Halloween Costume: Maxwell Smart from the Get Smart Movie

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I get to dress up in costume, visit complete strangers, and get free candy and other treats from them. Despite costuming being one of my hobbies, I always manage to wait until the last minute to do a costume for Halloween. I usually keep my anime and sci-fi costumes for their respective conventions and aim for a more general costume for the general public. This year I've decided to do a costume from one of the past summer movies of this year: Maxwell Smart from "Get Smart." If you've seen the movie or the original TV series, Maxwell Smart's outfit is the simplest of the simplest: A basic suit. But because the costume is simple, executing the costume and being recognized as the comically inept spy is going to be a real challenge.

Following my rules of cheap costume construction, first I have to break down the components of the costume. This means watching the movie and doing an image search for reference pictures. Included is the reference picture I am using to create my costume. The picture shows Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart holding the iconic shoe phone. Looking at it, Maxwell wears a black suit, white dress shirt, black tie, tie clip, and his hair parted on the left side. I'll assume the shoe Maxwell isn't using as a phone is black as well. Materials should be simple enough for a man to acquire. Every man should have at least one black suit, one black tie, a pair of black dress shoes, and one white dress shirt in his closet. Tie clips are easy to get at fancy stores like Nordstrom or budget stores like Ross. So in terms of clothing, the costume is complete. But wearing a costume like that doesn't really stand out as a costume. At best people will think you are plainly dressed. At worst people will think you are plainly dressed for a funeral. The devil in this project is in the details and the details will help make the costume stand out as a costume.

Between surgery to make my face resemble Steve Carell's and brushing up on my improv comedy classes to act like an inept spy, I decided a more practical way to complete my Maxwell Smart costume is through accessories. A quick accessory I found on-line was an official "Get Smart" site that allows me to create my own Control or KAOS identification badge. After entering my name and location and choosing a faction (In this case, Control), the site generates a picture of a badge that I can print, laminate, and clip it to my coat. At the very least, it'll be known as a Control/KAOS agent costume since the name Maxwell Smart may already be taken on the site.

The shoe phone is also an excellent prop for the costume. to make a shoe phone, I'd take black dress shoe from a thrift store (preferably in the same style of the black dress shoe already worn for the costume) and a the surface of a phone (toy phone, non-functioning cell phone, or a small regular phone) that has the buttons mounted. Using a razor blade or other precise cutting tool, cut a hole matching the phone button surface into the sole of the shoe. Insert and glue the phone buttons inside the hole. For added effect, I'd stab a retractable antenna into the front of the shoe to get better reception. A word of advice: do NOT pack this shoe phone prop when traveling through a major airline. The TSA will most likely mistake the shoe phone for a shoe bomb and the joke ends here.

Having a female dressed as Agent 99 will help gain recognition as Maxwell Smart. It'll be up to her how she executes her costume. I'd suggest a lady with long dark hair and can provide a good comedic foil to your antics as a start. One final ace I have up my sleeve for my costume will actually be on my lapel. Before the "Get Smart" movie was released, Warner Bros. set up a panel with Steve Carell and other stars of the movie during 2008's WonderCon in San Francisco. I attended the panel and received a free Control pin. It will look great on the costume as it appears more authentic.

Hopefully this guide will help you for a last minute Halloween costume. Just make sure you finish on time so that you don't miss it by that much.