Bill Murray as Frank Cross in Scrooged (1988)
Vitals
Bill Murray as Frank Cross, cynical TV executive
New York City, December 1988
Film: Scrooged
Release Date: November 23, 1988
Director: Richard Donner
Costume Designer: Wayne A. Finkelman
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy December! I’m already in the the midst of rewatching many of my favorite Christmas movies, which range in vibe from sentimental to cynical. Action director Richard Donner helmed two of the most cynical holiday-themed movies—Lethal Weapon and Scrooged—released back-to-back in 1987 and 1988, respectively.
A comic update of Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol, Scrooged stars Bill Murray as Frank Cross, president of the fictional IBC television network who gets the chance to prove whether Murray still ain’t afraid of no ghosts.
We meet Frank in the midst of reviewing IBC’s proposed slate of Christmas Eve programming, consisting of a machine-gunning Lee Majors saving Santa Claus, Bob Goulet’s Cajun Christmas, the innuendo-laden ’50s-style sitcom Father Loves Beaver, and a $40 million live production of “Scrooge” starring Buddy Hackett and Jamie Farr that ultimately prompts Frank to react:
Oh my gosh! Does that suck?
It becomes quickly evident that Frank will be our own Scrooge surrogate, as he demands his loyal assistant Grace (Alfre Woodard) work late rather than take her son to a much-needed medical appointment after taking a perverse delight in firing a nervous employee who had the nerve to speak out against Frank’s shock-and-awe TV promo.
What’d He Wear?
Frank Cross is introduced in a villainously dark corporate wardrobe, chaotically patterned with a navy pinstripe suit over a paisley-on-paisley shirt and tie combination. Despite the chaos, the clothing follows a relatively timeless cut that flatters Bill Murray while avoiding much of the bagginess that plagued menswear through the late 1980s.
The navy worsted wool suiting is patterned with a narrowly spaced white pinstripe. Frank’s tailor gives him the “power suit” silhouette with pagoda shoulders, which follow the concave part of the shoulder but curves out (rather than down), as defined by Matt Spaiser for Bond Suits‘ post that describes them as “the other natural shoulder”. This technique was popular at the time Scrooged was produced in the late 1980s, as also modeled on screen by Pierce Brosnan on Remington Steele and Timothy Dalton in his first James Bond film, The Living Daylights. Frank’s suit jacket has roped sleeve-heads that further emphasize the concave shape.
Frank’s double-breasted 4×1-button suit jacket has handsomely broad peak lapels with slightly slanted gorges. The 4×1-button configuration originated during the 1930s when Prince George, the Duke of Kent, only the bottom row of his 4×2-button double-breasted jackets. A more intentional 4×1-button style emerged at the time and was revived in the 1980s with the lower row of buttons often positioned below the waistline.
The ventless jacket has straight jetted hip pockets and a welted breast pocket that Frank dresses with a slate-blue silk pocket square. The sleeves are finished with three vestigial buttons on each cuff.
While Frank and his boss Preston Rhinelander (Robert Mitchum) differ with their shirts and ties, both men model conventional yet contemporary double-breasted pinstripe business suits.
The single-pleated trousers rise to Murray’s natural waist, rigged with both belt loops and buttons along the inside of the waistband to accommodate suspenders. They have side pockets, jetted back pockets, and turn-ups (cuffs) that break over the tops of his black leather cap-toe, high-vamp loafers—a more conventional business shoe than the cowboy boots he wears with his jacket and tie the following day.
Belt or braces?
Frank wears both belt and braces, though this is likely a continuity error rather than sartorial redundancy. During the initial scenes in his office, he holds his trousers up with a narrow black scaled leather belt that closes through a gold-toned rectangular single-prong buckle. In a later scene, Frank removes his jacket to reveal no belt, instead now holding up his trousers with black cloth suspenders that have silver-toned adjusters and black leather hooks connecting to buttons along the inside of the waistband.
After decades of easier-to-wear belts having eclipsed suspenders in popularity, suspenders returned as a fashion statement during the ’80s as seen in movies like Wall Street, where businessmen sported them as a status symbol. Given this cultural context, our more incidental glimpse of Frank’s belt in the previous scene, and the fact that costume designer Wayne A. Finkelman prominently dressed Frank in suspenders during the scene where he actually removes his jacket, we can conclude that suspenders are the “canonical” choice for how Frank chose to hold up his trousers.
Rather than a conventional white, blue, or striped shirt, Frank initially wears an offbeat navy-blue shirt in a tonal all-over paisley print. The shirt has a semi-spread collar, breast pocket, button cuffs, and a fly front which covers the button-up placket.
By merely swapping out a traditional white or lighter blue shirt for his dark paisley shirt, Frank Cross subverts business dress conventions and looks every bit the brash, hotshot ’80s executive.
Frank’s colorful paisley tie is muted against the busy paisley print of his shirt. This slim silk neckwear features a large-scaled all-over green-and-burgundy paisley print against a mid-blue ground. Though he isn’t as seasonally festive in his apparel as his boss Preston Rhinelander (Robert Mitchum), the green and red tones in Frank’s tie could be a subtle nod to the upcoming Christmas holiday.
That evening, Frank changes into a black velvet dinner jacket and bow tie that he wears during his initial spectral visit from the ghost of his deceased mentor Lew Hayward (John Forsythe), followed by a navy cashmere double-breasted jacket that he wears with a white shirt and burgundy patterned tie for his experiences with the ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future.
Through it all, Frank always wears his Audemars Piguet Quantieme Perpetual Calendar watch, likely the 25657BA model. The 18-karat yellow-gold 36mm case encircles a round white dial with gold non-numeric hour indices and sub-registers indicating the day of the week, month, and date at 9, 12, and 3 o’clock, respectively, as well as a moon-phase complication above the 6 o’clock position. Powered by Audemars Piguet’s 2120/1 caliber automatic movement, the watch is secured to Frank’s left wrist on a black leather strap.
A later scene leaves no doubt regarding the watch model on Frank’s left wrist, though it curiously depicts the date as November 23rd for a scene set exactly one month later on December 23rd.
What to Imbibe
Frank Cross typically drinks Vodka & Cola, specifically mixed with Stolichnaya “Red Label” 80-proof vodka and Tab cola. This unsophisticated highball suits the brash Frank who doesn’t care about the opinions of others. On a deeper level, this low-calorie combination is also as devoid of substance as the programming that Frank approves.
Frank’s assistant Grace pours him one of his usual Stoli-and-Tabs while they review his Christmas gifts for people like Colonel Tom Parker.
How to Get the Look
Bill Murray as Frank Cross in Scrooged (1988)
Frank Cross puts a characteristically brash spin on the ’80s “power suit” look, balancing his smart tailoring with a subtly sinister dark shirt—its busy paisley print competing with the paisley in his tie—and accessorizing with a tonal pocket square, suspenders, and a gold luxury watch.
- Navy pinstripe suit:
- Double-breasted 4×1-button jacket with peak lapels, welted breast pocket, straight jetted hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and ventless back
- Single reverse-pleated trousers with belt loops, side pockets, jetted back pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
- Navy tonal paisley shirt with semi-spread collar, covered-fly front, breast pocket, and button cuffs
- Blue silk tie with green-and-burgundy paisley print
- Black suspenders with silver adjusters and black leather hooks
- Black leather cap-toe loafers
- Audemars Piguet Quantieme Perpetual Calendar 25657BA watch with 18-karat yellow-gold 36mm case, round white dial (with 3 sub-dials and moon-phase complication), and black leather strap
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
We have spent $40 million on a live TV show—you guys have got an ad with America’s favorite old fart reading a book in front of a fireplace! Now… I have to kill all of you!
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