Silent movies - En ny hat till Madammen

About 35 years ago, the ex suggested that we should take Danish lessons. For different reasons, most of them outside our control, we only managed about four lessons. So I still know how to say that the room is big and that I come from Germany, but that's about it.
I can tell you, however, that today's film from 1906 is called "En ny hat till Madammen" which translates to "A New Hat for the Madam". There are not even title cards, so it was no problem to follow this short made by Danish film pioneer Viggo Larsen.

Madame is choosing a hat and it's big!

It may look like it, but this is no cheese.
It's the hatbox and hubby just had to
yank out part of the window frame to
get it through the window at all.
That's what I call a supportive husband.

After Madam has been "attacking"
some people with her new hat and
has trouble handling both the hat and
her hobble skirt, but hasn't been able
to board a taxi, hubby buys her
a little wagon for easier transport.

Their friends think it's a marvelous
idea and join them.

Oops. It might be more difficult than
they had expected after all.

Teatime ends in a duel because the
hat knocked off the cap of the military
guy on the left and he hit back.

Oh no! Hubby got wounded! At least
the hat makes a useful stretcher.

It's only a flesh wound (any Python fans?).
Nevertheless, after kissing his wife hubby
is begging her to get rid of the hat.

Once again I learned something new.
Denmark was one of the big shots in early film history, both commercially and historically. It had stars like Asta Nielsen who were internationally famous.
From about 1910 to 1914 when the First World War broke out - the Golden Age of Danish silent films - the Danish film industry was even a world leader before Hollywood took over.

The website "Danish Silent Film" launched by the Danish Film Institute aims at making more than 400 works from the country's silent film history freely available online, with the addition of "posters, photos, thematic articles, scripts and contemporary reviews".

Back to our short, though.
At first look it may seem like it's just a silly little slapstick comedy, but it very efficiently pokes fun at the fashion fads of the time while hinting at them possibly being dangerous - huge hats and hobble skirts (the latter actually caused accidents, even fatal ones).
And it's not only the ladies who are affected by the madness of an absurd fashion, but also the men. A duel over a hat? I'm still amazed how quickly one of the men at the tea produces a saber for the husband to use.

Huge headgear wasn't limited to women's hats. Men wore really high top hats, for example. They were not as wide, granted, and didn't diminish exotic bird populations the way the huge hats embellished with feathers did (still a danger today, by the way).
Also don't forget about the elaborate wigs people used to wear in the olden days, both women and men.
The First World War was just one reason for those fashions to disappear as women were needed in the war effort and clothing became more practical.

As someone who has never been fashoniable and prefers comfort over looks in her own clothing, I had a good laugh at this film. Absolutely a recommendation from me!


Sources:

1. Website "Danish Silent Film"
2. Fritzi Kramer: A New Hat for the Madam (1906) - A Silent Film Review. On: Movies Silently, August 1, 2022