Two pictures showing the difference in hat styles in the fifties to modern westerns
http://fandomania.com/5-alternate-settings-for-the-magnificent-seven/
http://tv-shows.prettyfamous.com/l/13942/The-Magnificent-Seven
Personally I prefer the fifties style but maybe that's just a yearning for the golden age.
Judging from old West photographs neither style is accurate, it seems back then they just put anything on their heads that fitted.
Is it me, or are black hats a lot more common in western films made within the last three decades? Before then, black hats were mostly associated with either villains (especially the earlier one goes back in film history), or rogues (like Italo-Western Django, Sartana, and Sabata types of characters). I think the later the 19th century went on, lighter hats became more and more popular, and through the early 20th century, light hats predominated, although in the 1800s, black or dark hats appear to have been more common based on photographs. This could be one correct trend in modern westerns.
"A New Kind of Man" (John Foxx, 1980):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt4oi-PRbN4
That's Jack Elam from Once upon a Time in the West
shareTim McCoy, with the original cow-boy Stetson hat.
Also used by Ken Maynard and others.
After Johnny Mack Brown, these big hats were reduced.
Picture Tim McCoy : https://wyostatearchives.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/p2001-11_36-tim-mccoy-dressed-as-hollywood-cowboy.jpg?w=500
I believe they were called ten gallon hats, seems strange that they were once considered cool.
shareDoesn't Hoss wear one on Bonanza? He's so big it actually suits him. Neither Steve McQueen nor Burt Reynolds would have looked good in one IMO, as they weren't really big guys. John Wayne wears a big hat early in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I'm not sure how many gallons, but it's big.
shareDoes a show from 20 years ago count as "modern"? Or did you mean to post a pic from the new Magnificent Seven? The hats and costumes in the newer film are definitely more authentic than the 60s version, but still not quite right.
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One main difference is that back is the days of the original M7 hats were usually bent or curled up at the sides whereas the most common trend, for a number of years now, is to have the front of the brim bent downwards with the sides flat, like a fedora. Looking at old photos of cowboys etc, brims were kept flat quite a lot and the hat pushed to the back to the head.
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