James Bond: Oddjob Hat Limited Edition Prop Replica

Oddjob is the manservant of Auric Goldfinger, James Bond’s antagonist in 1964’s GOLDFINGER. Oddjob is a formidable character – extremely strong, skilled in martial arts and in possession of a deadly weapon, his black bowler hat.

THE ORIGINAL PROPS

A number of prop hats were sourced from London theatrical and film costumier, M.Berman Ltd. ‘Square Crown Bowler’ style hats were selected for the ‘stunt’ hats, while Lock & Co. Hatters made the costume hats for Oddjob to wear. The stunt hats were handed over to Oscar winning special effects man, John Stears, who modified them to create the illusion of hidden lethality

Different stunt props were modified to meet different production needs, as detailed below,
– A design with a full underbrim ring was made with metal supplied by New Pro Foundries of Middlesex.
– Another was given an embedded metal rim that allowed it to be firmly fixed in place between the Fort Knox bars on set.
– A third style was modified with an internal mechanism that allowed it to travel along a guide wire and be controlled as it moved through the air.

The addition of a full underbrim in metal had some practical limitations: making the prop heavy, inflexible and rather uncomfortable to wear. This style only appears once, at the climax of the statue decapitation scene. Hats with no visible metal ring have much more screen time, yet it is the metal ring version that is recognized worldwide as the definitive version of the Oddjob hat.

When filming was completed, one of the hats was gifted to Harold Sakata, the actor who portrayed Oddjob. Mr Sakata made many public appearances over the following decades, typically accompanied by his hat. This took its toll on an already somewhat delicate prop and at some point, a metal ring was permanently fixed to the hat using visible rivets. Although no prop hat with rivets is ever seen in the film, the riveted version received a lot of exposure and so took on a life of its own among fans.

THE REPLICA

The Factory Entertainment Oddjob Hat prop replica was created after careful study of the remaining original SFX hat with the embedded rim in the EON Productions archives, as well as reference photographs and original production drawings. The original archive hat was hand-measured, and a 3D model was created from these measurements in order to create wooden molds, or ‘forms’ that were then used to press and stretch woolen felt into the correct shapes. Historically, bowler hats were designed to afford some protection to the heads of gamekeepers, so they were made from thick durable material. The Factory Entertainment team duplicated this, commissioning a special ultra-heavyweight felt material that is even tougher than its 1960’s forebears. The metal rims of the original props would only have needed to adhere to the hats for short takes. The Factory Entertainment team wanted their replica to last a long time, and after experimenting with many different options and prototypes, the team developed a method that includes both mechanical and chemical bonding to invisibly and permanently fix the two different materials together. The Oddjob Hat replica also features the following screen-accurate details:
– Black edging ribbon and a satin hat band on the exterior.
– A satin liner and a leather band on the interior.
– Laser cut brushed stainless steel metal ring.
– Hat size — 7 3/8” (58cm) hat size.

Each replica includes a museum-style mirrored display base with an acrylic cover, specially designed magnetic supports and an individually numbered metal plaque bearing the unique edition number of each piece and a COA (certificate of authenticity) booklet.

Limited to 1,000 pieces.

This replica is intended for display only. Never attempt to throw this replica.