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Chapeau for Chevalier

1935 , Luton (Bedfordshire)

Cat no. 6646

Maurice Chevalier visiting Luton, the manufacturing centre of the entertainer's trademark straw boater.

Crowds waving straw boater hats greet Maurice Chevalier as he arrives in Luton. The Mayor of Luton presents M. Chevalier with a selection of straw boaters which the entertainer attempts to wear all at once, balancing them in a pile on top of his head.

Keywords

Film stars; Hats

Background Information

A popular singer and entertainer in France's music halls, and having made several short films in his native country, Maurice Chevalier went to America in 1928. He became successful in Hollywood at the 'dawn' of talking pictures. He was already a star by the time he made his trip to Luton, a town that had built its manufacturing reputation around the straw hat trade since the late ninenteenth century. Chevalier had become strongly identified with this style of hat, worn at a rakish angle. Returning to Europe, Chevalier starred or co-starred in several English and French films during the late 1930s, including The Beloved Vagabond (1936), Man of the Hour (1937), and Break the News (1938, with another veteran song-and-dance man, Jack Buchanan). World War 2 interrupted Chevalier's film career, and he was accused - but later vindicated - of being a Nazi collaborator. He went to Hollywood in the mid 1950s just in time for the waning years of the American movie musical's golden age." (from http://www.mauricechevalier.com/bio.htm)

Manifestations

Chapeau for Chevalier

  • Sequence Details:
    • Group 1:
      • Part Number: 450
      • Parts Unit: Series

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