BOGARTS FEDORA

[Yohanes]

I wonder what is exactly the color of Bogart's fedora in Casablanca? And his trenchcoat?

 

[Andykev]

It is usually dark gray

You can guess the color of the trench coat....the same tan color sold today. The hat, he wore more than one in the film. The "rain" scene at the train station, it appears to be dark navy, or black. It is soaking wet, so that will show it darker.

I think the hat he wears in the cafe talking to Ferrari is brown.


His hat in the Maltese Falcon and in The Big Sleep are grey. For sure the one he wears in the scene where two thugs beat him in the alley is a Stetson, and it is the dark gray common to all Stetsons. In the film, the costumer picked the suit and hat that a private eye would wear.

Gray is the most common color in fedora's in most vintage movies, Republic Serials, etc.

 

[Feraud]

For sure the one he wears in the scene where two thugs beat him in the alley is a Stetson,

I was watching the movie last night and wondered what the logo is. Thanks for clearing it up.

 

[MattJH]

I was watching the movie last night and wondered what the logo is. Thanks for clearing it up.

There's a closeup screenshot somewhere on The Fedora Lounge.

 

[Andykev]

It is a SOVERIGN

Yes, you are right. I stopped the DVD and zoomed in and you can see the Stetson logo, and I believe it says STETSON SOVERIGN. The crest is in the middle. Someone did post a screen shot, but you can see it clearly in a good DVD/TV combo, like the new LCD or Plasma tv's.

 

[dostacos]

the definitive answer on the hat color:

to dark for white

to light to be black

therefore must be Gray

 

[Fast]

hat color?

Grey. I saw the movie before they painted it! (somebody had to)

Carpe Diem
Fast

 

[Smyat]

His hat in the Maltese Falcon and in The Big Sleep are grey. For sure the one he wears in the scene where two thugs beat him in the alley is a Stetson, and it is the dark gray common to all Stetsons. In the film, the costumer picked the suit and hat that a private eye would wear.

I have heard that Bogie wore his own hats for many films, especially the earlier 'studio grind' ones. Also some of his own suits and coats.

One of his fedoras came up on the Hollywood Auction a few rounds ago. It was authenticated as his hat and screen-worn in at least two films. It was grey, and it went for about 4 times what I planned to bid on it.

 

[Smyat]

the definitive answer on the hat color:

to dark for white

to light to be black

therefore must be Gray

Clothing and other colors were often chosen to FILM well as shades of gray. There are color set shots showing women wearing bizarre, ugly combinations of colors that look lovely when reduced to monochrome. I wouldn't be surprised if actors wore navy or green hats to get the right shade under certain conditions, or even to match daylight shooting with studio lights.

Star Trek was one of the last shows to be shot with B&W TV viewing in mind. All of the sets and scenes were previewed through a monochrome viewing filter to ensure that the grays had proper contrast, and it had a little to do with the original selection of tunic colors.

 

[jeboat]

Bogie's suit

There is a pic of one of Bogie's suits in the Classic Style magazine , Issue 2, which is clearly a bespoke suit owned by Warner Brothers studio. It is a gray nailhead fabric worn in "The Big Sleep." I'm guessing that at least in that movie, he wore a gray hat.

jeboat

 

[Edward]

Clothing and other colors were often chosen to FILM well as shades of gray. There are color set shots showing women wearing bizarre, ugly combinations of colors that look lovely when reduced to monochrome. I wouldn't be surprised if actors wore navy or green hats to get the right shade under certain conditions, or even to match daylight shooting with studio lights.

I also read somewhere - wish I could remember the source - that a lot of the ladies in B&W days wore blue lipstick for similar reasons. It's not only clothes and make up this happened with either. Gibson's so-called "TV Yellow" finish which it applied mainly to its Les Paul Juniors and Specials in the late fifties was a shade of paleish yellow designed to look like a rich, bright ivory / white colour on B&W television as actual white guitars had a tendency to look washed out and fuzzy on screen. In the earlier part of his career, Jimi Hendrix was reputed to favour black or white Fender Stratocasters for live performance as they photographed better in B&W than a sunburst (similar to a violin finish - black on the outside, fading through browns to an amber in the middle).

Star Trek was one of the last shows to be shot with B&W TV viewing in mind. All of the sets and scenes were previewed through a monochrome viewing filter to ensure that the grays had proper contrast, and it had a little to do with the original selection of tunic colors.

That I didn't know, interesting. Thinknig about it then, presumable Kirk's yellow and green outfits were the lightests, then the blues, and the reds the darkest? I've never seen it in B&W, I must try to do that sometime. I remember on Swap Shop (kid's magazine TV programme) one Saturday morning in around 1980 the presenter holding up a postcard of Ayer's Rock that had been sent in by a viewer, and saying "if you're watching in black and white you're missing a lovely colour shot." My grandmother had a black and white TV until about 1982, I think..... seems funny now. I've been looking at TVs for my kitchen recently, and it's even rare to see a tiny portable with a b&w screen now.

 

[pgoat]

sorry to revive, but....

Yes, you are right. I stopped the DVD and zoomed in and you can see the Stetson logo, and I believe it says STETSON SOVERIGN. The crest is in the middle. Someone did post a screen shot, but you can see it clearly in a good DVD/TV combo, like the new LCD or Plasma tv's.

I got the Maltese Falcon 3-dvd set recently (includes the 1931 MF and 1936's Satan Met a Lady, as well as other goodies) and there is a scene in the Bogart Maltese Falcon where you can kind of see the logo on the inside crown linig of his hat. I was wondering if anyone with a good knowledge of vintage hats can make it out.

I didn't get a counter time but it is at the end of the scene in the DA's office - Spade has just gotten up from his chair and is basically telling the DA and the cops to lay off him, and he his holding his hat which is visible at the bottom left of the screen. You can zoom in and just make out the brand logo shape which is upside down - it looks like it would be a "V" shape if held right side up. There is writing there too but it is is illegible at full zoom on my DVD player.

I don't know how to do a screen grab yet; if anyone could take a look and see what it might I'd be curious.

I do have the Big Sleep but only on VHS so no zoom capabilities for me there....I'd be interested to see if it is the same hat....I don't believe they look the same.

I've gotten a Bogie clone from Gus Miller and I plan to ask Art Fawcett for his take on it as well. But I'd be curious to know what brand Bogie wore so well....

 

[Jay]

There is a pic of one of Bogie's suits in the Classic Style magazine , Issue 2, which is clearly a bespoke suit owned by Warner Brothers studio. It is a gray nailhead fabric worn in "The Big Sleep." I'm guessing that at least in that movie, he wore a gray hat.

jeboat

I wonder, would that be the number with the lapel button hole on the opposite side? Does anyone know if that's a certain tailors trademark or what?

 

[pgoat]

When Bogie inspects the hidden camera at Eddie Mars' house you can see the nail head pattern of his suit sleeve. It's a great suit, as are all the ones he wears in that film.

 

[RBH]

I got the Maltese Falcon 3-dvd set recently ......

Yep... dont you just love Spades fedora?

and check out that crease!

 

[pgoat]

That's definitely my 'holy grail' lid. It just fits his face and his persona so perfectly. I've been scouring lots of old BW films and there have been some amazing hats everywhere I look, but this MF Bogie is the creme de la creme pour moi.

I got a Gus Miller clone which nailed a lot of the color/attitude but the dimensions were a bit off. I am getting ready (financially-emotionally I am MORE than ready! ) to ask Art Fawcett for this bad boy:

I will ask for a different color scheme, but did Art nail the MF frontal/side bash or what? The crown height looks perfect to me. You need the extra height - as I saw Art mention in an old thread - to be able to pinch the diamond down.


If you look at those Golden Era webpage stills from MF, you can see despite the extremely low rear bash and deep pinch around the crown, the top/center of the crown does not appear to be flattened/rounded on Bogart's head.

The crucial area imho is that side bash - when you see a three quarter shot of Bogie the hat always looks SHARP! No rounded areas on the lower forehead, no tapering. That's what I am shooting for.

I MEAN THIS:

NOT THIS:

I believe his hat has a more generous amount of felt width and height in the front pinch area.
When I do a tight front pinch emulating Bogie with most of my hats, I get a lot of taper and rounding on the forehead which I hate the look of from a three-quarter angle.

 

[bronzewolf]

Bogart

I know this sounds like a really stupid question, im new to this site and finding out about 40's things BUT i would love to get my boyfriend a hat for xmas and he loves old movies and Bogart. I would like to know what kind of hat Bogart wore in Casablanca is it a fedora or a trilby what is the difference between them, many thanx

I live in the UK and have been trying to search for hats online via UK stores which are never as good as USA ones, also been looking on ebay, but not sure what to look for

 

[Lefty]

Expensive, Custom Option

Cheap, but Good Option

 

[Woodfluter]

Bronzewolf, best of luck to you, and welcome!

One thing...make sure you know his hat size. Measure his head if you need to - circumference of head above ears in inches divided by 3.14 gives US head size, but for UK made hats, 1/8" smaller is equivalent (e.g. 7-1/4 US = 7-1/8 UK). Someone will correct me about this if I'm wrong! Euro hats are sized in millimeters by circumference, which is kind of sensible (e.g. 59 mm = 7-3/8 US).

This will be a challenge if the hat is to be a surprise. Tell him it's part of a study on intellectual prowess and phrenology.

You can search this forum for threads on movie hats, Bogart, etc. but I've had more luck using Google for that sort of thing. Or just rent "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon".

BTW, that Gus Miller hat in the link is really amazing.

- Bill

 

[animator]

This is a link to my Bogart recreation by Art Fawcett. This is my favorite hat. It came brand new but looking like it had decades worth of character.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=29292&highlight=art+bogart