The New York Hat (1912)

The young village minister was not quite as discreet as he might have been in fulfilling the strange trust left by the dying mother, but it certainly worked for the common good. By the ... See full summary »

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

Anita Loos, Frances Marion (contributing writer)

Stars:

Mary Pickford, Charles Hill Mailes, Kate Bruce

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mary Pickford	...	Miss Mollie Goodhue
Charles Hill Mailes	...	Mr. Goodhue - Mollie's Father
Kate Bruce	...	Mrs. Goodhue - Mollie's Mother
Lionel Barrymore	...	Preacher Bolton - the Minister
Alfred Paget	...	The Doctor
Claire McDowell	...	First Gossip
Mae Marsh	...	Second Gossip
Clara T. Bracy	...	Third Gossip
Madge Kirby	...	Shopkeeper / At Mother's Deathbed
Lillian Gish	...	Customer in Shop / Outside Church
Jack Pickford	...	Youth Outside Church
Robert Harron	...	Youth Outside Church

Storyline

The young village minister was not quite as discreet as he might have been in fulfilling the strange trust left by the dying mother, but it certainly worked for the common good. By the bequest the mother desired that her daughter possess some of the finery previously denied her. As a result the minister and Mary were linked in a scandal, with the church board in judgment. Gossip received the laugh, however, as it generally does, while the minister assumed a trust quite unexpected.

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | female protagonist | will | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 December 1912 (USA)

Also Known As:

A New York-i kalap

Filming Locations:

Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograph Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

16 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lillian Gish appears in the church scene.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.15 (2005)

User Reviews

Melodramatic with a gigantic capital 'M'.

This time, with the New York Hat, there are things that are dated about it - a woman buying a TEN DOLLAR HAT? WELL I NEVER (I can almost hear the townspeople say) - but there are some things that remain today sadly, and in large part that's the facet of people who gossip. The women of the story cause a lot of the trouble for the main character, a woman who at the start loses her mother to some illness but the mother left a note saying that she should get a "sum" of money for something she would like and so the town Priest sees this letter (her big-chin-bearded father doesn't) and buys the hat for her, all because they likely say to themselves, "Hmm, she thinks she's cute!"

The funny thing is, Mary Pickford was adorable (especially here, something about her is so vulnerable and light and sweet to look at), so it's a delight to watch this film even as Griffith turns the dramatic screws to such a degree that it almost becomes laughable. If people come to this today the reaction will be "so what, it's a hat, who cares?" I'm sure in this time period such an extravagance was seen as a giant WTF, especially to conformist society "B words" who couldn't see someone else being happy without it affecting them. So while the dramatics are possibly too high - but then again that's Griffith - due to what is going on and her backstory, the main core of the story works still today, and Pickford sells it every moment she's on screen.

Her character has our sympathy from the start, and there's even a nice comment on small-town small-mindedness that I think holds up best of all. The title itself suggests city vs rural life, that such an extravagant hat is too far beyond what a person like young Mary can have, or at least that's what society implicit;y or overtly demands (including her father, who gets the most over the top moment of cruelty when he destroys the hat). So I liked it for its strengths and tried to look past its weaknesses.