talbot takes the pistol from him and slides it into his jacket’s left chest pocket, later explaining to the judge that “When a man reaches for a gun in this neighborhood, I gotta think he means business.”
Talbot proves his point a few minutes later by overpowering a bailiff and reaching for his service revolver in response to the judge threatening him with extradition. The lack of an ejector rod informs that this is a Colt revolver, with the size and context suggesting a Colt Police Positive, the small-framed service revolver popular among American law enforcement for much of the 20th century after its introduction in 1907.
Colt initially produced the Police Positive in a range of mid-size .32- and .38-calibers, though the most prominent among American police officers was chambered in the venerated .38 Special round that was introduced alongside the Smith & Wesson Military & Police Model (later Model 10) around the turn of the 20th century. Police Positive barrels ranged between a snub-nosed 2.5 inch length to six inches, with Talbot’s commandeered Colt in Fear Is the Key configured with the standard four-inch barrel common to many police revolvers.
What to Imbibe
“Look, I’m just drivin’ through this clammy swamp you call a state, and I want a drink!” Talbot insists while causing commotion at Johnny’s Country Bar. Assumption Parish law forbids him from being served hard liquor, so Wally offers beer, but Talbot demands bourbon, pulling a bottle of 90-proof Ezra Brooks from behind the bar. He eventually accepts a can of Dixie beer to wash down his po’ boy, charged a total of $7.30 for the bites and booze.
A shot, a beer, and a po’ boy.
The Ezra Brooks label was still relatively new to the scene at the time Fear Is the Key was made, launched in 1957 at the Hoffman Distilling Company in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Even with prominent product placement in movies like this and The Sting (where it anachronistically appeared decades before it was introduced), the brand failed to gain a foothold in the saturated bourbon market and was discontinued later the in ’70s, only to be revived with greater success in the 1990s. More than 30 years after the Ezra Brand was relaunched, it remains in production at Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown, with a variety of products ranging from straight rye and sour mash to cinnamon and cream liqueurs.
Dixie beer was even more local to Louisiana, founded by Valentine Merz in New Orleans in 1907. The brand survived Prohibition and a host of acquisitions and bankruptcies through the 1980s until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the brewery was severely damaged by flooding. Production of Dixie beer temporary moved to Wisconsin for more than a decade until it slowly made its way down south again, stopping at the Blues City Brewery in Memphis before the new brewery opened at the end of 2019. In response to the “Dixie” nomenclature’s association with the Confederacy, the company and label were rechristened Faubourg within a year.
How to Get the Look
Barry Newman in Fear is the Key (1972)
Barry Newman was dressed the part of the ’70s action hero in Fear Is the Key with his matching blue moleskin trucker jacket and trousers, paired with a work-shirt, cowboy boots, and a Pepsi bezel Rolex GMT Master as resilient as his character’s determination to get revenge.
- Light-blue poplin work shirt with point collar, six-button front placket, two box-pleated chest pockets (with pointed single-button flaps), single-button cuffs, and straight hem
- Blue moleskin cotton Lee work jacket with five branded gunmetal rivet buttons, two patch-style chest pockets (with pointed single-button flaps), single-button cuffs, and 2-button waistband side-tabs
- Blue moleskin cotton Lee trendy jeans with belt loops, two curved front patch pockets (with inset coin/watch pocket on the right), and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
- Dark-brown leather belt with rectangular brass-toned double-prong buckle
- Brown leather square-toed calf-high cowboy boots
- Gold-framed aviator-style sunglasses
- Rolex GMT Master ref. 1675/1 stainless steel chronometer with 39mm case, blue-and-red “Pepsi” bezel insert, black matte dial with luminous hands and white 3:00 date window, and stainless steel Oyster-style three-piece link bracelet
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
Can’t stay scared? Stay alive.
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