Clint Eastwood's Western Hats

[AlterEgo]

Though I've been a big fan of both Eastwood and hats since I was a kid, I never put the two together until recently when two things happened: A string of his old movies were on TV, and no less than three complete strangers called me "Clint" when I was wearing my new Akubra Lawson.

While I am tall and lanky and had on this hat, there the similarity with the famous actor/director ends, as I'm at least 20 years his junior, have few wrinkles, am a motor-mouth, and have bedded FAR fewer than a thousand chicks. Of course, I took the comments as extremely favorable!

At any rate, I'm talking about the hats Eastwood wore mainly in the "spaghetti westerns" of the 1960s and '70s such as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "A Fistful of Dollars," "High Plains Drifter," and others.

Although these hats are a bit different, they are all basically the same, having a wide, nearly flat brim and a relatively short crown height. Like Eastwood, they are less-is-more, with a tough, weathered appearance.

I say they have a flat brim, but when you look at them carefully in close-up scenes, some have a pencil roll--easily categorized as a Gambler--yet somehow Eastwood's penetrating glare and their perfectly-parallel-to-the-ground juxtaposition on his head lend them an altogether different look. Would you call this general style a "Gaucho?"

Who made the hats in these films? Can they be seen in museums or elsewhere "in person?" Has anyone made reproductions of these hats? Has anyone here had one custom-made by Art or Gus or whoever? Got pics?

I'd like answers to any of these questions, but, moreover, just open a discussion about these magnificent hats. Anything you can contribute, no matter how minor, is greatly appreciated.

 

[hatflick1]

Here's a custom maker of Clint Eastwood style hats.

http://www.knudsenhats.com/clinteastwood.html

 

[150719541]

Famous Hats

I think so, the famous hats have been used in known movies on great artist like Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen in "Nevada Smith" (also western), Humprey Bogart "Casablanca", Robert Stack "The Untouchables" (T.V. program), Jean Paul Belmondo "Borsalino", Kevin Costner "The Untouchables" (mafia movie), Gregory Peck "To kill a mockingbird", Al Pacino "The Godfather", Marlon Brando in the same movie, the Jhon Wayne hats (westerns), The Sinatra´s, The Tango singer Gardel hats, Gene Hackman "Mississippi burns" (fedora and open road models), some used in sports men like Tom Landry, Steve Garvey, comics hats in Chaplin or Mario Moreno "Cantinflas" and too many wich aren´t in my memory now. I understand that KNUDSEN HAT CO. in San Francisco area make copies of famous hats, to me is better make our own design fixing any hat.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Here are some web sites
http://hollywoodprop.com/spaghettihats.htm
http://www.baronhats.com/noname.htm
http://www.thelastbestwest.com/western_movie_hats.htm

Penman has made one up for a lounger before
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=38792
http://www.penmanhats.com/

If it was me I would get one done by a custom shop
http://www.penmanhats.com/
http://www.jaxonbilthats.com/index.html
http://www.vintagesilhouettes.com/
http://www.smithbilthats.com/

My two cents worth.

Johnny

 

[Lone_Ranger]

I was always looking for the "Eastwood" poncho. Hard to find. The usual fare, is vary brightly covered. Not exactly ideal for the lone drifter, on the high plains. You want earth tones, to blend in. (I see that they are still out of stock!)

 

[frussell]

Several Places for Ponchos

Try Latham Trading. Seems like I used to find them at El Paso Saddleblanket, but that's a confusing site. I Googled "Mexican Ponchos" and came up with lots of places that sell more muted colors. Years ago, I went to a town near Puebla, Mexico that was famous for its wool weavings. I came back with some beautiful, grey/brown/earthtone ponchos that I gave to fellow horsemen. Nice, all wool, not the polyester ones that you see nowadays. The new manmade material ponchos have a tendency to turn into a material much like dryer lint when washed or dried. Good luck, everyone should have a poncho, just to see the look on people's faces when you throw the front edge over your shoulder to go for your car keys or some change. Frank

 

[The Good]

Try Latham Trading. Seems like I used to find them at El Paso Saddleblanket, but that's a confusing site. I Googled "Mexican Ponchos" and came up with lots of places that sell more muted colors. Years ago, I went to a town near Puebla, Mexico that was famous for its wool weavings. I came back with some beautiful, grey/brown/earthtone ponchos that I gave to fellow horsemen. Nice, all wool, not the polyester ones that you see nowadays. The new manmade material ponchos have a tendency to turn into a material much like dryer lint when washed or dried. Good luck, everyone should have a poncho, just to see the look on people's faces when you throw the front edge over your shoulder to go for your car keys or some change. Frank

I would love to own a poncho one day, and hopefully wear it (maybe some sort of green one similar to Clint Eastwood's), but I'd probably be far too self-conscious while wearing it. I'm not Mexican, so I don't think I can claim rightfully the poncho (and sombrero for that matter) as a part of my wardrobe very easily. Yet Clint Eastwood's not even Mexican, and makes the look work in his Sergio Leone western trilogy as Joe/Monco/Blondie/The Man With No Name. If I owned one, I'd probably wear it in the countryside. To me, that look is more at home in a natural, wilderness environment, rather than the suburbs near a major city. To those that do actually wear traditional ponchos, keep doing it, I think it's cool, not to mention, actually functional.

Regarding the Clint Eastwood hats, well, I can definitely see myself buying one within a few years, most likely the one he wore in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, and A Fistful of Dollars.

 

[150719541]

Mexican Ponchos

:eusa_clap I born in 1954, me have lived whole my life till now in this beautiful land (Mexico), and believe wich this "poncho using" is native of our country, furthermore the use of this wool cover shelter comes in couple with any cowboy or similar kind hat.
The "poncho" is called also "jorongo" and in gaudy deep colors is called: "sarape de saltillo".
(sarape = serape, blanquet and: Saltillo = northern city in Coahuila State).
In winter much people used it in several villages and towns.:eusa_clap

 

[The Good]

:eusa_clap I born in 1954, me have lived whole my life till now in this beautiful land (Mexico), and believe wich this "poncho using" is native of our country, furthermore the use of this wool cover shelter comes in couple with any cowboy or similar kind hat.
The "poncho" is called also "jorongo" and in gaudy deep colors is called: "sarape de saltillo".
(sarape = serape, blanquet and: Saltillo = northern city in Coahuila State).
In winter much people used it in several villages and towns.:eusa_clap

It's great to know that it's still being worn in Mexico! I think ponchos are cool, but many younger generation Mexicans seem to have abandoned traditional clothing like that mainly in favor of modern street/urban wear that's prevalent in the United States.

 

[donnc]

Might also be possible to find similar garments in use in Argentina and neighboring countries. The Argentine source I know of offers ponchos that aren't gaudy at all - but they're cotton, sadly, so I'm not sure what the point is. Maybe they wear them to the office.

 

[150719541]

Mexican folks

Hi, J B , yes it is so, is lamentable that new mexican generations are abandoning our customs, but is the new era, are trademarks and trademarks in wearing, wich, the most people prefer. Can you imagine? ¡¡¡ Mexico in 1810 had more than 300 ethnic groups with different language and customs every one !!! Up date, this group survive 70, some are using own hats and serapes.
But, it is amazement, can see some original hats like:
Chamula Hat, Jarocho Hat and Tarasco Hat.

 

[Riot Earp]

I read somewhere that Eastwood purchased the first "Man With No Name" hat from a store in California before heading to Italy to shoot the first film (A Fistful of Dollars). It was an inexpensive hat, and was not made by a custom hat maker. It wasn't even a new hat, as I recall.

 

[carouselvic]

Ponchos can be found on ebay. "eastwood poncho"

 

[AlterEgo]

Thanks, Johnny, for the links to all those sites with Eastwood hats and stuff.

It was equally interesting to pick up trivia about him and those old western films. I did not know that Clint was the only American to appear in "Fistful of Dollars," the first of the three Sergio Leone "spaghetti westerns,"
and that taking that role for a "mere" $15,000 was considered working for nothing and a big risk for a guy with a steady TV job on "Rawhide," where he nevertheless stayed another three seasons through 1967.

I well remember watching Clint's Rowdy Somebodyorother character on that show as a kid with my granddad, a huge fan of the Western genre with whom I also always watched "Gunsmoke" (Did you know recently-deceased James Arness--Marshall Dillon--was John Wayne's real-life brother?), "Death Valley Days," "The Rifleman," and "Bonanza."

It was noteworthy to find out that, until near the close of the West as a frontier, hats were only available in black or three shades of brown--dark, very dark, and pert-near black. So, all these different shades of hats we see in movies are not, in fact, historically correct.

The local station currently showing those early Eastwood westerns has done so over and over, so I've watched them again and again to pick up details. For example, in the very first close-up scene in "Fistful"--when Clint's character gets off his horse and comes to the well for a drink of water--you see that his hat [already[/I] has the two bullet holes through the front of the crown. Think about it: That's so much better than the kitsch of having it shot through during any of the films.

Riot Earp said "I read somewhere that Eastwood purchased the first "Man With No Name" hat from a store in California before heading to Italy to shoot the first film (A Fistful of Dollars). It was an inexpensive hat, and was not made by a custom hat maker. It wasn't even a new hat, as I recall."

That would not surprise me at all, as Clint already knew from his "Rawhide" experience just what style of hat flattered his appearance and advanced his character. Whatever its origins, it appears the EXACT SAME HAT appears in all three Leone films, the last of which was made in 1967, but methinks there's no way there would have been a single hat that survived that long. By the way, Riot, those films were made in Spain; The "spaghetti western" moniker stems from Leone and much of his crew's being from Italy.

Anyway, I also learned that the Leone trilogy was not released in the U.S. until about the time the big-budget American picture "Hang 'Em High," dated 1968, was. That would explain why I seem to remember seeing all four in theaters as first-run movies around the same time with my best buddy Terry, who, like me, became a lifelong Eastwood fan at the age of 10.

Of all Clint's westerns, I like the hat he wears in "Hang 'Em High" best. It's sand colored, and has a virtually flat, around 3 1/2-inch brim; a relatively tall, untapered crown with no pinch and a telescope bash. Great looking on him. On me, well, I'm not so sure. Am I correct in calling this style a "gaucho?"

There was a blonde gal in college I had the hots for who had one just like it, only black, and she was absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, her feelings were not reciprocal, so I never got to see her in the hat only. But, I digress.

Though I loved those early Eastwood Westerns from day one, back then, the critics almost universally lambasted them. Current ratings for "Fistful" have it at three and a half stars, and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales" in the same category as "Red River," "Stagecoach," and "High Noon"--among the best westerns of all time.

And Eastwood himself, who one critic once panned as "wondering whether the so-called actor could even speak, so how could he possibly direct?" is now firmly entrenched in the pantheon of great actors and directors, with two Academy Awards and numerous nominations and other awards.

And all Clint did was continue his less-is-more/anti-hero hero philosophy of acting and film making. Funny how if you live long enough doing your own, different thing, the "cognocenti" eventually make you into a venerated icon.

 

[frussell]

Wayne and Arness?

Are you sure you're not thinking of Peter Graves? I'm not aware that James Arness and John Wayne were related at all. Frank

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

By the way, Riot, those films were made in Spain; The "spaghetti western" moniker stems from Leone and much of his crew's being from Italy.

Well as far as I know the movies were mainly shot in Spain, cause the locations there where better suited to represent Leone's idea of a generic american southwestern border, plus, it was kind of cheap and convenient to shoot there;
anyway, the production was italian.

Leone's great intuition in my opinion, not replicated by other spaghetti westerns, was to turn the american West in some kind of metaphysical place where the only thing that matters is the battle between great, larger-than-life personalities;
he did it in a very italian way, i.e., taking inspiration from the japanese
(in the first movie, I'd say a bit more of pure inspiration... the great Kurosawa felt plagiarized and Leone had to pay something, don't remember exactly)

Anyway, somehow the whole "japanese" idea turned out somehow in later b-grade spaghetti-westerns, where you find sometimes the eventual japanese character...

The movies of Leone's "trilogy" are always an amazing view for us italians: when you see, under the sombrero of the mexican outlaw, the face of the roman comedian...

Ciao!

 

[AlterEgo]

Are you sure you're not thinking of Peter Graves? I'm not aware that James Arness and John Wayne were related at all. Frank

Thanks for setting the record straight, Frank. Arness was recently-deceased Grave's brother, not Wayne, but the rest of what I said is on the mark. That's about the size of it, pilgrim.

 

[Woodfluter]

Bits of possibly errant trivia, dredged from fallible memory:

Think the Rawhide character played by Eastwood was "Rowdy Yates". Was from 1959 until a year after the first Leone movie - i.e. 1965.

I recall Eastwood brought his own clothes, including hat (and revolver) to Spain to play in the first Leone production. He also brought a serape or poncho, thinking that would be cool for his character, and Leone liked that but found it too brightly colored and got another one for him in more drab colors, onsite in Spain. I think the sheepskin vest was Leone's idea.

At the time, Westerns were made by the gross in Spain. Mostly by German or Italian producers, but for distribution throughout Europe. They usually had multinational casts, and nobody worried that they were speaking their lines in different languages because most of it got dubbed in later for different markets, including sound effects. A part of Spain (can't recall which) was favored because the terrain resembled the southwest US. They had sets built that were re-used by film after film. Leone took advantage of all that.

The difference was Leone's sensibility, a modern (1960's) Italian one, plus his own very individual take on things - and borrowing from Kurosawa.

I don't think Eastwood's hat was the same in the first three Leone movies: For a Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. They seemed different to me anyway, despite some similarities. You'll recall that in the third one he starts off wearing what appears to be a palm hat (sort of like the Sunbody ones) with a wide brim. He gets a felt hat somewhere along the line after getting captured...long story.

I kind of like the short-crowned reverse taper John Bull type hat he wears in High Plains Drifter. It's different from the rest.

Also, the stubby little cigars...Eastwood was a non-smoker, and these were a notoriously vile tasting Spanish variety that Leone thought looked very fitting. That's why you almost never see him light up.

- Bill