Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes "Undercover Cap"?

[ClaytonMoore]

Curious what people here think Basil Rathbone's "undercover cap" from "The Secret Weapon" could be. It looks to maybe be a plain Crusher cap, or maybe a high crown Greek Fisherman cap? It looks extremely sharp to me, and I'd love to get something like it, although I've never seen quite such a cap sold anywhere. Curious if anybody knows where you could get something like this, or even what exactly it is.

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[Edward]

Looks very much like a US crusher / army cap (even those little metal buttons on the sides holding the strap on). Possibly army issue -I'm sure I read somewhere that general Army issued ones, as distinct from USAAF, had a taller crown? Not hard to debadge and leave. Those side buttons could well still carry US Army eagles, but that would never be noticed on screen by the intended audience. It could have been dyed darker, I suppose, though it could also just be te impact of the lighting for that scene and B&W that make it look a bit more removed from the US Army design. Of course, it is doubltess intended to imitate a civilian dockworker style hat, but....

In terms of replicating it, I should think a milspec crusher cap would do nicely, though you might want to check out a civilian alternative if you have your heart set on one reproduction in living colour the darer look of the one in these pictures. In which case check out the "vintage biker" styles on Sterkowski.com.

 

[ClaytonMoore]

Looks very much like a US crusher / army cap (even those little metal buttons on the sides holding the strap on). Possibly army issue -I'm sure I read somewhere that general Army issued ones, as distinct from USAAF, had a taller crown? Not hard to debadge and leave. Those side buttons could well still carry US Army eagles, but that would never be noticed on screen by the intended audience. It could have been dyed darker, I suppose, though it could also just be te impact of the lighting for that scene and B&W that make it look a bit more removed from the US Army design. Of course, it is doubltess intended to imitate a civilian dockworker style hat, but....

In terms of replicating it, I should think a milspec crusher cap would do nicely, though you might want to check out a civilian alternative if you have your heart set on one reproduction in living colour the darer look of the one in these pictures. In which case check out the "vintage biker" styles on Sterkowski.com.

Thanks for mentioning Sterkwoski, I have one of their flatcaps, they're decently made, though the bills seem a bit short to me. Their crushers appear to have a fairly low crown, a bit too contemporary and lack the "sweep" Rathbone's cap has. I think you may be spot on about it being of US Army origin, although like you said those caps seem to be a bit "light" in color. Sherlock's cap seems quite dark when juxtaposed against other scenery. I'm not sure if they would have bothered to "recolor" the cap for the film instead of finding something "off the rack" as was often done. It's a proper Sherlock Holmes mystery!

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Curious what people here think Basil Rathbone's "undercover cap" from "The Secret Weapon" could be. It looks to maybe be a plain Crusher cap, or maybe a high crown Greek Fisherman cap? It looks extremely sharp to me, and I'd love to get something like it, although I've never seen quite such a cap sold anywhere. Curious if anybody knows where you could get something like this, or even what exactly it is.
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Just looks like a military dress hat without the frame to stretch the crown.
B