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The Godfather tops the list of gangster movies in Hollywood. The Godfather excels in every department, from acting and writing to cinematography and the famous gangster fedoras. The iconic film was released in 1972, and this year in March Hollywood fraternity took immense pride in celebrating the movie’s 50th anniversary. Let us explore how The Godfather impacted fashion, gangster fedoras, and cinema.
The Godfather & the Hat Types: Gangster Fedoras
We will consider the two main characters in the film and how their hats became a craze as the movie gained phenomenal popularity across the globe.
Marlon Brando in the Role of Don Vito Corleone
Vito wears both a fedora and a Homburg. Even though both these hats appear to be similar, there is at least one striking difference between the two. A Homburg boasts of a crease at the center referred to as a gutter crown. The front pinch is missing here. A fedora, on the other hand, highlights a distinct pinch. The brim of a quintessential Homburg is upturned narrowly all along the brim. The crown of fedoras seems to be flat. Generally, in the case of fedoras, the front brim appears turned down while the back brim looks turned up. Vito is the undisputed ‘king of trendsetters’ of gangster fedoras.
Vito flaunts an exotic black Homburg in the wedding scene. He also wears a gray fedora hat later on in the film. His iconic hat in the movie scene is where Vito gets a heart attack when playing with his beloved grandson.
Al Pacino in the Role of Michael Corleone: Hat Types
According to Wikipedia, Al Pacino helped renew the fame and popularity of homburg hats by sporting a sophisticated gray one in The Godfather. As such, the Homburg hat is often referred to as a ‘Godfather’. The homburg hat was regarded as a more distinguished and conventional hat than a fedora hat. Michael flaunts several hats:
- Peaked Combination Cap: It is a striking military dress hat displaying a round, flat crown tilting up.
- Homburg: Michael wears a black Homburg and a gray one in the movie. These hats come with an upturned brim and a gutter crown. These hats showcase a striking black hatband. These hats began to be called gangster fedora hats even though they are far more unique.
- Flat Cap: Both young Vito and Michael flaunt flat caps while in Sicily. These caps are also known as Newsboy hats.
Some Interesting the Godfather Hat Facts
The Godfather Sports a Homburg
Don Vito Corleone flaunts a Homburg hat in the movie, The Godfather. It has a prominent central dent, a striking feature of a Homburg. Often the fedora and the Homburg look similar, and people are perpetually confused and fail to differentiate one from the other. The Homburg got its name from Hesse, a German town, and is at best a semi-formal option. This versatile hat style won tremendous popularity, thanks to King Edward VII in the 1890s when he started wearing one. Everybody wished to look just like the king.
The Hat’s Name Changed Overnight Once the Movie Was Released
The Godfather influenced the Homburg hat culture remarkably at the time. Once the movie was released, the hat witnessed a significant rise in popularity. However, people stopped calling it the Homburg hat. Instead, the hat was fast gaining traction as ‘The Godfather Hat’.
Germany Created the Hat while Looking for a Less Formal Choice
Another intriguing fact is that the hat designers wanted to create Homburg hats to provide everyone with a less formal hat style choice for men at the time. However, the Homburg hat gained popularity in the 1860s. The Homburg hat became an alternative to the conventional or formal boater hats, bowler hats, and top hats.
Vito’s Hat Got Sold for $27,000 At an Online Auction
Don Vito’s iconic hat that he had worn in ‘The Godfather’ fetched a whopping $27,000 in an online auction by Nate D Sanders. It was around 34 percent more in comparison to the price of the hat when it was purchased for the film, netting a fantastic profit. This specific Homburg hat was worn in the scene that shows Corleone in Little Italy. This hat is so popular that whenever it is up for sale again, it can prove to be profitable for the owner.
The Older Don Sports a Fedora
The older Don, after retiring was wearing a worn-out fedora hat. You can come to such a conclusion by simply looking at the hat’s top. The shape is quite different from the hat flaunted by the young Don in some other scenes. The dent typical to the Homburg hat was absent. A different kind of crown was present instead.
Conclusion
Fedoras are just perfect for everybody. The fedoras keep resurfacing again and again because they are incredibly versatile. They can act as a blank canvas. It is left to the wearer to transform it the way he desires. With so much history and character, fedoras are perfect for everybody.
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