Fancast Friday Five: Movies with Unforgettable Hats

Everybody knows Indy’s fedora is practically the centerpiece of the movie. In every scene of every Indiana Jones movie, you look for that hat because that’s who you want to watch. That’s who you care about. It’s an unforgettable hat.

Here are five more classics featuring remarkable headgear.

My Fair Lady [watch a clip]
There was never a reason to put giant hats on Audrey Hepburn - any obscuring of her lovely face was tantamount to a felony. However, transforming a cockney flower girl into a regal duchess requires the cunning use of hats, and the pluck and petite Eliza Doolittle could certainly pull even the craziest designs off with flair and aplomb. Give a girl her proper due!

The Wizard of Oz [watch the trailer]
Why bother being off to see the wizard? He can’t have a hat any more eye-catching than the Witches of Oz do. Be it the classic wicked witch look or the massive pseudo-popey crown of Glinda the Good Witch, these hats tell you what’s what in no uncertain terms. Of course, the Tin Man’s hat actually provides a bodily function of blowing off steam. Let’s just not think about what the human equivalent of that particular gaseous expulsion might be.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone [watch the trailer]
A sentient hat certainly deserves a mention, especially considering just how important the Sorting Hat is to the Harry Potter mythos. You place this magic hat on a student’s head, and the hat tells you which of the Houses of Hogwarts that child will follow. Imagine if the hat got drunk that day and assigned Hermione to Slytherin? Snape gets a lot more creepy right away.

X2: X-Men United [watch the Cerebro clip]
The undisputed best of the X-Men series so far uses the elaborate hat known as Cerebro as the major crux of its plot. A device used to locate mutants who need help becomes a weapon used to melt their brains. Until Magneto steps in (who happens to have a classy and functional helmet himself) to turn it around on the puny humans instead. A deadly hat, indeed!

Spaceballs [watch the spot]
One might expect Star Wars to get a mention here, with Darth Vader’s villainous mask, but Dark Helmet place much more emphasis on his giant helmet, so Rick Moranis’ Dork Lord of the Schwartz beats out the character he’s spoofing. The desert look is just going the extra mile. Your Schwartz may be as big as his, but your hat doesn’t have a chance.