When I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time, I loved the Fedora Indiana Jones was wearing – it defined the character and the era he lived in.
In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Jack Sparrow’s hat had adventures of its own.
My thoughts on Jack’s Hat:
Metaphysical: Could this article of clothing be linked to his soul?
Realistic: Are there enough lice in it that the hat smells of Jack’s blood?
Are there any other examples of hats playing a large role in a story?
I thought Oddjob’s bowler in Goldfinger was pretty pivotal to the story.
Gabby Hayes’ goofy hat marked him as a crusty cowboy sidekick who’s given up on the idea of ever getting laid again.
The Dead End Kids’ signature derbies and porkpie hats seemed to be signature accessories.
Rose’s hat in Titanic was one of the most glamorous character intros in film history. Marlene Dietrich’s top hat conveyed a very specific sexual ambiguity that defined her career.
On Homicide: Life on the Streets, Pembleton, Meldrick and Munch knew how to wear hats. Meldrick’s bullet-riddled snap-brim was pivotal to one storyline. Munch’s made him look a bit like an undertaker.
The most famous hat I can think of is Sherlock Holmes’s hat – in fact, I always think of that style of hat as a “Sherlock Holmes Hat,” I had to look up that it’s called a deerstalker cap. I’m pretty sure this is from the movies, and not the books (although maybe the stage version?)
Madeline has a very recognizable hat (yellow with the ribbons hanging down the back) and the Man in the Yellow Hat is so distinguishable that it’s the guy’s name. (I don’t know if he has any other name, Curious George always creeped me out as a kid.)
In yer standard cowboy serial, white hats denote good guys and black hats denote bad. The hat color convention stayed the same for years so that old stock footage of chases and stunts could be re-used again and again.
A famous hat of literature? Heck, I’ll give you five hundred of them!
That, and the Golden Helmet of Mambrino. There can be no hat like it.
Does Frosty’s hat count?
Oh and Johnny Fedora and Betty Bluebonnet.
Eliza Doolittle’s hat at Ascot in My Fair Lady?
I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter books.
The Mad Hatter’s hat: The Mad Hatter at the Court of Hearts — Illustration by John Tenniel for Alice in Wonderland
Nitpick. Shouldn’t that be Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet? (Betty Grable?)
Thou golden helmet of Mambrino
with so illustrious a past…
Too long hast thou been lost to glory!
But rediscovered now at last!
Well technically it was a helmet and not a hat, and a shaving basin instead of a helmet, “but at least he’ll find it useful if he ever needs a shave”.
I’ve no idea if it was created by Arthur Conan Doyle or by the movies, but Sherlock Homes’s Deerstalker is an immediate identifying hat, while Ignatius J. Reilly’s flap eared hunting cap is also very linked to the character.
And since I noticed after submitting Delphica’s inclusion of the deerstalker (somehow overlooked it) I’ll add Hoodoo’s flying top-hat from *Lidsville * (which he also lived in IIRC).
Am I actually first in with The Cat in the Hat?
Fred Astaire’s "Puttin’ on a top hat… .
Chico’s pointed cap and Harpo’s top hat.
Mike “Wool Hat” Nesmith of the Monkees (that was how he was billed).
In music, there’s the classic Charles Mingus jazz tune, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”
Anything Humphrey Borgart was in. Now there was a guy who could wear a hat.
Oops, I was going for a B-B name.
Monkey D. Luffy from the anime One Piece wears a straw hat that is very important to him.
The hats worn by Alec and his Droogs in “A Clockwork Orange” certainly added to the odd menance of their get ups… (A derby (Alec) and 3 top hats by the others if I remember correctly)…
It was even featured in the poster…
FML
Oh yes-I WANT that hat. So very very badly.
And let’s not forget Audrey Hepburn’s lampshade hat in Breakfast at Tiffanys.
