Impressions from the old movies

[Bob Wright]

Contrary to what y'all might think, not all the shows I saw as a youngster were westerns. Thre were detective shows and just plain movies. These left me with the following impressions:

1. Everybody lived in an apartment. A luxury one, at that.

2. Nobody ever worked for a living, except maybe for the private detective.

3. Nobody owned a car. To go somewhere, one went downstairs and hailed a cab.

4. Nobody ever cooked. The maid did that. 5. Life revolved around either New York City or Los Ageles.

6. Nobody ever went to church, except for a wedding or funeral.

7. Those who went to church were Catholic. And the priest was Irish.

8. The policeman on the beat was Irish, too.

9. On the corner of the apartment building was a fruit stand that also sold newspapers.

10. At the other corner there was a shoeshine stand. The owner of that was a black man who knew everything. And would give out the information for a price.

Bob Wright

 

[Fox Mike]

Then there was Boston Blackie from, obviously, Boston.

 

[Armybrat]

And in the contemporary films all the men wore suits & fedoras (cocked at a rakish angle).

 

[Yaworski]

And in the contemporary films all the men wore suits & fedoras (cocked at a rakish angle).

That was the norm.

 

[Armybrat]

That was the norm.

Yep it was, until about 1960 or ‘61 when JFK’s uncovered pate started the hatless trend.

 

[Yaworski]

Yep it was, until about 1960 or '61 when JFK's uncovered pate started the hatless trend.

I've been bucking that trend for over forty years. I don't leave the house without a hat.

 

[Bob Wright]

I've been bucking that trend for over forty years. I don't leave the house without a hat.

I'm with you!





Bob Wright

 

[blume357]

I started wearing a hat a few years back.

As for the older movies... one of the amazing things I've noticed is folks almost always getting in a car on the passenger side when parked on the street.
They would open the passenger door and just get in and slide over....

 

[Jeepnik]

Bucket seats were invented to try and prevent teenage pregnancies.

Then again you'd be amazed what can be done in the back seat of a Corvair.

 

[steveodtw]

When I started work as a Bell System business communications consultant in 1968, the uniform of the day was modeled after IBM. Suit, white shirt and tie. A co-worker told me I has lucky, they just stopped requiring a hat (fedora).

 

[eveled]

TV shows and Movies often depicted the stereotypical household or neighborhood. Maybe ideal is a better word.

The irony is the ideal stereotypical household or neighborhood are few and far between.

The best example is Leave it to Beaver. It depicts the ideal household. Even in the 50’s the vast majority of households were different.

 

[Armybrat]

Bucket seats were invented to try and prevent teenage pregnancies.

Then again you'd be amazed what can be done in the back seat of a Corvair.

Or an original VW Beetle.

 

[Yaworski]

Bucket seats were invented to try and prevent teenage pregnancies.

Then again you'd be amazed what can be done in the back seat of a Corvair

Or an original VW Beetle.

Many would be amazed at what can happen in the front seat of a Beetle.

 

[Ray Newman]

Often there was what I call the "firearms dramatic effect".

Back in the 1950's and earlier when revolvers were more popular, the good or the bad guy would unlock the cylinder to check the numbers of rounds, then jerk his hand to the right so the cylinder would close by itself with a loud distinctive metal snap when done. And often times the revolver was put into a jacket pocket so it could easily be fired from the pocket.

 

[Armybrat]

Many would be amazed at what can happen in the front seat of a Beetle.

Well, at 6’ & 190 lbs, that was just a tad bit tight for my size.

 

[turd]

^^^Well, at 6'3" and 200# the front seat of a VW Rabbit worked for me. The seats did recline....... :cool:

 

[Yaworski]

Well, at 6' & 190 lbs, that was just a tad bit tight for my size.

Meh. In college, I was an athletic 6'2" and 195 lbs so I didn't have an issue. Lean and flexible.

 

[Yaworski]

Back in the 1950's and earlier when revolvers were more popular, the good or the bad guy would unlock the cylinder to check the numbers of rounds, then jerk his hand to the right so the cylinder would close by itself with a loud distinctive metal snap when done.

That always makes me cringe.

 

[Armybrat]

Meh. In college, I was an athletic 6'2" and 195 lbs so I didn't have an issue. Lean and flexible.

Well, I had a beer gut.

 

[blume357]

Many would be amazed at what can happen in the front seat of a Beetle.

"Hast makes waste unless you are making love in a voltswagon"

 

[foolslife]

Due to recurring Squamous Cell Carcinoma I have had to become a connoisseur of hats.

 

[freakindawgen]

Contrary to what y'all might think, not all the shows I saw as a youngster were westerns. Thre were detective shows and just plain movies. These left me with the following impressions:

1. Everybody lived in an apartment. A luxury one, at that.

2. Nobody ever worked for a living, except maybe for the private detective.

3. Nobody owned a car. To go somewhere, one went downstairs and hailed a cab.

4. Nobody ever cooked. The maid did that. 5. Life revolved around either New York City or Los Ageles.

6. Nobody ever went to church, except for a wedding or funeral.

7. Those who went to church were Catholic. And the priest was Irish.

8. The policeman on the beat was Irish, too.

9. On the corner of the apartment building was a fruit stand that also sold newspapers.

10. At the other corner there was a shoeshine stand. The owner of that was a black man who knew everything. And would give out the information for a price.

Bob Wright

And nobody ever had to use the bathroom.

 

[Yaworski]

And nobody ever had to use the bathroom.

I have a set of the official blueprints for NCC-1701, there are no WCs.

The kids bathroom in "The Brady Bunch" did not have a toilet.

 

[blume357]

And if a phone rang they always had to answer it.....

Yaworski, I had to look up NCC-1701. Even though I liked the show I never was a treky.......

 

[Yaworski]

And if a phone rang they always had to answer it.....

I often ignore my cell phone but I don't recall ever ignoring a land line. I think that ignoring a phone ringing just wasn't done back then. Of course back then every other phone call wasn't an offer for discount health insurance.

 

[DBnoise]

When I started work as a Bell System business communications consultant in 1968, the uniform of the day was modeled after IBM. Suit, white shirt and tie. A co-worker told me I has lucky, they just stopped requiring a hat (fedora).

I was one of those blue suit, white shirt, red tie guys! IBM.. I have B been M moved and I have Been Married.or was it Itsy Bitsy Machines. Funny was going through a box of brass bearings from a 0083 sorter and was looking at a code plate aligning tool for the elephant nose on a 0029 card punch. The sad thing, I know alot of things that don't exist anymore but at least they sit in the Smithsonian! Much different than the green fatigue uniform I wore before. Come to think about, the fatigues were more comfortable.

 

[steveodtw]

Yeah, I get it. Most of my expertise consists of technology that's little more than an interesting :rolleyes: footnote. If I had to submit references now for my most productive years, it would be a long list of folks that are dead or haven't worked for decades. "The older I get, the better I was."

 

[Conman]

Bucket seats were invented to try and prevent teenage pregnancies.

Then again you'd be amazed what can be done in the back seat of a Corvair.

The voice of experience??

 

[Jeepnik]

The voice of experience??

Darned Corvair had that multi carb engine. I swear that pretty blonde became my girlfriend because I could make it run right.

But hey, that was 1968. Turned out to be "The summer of love" for me. Yea, know I was a year late.

 

[epags]

Yet no poster has commented on the fact that everyone smoked, good, band and the ugly.
And the rich folks always had a full bar and were pouring themselves a drink.

Except Jessica Fletcher.:ROFLMAO: