Why the Indiana Jones hat?

[Pat_H]

Airforce Indy, it's true that the hat used in the movie was the Poet, but it was my impression that this was a 1980's HJ, not a 1930's one. It would make sense that they would choose a hat that was in production so they could get enough to use and abuse. I know Art has questioned the appropriateness of this style for the period, commenting that it looks more like a 40s hat than a 30's one.

I wonder what hat IJ would have "really" worn? Was the Poet even a real option for an American in the 30's? Did it exist as a style?

I was under the impression, for some reason, that the protype hat had actually been purchased by the actor prior to filming. Obviously they would have had to have more than one.

I don't want to be too hard on the films. I really like them. It's the association with these films alone, in connection with the hat, that's a bit irritating. But I guess that shows how successful the films are.

On the style, that's an interesting comment. I didn't realize that this style would have been more identifiably for the 40s as opposed to the 30s.

This relates to another thread, in which the television series, "The Young Indiana Jones" is discussed, as a Fedora is used for the same character but in the teens and Twenties. When did the general style of hat we call the Fedora (as opposed to earlier hats which might have been called that, but which would have been somewhat different), actually appear?

 

[Pat_H]

Also, let's remind ourselves that Indiana Jones is a fantasy. It's based on old serial television shows (that I am unfortunately FAR too young to recall or have seen) that were not historically accurate but were rather made to entertain.

Quite true. It is just a film, but it is fun to discuss.

I think the movie was actually inspired by serial movies, a now dead genre. There were a lot of them. In them, the characters never took off their hats, as they hardly edited them, and didn't want to spend time trying to figure when a character had his hat off or on.

 

[Doctor Strange]

A very nice set of articles on movie serials, for those who don't know the backstory:

http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue04/infocus/introduction.htm

 

[Highlander]

Well, for me it was probably SECRET OF THE INCAS

Charlton Heston was Harry Steele.... Check out the video...While I had fogotten it wasn't a Fedora... Check out the Flight Jacket... The hat. He was the Model for Indy's Character... The Quintessential Adventurer

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Lots of gals wear those hats, too!! I have an Adventurebilt and also an Akubra Federation, which has been Indy-styled.

When I first saw the Indiana Jones movies, I don't think I perceived the hat as a fedora, I think I saw it as an adventurer's hat, something someone would wear while exploring, hiking, backpacking, etc, closer to the Australian hats. I didn't know fur felt from wool from canvas in those days. I just liked "the look."

I enjoyed hiking, camping and backpacking, and so wanted to wear a hat that would protect me from the elements and look cool. When I saw how cool Indy was, well, I wanted that kind of hat.

The first hiking hats I had were actually canvas; one was an Australian style digger hat that snapped up on one side; after the Indy films, I wore a white canvas hat when I vacationed in the Southwest. Later, I acquired a fawn Borsalino that I bought in Village Hat Shop -- I was drawn to it because I thought it looked like an adventurer's hat, as close to Indy as I could get, then.

It was not until I became a FL member that I realized what an obsession for folks that specific hat had become. Then, I had to go back and see the Indy films, just to watch "the hat." Or I should say "hats."

So, it has become a long, hat-loving journey for me. I now own too many fedoras and I love them, and I still love "the look."

karol

 

[J. M. Stovall]

All we need are Nazis.

 

[Spellflower]

AirforceIndy, sorry if I misread your post. I think we were both posing the same question: what would Indiana Jones really have worn? Your answer (a custom hat) is a good one, but I'm also curious about what production hat from the period he might have picked off the shelf.

Also, your points about period accuracy not being a priority in adventure movies going back to early westerns is well taken. However, I do read posts fairly regularly in which people talk about the Indy hat as being a classic 1930's style. Heck, I was guilty of this myself until I got schooled by Art a year ago. So, no, there's nothing wrong with these movies not being historically accurate. But it does cause some confusion for people.

 

[Pat_H]

AirforceIndy, sorry if I misread your post. I think we were both posing the same question: what would Indiana Jones really have worn? Your answer (a custom hat) is a good one, but I'm also curious about what production hat from the period he might have picked off the shelf.

I suppose that, as he's supposed to be a college professor, he (or rather, a real person in his station in life) would likely have bought a relatively common Fedora of the era. Maybe a common Stetson, or one of the other common hats of the time.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Maybe someone gave it to him, maybe he found it on the street, maybe he bought it from a cowboy for ten bucks...geez. :eusa_doh:

 

[TWLyon]

He was given the hat when he was a teenager..

Remember the opening of The Last Crusade?

 

[RBH]

All we need are Nazis.

I want this movie!!!!

 

[Rick Blaine]

I want this movie!!!!

Secret of the Incas

I have also seen another (more legit' looking, frankly) source for this film recently, either here or on COW & I can't seem to find it just now... I will keep looking.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Not the one I was looking for

Free Classic movies on DVD , intresting looking site tho'... stay tuned.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

My dad told me that as a young man he worked in the stockyards in Kansas City. A tool of the trade, of course, was a bull whip. He said he got pretty good with it.

After work he and his buddy would go hit a bar, my dad's whip on his shoulder. His buddy would start talking to another guy, bragging about how good my dad was until he got a crowd going. He'd be bugging my dad to give a demonstration, but Dad would tell him he just wanted to relax and have his drink.

After enough money was on the table (his buddy having claimed that my dad could snap a lit cigarette from his mouth with the whip) Dad would finally agree. They'd go outside, his buddy would light a cigarette and puff on it with my dad a whip's length away, and Dad would snap it out of his mouth. They'd collect their winnings, and go to the next bar. lol

All I could think of is that's a heck of a lot of trust that guy had in my dad's abilities!

Cheers,
Tom

Here's a little story not to dissimilar; My Mom bought me a bull whip at some Florida Cowboy amusement park in Central Florida back in the mid-60's - I was probably twelve years old. I learned how to crack that thing around the house pretty good (the crack is the tip of the whip breaking the speed of sound, by the way!). I could knock stuff off of shelves and clip leaves off all the houseplants. I finally convinced my pal Johnny McGinnis to put a cigarette in his mouth and let me snap that rascal out with one snap of the lash. Johhny's face received a five inch gash, cut to the bone from his left eye to his right cheek.... no not really!... I somehow managed to pull it off and snapped that ciggie-butt right out of his mouth and all he felt was swift breeze.

I cringe when I think about that today - where's Johnny McGinnis and does he ever talk about that amazing feat? I coulda' killed the little fella! Turnabout is fair play though, Johnny threw a jackknife at me down by the canal and it stuck in my right knee. That left a scar that is still there today, I can tell you that. Oh for the days of irresponsible childs play. (Come to think of it, Johnny threw his bicycle at my feet while we were running one day, I tripped and broke my right arm. If I could find him today, that would be worth thirty lashes at least!) lol

-dixon cannon

 

[Simon82]

"Secret of the Incas" is available at www.yammeringmagpie.com, and supposedly the quality is pretty good.

 

[Spellflower]

I suppose that, as he's supposed to be a college professor, he (or rather, a real person in his station in life) would likely have bought a relatively common Fedora of the era. Maybe a common Stetson, or one of the other common hats of the time.

He wasn't exactly your common college professor.

 

[RBH]

Free Classic movies on DVD , intresting looking site tho'... stay tuned.

It may have been wrong... but I ordered the movie 'CHINA' with Alan Ladd, from here. It came quick and was OK.

 

[indycop]

It may have been wrong... but I ordered the movie 'CHINA' with Alan Ladd, from here. It came quick and was OK.

You are the "napster"!lol lol lol

 

[RBH]

You are the "napster"!lol lol lol

no way... I have been awake all day.....

 

[Pat_H]

Maybe someone gave it to him, maybe he found it on the street, maybe he bought it from a cowboy for ten bucks...geez. :eusa_doh:

Oh, way too many options for a fictional character (or maybe not enough)?