The New York Hat

Whenever I watch films from the silent era I do sometimes struggle to focus on the film itself rather than be lost in the fact that I am seeing something that was filmed over 100 years ago and that everyone who made it is long dead – and indeed everyone who watched it on its release is almost certainly gone the same way by now too. It is always a sobering thought and I think seeing people on the screen makes it seem more amazing than, for example, seeing a painting created hundreds of years ago. Anyway, the downside of such thoughts are that if the film isn't particularly gripping then such things tend to take over my mind and it was this case with this simple film.

The plot sees a mother of a young girl pass away. She has a small amount of money to leave her daughter but does not trust her husband and so leaves it to a minister to make sure it is kept safe for her Mollie. Mollie is a simple girl but when she sees a beautiful hat in the local store all the way from New York, she really wants it despite not having the money. The minister sees this and decides to get it for her using a small amount of her mother's trust. It is a simple act but when the town gossips see a minister buying a hat for a young girl, well, tongues soon get to wagging.

It is a very simple tale which takes longer to build to the crux than it does to resolve and as such it is not really the most engaging. The thing that holds the attention though is that the cast do a very good job of delivering the material silently (obviously). I was expecting the occasional title card to show their words here and there, but the only titles are setting the scene rather than specifics. Pickford and Barrymore are both expressive and (mostly) do not overact too much to compensate for the silence, but actually do well with character with just their faces – particularly Pickford. The supporting cast are fine although I did enjoy the stern faced old biddies enjoying their scandal.

The New York Hat is now more a historical curio rather than a great film to be enjoyed on its own terms. The director and the main cast are the main headlines and, outside of this, the story really isn't enough to hold a modern viewer.

This short melodrama has a somewhat offbeat story that works pretty well thanks to its efficient characterizations and its observations on human nature. And not the least of its merits is the chance to see Mary Pickford in one of her earlier roles, as the young woman at the center of the story, who longs for "The New York Hat". The story begins with Mary's dying mother leaving an unusual request with her pastor, and then goes on to show how the situation affects everyone involved. At first it doesn't seem like much to work with, but it is done efficiently, and Pickford is charming and sympathetic as always.

I viewed this short film in my film class and I was quite impressed with it considering it's age. It is easy to understand the story although there is no voices but it's still well defined by the music. And the characters are well defined as well.

A picture of a few human beings. They live in a small country town and seem to center around the village church. It doesn't shut its eyes to the frailties of mortal flesh; but it is optimistic, good-natured and leaves a pleasant taste, indeed, it is a picture among pictures to entertain, encourage and amuse. It is wonderful how the Biograph producer gets his many different characters, for hardly can the players be recognized so sure are they in their assumption of the peculiarities and semblance of people not themselves. One marvels that they are; but seeing them, he is not astonished to find them acting humorously. The scenario behind this picture of the little girl (Mary Pickford), of a miserly father for whom the minister bought a new hat, because her dying mother, knowing the father's stinginess, had given him a little money to get her a "few bits of finery," isn't strong in its primary idea; but it has been mighty well worked up. Then the motivation of the characters is so clearly drawn and the humor of them so often convinces laughter that the audience gets satisfaction. Clair McDowell plays an old spinster, Mae Marsh has an unimportant part. - The Moving Picture World, December 21, 1912

"The New York Hat" is a short, adorable movie that stars the legends of early film (Mary Pickford and her brother Jack, Lionel Barrymore, the Gish Sisters). The plot is fun and inventive for 1912. A great bit of storytelling that doesn't grow old.