The greatest moment is when the fat producer guy shakes hands with Sellers, who is high and has been eating caviar barehanded, smells his fingers, and looks at his girlfriend disgustedly. So subtle, yet so gross!
I, too, am shocked it took so long for Cheever and Updike to be mentioned. Like Eve, that was my childhood but more “Virginia Woolfe”-ish.
When I saw Todd Haynes’ Far from Heaven, a tribute to the Ross Hunter films c1960, I thought, “Omigod, that was my childhood! Except my father (as far as I know) was not a repressed homosexual, and my mother was not schtupping the hired help . . .”
I was going to say Updike and Cheever. I feel so late and out of style.
There is a Roald Dahl story where some guys are attempting to wife swap. I can’t remember what it’s called and I guess it would not be American, but it has that whole swinging thing going on.
Whenever I think of that “cocktail culture” I think of a scene from Valley of the Dolls where some boyfriend has a swim and then has a drink for no reason at all. I remember the first time I saw it I thought there was something really creepy and fucked up about horny people in their 30s who drink and swim so much.
It also makes me think of the Patricia Highsmith novel, “Deep Water.” Maybe because it is the late 50s and there is a pool and drinks and depressing sexual affairs.
Maybe I am confused because I had this whole phase but it was more about swimming pools and less about out of style people with sideburns. In my phase I craved the swimming pools, tall hair, maybe Shelley Winters, a lot of ice cubes and irritating music.
The 1967 movie Divorce, American Style is, if I remember, a very good stylization of Hi-Fi Ultra-Lounge Cocktail Americana.
I can’t figure out if the Dorcas section is real or not. Everything else on his site seems to be based on real things or people, but this is just too over the top.
Did you also “go Gobblin’”?
Oh how could I forget!
You could rent the movie The Swimmer (1968) which features Burt Lancaster who for some inexplicable reason decides to swim in the pool of every house along a line crossing the county. The people, houses, and other places are rife with this type of atmosphere.
The clothes are real, the captions are not.
Did I just get whooshed?
Would Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? be too early 60’s?
I’m pretty sure my parents were at that party, in fact, my newly married sister and her husband were there, too.
At some point (probably right after the Peggy Lee songs were done) someone sat down at the piano and played surprisingly well. After that, the men went to the den and smoked cigars while the women stayed in the living room or went into the kitchen. The men would have been SHOCKED to hear what the women were saying.
As the party wore on someone’s husband would disappear about the same time as someone else’s wife. Their absence would be noted - briefly by the men, somewhat more lengthily by the women - but not dwelled on.
Around midnight the martinis and highballs would be replaced by bloody marys and screwdrivers and a fresh pot of coffee would be started.
For a good visual perspective, I’d start with old Dick Van Dyke and Bewitched (the first Darin) reruns.
Boys’ Night Out, 1962–with Tony Randall, James Garner, and Kim Novak.
Bachelor in Paradise, 1961–starring Bob Hope as a writer who goes undercover in suburbia.
Both comedies, but very much about that particular milieu.
I don’t know if the characters are Republican, but I’d throw in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064100/
The midwest conservative scene was just my experience (or what I noted as a child and realized as an adult looking back), and as pointed out by the great responses to my OP, it encompaased all political spectrums and geographic areas with just slight variations.
Again, thanks for all the responses. I have several films and books to track down.
Best,
Sir Rhosis
Just a note to add, re: Bewitched–my God, that was indeed the most alcohol-drenched sitcom of all time. Darrin (first Darrin) would stop at the bar to drink before getting home, then Sam and he would have Martinis, then Larry Tate and his young trophy wife would drop over for drinks. Poor Tabitha must me a mess these days.
If this is your intrest, check out the unbelievably cool art of SHAG.
He’s the embodiment of cocktail culture. 
http://www.shag.com/Hedonist/melb.jpg
http://www.shag.com/Hedonist/stairs.jpg
http://www.shag.com/Peoplecity/masquerade.jpg
http://www.shag.com/!Prints/yawn.jpg
Very, very cool.
It’s incredibly important to acknowledge the influence of the whole Exotica movement. The book of Tiki may be presented in a sort of winking coffeetable format, but it actually offers a wealth of context for exotica, the fascination with idealized “Polynesia” and exoticism in the fifties and sixties. This is what gave birth to the very culture that this thread revolves around.
All by John Updike:
RABBIT, RUN (1960)
RABBIT REDUX (1971)
RABBIT IS RICH (1981)
RABBIT AT REST (1990)
If I remember right, the 1970’s is the time period covered by Rabbit Redux.
No, I just carelessly overlooked your reply. Sorry about that.
racinchikki, I’m amazed. If the pictures and models on Lileks’ Dorcas site are real, that means…that means that some company actually DID try to market house dresses for men, and the He-Skirt!
spectre – I was amplifying on posts made by two other people , so there’d been three mentions. Thus I wasn’t sure if your saying “Oh how could I forget!” was a whoosh or not.
A perfect look at the frenetic, angst-ridden happy-hour of the 1960’s is actually the first 5 minutes, and the last five minutes of the (almost) worst musical ever put on film, Brigadoon. starring Gene Kelly. Love those ad-execs and their loud, shrill conversations!
Don’t forget the french-onion chip dip!
God I love bachelor pad culture!
why yes, I was born in 1960, how did you know?
Square Meals by Jane and Michael Stern has a chapter on that era, including detailed instructions and recipes for throwing your own tiki party.