When I was a child growing up during the 50’s and 60’s, there really was an Easter parade up and down the streets of my beloved Brooklyn neighborhood. Off to church went our Christian neighbors, the working class men tugging uncomfortably at their ties, the little girls skipping along in their shiny Mary Janes. But it was the grown women, resplendent in new and colorful Easter bonnets, that stole the show.

Indeed, there was a time when a well dressed lady would never leave home without proper chapeau and gloves.

Hollywood stars of the Golden Age, were keenly aware they were part of a dream machine. Thus, even when not in front of the camera they worked hard at projecting a glamorous and refined image. Let’s step into the Big Hollywood time machine and look at a few stars posing in memorable hats.

Madge Bellamy seems to be channeling Napoleon. A huge Hollywood star in the early 20’s, most of Bellamy’s early silent work has been lost. But you can still see her in starring roles in John Ford’s Iron Horse (1924) and Maurice Tourneur’s Lorna Doone (1922). In the sound era, Madge’s most famous role is as Madeleine Parker, in White Zombie, with Bela Lugosi (1932), a cult classic. Tragically, Madge was one of the most self-destructive Hollywood stars of all time. In 1943 Madge shot her lover, Stanwood Murphy. The massive publicity and resulting scandal destroyed her already sputtering career. Regarding the shooting Madge said: “I only winged him, which is what I meant to do. Believe me, I’m a crack shot.”

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A few years ago, I was up in Toronto, on location for Within These Walls, a film the Academy Award winning actress Ellen Burstyn, acting as producer and star, asked me to write. Ellen, one of the great Hollywood actresses—past and present—discovered the true story and immediately realized its potential as a powerful and entertaining film. The challenge of playing a hardened murderess—redeemed by training dogs for the disabled—greatly appealed to Ms. Burstyn.

Silent Star Madge Bellamy

During the first week of production, one of the featured actresses—not Ellen—knocked on my hotel door and asked if she could discuss her role with me.

Of course I sat down with the actress—a recognized and respected talent—and we discussed her role, the character’s history, motivation, and dramatic arc. The actress relentlessly probed every single line of dialog. She challenged me to defend all the hard decisions I’d made in writing the character.

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