"Making a Stetson" (also called "Birth of a Hat: The Art and Mystery of Making Fur Felt Hats") is an industrial film that has been preserved by the National Film Preservation Foundation and is available to watch online. However, it sure didn't sound like the sort of film that would be interesting to watch! But, surprisingly, it was a bit interesting and I learned how a Stetson hat is made--and it's made out of beaver, nutria or rabbit fur! I am sure PETA-types probably wouldn't appreciate that, but I marveled at just how long it took to make one, as the steps were many and rather complex. A surprisingly interesting film that was not intended for widespread distribution--more something Stetson salesmen could show clients.
4 Reviews
Where Did You Get That Hat?
boblipton9 August 2012
MAKING A STETSON -- also known as BIRTH OF A HAT -- was an industrial film produced for the John B. Stetson Company about 1920. It shows the evolution of the materials -- cute, furry animals scampering across the landscape -- into a hat.
Like most industrial films of its type, it tried to show the movie-going, hat-wearing public, why their product costs so much. To my eye, the immense number of people involved in making that hat, rooms full of women working with pelts and felting machines and finally two or three craftsmen giving an individual hat its final, precise shape, are overwhelming. It reminded me of Abbott & Costello's mustard routine, in which Abbott urges his fellow comedian to use some mustard on his hot dog, because thousands of people work to make the jar of mustard.
Me, I own two Stetson hats. They are trilbies. You can buy one or two yourself, or you can look at the movie. There is a nicely tinted version on the National Film Preservation Foundation's website or you can look at a black-and-white version on Ben Model's Youtube site -- with a lovely, understated score by Ben.
Like most industrial films of its type, it tried to show the movie-going, hat-wearing public, why their product costs so much. To my eye, the immense number of people involved in making that hat, rooms full of women working with pelts and felting machines and finally two or three craftsmen giving an individual hat its final, precise shape, are overwhelming. It reminded me of Abbott & Costello's mustard routine, in which Abbott urges his fellow comedian to use some mustard on his hot dog, because thousands of people work to make the jar of mustard.
Me, I own two Stetson hats. They are trilbies. You can buy one or two yourself, or you can look at the movie. There is a nicely tinted version on the National Film Preservation Foundation's website or you can look at a black-and-white version on Ben Model's Youtube site -- with a lovely, understated score by Ben.
This is a VERY labor intensive process . . .
pixrox125 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
. . . and America's unemployment rate could be dropped AT LEAST a full percentage point if someone just goes out on a limb and undertakes to make at least a million stetson hats annually THIS EXACT SAME WAY. Every stage of this 12-step hatter program requires an enormous room full of people, often sitting side-by-side, doing the same task. In in the 1920s the jobs were pretty much segregated (white men are shown doing the "dirty work" during the early going, often with the help of gleaming stainless steel machines, while white women are pictured doing the intermediate procedures, before white guy engineers out-process the finished product after making sure everything is "just so"). Of course, modern U.S. labor and social justice laws would require paying people of all races, sexes, abilities, and orientations the same wages on each work floor, which would become that many mini-"melting pots." This product would cost about as much as a Yugo car, so few if any would be sold in America. However, it should not be too hard to convince the Chinese that Stetson Hats are the latest "rage;" they can be expected to jump at the chance to corner another luxury market, as recent news reports indicate the citizens of Asian countries in general have "cornered" the world supply for gold, wine, fine art, and most of the world's other traditional luxury goods. This short shows how Stetsons from America's past should become America's future!
Nice Documentary
Michael_Elliott3 December 2013
Making a Stetson (1920)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Industrial film was produced by the Stetson company to show people everything that goes into making one of their hats. This starts off with footage of a couple dead rabbits and some beavers, which of course are used for their fur. From this point on we see how the furs are cleaned, turned into molds for the hats and everything up to the point of someone putting it on their head. Overall this is a fairly interesting documentary and especially if you're actually interested in how these popular hats were made. I'm sure some people are going to throw a fit with the animals being used but then again, I'm not sure if these types are going to be watching a silent film from 1920. For the most part I thought all of the details were interesting and there's no question that the company went out of its way to show the various steps that it takes for their hats. I'm sure this was meant to draw up interest for their company and I can see people watching this and then rushing out to get them one.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Industrial film was produced by the Stetson company to show people everything that goes into making one of their hats. This starts off with footage of a couple dead rabbits and some beavers, which of course are used for their fur. From this point on we see how the furs are cleaned, turned into molds for the hats and everything up to the point of someone putting it on their head. Overall this is a fairly interesting documentary and especially if you're actually interested in how these popular hats were made. I'm sure some people are going to throw a fit with the animals being used but then again, I'm not sure if these types are going to be watching a silent film from 1920. For the most part I thought all of the details were interesting and there's no question that the company went out of its way to show the various steps that it takes for their hats. I'm sure this was meant to draw up interest for their company and I can see people watching this and then rushing out to get them one.
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