Gordon Lightfoot, Union Suit Fan?  Part II

On the train ride to prison, Harry Tracy was permitted to go to the can where he rubbed soap on his hands to enable him to slip from the handcuffs he was wearing. 

When he was "encouraged" to finish his business and return to his seat, 

 

Tracy reentered the passenger area of the train car, overwhelmed the deputy, grabbed his rifle 

and held the marshall and three other guardsman hostage!

Tracy pulled an emergency cord making the train abruptly screech to a stop. The lawmen were soon made to drop their guns and peel out of their coats and clothes. They were then encouraged to descend the stairs of the train car into the bitter cold, clad only in their long underwear and boots, the marshall in his union suit. Brrr! 

With Tracy's gun trained on them, the lawmen had no choice but to begin the long, embarrassing walk back to town in their long johns. 

 

Tracy, in the meantime, led the marshall's horse down off the train. 

Having climbed up and into the saddle... 

he road in the same direction, soon galloping past the shivering men, slowly making their way back the way they had come.

Hundreds of lawmen of every sort chased Tracy hoping to finally apprehend the now famous thieving bank robber. 

Enjoy this good, old time movie to see if the union suited Gordon Lightfoot gets his gun and clothes back and if Bruce Dern is finally brought to justice. 

Harry Tracy was reshown in theaters, on television and now streaming having been twice retitled:  

In appreciation to Telefilm Canada, the actors and all those who brought this story first to the big screen and now into our homes. Thanks from Union Suit Fans in the Limelight!

Gordon Lightfoot, Union Suit Fan?  Part I

Perhaps, but I don't really know. This popular Canadian singer-song writer, who passed away May 1, 2023 in Toronto, has been called Canada's "national treasure" and the country's "most successful and loved contemporary folk singer." 

Born in 1938 he was no doubt very familiar with long underwear, being from the north country and all. Lightfoot began writing and performing music in 1958 and became famous and loved in the 1960's and 70's. My very favorite song of his was "If you could read my mind." To hear, copy and paste:  https://youtu.be/jiU2lrGnT7U?t=1

By the time I purchased his album featuring this popular song, I, myself, had been wearing union suits for a few years.

Lightfoot's first public wearing the one-piece, button up the front, rear escape hatch long underwear may have been in the film, Harry Tracy, first released by Telefilm Canada in 1975. He played  U.S. Marshall Morrie Nathan, starring along side Bruce Dern who played Tracy, the last of the old west, train-robbing, notorious gang members. All the other late 19th century thieves and murderers were with dead or in prison.

The first 15 minutes was of Tracy wearing only his boots and white long johns breaking out of a jail in freezing cold Aspen, Colorado 

 It was not revealed why escape artist Tracy was in jail unclothed, and how he happened to escape. 

He raced across town in the snow in his underwear until he found a horse to steal. Tracy high-tailed it out of town, bent on finding the woman (Helen Shaver as Catherine Tuttle), a judge's daughter whom he deeply loved and had traveled all the way to Portland in the far northwest to seek. 

Hot on his heels, was the Marshal and his native American tracker:

Tracy was finally chased down and apprehended, still in his long johns by the marshall... 

Get away from me with that damn camera! 

...and returned to jail where he was confined in only dripping wet underwear, 

until a train could take him to a more secure prison. 

He had made the front page of the local newspaper

 in his long johns being attended to by his true love: 

The marshall was wakened, pulled on his britches over this union suit 

to inform Harry it was time to head to the train station: 

To see what happens next on the train ride to prison, check back with Union Suit Fans in the Limelight for Part II of "Gordon Lightfoot, Union Suit Fan?" 

You'll see how Marshall Nathan ends up out in the snow in only his derby and union suit!

The Tailors Wore Union Suits Too

Yentl wears a union suit under his,
 'er her, clothes

After I posted "More Movie Trivia" regarding the film, Yentl, this past October 16th, I received an email from Samuel of Boston, Mass:  

Chris: In your last photo (in Movie Trivia) of the tailor and his boy in the Yentl movie, both are shown with their sleeves rolled up and they too have on white union suits under their clothes....Samuel, hailing from Boston where I wear white union suits myself a good part of the year.

Rhode Island Randall agreed, his comment: 

Yes when the picture is enlarged, you can definitely see the Tailor and his son with their white union suits showing with their shirt sleeves rolled up…… Rhode Island Randall 

Well, let's take a look at these enlarged photos from the film, Yentl. Here's the scene the guys spoke of: 

Sure enough, when the photo of the tailors who are measuring Yentl for wedding clothes is enlarged, you can clearly see (particularly the tailor's son ) that their sleeves are rolled up and that the underwear both are wearing are white union suits. 

Good catch, fellas!  I didn't notice those tailors wearing union 

suits under their suits until you pointed it out: 

And from more scenes: 

Union suits of all three can be seen...

Artie up in Maine, a devoted Union Suit Fan, also commented he's a white union suit wearer, 

and sent me a photo to prove it!

"I’m definitely a 

white union suit guy 👍"

Artie: I wear white 
union suits too!
Keep 'em buttoned!