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.

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.

tavm A very amusing D. W. Griffith short featuring an appearance by future producer/director Mack Sennett. The entire 3-minute short, Those Awful Hats, takes place in a nickelodeon as we see an audience watching a movie up on the screen (one of the earliest depictions of a film-within-a-film scene). Most of the action concerns ladies who won't take off their hats. There is one particular lady who gets so obnoxious about it a steel bucket takes it from her! After the other ladies take theirs off, another lady keeps making a scene by keeping hers on, so that bucket then takes her up! The end. Well worth seeing for fans of Griffith, Sennett, and anyone interested in early movie history. I managed to see this one on YouTube.

Mikko_Elo_ those awful hats has a surprisingly funny and witty plot, despite it's short lenght and real purpose. the film serves as an experiment for griffith, who tries out new and interesting things, succeeding brilliantly, i think. the early trick with 'film on film', what we call the blue screen technique today, works well for it's time. i'm curious about the restoring process, and overall about griffith, i have no sufficient info to give an in depth analysis, i just have to count on what i see on the screen. the bucket works nicely. i would be certainly interested to learn more about the making of this short.surprisingly good, really. i don't know anything about film technology, so this from a guy who just likes films; 7/10the first griffith film i saw, more to be seen in the weeks to come.