Boston Blackie Fedoras

[hatflick1]

To see some vintage 40's/50's fedoras and get a few moments of nostalgia, check out this old black and white clip of the obscure TV series Boston Blackie.

http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/entertainment/watch/v17126944Q5w4jgcd

It's worth sitting through the 15 second commercial.

 

[Hereward]

I loved the way their hats stayed permanently affixed to their heads, even when falling down steep slopes or fighting.

 

[hatflick1]

Yes, good point.
Not a lot of production values in this 50's show.
Still, it would be fun now to magically go back in time and stroll through the studio's wardrobe department and check out the hats. I have always wanted to do that over at Western Costume Rental, a company that has and still does rent wardrobe to the Hollywood industry. I understand its fedora collection is awesome.

 

[ScionPI2005]

Thanks for posting, hatflick1. Boston Blackie is one of my favorite radio shows. I haven't been able to see any of the television series until you posted this.

 

[Cracker]

I didn't know Boston Blackie made the transition from jewel thief in the movies to detective/good guy on tv. In addition to the hats, those cars are pretty sweet, too. That's the first Nash police car I've ever seen.

"I wish I had a pencil thin mustache, the Boston Blackie kind..."

 

[Fletch]

BB - originally the hero of a series of mystery novels in the 1910s-20s, some of them filmed even then! - also had a run in the movies thru most of the '40s, played by fallen matinée idol Chester Morris.

1942
IIRC, his taste in hats was rather stingy for the day.

The radio show, starring Dick Kollmar as Blackie, was another, syndicated Ziv production, as was the TV show.

 

[GallatinHatMan]

Not too long ago, TCM did a Boston Blackie marathon and I watched or recorded and watched most of them. They were from the 30's through the early 50's. Always as a jewel thief who had given up crime and acted as a detective, but always under suspicion. Pretty good movies.