Cary Grant is not a "hatman"?

[Yohanes]

OK, during the era, everyone wants to be Cary Grant. How he looks, act, and dress. I wonder why I seldom see his picture in fedora / hat. Honestly I only watched 3 of his movies: Philadelphia story, Affair to remember, and North by Northwest. In "Philadelphia", he only wears a quite nice hat in the beginning. In "Affair" - I don't know, I feel his hat isn't nice, or doesn't suit him? Even the extras have better hats! In "north" I don't remember he even wears any hat at all. I rarely saw his photos wearing hat either.

I know this is just a shallow observation, but is it true that Grant is not considered among our hat heroes / icon like Bogart, Cagney, Sinatra, or Alain Delon?

 

[Jovan]

I've seen one picture of him HOLDING a hat and wearing a double breasted overcoat. Not sure how often he wore it.

Tomasso, you still have that picture?

 

[AlanC]

In the recent Cary Grant book by Torregrossa he discusses the hat issue. He claims that Grant made a conscious decision not to wear them. I don't remember all the reasons. It's a very good book on the whole.

Here are a few of him in a hat:

 

[Jovan]

AlanC: I just found that picture before I came here, but it's not nearly as hi-res as the one Tomasso has posted before unfortunately.

 

[MAB1]

So it wasn't Hatless Jack? It was Cary Grant!

Personally ...

I think the stingy brim styles made hats less than functional and mere decoration.

 

[bolthead]

Alan....

Nice pix....I especially like the last one best. :eusa_clap

 

[LolitaHaze]

 

[Jovan]

So funny... the more I look at the bash on the held hat, the more it looks like he had a bad day and punched it in. lol Any hat experts have opinions on that? It could just be a funny home-made bash for all I know.

 

[astaire]

Yohannes, I have been wanting to be like Cary Grant since I was in high school and that was in the late 80's.

I have read somewhere that he chose not to wear hats since he thought his head was big and thus would make him look unproportional with a hat. Although many including myself would disagree, Cary Grant will always be the most suave of all the legendary movie stars with or without a hat. To quote Mr. Grant himself: "Even I want to be Cary Grant."

Anyways, I remember talking to a French lady who told me she cried when Cary Grant's death made headline on the Parisian newspaper Le Monde.

Now you made me want to go back and watch North by Northwest again, for the 168th time

BTW does anyone has a pick of an unkempt, unshaven Cary Grant wearing the sailor's hat in Father Goose? One of the funniest Cary Grant movies and a must see!

 

[Absinthe_1900]

I believe he is wearing a hat early in Arsenic and Old Lace, when Cary Grant & Priscilla Lane are in the court house to get a marriage license.

 

[Tomasso]

Tomasso, you still have that picture?

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Hat abuse

So funny... the more I look at the bash on the held hat, the more it looks like he had a bad day and punched it in. lol Any hat experts have opinions on that? It could just be a funny home-made bash for all I know.

Punched it in. That's good.
One thing I've noticed about the golden era (when I watch classic films) is that it seems men were a lot less particular and respectful of their hats then than we who collect them are now. They'd grab 'em up and slap 'em on their heads when they leave and when they got to the office or home they'd pinch 'em by the crown or grab the brim and just toss 'em recklessly wherever they landed. The Grant bash in that photo may be a display of his disdain or it may be typical of how many hats were treated. A lot of guys gave no more thought to them really than when you yank off a tie and plop it in a heap or toss a raincoat over a chair back.

I kinda' wish I were cool enough to be that cavalier with my hats but like many of you here at the Lounge, I teat them like delicate little flowers and constantly tweak them to perfection. Or try to.

Gene

 

[Slouch-Hat]

My favorite Cary Grant film is FATHER GOOSE, and he wears a couple of great hats in that picture; an old beater of a yachting/navy cap, and a 'relaxed' old fedora. Check this film out.

Slouch-Hat...

 

[Brian Sheridan]

I believe that Grant did not like wearing hats because he percieved that he had a big head and a thick neck and a hat made it look bigger.

If you want a great star who looked great in hats and wore several of them in every movie he made - check out the work Clark Gable did at MGM during the 1930's. I believe Comrade X is coming up this week on TCM. Gable always looks dapper and topped it all of with a hat.

 

[JohnnyGringo]

I believe in the Torregrossa book he said CG didn't think he looked good in hats and chose not to wear them...(?)

 

[Mocheman]

I'm not surprised he didn't like hats since they never seemed to give him a hat that matched the size and shape of his head. Every time I've seen him in one I wondered if anyone actually took the time to decided if the hat really suited him. It seems strange for a guy who took so much time on getting the clothes perfect wouldn't take the time to get the right hat.

Of course when you remember him now you think of the perfect quaff of hair so it worked out for him anyway.

 

[LocktownDog]

He looked fine in hats ... who doesn't? But maybe it was a perceived idea on his part. He did seem to wear those caps pretty comfortably in Father Goose. Maybe the fedora thing just wasn't his style.

Then again if I had great hair like his, I wouldn't hide it under a hat either!


Richard

 

[Jovan]

Punched it in. That's good.
One thing I've noticed about the golden era (when I watch classic films) is that it seems men were a lot less particular and respectful of their hats then than we who collect them are now. They'd grab 'em up and slap 'em on their heads when they leave and when they got to the office or home they'd pinch 'em by the crown or grab the brim and just toss 'em recklessly wherever they landed. The Grant bash in that photo may be a display of his disdain or it may be typical of how many hats were treated. A lot of guys gave no more thought to them really than when you yank off a tie and plop it in a heap or toss a raincoat over a chair back.

I kinda' wish I were cool enough to be that cavalier with my hats but like many of you here at the Lounge, I teat them like delicate little flowers and constantly tweak them to perfection. Or try to.

Gene

I think you may have a point there.

Tomasso: Thanks!

 

[Josephine]

Thanks Tomasso.

I adore Cary Grant. I'm not sure if it's a father figure transferral though, as my dad looked a bit like him.

 

[Feraud]

So funny... the more I look at the bash on the held hat, the more it looks like he had a bad day and punched it in. lol Any hat experts have opinions on that? It could just be a funny home-made bash for all I know.

Punched it in. That's good.
One thing I've noticed about the golden era (when I watch classic films) is that it seems men were a lot less particular and respectful of their hats then than we who collect them are now. They'd grab 'em up and slap 'em on their heads when they leave and when they got to the office or home they'd pinch 'em by the crown or grab the brim and just toss 'em recklessly wherever they landed. The Grant bash in that photo may be a display of his disdain or it may be typical of how many hats were treated. A lot of guys gave no more thought to them really than when you yank off a tie and plop it in a heap or toss a raincoat over a chair back.

I kinda' wish I were cool enough to be that cavalier with my hats but like many of you here at the Lounge, I teat them like delicate little flowers and constantly tweak them to perfection. Or try to.

Gene

I am no expert but have some hat experience. My hat creases are generally not symmetrical. I crease and wear 'em. Most of my vintage hats were purchased pre-creased so there is nothing for me to do but wear them.
All that fiddling, steaming, and trying to achieve a perfectly aligned hat is unnecessary.