This film provided Sirk""s clear commentary and critique of the underlying hollowness and shallowness of American society in the placid 1950s, and misfit lives stunted and corrupted by mental anguish, alcoholism, sexual frustration, and corruptible materialistic wealth.] A mysterious, unknown man pours himself a drink, lays out ties on various silk suits on his bed, chooses a fancy cufflink, knots his tie, dresses himself in impeccable fashion with a folded handkerchief in the pocket of his double-breasted suit, counts out lots of money from his bureau for the evening, and pins, in close-up, a gold, Nazi Party button (with swastika or Hakenkreuz) on his lapel.History had been altered and they were living in an alternate reality.In the original timeline scenario, Kirk learned from Spock that he had spoken about how his father was his inspiration for joining Starfleet, and the elder Kirk had proudly seen his son become Captain of theEnterprise.] While ordering his "usual" lunch (a jumbo hot dog), he cooly asks the counter-server Jaffe (Woodrow Parfrey) about the tan Ford parked across the street in front of the bank.In the haberdasher store, Willie tries on one hat after another (a total of thirteen different hats in all), mostly filmed from the perspective of a mirror - a checkered taxi-cab style hat, a white fedora, the checkered hat (a second time), a black fedora, the checkered hat (a third time), a wide-brimmed straw hat, a dark felt hat, another light straw hat, a dark western hat, another straw hat, a roundish hat, a high-crowned straw hat, a pork pie (Keaton""s trademark hat), and an oversized felt hat.