Golden Age of Hollywood Book Club discussion

Jill wrote: "Remember leisure suits??? They were hideous and made of that fake material in strange colors. I used to work with a doctor who wore them with a tie!!! One of the ugly old styles that I hope never b..."

Makes me think of the character, Herb, on WKRP in Cincinnati. They always put him in the worst outfits.

This is more a quaint situation than a custom that seemed to pop up in films of the 1940s. A woman wears glasses and has her hair pulled back in a bun. She doesn't get a second look from men. Then she removes the glasses, lets down her hair and she is suddenly beautiful. The most famous of these incidents is the one with Dorothy Malone in a book store with Bogart in The Big Sleep (1946). Certainly a better beauty treatment than plastic surgery and botox!!

Jill wrote: "This is more a quaint situation than a custom that seemed to pop up in films of the 1940s. A woman wears glasses and has her hair pulled back in a bun. She doesn't get a second look from men. Then ..."

God, I love that scene. When she pulls the curtain down and pulls out the bottle!

Jill wrote: "This is more a quaint situation than a custom that seemed to pop up in films of the 1940s. A woman wears glasses and has her hair pulled back in a bun. She doesn't get a second look from men. Then ..."

Malone looked sensational and that was a knock-out moment in the film. My mother was a big fan probably due to "Written on the Wind" and she never missed an episode of TV's "Peyton Place" - booked in every Monday and Thursday night at 8:30 out here.

Even though that is the only scene in which Malone appears, it is one that stands out and is remembered.

I love Peyton Place. At least the first two seasons.

Am watching several 1930s Humphhrey Bogart movies, and it's interesting to see how many older women have finger waves. I guess it's a leftover from the 20s. It must have been tedious to do that every day.

Almost as bad as the Mary Astor hairdo which she wore for 50 years. Ugly!

If you look at Mary Astor’s early Hollywood photos she has long wavy hair. Maybe she had the naturally curly kind. When complaining about my natural curl in the 60s, my mother would tell me that some day I’d be grateful—no consolation at all at the time.

But why did Astor (or the studio) decide on the style that made her look years older than she was? It was not attractive and she really was quite lovely.

Look at Jane Wyman, Barbara Stanwyck, and Bette Davis (among a number of actresses). There was a period in the 30s/40s when they gave them these hairstyles they pretty much had until they passed away. Myrna Loy is the only one who I think actually ROCKED her "signature" lifetime hairdo!

Speaking of hairstyles........Veronica Lake had that beautiful over the eye long hair which was her trademark. When she had it cut, it turned out that she wasn't quite as beautiful as fans thought and her popularity waned quickly.

Whatever happened to cufflinks? All well dressed men wore dress shirts with french cuffs and cuff links. I have a pair of monogrammed links that belonged to my Grandfather. Do men still wear them?

Jill wrote: "Whatever happened to cufflinks? All well dressed men wore dress shirts with french cuffs and cuff links. I have a pair of monogrammed links that belonged to my Grandfather. Do men still wear them?"

Jill, I must be a badly dressed man because I have never worn a "dress shirt with french cuffs" and/or cuff links. Absolutely hate cufflinks! Give me a plain button-down shirt any day!

Will say that in this age of ultra-casual menswear consisting mainly of T-shirts, hoodies, joggers, jeans and sneakers it's often refreshing to see a nicely dressed man in a trendy suit and tie.

I don't own a suit and haven't worn one for decades. If I have to "dress up" I wear a jacket and tie along with chinos and suede shoes.
I am always amused how men wore those ridiculous high waisted trousers back in the "golden years." Yikes! Hope they never come back into fashion! But you never know what the next fashion cycle will bring. Who thought vinyl records would make a return?

Speaking of men's clothing and women's, why are women's blouses buttoned on one side and men's shirts on the other?

because a woman was expected to be dressed and undressed by someone else....so the buttons are reversed.

Laura wrote: "because a woman was expected to be dressed and undressed by someone else....so the buttons are reversed."

I remember my mother telling me that boys are supposed to part their hair to the right and girls the other way. Is that true?

I love your "dress up" clothes, Anthony. My late husband dressed the same, even the suede shoes!!

Jill wrote: "I love your "dress up" clothes, Anthony. My late husband dressed the same, even the suede shoes!!"

Obviously, a man with impeccable taste!

Well, studies or popular opinion says (and I'm coping this directly): The general consensus seems to be that parting on one's left makes a person look competent and masculine, whereas parting on the right makes a person look warm and feminine.

Laura wrote: "Well, studies or popular opinion says (and I'm coping this directly): The general consensus seems to be that parting on one's left makes a person look competent and masculine, whereas parting on th..."

You are right, Laura. I was getting confused by where the bulk of hair goes - not that I've got all that much hair to part these days!
All a bit weird really and I suppose another of those silly sexist customs of yesteryear.

The 50s seemed to be the heyday of wearing pearls. Think June Cleaver and many of the women in 'Perry Mason'. Of course long strands of pearls were popular in period pieces, but the basic strand of pearls seemed to dominate the 50s--unless you were Barbara Bush.

I never thought about that, Betsy, but you are right. Pearls were the thing in the 50s. I think the longer strands were quite attractive. But, of course, June Cleaver wore high heels and jewelry to do housework!!

I lurrv Alvin 'Shipwreck' Kelly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_%...

I was wondering tonight, where the Caesar salad came from --was it actually an ancient Roman dish, enjoyed by wearers of Imperial Purple?

Turns out, not so. It was a big hit with classic Hollywood restaurants; but anecdote says it originated in Tijuana, Mexico.

I'm now mulling over other Hollywood fads which have infiltrated American life.

Tanning, home perms, avocados. Cobb salads. Three-martini lunches. Waterbeds. Wicker and rattan furniture.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_...

Chicken Kiev....where did this come from? Plus....JELLO MOLDS!

I had several Jello molds. Love Chicken Kiev and avocados, especially Avocado toast. I also had appliances and kitchen tools in avocado. That was a long time ago!

Many Warren Zevon songs skewer either Hollywood or Southern California. Good source of period detail. I considered him the 5th or 6th best American songwriter post WWII.

Few Americans today likely remember early newspaper comic strips. I mean, even before Peanuts (notoriously, the worst-title for a comic ever). Strips like, 'Nancy & Sluggo', 'Mutt & Jeff', etc.

One comic (which Charles M. Schulz grew up on) was 'Snuffy Smith' --some of you may have seen this backwoods, shotgun totin' character.

But one of the real stars of Snuffy Smith was 'Barney Google' --a character from whom the modern mega-corporation we know (and rue) today, gets its name.

This strip also gave readers, 'Spark Plug' --aka 'Sparky' --an infamous horse which never won a race, but merely sagged limply around under an old blanket.

'Sparks' was from an era when slow horses were generally referred to as 'plugs'. It was one of the commonest slang terms of the 1930s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_...

Ehhh, no doubt of little interest to anyone but meself but I find it fascinating.

How about "Toonerville Trolley", "Krazy Kat", "Lil Abner"? I became familiar with these from a friend who collects old strips and he has some that are rare and valuable. His collection goes back as far as "The Yellow Kid" which was a very early strip. Interesting stuff.

I didn't go for L'il Abner too much except when the shmoos were featured. I even have a set of Shmoo salt & pepper shakers that I've had for at least 40 years.

Something I always admire about studio-era movies is the subtle way minor details of human behavior were depicted.

All the little stuff you see going on in the margins and background of the story; the 'stage business' of the bit-players and walk-ons and extras.

Critics insist that studios made fake/fraudulent/fantasies; but I disagree. I think it was more naturalistic than is typically given credit.

You can see what I mean, in all the actorly-goings-on between onscreen males/females. It compares well to documentaries of the same period.

The way men stepped between women and the curb; or the way men whipped out their handkerchiefs if a woman seemed troubled. The way a man would give up his taxi; or offer his umbrella, or his coat.

Or the way a decent gent would step in if a smaller man was getting shoved around by a larger one. The way people stooped to pick items up, when dropped; or the way they lent their newspaper for a seatmate to read.

Coffee; cigarettes; can-you-spare-a-dime; hey-pass-the-sugar-wouldya-pal --characters in the '40s are always bumming smokes and lights from one another. Pedestrians asking another for 'the time of day'. "How long you been standing here?" Commuters asking each other when the last bus/train passed.

I'm describing the way ordinary folk of the '40s acted/spoke on impulse; the way they seemed to sympathize immediately with each other even when complete strangers.

You can see it in Hollywood movies and in my opinion, its an accurate reflection of real life at the time. There's a lot of evidence to corroborate.

Great stuff, Feliks and so true. When crossing a street, men lightly put their hand on a woman's elbow; when a woman was upset/crying, she was offered a glass of water; men pulled out a chair for a woman to sit down; men tipped their hats; men took off their hats when inside; et al. People were friendly and very polite.

Thx.

Indeed it was like everyone was truly 'on the same page'.

And although of course we know middle-class America had massive blind-spots with regard to ethnicities and 'minorities' --no hiding that fact --there is still a lot to be said for the way people got along.

I'd suggest that there were certain fundamentals which anyone of any walk-of-life, respected. Any grown adult would bend down to help a child back on his feet, or chase a thief running off with a purse. Any man would shove another man if he insulted a lady.

I recently re-watched "Lilies of the Field" with Sidney Poitier so maybe this colors my sentiment at this very moment.

Still, there's something to what I say. Americans weren't always rabid & maniacal the way we are today. People were comfortable with each other; they cracked jokes with one another. No one 'took offense' at every little misstep.

These ways go back to the 1800s and even the 1700s.

It is difficult to watch films with actors like Stepin Fetchit or Mantan Moreland who played idiotic characters. It was a sign of the times and it is hard to ignore. I am a reader of Golden Age Mysteries and one of the classics is And Then There Were None. The original title was Ten Little N******s.

I particularly remember something from my childhood. There was a Romany (Gypsy) family who lived in our small town and each year they had a reunion of family and friends. We were warned to stay away from them as they were dangerous.

But, as you stated, the majority of the population were kind and mannerly which seems to be lost in these modern times.

Somewhat agree. Christie's book title --and Joe Conrad's too --illustrate that it was more the fault of language at a time when domestic Britons were separated from contact with far-off cultures. Insularity encourages easy, cheap, thoughtless slang. At least as much error was due to class relations, and colonialism; as to lengthy sea travel. After all, we can hardly intuit that sweet little old ladies like Agatha Christie were deliberately, mean-spirited or consciously hateful towards distant peoples. England wasn't Germany.

In NYC, some restaurants now inform you of a strict time-limit for your meal as you sit down.

https://www.grubstreet.com/article/wh...

Which reminds one of:

Horn & Hardart's famous 'automat' [and the prospect of its returning in contemporary times, see articles below]

https://untappedcities.com/2023/03/28...
https://allthatsinteresting.com/automat
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local...

I've also noticed ads lately for (what I deem) a horrible new kind of Jersey City pub where you rise from your seat when you need a beer, ankle over to a line of computerized kegs, swipe your credit card, and then draw your suds yourself.

Who would patronize such de-humanizing venues, I wouldn't want to know. But I suspect its the same people who scroll through content on their iPhones while they eat. They're already in a flat-line mental state.

p.s. Bonus: I noticed Rite-Aid now sells a product called, 'Soylent'.

What a great post and great links. BTW, I don't think I will be eating Soylent, even if it isn't green!

Thank ye kindly

I believe its some kind of dietary powder like 'NutriBlend'. Flavors like vanilla, butterscotch, chocolate.

I just can't fathom how any marketing dept had the chutzpah --the sheer nerve --to choose one of the most notoriously odious names in film history for their brand.

o_0

Ruminating also right now (more quaint customs) about the old phone exchanges, pre (###) ###-####

Like Glenn Miller's 'PEnnsylvania6-5000', John O'Hara's BUtterfield-8, or (from radio) Candy Matson's 'YUkon2-8209'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEnnsyl...

One of my mentors was an expert in older-era phone system history, he once gave me a long description about how area codes added three extra digits. Ran it down for me just going off the top of his head; purely from his own recall.

Tech today still grapples with such problems. UPC (zebra) codes morph now, to the hideous "QR" design; and personal-computing's ubiquitous 'IP addrezzez' too, are always running out of combinations. [Sry, but they just can't give every single gadget in your home its own unique address!]

I like the way detectives in '40s movies would address a suspect as 'son'.

"Lissen son, y'know we got you comin' an' goin', y'know we got you cold ...why not cop out? It'll go easier on you ..."

Very subtle 'fatherly' indication that they were family men and just asking for the 'boy' to come clean

Oh man. Soylent. The guy that started that stuff claims to be ignorant of the film? And he had this blog...maybe he still does, but the early ones have been deleted, unfortunately. BECAUSE IT IS SOME OF THE MOST UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNY SH*T ON THE INTERNET. If you ever watched SNL and saw Phil Hartman's "anal retentive chef," it is like that, but more extreme. Freud would absolutely have a hey day. But the stuff itself is a pretty decent meal replacement if you have a need of that sort of thing--and most of us do at least once in awhile. But it was seriously "what am I reading?" It was like Infinite Jest but reality.

I mean, really. I was like "is this a real person"? Totally David Foster Wallace creation.

I found this one. Some of what he says makes a whole lotta sense, but he definitely has some bees in his bonnet. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/...

Cloth napkins. Everybody used them even middle class families but maybe paper napkins weren't around at that time.

a woman's trousseau aka 'hope chest'

The use of mothballs. You can never get that smell out of your clothes.

stealing nice new fluffy towels from hotels--used to be a thing people would do --if they were 'down-at-heels'

Also, stealing ashtrays was always a joke in movies and tv shows.

Sen-Sen (the 'breath perfume')
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sen-Sen

Bevo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bevo_(d...

Cubebs
https://www.quirkyscience.com/what-ar...
(cigarettes made from hot peppers)

Kewpie dolls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kewpie