Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Those Awful Hats" is a little movie from 1909, so this is of course silent and black-and-white. And it is also very short, only runs for 2.5 minutes. It is among the more known works by silent filmmaker D.W. Griffith. I believe the man today is known mostly for his dramatic films from that time and 1909 was one of his most prolific years. He was in his mid-30s at this point. But here, he tries to take the comedic road. I would not say it is a failure, but he probably did well in leaving this genre to the likes of Chaplin, Lloyd, Laurel, Hardy and Keaton in the following years. Here we have a hat comedy. There is a stage performance, but gigantic hats wreak havoc, for example as some audience members cannot see anything because of the gigantic hat in front of their faces. But a solution is coming quickly and the lady may not like it. All in all, nothing too bad or good, I did not find it very memorable and give it a thumbs-down. Griffith has done better on many other occasions.

JoeytheBrit This ultra-short film from movie pioneer D. W. Griffith isn't so much a film as a public service announcement. In the early years of cinema there were no restrictions on women wearing hats in a theatre (although men had to remove theirs) a situation that led to some heated moments due to the size of some ladies' bonnets.The film takes place in a tiny cinema, and Griffith makes use of a split-screen technique to show the second film taking place on the cinema's screen. It looks fairly primitive today, but was probably quite effective in its day. As the film unfolds, more and more ladies wearing increasingly outlandish hats take their seats at the front of the cinema, blocking the view of those sitting behind. Mass pandemonium almost breaks out until the kind of bucket contraption used by diggers descends from the ceiling to remove one lady's hat before accidentally picking up a second lady who is still attached to hers.It's a fairly amusing picture, and Griffith, who also wrote the piece, displays a sense of humour that he is not normally noted for, but at two-and-a-half minutes it's definitely as long as it needs to be.

ccthemovieman-1 I wonder if this was a major problem a long time ago. I'll bet it was. I am referring to the subject matter of this early and very short D.W. Griffith film: rude people wearing big hats to the theater and blocking the view of those in back of them.Considering that people have probably been inconsiderate for as long as humans have inhabited the planet, this might have been a problem. Since people haven't word big hats in a generation or two, a lot of people don't remember "big hat days." Whatever, it makes for an amusing little film with a unique suggestion to dealing with the problem! If people were slow to get the message, the director put in print at the end.The special-effects aren't exactly state-of-the-art for today's audiences but I bet they shocked the film-goers 99 years ago, when this was seen.

Michael_Elliott Those Awful Hats (1909) *** (out of 4) D.W. Griffith comedy about a movie crowd getting angry because the women's large hats are blocking the screen. This is shorter than most of the shorts from this period but it's a very funny little gem.Adventures of Dollie, The (1908) *** 1/2 (out of 4) The first (of 400+) film directed D.W. Griffith is about a pair of gypsies who kidnap a three-year-old girl. When the girl's parents come looking for her the gypsies hide her in a barrel, which they accidentally drop in the river. Griffith's skill is certainly in full display here as his use of editing is right on the mark as he builds suspense of the girl going down the river. A wicked sense of humor is also on display here.