What it’s about
Fadinard (Prejean) is about to be married, but his trip to the wedding is interrupted when his horse eats a fancy hat hanging on the side of the road. The chapeau belongs to Anais (Tschekowa) a married woman in the midst of a roadside tryst with Lieutenant Tavernier (Geymond). Anais cannot return home without the hat, so her lover demands that the nervous bridegroom procure a replacement, or else face dire consequences. Predictably, this unexpected quest threatens to delay if not postpone the imminent nuptial ceremonies. Can Fadinard find the hat, get married and save his own skin? More than half the fun is finding out.
Why we love it
Filmmaker René Clair's forgotten classic is a must for fans of silent comedy. This inventive, delightful romp derives so many complications from a simple scenario that your head nearly spins trying to keep up. Prejean anchors the proceedings in a brilliant comic turn as the luckless Fadinard, whose façade of bourgeois contentment steadily crumbles as he's forced to take ever more extreme steps to replace the hat and protect his way of life. Also featuring some hilarious early special effects work, Clair's long-neglected farce is pretty hard to resist. By all means, try this “Hat” on for size.