Indiana Jones Fedora (Temple of Doom)

A hat made for the second adventure

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a prequel set in 1935, mostly in India. The fedora for it was made specifically for this film by the Herbert Johnson Hat Company of London, which had also made the hats for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Costume designer Anthony Powell and assistant costume designer Joanna Johnston worked with the hatmaker on what was a slight update of the first film's hat, with a more tapered crown.

It is made of sable-colored rabbit felt, with a dark brown ribbon and a leather sweatband stamped with the maker's name and address and a size tag reading 7 1/4. The sweatband also carries the initials 'I J' in gold, a mark Herbert Johnson applied only to hats made for the three original Indiana Jones films.

Keeping a fedora on an actor's head through fights, falls and chases was an ongoing problem across the series. On this hat the satin liner was removed for comfort, and pieces of foam were tucked behind the sweatband at front and back to make it fit more snugly.

Ford and his double

Filming began on April 18, 1983, in Kandy, Sri Lanka, moved to Elstree Studios in England on May 5 and wrapped principal photography on August 26, 1983, with more location work in the U.S. at Mammoth Mountain, Yosemite, the Snake River Canyon in Idaho and Arizona. It was not an easy shoot for Ford: a somersault on set left him with a severe spinal disc herniation, a hospital stay and a five-week production shutdown.

Photo-matching ties this hat to Ford throughout production: in the village set in Sri Lanka, in the mine-cart chase at Elstree, and in the river sequence shot in the U.S.

The hat was also worn by Dean Ferrandini, an American stuntman who worked on well over 100 films and shows. He doubled Ford for the U.S.-shot sequences, chiefly the scenes of Indy, Willie (Kate Capshaw) and Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) in the yellow raft on the snow-covered mountain and in the river. Ferrandini kept the hat in his own collection; he died in 2023.

The summer of 1984

Temple of Doom opened on May 23, 1984. Made for $28 million, it set a record with a $45.7 million opening week and grossed $333.1 million worldwide, the highest-grossing film of the year. It was darker than Raiders and drew mixed reviews at first.

Its violence led Spielberg to suggest a new rating between PG and R, and the PG-13 rating was adopted two months after the film's release. The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and John Williams was nominated for his score.

It was also the film debut of Ke Huy Quan, who beat out 6,000 other children for the role of Short Round and decades later starred in the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Out of the stuntman's collection

After his death, Ferrandini's fedora came to market for the first time in an August 2024 entertainment memorabilia auction in Los Angeles. It was offered with previously unpublished photos of Ferrandini in costume as Indiana Jones and a letter of authenticity signed by his wife, Keefe Ferrandini, with an estimate of $250,000 to $500,000.

Bidding on the lot closed on Thursday, August 15, 2024, with a winning bid of $630,000 after 37 bids. The buyer was not named. In the same auction, a scout trooper helmet from Return of the Jedi brought $315,000 and a ghost costume from Scream $270,900.

The price far outran another Temple of Doom fedora sold at auction in 2021, which reports put at just over $431,000 including buyer's premium.

How this hat is identified

Original Temple of Doom fedoras share the same construction: sable rabbit felt, a dark brown ribbon, the Herbert Johnson sweatband and the gold 'I J' stamp. The style, placement and size of the markings on this hat match other known authentic examples, and similar foam pads appear in another known original.

What sets this one apart is a repair. The bow on its ribbon came loose during filming and was hand-stitched back into place, and the loose stitching is visible inside the hat. There is also makeup residue at the front of the sweatband.

It shows wear, aging and minor loss of felt on parts of the brim, consistent with heavy use on set. It measures 13 by 12 by 6 inches.

The silhouette of a character

Few costumes are as tied to a single character as the fedora is to Indiana Jones. The auction house called the hat the definitive element of his unforgettable outfit, and it is the piece of the costume collectors chase hardest.

This example has the qualities collectors weigh most: it can be matched to the screen, it shows real use, and it came straight from someone who wore it on camera, with nothing in between.

The numbers

Film

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, released May 23, 1984

Budget and gross

$28 million budget; $333,107,271 worldwide

Filming

April 18 to August 26, 1983: Kandy, Sri Lanka; Elstree Studios; U.S. locations

Awards

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects; 2 Oscar and 4 BAFTA nominations

Hat

Herbert Johnson, sable rabbit felt, size 7 1/4, 'I J' gold stamp; 13 x 12 x 6 in.

Timeline

1. Apr 18, 1983

   Temple of Doom filming begins in Kandy, Sri Lanka, with Ford wearing this hat on the village set.

2. May 5, 1983

   Production moves to Elstree Studios in England, where the mine-cart chase is shot.

3. Aug 26, 1983

   Principal photography wraps; U.S. location work includes the raft and river sequences with Dean Ferrandini doubling Ford.

4. May 23, 1984

   Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is released.

5. 1984

   The PG-13 rating is adopted about two months after the film's release.

6. 2021

   Another Temple of Doom fedora sells at auction.

7. 2023

   Dean Ferrandini dies; the hat remains in his collection.

8. Aug 15, 2024

   The fedora sells for a winning bid of $630,000 after 37 bids at auction in Los Angeles.

The world in 1984

• Jan 1, 1984

  The Bell System is broken up.

• Jun 4, 1984

  Bruce Springsteen releases Born in the U.S.A.

• Jun 8, 1984

  Ghostbusters and Gremlins open in theaters.

• Jul 28, 1984

  The Summer Olympics open in Los Angeles.

• Aug 30, 1984

  Space Shuttle Discovery makes its first flight.

• Sep 16, 1984

  Miami Vice premieres on NBC.

• Nov 6, 1984

  Ronald Reagan wins re-election, carrying 49 states.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, Indiana Jones Fedora (Temple of Doom) is number 83 of 100 in the memorabilia entries of the FLOAT 100. 100 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (81 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Herbert Johnson stamped 'I J' in gold only in hats made for the first three Indiana Jones films.
• The satin liner was pulled out and foam stuffed behind the sweatband to keep the hat on during action scenes.
• The ribbon's bow came loose during filming and was hand-stitched back on; the repair is still visible inside.
• Harrison Ford herniated a spinal disc doing a somersault during filming, shutting production down for five weeks.
• The film's violence helped bring about the PG-13 rating.
• Dean Ferrandini, who doubled Ford on the raft sequence, worked on well over 100 films and shows.
• The hat sold for $130,000 above its high estimate.