How a 1970 gangster film sparked a global fashion revival for fedora hats

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Borsalino, the 1970 French crime epic, was more than a box-office smash. While it chronicled the rise of Marseille underworld bosses, its title—borrowed from a legendary hat manufacturer—triggered a massive resurgence in the popularity of fedoras. Behind the scenes, however, the production was defined by intense ego clashes.

Directed by Jacques Deray, Borsalino was born from Alain Delon’s desire to collaborate with Jean-Paul Belmondo. Delon, who produced the film, drew inspiration from a book about real-life gangsters Paul Carbone and François Spirito. Although the film originally intended to use their names, objections forced a shift to fictional characters. Seeking a title that required no translation, Delon settled on the name of the iconic Italian hat maker, whose fedoras reached their peak between the 1920s and 1940s—the exact era depicted in the film.

The production was marked by a fragile power dynamic between its two leads. To maintain parity, their contracts mandated an identical number of close-ups, leading Delon to dye his hair black to match his co-star. Despite Delon’s efforts to keep the peace, the relationship soured. Belmondo eventually sued over billing disputes, specifically objecting to the credit line that identified the film as an Alain Delon production before his own name appeared. Associate producer Pierre Caro noted that Belmondo was deeply insecure about sharing the screen, forcing Delon to cut several of his own best scenes to ensure Belmondo did not appear inferior.

Financed largely by Paramount Pictures, the film was shot in Marseille and Paris. It became a massive success in France, drawing over 4.7 million admissions and ranking as the fourth most-watched film of 1970. While it failed to achieve the same breakthrough in the United States, it gained notoriety due to the Marković affair, which involved Delon. The film remains culturally significant, not only for its period detail and Claude Bolling’s score but also for a surreal historical footnote: a 1997 BBC broadcast of the movie was interrupted to announce the car crash that claimed the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.

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