Event

THE ITALIAN STRAW HAT

Tuesday, March 23 at 7:30pm
Live Musical Accompaniment by BEN MODEL on the Cinemas Miditzer Theater Organ
$9 Members / $13 Public / Includes Reception

Active Membership Will Be Checked

Director Ren Clair skilful transposition of Eugne Labiche's play from the 1850s to
the 1890s provides an outrageously funny satire on bourgeois attitudes. Although
the plot is simple, the film is replete with content, showing the director's mastery of both
visual comedy and film photography. The year is 1895. Fadinard is on the way to his
wedding when his horse picks up and eats a straw hat. The owner of the hat is a married
woman who, at the time, is in the embrace of a French officer, Lieutenant Tavernier. The
officer follows Fadinard to his new home and demands that he finds a substitute hat so that
his mistress can return home to her husband without arousing suspicion. Fadinard hastens
away to his wedding, using every opportunity he can to find a replacement hat. When
finally he does manage to find the elusive hat, things become even more complicated. Even
today, when the film's satirical content is far less potent than it was when it was first released, the film is hilarious and hugely
entertaining. Without any exaggeration, this is simply one of the funniest films of all time. France, 1928, 100 min., b/w

Ben Model, silent film accompanist for MoMA for over two decades, composes his own scores and performs in a
style that evokes the silent era and reflects a contemporary audience's appreciation of music www.benmodel.com