Those Awful Hats
1909 film
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Those Awful Hats is a 1909 American short comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Mack Sennett and Flora Finch. It was released on January 25, 1909 by Biograph Studios.
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| Those Awful Hats | |
|---|---|
Play full film; running time 00:02:40 | |
| Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
| Written by | D.W. Griffith |
| Starring | Mack Sennett |
| Cinematography | G. W. Bitzer |
Release date |
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Running time | Original length 185 feet (under 3 minutes)[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Silent (English intertitles) |
The film takes place in a small, crowded movie theatre while a film is in progress. The patrons are perpetually distracted by people -- primarily women -- wearing large, ostentatious hats that obstruct everyone else's views of the screen. Slapstick disorder ensues. The film ends with a title card reading, "Ladies Will Please Remove Their Hats."
Archivist David Shepard of Blackhawk Films explained how G. W. Bitzer photographed the film: "The image in the theater and the image on the theater screen were photographed separately, and the final effect was achieved by double printing and use of a traveling matte."[2]
Release
Those Awful Hats was intended not so much as an entertainment subject but as a service to nickelodeon theaters, much as humorous but cautionary trailers are used today before the feature film begins. Biograph recommended Those Awful Hats as "a splendid subject to start a show with instead of the customary slide." The film was restored from a nitrate negative in 1975 by Blackhawk Films, and was offered for sale only briefly, as a limited-edition release. A print of the film is in the film archive of the Library of Congress.[3]
Cast
- Mack Sennett as Man in checkered jacket
- Flora Finch as Woman with largest hat
Theater audience:
