movie hats that inspired you...

[hatophile]

Enjoyed this narrow ribboned fedora tonight... worn by Tom Conway in Cat People (1942).

That hat is puurrrfect. And I agree with Scotty, the dame is the cat's meow!

 

[m0nk]

This thread is such a good read! Like many here, I was an Indy fan as a kid and have a Fed IV in Raiders-esk style now... but this wasn't actually the hat that got me interested... my parents used to watch all of those classic noir films, or anything with drama and mystery for that matter. Bogey was a big inspiration, and some of the early Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rathbone (not the deerstalker, but when he wore something along the lines of a fedora, Voice of Terror comes to mind). Untouchables is up there too. Not to mention the fact that my dad (and his dad before him) always wore nice hats as I was growing up, and still does today.

I used to have a hat like Bruce Willis wore in The Hudson Hawk, only to lose it to an ex almost 15 years ago, and after this I went without a good hat for a while. I started back up with first a Bailey Brandt (wool) and, oddly, the Raiders Fed IV while I figured out what period style fedora I'd like to go with and, after revisiting some of the movies I watched as a kid, I'm now working on getting something in the Bogey style. Of course, I also see a Moonstone colored Fed IV in my future, since this is such a quality hat for such a low price (all things considered).

 

[Joshbru3]

I had to throw this in here. Its from Robin & the 7 Hoods. Enjoy.

[video=youtube;xwCYBJe0o2M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwCYBJe0o2M[/video]

"A hats, not a hat....till its tilted."

 

[Marc Chevalier]

.
For me, it's Richard Gere's late '20s and early '30s fedoras in THE COTTON CLUB (1984):

 

[alanfgag]

That hat is puurrrfect. And I agree with Scotty, the dame is the cat's meow!

These too have another meeting late in the film... I'm not sure the hat survives. Worth a watch if you enjoy spooky shadows.

 

[Rabbit]

William Powells's light grey fedora in...

After the Thin Man (1936) w/ Myrna Loy:

 

[Rabbit]

William Powells's light grey fedora in...

My Man Godfrey (1936) w/ Carole Lombard

I love you again (1940) w/ Myrna Loy

 

[Rabbit]

Black fedora with side pinches from:

Man of the World (1931) William Powell, Carole Lombard

 

[Rabbit]

Gilbert Roland's light blue Homburg in The French Line (1953) w/ Jane Russell, Arthur Hunnicutt

Gave the idea for this VS Powderblue:

 

[Rabbit]

From: The Wedding Present (1936)

VS Silverbelly

 

[Rabbit]

On brim shapes...

Joseph Cotten in The Third Man (1949)

Edward Ellis in The Thin Man (1934)

 

[Rabbit]

Those were the days...

From: Manhattan Melodrama (1934)

 

[Benzadmiral]

And it appears that it's turned on his head, too, although the opposite way, and the front pinch wasn't realigned to the front. But I can see now where the idea came from. Also the shirt, and bag strap.

It's weird how few pics there are on the 'Net of GC in this role. Pics of the movie poster and a few others, and that's it.

It's also odd, looking back in the Era of Indy (tm), how relatively small-brimmed Cooper's fedora is -- a 2.5", maybe, or less? -- and how little swoop it has to the front brim. It truly looks like a hat meant for shade and rain protection, not to show off anything; as though Cooper's Robert Jordan picked it off a store shelf in New York or London or Barcelona, settled it on his head, paid, and went out to "blow the bridge" without giving his hat another thought.

 

[scottyrocks]

Benz, yes there are certainly differences. I account for some of them due to particular-to-the-era style. When hats were worn by men everyday, as in many of the photos above, including Cooper, styles were all over the place, so what Cooper wore was merely something that was a normal part of fashion/style. When Raiders was made, it was a period adventure. Men didn't wear fedoras, much less anything else on their heads. Baseball caps weren't even terribly 'in,' during the late '70s. Most baseball hats of that time were what we call today 'trucker' caps - plastic mesh panels with one or two cheapo 'cloth' panels in front.

So the person(s) responsible for creating Indy's hat (there are various versions of who was primarily responsible), not living in a 'hat culture,' were able to massage his fedora into whatever romanticized version they wished, staying reasonably accurate to what everyone wore back in the day. The dimensional brim was a concession to style. It's swoopy looks stemmed from a desire to have a long enough brim in the front without it sticking out too far, looking too cowboyhatish, on the sides.

'The turn' was a stylistic thing, as well. It was a way of making the hat look adventured in, the brim being distorted as it was. There were other factors in the final look of the Indy hats, as well - the lightweight rabbit felt being a major one, and hat being slightly tight, or tightened on his head by tightening the ribbon, another.

When doing a period piece, or rather, the pioneering period piece of its time, as Raiders was, you are free to take some liberties and set the standard, as it would be.

 

[monbla256]

Benz, yes there are certainly differences. I account for some of them due to particular-to-the-era style. When hats were worn by men everyday, as in many of the photos above, including Cooper, styles were all over the place, so what Cooper wore was merely something that was a normal part of fashion/style. When Raiders was made, it was a period adventure. Men didn't wear fedoras, much less anything else on their heads. Baseball caps weren't even terribly 'in,' during the late '70s. Most baseball hats of that time were what we call today 'trucker' caps - plastic mesh panels with one or two cheapo 'cloth' panels in front.

So the person(s) responsible for creating Indy's hat (there are various versions of who was primarily responsible), not living in a 'hat culture,' were able to massage his fedora into whatever romanticized version they wished, staying reasonably accurate to what everyone wore back in the day. The dimensional brim was a concession to style. It's swoopy looks stemmed from a desire to have a long enough brim in the front without it sticking out too far, looking too cowboyhatish, on the sides.

'The turn' was a stylistic thing, as well. It was a way of making the hat look adventured in, the brim being distorted as it was. There were other factors in the final look of the Indy hats, as well - the lightweight rabbit felt being a major one, and hat being slightly tight, or tightened on his head by tightening the ribbon, another.

When doing a period piece, or rather, the pioneering period piece of its time, as Raiders was, you are free to take some liberties and set the standard, as it would be.

scottyrocks,
You make a very good point. The Raiders hat was an INTERPRETATION of the style of the time and as such, liberty's were taken with it's look. As seen in the hats many collectors here on the Forum have from that period, the "Indy" style is VASTLY different from what was worn at that time. Good point

 

[scottyrocks]

scottyrocks,
You make a very good point. The Raiders hat was an INTERPRETATION of the style of the time and as such, liberty's were taken with it's look. As seen in the hats many collectors here on the Forum have from that period, the "Indy" style is VASTLY different from what was worn at that time. Good point

Different yes, but don't know how vast the differences were. In the thirties, there were straight sided hats, and there were tapered hats. Brims, however, seemed to be slightly narrower, and mostly not dimensional. And not a whole lot of men, judging by pictures, wore the hat turned on their heads, although I have seen some pictures of men who did turn them. It is the dimensional brim, and turned hat, that account for the greatest disparities between reality and fantasy.

If hats were worn turned by real men, usually, again, in pictures I have seen, the hat's pinch was off-center, showing that the hat was indeed being worn non-centered. Indy's hat was turned, and then the pinch was put in on-center, making it less obvious that the hat was turned. Again, I believe this was done just to give the illusion that the hat was a well-weathered friend, having been through many adventures. His clothing was pre-distressed, and turning the hat was a quick, easy way to make it look 'lived-in.'

 

[RBH]

It's weird how few pics there are on the 'Net of GC in this role. Pics of the movie poster and a few others, and that's it.

....

Here are a few I ran across that I dont think I had seen before.

 

[danofarlington]

errol flynn errol flynn errol flynn

 

[Blackthorn]

Here are a few I ran across that I dont think I had seen before.

What a great adventure picture!

 

[Rabbit]

Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey in: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Backbow and windcord (Todd Karns as George's brother Harry):