Abraham Lincoln’s Top Hat: The Inside Story

[jamespowers]

Hat-wise, I had to laugh at the recent movie, "Abe Lincoln, Vampire Hunter," because in one scene he used his top hat as a stool to step on! No top hat in the world could take the weight of even a child without collapsing, much less a grow adult.

Lincoln had the Odd Job top hat model.

 

[T Jones]

Another photo:

Pinkerton is on the left. John McClernand on the right.

You just have to imagine that the men who wore hats like that had to be snowball targets for the kids.

 

[Tomasso]

Actually, historians say he packed papers in there! Apparently he put speeches, letters, and things he was working on in that hat as he went through the day moving from place to place.

Not as fancy as Jefferson's writing slope but then Abe was working the humble angle.

 

[Zombie_61]

Lincoln had the Odd Job top hat model.

And it was made from an actual stovepipe.

 

[Greyryder]

Hat-wise, I had to laugh at the recent movie, "Abe Lincoln, Vampire Hunter," because in one scene he used his top hat as a stool to step on! No top hat in the world could take the weight of even a child without collapsing, much less a grow adult.

Are you trying to tell me that that movie is not historically accurate?

 

[Edward]

Hat-wise, I had to laugh at the recent movie, "Abe Lincoln, Vampire Hunter," because in one scene he used his top hat as a stool to step on! No top hat in the world could take the weight of even a child without collapsing, much less a grow adult.

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]

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.

 

[Tomasso]

Hat-wise, I had to laugh at the recent movie, "Abe Lincoln, Vampire Hunter," because in one scene........

Sorry but you lost me there......that you actually watched that movie.:eusa_doh:

 

[Edward]

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.

Sorry but you lost me there......that you actually watched that movie.:eusa_doh:

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]

Are you trying to tell me that that movie is not historically accurate?

No. Other than the hat thing, the movie was spot on.

 

[jamespowers]

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.

 

[Zombie_61]

...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...

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]

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.

 

[Zombie_61]

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...

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]

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.

 

[Tomasso]

Where is my stake when I need it!

 

[Edward]

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.

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...

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.

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]

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

 

[Stanley Doble]

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.

 

[LuvMyMan]

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.

Where is the horse and the girl in this one?