I’ve just got my hands on a copy of ‘The Italian Straw Hat’ (or Le Chapeau de Paille d’Italie) on DVD. Which brings the 1927 film version of the 1895 stage production firmly into the digital age. It is a silent comedy in which a man’s horse eats a straw hat on the way to it’s owner’s wedding. The owner of the hat is a married woman who, at the time, is in the embrace of a French officer. The officer follows the man & his horse and demands that he finds a substitute hat so that his mistress can return home to her husband without arousing suspicion.
To be honest, I can think of easier ways to explain the loss of a hat, but that would make for a pretty dull movie.
Now, interesting fact about the film if you please. In 1928, Ze French had threatened to pass a law which rationed exchange between the import of Hollywood reel and the export of their own films. So René Clair, who produced the film, was touted as France’s big hope for French film popularity abroad. Although probably not the funniest film that has ever been made, it is possibly the funniest comedy about a straw hat.
Love, Amandine x
love, Amandine x 