Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Cary Grant is not a "hatman"?

Yohanes

One of the Regulars
Messages
287
Location
Indonesia
OK, during the era, everyone wants to be Cary Grant. How he looks, act, and dress. I wonder why I seldom see his picture in fedora / hat. Honestly I only watched 3 of his movies: Philadelphia story, Affair to remember, and North by Northwest. In "Philadelphia", he only wears a quite nice hat in the beginning. In "Affair" - I don't know, I feel his hat isn't nice, or doesn't suit him? Even the extras have better hats! In "north" I don't remember he even wears any hat at all. I rarely saw his photos wearing hat either.

I know this is just a shallow observation, but is it true that Grant is not considered among our hat heroes / icon like Bogart, Cagney, Sinatra, or Alain Delon?
 

Jovan

Suspended
Messages
4,095
Location
Gainesville, Florida
I've seen one picture of him HOLDING a hat and wearing a double breasted overcoat. Not sure how often he wore it.

Tomasso, you still have that picture?
 

AlanC

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,175
Location
Heart of America
playdohh22.jpg


In the recent Cary Grant book by Torregrossa he discusses the hat issue. He claims that Grant made a conscious decision not to wear them. I don't remember all the reasons. It's a very good book on the whole.

Here are a few of him in a hat:

hat-small.jpg
grant_c_works.gif


149861273_566d482e22_o.jpg
hisgirlfrday.jpg


cary7b.JPG
 

MAB1

Suspended
Messages
390
Location
Cool Town
So it wasn't Hatless Jack? It was Cary Grant!

Personally ...

I think the stingy brim styles made hats less than functional and mere decoration.
 

Jovan

Suspended
Messages
4,095
Location
Gainesville, Florida
So funny... the more I look at the bash on the held hat, the more it looks like he had a bad day and punched it in. lol Any hat experts have opinions on that? It could just be a funny home-made bash for all I know.
 

astaire

One of the Regulars
Yohannes, I have been wanting to be like Cary Grant since I was in high school and that was in the late 80's.

I have read somewhere that he chose not to wear hats since he thought his head was big and thus would make him look unproportional with a hat. Although many including myself would disagree, Cary Grant will always be the most suave of all the legendary movie stars with or without a hat. To quote Mr. Grant himself: "Even I want to be Cary Grant."

Anyways, I remember talking to a French lady who told me she cried when Cary Grant's death made headline on the Parisian newspaper Le Monde.

Now you made me want to go back and watch North by Northwest again, for the 168th time ;)

BTW does anyone has a pick of an unkempt, unshaven Cary Grant wearing the sailor's hat in Father Goose? One of the funniest Cary Grant movies and a must see!
 

HarpPlayerGene

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,682
Location
North Central Florida
Hat abuse

Jovan said:
So funny... the more I look at the bash on the held hat, the more it looks like he had a bad day and punched it in. lol Any hat experts have opinions on that? It could just be a funny home-made bash for all I know.

Punched it in. That's good.
One thing I've noticed about the golden era (when I watch classic films) is that it seems men were a lot less particular and respectful of their hats then than we who collect them are now. They'd grab 'em up and slap 'em on their heads when they leave and when they got to the office or home they'd pinch 'em by the crown or grab the brim and just toss 'em recklessly wherever they landed. The Grant bash in that photo may be a display of his disdain or it may be typical of how many hats were treated. A lot of guys gave no more thought to them really than when you yank off a tie and plop it in a heap or toss a raincoat over a chair back.

I kinda' wish I were cool enough to be that cavalier with my hats but like many of you here at the Lounge, I teat them like delicate little flowers and constantly tweak them to perfection. Or try to.

Gene
 

Slouch-Hat

Familiar Face
Messages
94
Location
Southern California
My favorite Cary Grant film is FATHER GOOSE, and he wears a couple of great hats in that picture; an old beater of a yachting/navy cap, and a 'relaxed' old fedora. Check this film out.

Slouch-Hat...
 

Brian Sheridan

One Too Many
Messages
1,456
Location
Erie, PA
I believe that Grant did not like wearing hats because he percieved that he had a big head and a thick neck and a hat made it look bigger.

If you want a great star who looked great in hats and wore several of them in every movie he made - check out the work Clark Gable did at MGM during the 1930's. I believe Comrade X is coming up this week on TCM. Gable always looks dapper and topped it all of with a hat.
 

JohnnyGringo

A-List Customer
Messages
353
Location
OH-IO
I believe in the Torregrossa book he said CG didn't think he looked good in hats and chose not to wear them...(?)
 

Mocheman

One of the Regulars
Messages
154
Location
Southwestern Florida, USA
I'm not surprised he didn't like hats since they never seemed to give him a hat that matched the size and shape of his head. Every time I've seen him in one I wondered if anyone actually took the time to decided if the hat really suited him. It seems strange for a guy who took so much time on getting the clothes perfect wouldn't take the time to get the right hat.

Of course when you remember him now you think of the perfect quaff of hair so it worked out for him anyway.
 

LocktownDog

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,254
Location
Northern Nevada
He looked fine in hats ... who doesn't? ;) But maybe it was a perceived idea on his part. He did seem to wear those caps pretty comfortably in Father Goose. Maybe the fedora thing just wasn't his style.

Then again if I had great hair like his, I wouldn't hide it under a hat either! :D


Richard
 

Jovan

Suspended
Messages
4,095
Location
Gainesville, Florida
HarpPlayerGene said:
Punched it in. That's good.
One thing I've noticed about the golden era (when I watch classic films) is that it seems men were a lot less particular and respectful of their hats then than we who collect them are now. They'd grab 'em up and slap 'em on their heads when they leave and when they got to the office or home they'd pinch 'em by the crown or grab the brim and just toss 'em recklessly wherever they landed. The Grant bash in that photo may be a display of his disdain or it may be typical of how many hats were treated. A lot of guys gave no more thought to them really than when you yank off a tie and plop it in a heap or toss a raincoat over a chair back.

I kinda' wish I were cool enough to be that cavalier with my hats but like many of you here at the Lounge, I teat them like delicate little flowers and constantly tweak them to perfection. Or try to.

Gene
I think you may have a point there.

Tomasso: Thanks!
 

Feraud

Bartender
Messages
17,190
Location
Hardlucksville, NY
Jovan said:
So funny... the more I look at the bash on the held hat, the more it looks like he had a bad day and punched it in. lol Any hat experts have opinions on that? It could just be a funny home-made bash for all I know.



HarpPlayerGene said:
Punched it in. That's good.
One thing I've noticed about the golden era (when I watch classic films) is that it seems men were a lot less particular and respectful of their hats then than we who collect them are now. They'd grab 'em up and slap 'em on their heads when they leave and when they got to the office or home they'd pinch 'em by the crown or grab the brim and just toss 'em recklessly wherever they landed. The Grant bash in that photo may be a display of his disdain or it may be typical of how many hats were treated. A lot of guys gave no more thought to them really than when you yank off a tie and plop it in a heap or toss a raincoat over a chair back.

I kinda' wish I were cool enough to be that cavalier with my hats but like many of you here at the Lounge, I teat them like delicate little flowers and constantly tweak them to perfection. Or try to.

Gene

I am no expert but have some hat experience. My hat creases are generally not symmetrical. I crease and wear 'em. Most of my vintage hats were purchased pre-creased so there is nothing for me to do but wear them.
All that fiddling, steaming, and trying to achieve a perfectly aligned hat is unnecessary.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,304
Messages
3,078,390
Members
54,244
Latest member
seeldoger47
Top