When you think of Steve McQueen, you probably picture him jumping a motorcycle over a barbed-wire fence or tearing through the streets of San Francisco in a Highland Green Mustang. He was the "King of Cool" for a reason. He was the guy in the denim, the guy with the grease under his fingernails.
But then came 1968.
The Thomas Crown Affair was a total curveball. Most people at the time—including the film’s director, Norman Jewison—didn’t think McQueen could pull off playing a billionaire. He was too "street." He was too rugged. But McQueen fought for the role of Thomas Crown because he saw something in the character that everyone else missed: a rebel who just happened to wear a three-piece suit.
Honestly, it’s the movie that redefined what "cool" looked like for an entire generation.
Breaking the Macho Mold
Before 1968, McQueen was the ultimate blue-collar hero. To play Thomas Crown, a Boston Brahmin with a Phi Beta Kappa key and a penchant for masterminding bank heists out of pure boredom, he had to change everything.
He didn't just put on a suit. He transformed his entire physicality.
Director Norman Jewison was famously skeptical. He’d worked with McQueen on The Cincinnati Kid and knew the actor’s rough edges. To convince the world he was a tycoon, McQueen turned to Doug Hayward, a legendary London tailor. Hayward crafted a wardrobe of exquisite three-piece suits that gave McQueen a "predatory elegance."
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It worked.
The contrast between McQueen’s gritty, squint-eyed intensity and the refinement of a Savile Row silhouette created something magnetic. He wasn't playing a gentleman; he was playing a shark in a very expensive skin. You've probably seen the stills of him leaning against his Rolls Royce or checking his Patek Philippe pocket watch. It’s the peak of 1960s sartorial perfection.
The Faye Dunaway Factor
You can't talk about Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair without talking about Faye Dunaway. She played Vicki Anderson, the insurance investigator tasked with catching him.
Their chemistry was legitimate lightning in a bottle.
The most famous scene in the movie isn't a car chase or a shootout. It's a game of chess. No words. Just long, lingering shots and a massive amount of unspoken tension. Jewison later joked that by the end of the scene, Steve had basically "exposed his queen."
That chess match took three days to film. Three days! The resulting kiss—a dizzying, rotating shot—became one of the most iconic moments in cinema history. Hal Ashby, who edited the film before becoming a great director himself, used these experimental techniques to make the movie feel like a fever dream of wealth and desire.
Innovation and the Split-Screen Craze
If the movie feels a bit "mod" or "trippy" when you watch it today, that’s because Jewison was obsessed with what he saw at Expo 67 in Montreal. He saw multi-screen films and decided he wanted that same energy for a heist movie.
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He brought in Pablo Ferro to design the opening credits and the bank robbery sequences.
Instead of one image, you got five, ten, sometimes dozens of panels on screen at once. It was a way to show simultaneous action—the getaway car, the bank clock, the nervous look on a robber's face—all at the same time. It was groundbreaking.
- The Heist: It wasn't about the money. Crown was a millionaire. He did it for the "win."
- The Technology: They used hidden cameras in Boston to film real people who didn't know a movie was being made.
- The Dune Buggy: That famous beach scene? McQueen did his own driving. He even helped design the buggy with Pete Condos, putting a Corvair engine in it to give it enough kick to fly over the dunes at Crane Beach.
The FBI actually refused to help with the movie. They thought the script made them look incompetent because Crown actually gets away with it in the end. McQueen loved that. He felt a kinship with Crown’s middle finger to the establishment.
The Style Legacy
Even if you aren't a film buff, you’ve likely felt the influence of this movie. Those Persol 714 folding sunglasses McQueen wore? They’re still a best-seller today because of him. The "Windmills of Your Mind" theme song by Michel Legrand won an Oscar and has been covered by everyone from Dusty Springfield to Sting.
Critics at the time were actually kind of mean about it. Roger Ebert called it "under-plotted" and "over-photographed." He thought it was all style and no substance.
But 60 years later, the style is the substance.
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It captured a moment where Hollywood was moving away from old-school glamour and into something more cynical, more sleek, and much more dangerous. McQueen proved he wasn't just a guy who could drive fast; he was an actor who could command a room without saying a single word.
How to Channel the Thomas Crown Vibe Today
If you're looking to bring a bit of that McQueen-era sophistication into your own life, you don't need to rob a bank or buy a glider. It’s more about the mindset of "quiet confidence."
- Invest in Tailoring: McQueen’s suits in the film were British-cut, meaning structured shoulders and a suppressed waist. If you’re wearing a suit, make sure it actually fits your frame. A cheap suit that fits perfectly always looks better than a designer suit that’s too big.
- The Power of Accessories: Notice how Crown uses a pocket watch or a specific pair of shades to signal his status. Find one "signature" item—a quality watch, a specific type of eyewear, or even a classic coat—and make it yours.
- Master the Pause: In the movie, McQueen says very little. He lets his presence do the work. In a world of constant digital noise, there is immense power in being the person who listens more than they speak.
- Action as a Hobby: Crown didn't just sit in boardrooms; he played polo and drove buggies. Finding a physical outlet that requires skill and focus is the fastest way to build that "cool" that McQueen projected so effortlessly.
The real lesson of The Thomas Crown Affair isn't about the crime—it's about the fact that even at the top, you should never stop being a bit of a rebel.