The Godfather's hats?

[FedoraFan112390]

In the film The Godfather, Marlon Brando wears two different fedoras/hats:

There's this hat, which he wears while still powerful and healthy as Don, in 1945 in the film:

and a battered old fedora when in retirement, in 1955, when he dies:

Was wondering if you could tell me what kind of hat/brand each are?

 

[monbla256]

In the film The Godfather, Marlon Brando wears two different fedoras/hats:

There's this hat, which he wears while still powerful and healthy as Don, in 1945 in the film:

and a battered old fedora when in retirement, in 1955, when he dies:

Was wondering if you could tell me what kind of hat/brand each are?

The first is a Homburg, second looks to be an old well worn Fedora. As for brand, it depends on what the director of costuming found to use and how the costuming dept. modified it for the "look" the director wanted. It would take quite a bit of research to get brand specific.

 

[frussell]

Seems like he wears a third hat in the scene where he is shot while looking at fruit/vegetables. Maybe it's the pre-distressed "retirement hat," but I always liked the look of it.

 

[The Good]

Yes, I think he wore three hats in the film, but it could be two if the garden scene hat is the fedora he wore while getting shot five times. The first photo looks like a homburg though.

 

[Sam Craig]

The Don is wearing his gardening hat at the time of his extraordinarily sad and untimely death ... Imagine how American history would have been changed if Corleone was successful in keeping the narcotics trade out of the country!

Anyway ... the first hat, which I believe was just seen in promotional shots. He doesn't actually wear a hat during the wedding business ... the hat is a typical formal homburg ... could be all sorts of brands ... Knox maybe

The gardening hat is just an example of what you see all over the place in the years before American men lost their Moxie and quict wearing hats enough to have worn ones that became beaters

And monbla is right. He has a nice fedora that he's wearing with a topcoat at the time he gets shot.

The least flattering hat in the film is Mike's homburg that he wears when he sees Kay for the first time upon his return from Sicily. Probably a great hat, but not for Al Pacino.

This is, by the way, the GREAT American tragedy ... like our version of Macbeth ... This incredibly industrious family comes to America and realizes such great success, but at what a cost!

Incredible art,

Sam

 

[Wally in Cincy]

The least flattering hat in the film is Mike's homburg that he wears when he sees Kay for the first time upon his return from Sicily. Probably a great hat, but not for Al Pacino.

Somebody liked it. It sold for 18,000 a few years ago

http://www.icollector.com/Al-Pacino-Costume-Hat-from-The-Godfather_i5971837

If anyone has any more info on the hats in the Godfather please share. We watched the three movies over the long weekend. Always an enjoyable endeavour.

P.S. Yes I did a search before I posted this

 

[Wally in Cincy]

Anyway ... the first hat, which I believe was just seen in promotional shots. He doesn't actually wear a hat during the wedding business ... the hat is a typical formal homburg ... could be all sorts of brands ... Knox maybe

and yes I believe you are correct. I don't think he wore a homburg in the movie. When I saw that promo pic I was bewildered to where it actually happened in the movie. I guess it did not. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Samuel]

Al Pacino wears a grey Homburg during the baptism of his godson, I just finished watching this movie about an hour ago. They also had some fedoras in the Sicily scenes too.

 

[gcollins]

Pacino wore what would have been a fine homburg, but I agree with Sam...the optics didn't work. Had I had a chance to do some production designing on that film, Mike's Borsalino Nutria Extra Extra Superiore would look like this. Nice overhead dimple shadows from the supple, yet firm felt, and a slightly portending dip of the front brim....

 

[resortes805]

In American pop culture, homburgs are now referred to as "godfather" hats.

Leading to, of course, the establishment of this guy.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Stetson?

...seeming confirmation.

Death scene? Why a Borsalino, natch'.


...unless you mean the one he gave to Areatha...

 

[seabass]

All Brim Up !

 

[LoveMyHats2]

He knew how to wear that hat!

 

[danofarlington]

Brim up seems like kind of a macho thing. Not everyone can look good with brim up. I noticed this with cattleman-creased Open Road hats, also brim up. I just look silly that way. But lots of others look fine.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Bump. What about the cap? Could it be an original or was it just a 70s costume job? I remember we saw the long visor on 1910s and 20s caps?

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

I feel like I'm the only person in the world who hasn't seen this movie, lol.

 

[Blackthorn]

Bump. What about the cap? Could it be an original or was it just a 70s costume job? I remember we saw the long visor on 1910s and 20s caps?

I'm sure it was made by the props dept, but the longer brim (longer than we see in stores today) was the norm back then, and I think up into the forties, actually.

 

[casechopper]

I feel like I'm the only person in the world who hasn't seen this movie, lol.

You're not alone.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

I'm sure it was made by the props dept, but the longer brim (longer than we see in stores today) was the norm back then, and I think up into the forties, actually.

Yes, maybe you are right. I think in the teens and twenties it was even longer though. The caps in the sicily scenes don't look as good to my eye.

 

[Blackthorn]

Yes, maybe you are right. I think in the teens and twenties it was even longer though. The caps in the sicily scenes don't look as good to my eye.

I agree, but again, it may have been the movie producer's ideas of what flat caps looked like in that time/place. But I honestly don't know enough to make an educated guess. I only trust (somewhat) what I see of movies that were actually made in those times/places, as to the reality of the designs.