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Abraham Lincoln’s Top Hat: The Inside Story
- Thread starter Tomasso
- Start date
T Jones
I'll Lock Up
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You just have to imagine that the men who wore hats like that had to be snowball targets for the kids.Another photo:
Pinkerton is on the left. John McClernand on the right.
Not as fancy as Jefferson's writing slope but then Abe was working the humble angle.
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And it was made from an actual stovepipe.Lincoln had the Odd Job top hat model.
Edward
Bartender
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Artistic licence, obviously. Possibly they were thinking of the early London police uniforms which included a reinforced top hat, designed for the dual purpose of head protection and being capable of offering extra height to look over walls and such.
scottyrocks
I'll Lock Up
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Artistic licence, obviously.
It's called, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, fer gosh sakes! haha
And if Dr. Jones can swing on a whip, Mr. Lincoln can step on a (non-deforming) hat.
Sorry but you lost me there......that you actually watched that movie.:eusa_doh:
Edward
Bartender
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It's called, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, fer gosh sakes! haha
And if Dr. Jones can swing on a whip, Mr. Lincoln can step on a (non-deforming) hat.
There's that too.
Yes, it's all rather fun, though sadly not a patch on the book. The book is all the better for its details, which really flesh out the interweaving of historical fact and fiction. It's not alternative history in the mould of Kim Newman's Anno DRacula series, rather a very clever 'behind the scenes' alternative explanation for established historical facts.
fedoracentric
Banned
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Are you trying to tell me that that movie is not historically accurate?
No. Other than the hat thing, the movie was spot on.
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And it was made from an actual stovepipe.
Yes and that is exactly how it saved his life when the guy shot his hat off.
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The various discrepancies between the novel and the movie seem even more strange when you learn the author of the novel wrote the screenplay. The way I describe the disparity to people who have neither read the book nor seen the movie is that the book tells the story of Lincoln's life with the inclusion of occasional vampire encounters, while the movie is a vampire movie with the inclusion of occasional moments from Lincoln's life. Regardless, I concur the book did a much better job of blurring the lines between reality and fiction.
fedoracentric
Banned
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Books are always better.... well, almost always. The problem is the book was not translatable to a movie that is "the story of Lincoln's life with the inclusion of occasional vampire encounters." You only have around 2 hours to tell a story, so it really has to drill down and focus on one thing. The vampire part was always going to reign supreme in a movie version.
Now, one book that was not better than the movie is "Lonesome Dove." In fact, if you've watched the mini series, there is no reason at all to read the book. There is only one section in the book that didn't appear in the series and there was a good reason it didn't make the film. It didn't fit well in the book either! (It was a side story about a buffalo hunter that had no connection to the rest of the Lonesome Dove cast and was sort of a pointless departure in the book, too, so it was a proper thing to cut out for the movie.)
As a book, Lonesome Dove made a great script for the TV series.
But reading the book was a great disappointment.
Now, one book that was not better than the movie is "Lonesome Dove." In fact, if you've watched the mini series, there is no reason at all to read the book. There is only one section in the book that didn't appear in the series and there was a good reason it didn't make the film. It didn't fit well in the book either! (It was a side story about a buffalo hunter that had no connection to the rest of the Lonesome Dove cast and was sort of a pointless departure in the book, too, so it was a proper thing to cut out for the movie.)
As a book, Lonesome Dove made a great script for the TV series.
But reading the book was a great disappointment.
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The other main difference between the book and the movie is that the book doesn't have a "head" vampire, i.e. a main/primary villain for the hero (Lincoln) to defeat. It seems the producers couldn't figure out how to end the movie without a climactic battle scene.
fedoracentric
Banned
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It is a movie formula. Have a hero. Have a guy for the hero to defeat. Have the hero lose or somehow have a major set back (or even be disgraced). Have the hero battle back and make the audience root for him. Have the hero at last beat his enemy.
Edward
Bartender
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Yes, I think that's what surprised me most too. It's as if they had set out to tell two almost completely different stories, with the same characters. Closest I've seen to this in the past is comparing Stoker's Dracula to Hammer's campy version with dear Christopher Lee. I like both, but the latter really isn't especially faithful to the original story...
I wasn't a surprised they cut the framing device from the book, but I thought they really missed a trick with Henry, Abe and MLK.... The ending they had worked well enough, and it was a fun enough film, but ultimately I did feel that it was rather dumbed down compared to the book, turned into an action-adventure romp which lost all the clever stuff. Pity, really.
Bird Lives
A-List Customer
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Hat Valued at $6,500,000
This possible Top Hat of Abraham Lincoln's was valued at 6.5 million dollars in 2007...
Thought some of you guys might might enjoy this...
Kind of makes the price of copping a lid from one of our favorite hatters alot easier to rationalize to our 'Better-half's.....ha,ha...
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/...ipe-hat-really-abe-lincolns.html#.VJDCgmK9KSN
This possible Top Hat of Abraham Lincoln's was valued at 6.5 million dollars in 2007...
Thought some of you guys might might enjoy this...
Kind of makes the price of copping a lid from one of our favorite hatters alot easier to rationalize to our 'Better-half's.....ha,ha...
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/...ipe-hat-really-abe-lincolns.html#.VJDCgmK9KSN
Stanley Doble
Call Me a Cab
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The story says it is impossible to prove that Lincoln owned the hat but this should be simple. If there is a hair caught in the lining or sweat on the sweat band, a DNA test will prove whether he wore the hat or not.
Where is the horse and the girl in this one?
