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1914Thanhouser CompanyOne reelComedy

A Hatful of Trouble

No copy you can watch online. No print is known to survive. What follows is what does: the release, the cast, the story, and what the trade press said at the time.

The story

“Having left his wife and daughter at the seaside, Wendall Wiggins, on his return to town, breaks loose. He meets on the avenue Miss Effie Linton, a showily dressed young lady, whom he invites to dine at a popular restaurant. Under the influence of the wine, Wiggins presents Miss Linton with his card, and their friendship is rising rapidly when two young men of her acquaintance come up and carry the young lady away with them. Wiggins and his umbrella leave the café in disgust. On the steps he collides with a stout gentleman, sending both their hats to the sidewalk. Capturing and putting on the fat man’s hat, which sets down well over his ears, Wiggins makes his escape. The next day his wife and daughter return to find Wiggins still in bed in his evening clothes, his umbrella over his head. While he is trying to explain the situation, Effie Linton enters, which makes things yet more embarrassing, and the fat man comes to claim his hat. The truant husband at last patches up matters by presenting his wife with a beautiful new chapeau.”

Summary from Reel Life · 19 December 1914

What the papers said

2 reviews · 1 article

“While his wife is at the seaside hubby has a gay time. A pretty girl, another gentleman’s hat, and trouble play an important part when wifey returns suddenly. He bribes her by buying her a beautiful new chapeau.”

The Morning Telegraph · 20 December 1914

“In this number Frank Farrington appears as a husband of sporty inclinations. He comes home intoxicated, and the scene in which the room actually goes around is very funny. The photography is good and for a production of this kind this is acceptable and quite amusing.”

The Moving Picture World · 2 January 1915

Article

31 October 1914The New Rochelle Pioneer1 min

“Howell Hansel, The Million Dollar Mystery director, is directing one of his own farces, A Hat Full of Trouble, in which his comedy sense is sure to start the risibilities of audiences who view Thanhouser films.”

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Cast and crew

Director
Howell Hansel
Cast
Ethyle Cooke as Effie Linton
Fan Bourke as Wiggins’ wife
Frank Farrington as Wendall Wiggins
J. Morris Foster
Marion Fairbanks as Dorothy, his daughter
Mignon Anderson as minor role

Every name opens that person's page, with each film they appear in and which of them you can watch.

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More about this film

Bowers’ notes

The title appeared as A Hat Full of Trouble in a review in The Moving Picture World, February 2, 1915, and in some other notices.

From Volume II: Filmography of Q. David Bowers’ Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, reproduced with permission and unchanged. Read the history of 1914 →

Cite as: Bowers, Q. David. Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, “A Hatful of Trouble”. thanhouser.org/films/a-hatful-of-trouble/

Where a print is held

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