Would "Raiders" have been as popular if the character had been hatless?

[hatophile]

Another interesting point is, that the Gatsby movie from the mid-70s had a very much deeper impact on the fashion overhere, than any of the Indy-movies had.[/QUOTE]

That is surprising. I haven't see the new Gatsby, has that one had the same effect?

 

[T Jones]

I knew the importance of the hat when the scene showed Indy silhouetted against the sky & he threw off the robe & put on the hat...it was THE hat & it mattered!

I have to agree here. The hat definitely mattered. Indy can do many scenes without other parts of his costume, but his signature fedora is a must. Even many Loungers here have Indys from Penman, Garrison, and Adventurebilt in their collection. I've also read quite a few comments here from posters who said that when they wore fedoras in public younger people would comment on their "Indiana Jones" hats. One young girl who worked at our local Super market commented that she liked my Indiana Jones hat. I was wearing a Silverbelly Open Road....The Indy fedora is probably the most recognized hat...I don't think anything is going to dethrone the Indy fedora anytime soon.

 

[TheDane]

That is surprising. I haven't see the new Gatsby, has that one had the same effect?

No, not at all. Not in Scandinavia at least. In the mid-70s much of the hippie-euforia had faded, and Nirvana seemed prosponed. Maybe the ground was fertilized for a more "classy" fashion in those years - maybe that was a reason for the backswing of the pendulum(?)

 

[T Jones]

No, not at all. Not in Scandinavia at least. In the mid-70s much of the hippie-euforia had faded, and Nirvana seemed prosponed. Maybe the ground was fertilized for a more "classy" fashion in those years - maybe that was a reason for the backswing of the pendulum(?)

I've often wondered if the coming of Rock & Roll in the 1950s had anything to do with the fading popularity of wearing fedoras, especially since hair styles began to play an important role to the image of Rock & Roll stars and actors.

 

[TheDane]

TJ: I agree, that the Indy-movies is close to the only reference modern people have to fedoras. We constantly hear comments on our alleged resemblance to Indy. It's also true, that many members got into fedoras that way. I do think, that just as many wear fedoras inspite of Mr. Ford ... I'm sure I'm not the only one.

In my mind, the enormous popularity of the movie along the general lack of interest in fedoras contradicts the theory. Most everybody know and like Indiana Jones - yet only an extremely small minority of the population wear fedoras, and many do it inspite of IJ. I think, the theory is wishful thinking from fedora lovers. To a man with a shining new hammer, everything will look like a nail

 

[hatophile]

I've often wondered if the coming of Rock & Roll in the 1950s had anything to do with the fading popularity of wearing fedoras, especially since hair styles began to play an important role to the image of Rock & Roll stars and actors.

I think it was the hair for sure, Terry:

 

[Matt Deckard]

Would Superman be Superman without his cape?

It was a time where the hat had lost all function for most people, outside of keeping the head warm on the coldest day, and even then the hoodie took precedence.

Raiders is about the Great American Professor that goes on classic serial style adventures, but I don't think he'd have half the mystique and romance that the public gives him if he decided to go without a hat.

Seeing a classic slouch had on his head and serving a purpose as he ran around outside in strange cities with weather ranging from blizzards to heat waves was what made the hat appear to be something to covet. Banana Republic Made a business out of that style and adventure that Indiana Jones Harnessed, and if he tried to do it without a hat I tend to think the American pilot look just wouldn't cut it.

 

[TheDane]

I've often wondered if the coming of Rock & Roll in the 1950s had anything to do with the fading popularity of wearing fedoras, especially since hair styles began to play an important role to the image of Rock & Roll stars and actors.

That could very well be a reason. Another I think was hygiene and energy sources. When I was a kid, the few in our street who owned white cars, washed their car most every day. Our apartment block was pretty modern (build just before and during WWII) with central heating. Nevertheless, the fuel was coal - and many the older buildings around us were heated by small coke-ovens in each apartment. We lived close to the Copenhagen habour - on the other side of the railroad. In the late 50s, some ships and a few smaller freight trains still ran on steam/coal/coke.

Black and greasy dust fell all over the place, and rain just made it worse. Most apartments in CPH didn't have a bathroom - just a toilet. Often you washed your hair once every two to four weeks. The rest of the time you covered it with a hat or scarf, when outside walking the streets. Bathrooms became standard up through the late 50s, 60s and 70s, and we began to wash our hair daily.

The advent of clean pavements and asphalted driving lanes with lesser horse manure probably also did a lot to the shoe/boot fashion back in the earlier years of the 20th century.

I have seen a lot of different reasons, that each seemed to have caused the decline in hat interest. I think, changes like that have very complex reasons. The reality, we experience, is a product of the questions we ask. We tend to ask ourself, if a single parameter could have caused the decline. That's not wrong, but we shouldn't stop asking, if the answer is "Yes".

 

[gtdean48]

The director had specific shots to make the hat instrumental, whip & jacket, too, bag to lesser extent...
Folks have the hat reference & refer to lots of hats & wearers as "Indy" because of Spielberg's talents.
The hero was concerned about the hat when getting his butt whipped by a bad guy to more deeply imprint it in the mind's eye of the audience.

 

[Edward]

I certainly was much more impressed by hats after I saw my first Indy films in 1984, though it would be a good twenty odd years before I started to wear a fedora regularly after that. Thinking back to that time, I don't know.... I think a lot of people wouldn't have missed a hat had he not worn one, though for those who were familiar with the source material it likely wouldn't have quite fit the bill.

That is surprising. I haven't see the new Gatsby, has that one had the same effect?

Some places on the high Street here had Gatsby-influenced collections and I saw more spectators in shop windows, but I've not seen any real sign of that filtering into everyday fashion. Most people here still see a lounge suit as "dress up", so it wouldn't really affect them day to day.

I've often wondered if the coming of Rock & Roll in the 1950s had anything to do with the fading popularity of wearing fedoras, especially since hair styles began to play an important role to the image of Rock & Roll stars and actors.

Very plausible, although over here, especially in London, the hep young men were starting to go hatless as early as the mid thirties.

 

[TheDane]

Would Superman be Superman without his cape?

No, and everybody wore a hat in the days of the IJ-plots. It would not be time-true if IJ didn't wear a hat - and it's very rare people don't cover their head in the tropics. Of course, IJ wear a hat, but I don't think, it's his hat as such that made the movies - just like, it's not Superman's cape as such that made those movies popular.

And as I mentioned earlier, it's very much a cultural thing. The Indy fashion never really hit here, so I very rarely see those hats in Copenhagen.

 

[TheDane]

Some places on the high Street here had Gatsby-influenced collections and I saw more spectators in shop windows, but I've not seen any real sign of that filtering into everyday fashion.

I see tons of European 70s newsboys on eBay. When I look at pictures from London or Copenhagen in the mid-70s, I see lots of women wearing newsboys. It was pretty giant from what I remember and can see in pictures from the period.

 

[Lotsahats]

I guess it is a matter of perspective. I found the hat to be just a hat and don't think anyone in the non-hat obsessed public would care if it was there or not. Don't get me wrong, but I think that it was a great part of the costume, but I don't think it was as important as some of us here might wish.

:arated:

 

[Dan Allen]

I always figured that in intended audience for the Raiders were of an age that they had not seen hats worn daily. hence it was a novelty. the fact that it was the hero with the hat the "novelty" was cool to them so the interest was sparked.

 

[jamespowers]

He had to have a hat just as the hero in Secret of the Incas did----the movie that Indiana Jones was stolen from:
http://youtu.be/dxkx0X_mvEI

 

[TheDane]

the movie that Indiana Jones was stolen from

I always thought that was "Lost In The Andes" by Carl Barks

 

[jamespowers]

I always thought that was "Lost In The Andes" by Carl Barks

Close enough

 

[1mach1]

Secret of the Incas, then Raiders

 

[jamespowers]

Secret of the Incas, then Raiders

View attachment 9467

Yep, can you say RIPOFF?! Heston looked better too. It was a more original period look.

 

[Blackthorn]

Yep, can you say RIPOFF?! Heston looked better too. It was a more original period look.

I totally agree, but Incas wasn't that great of a movie. But the look...absolutely.