# Old movies and changes in technology and society **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224 "2010-07-10T16:06:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/41 "2010-07-12T15:50:17Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Or ruined. Or not so good, anyway. I just watched **Niagara**. Rose’s lover tells her that “their song” will play on the Bell Tower as a signal that he’s killed Rose’s husband. That was **way** better than Rose getting a text. > > Although it’s a bit of a plot hole, since it didn’t turn out that way and the song still played. Hmmmm. In _Don’t Bother to Knock_, a movie I sometimes mix up with _Niagara_, insane babysitter Marilyn is in the hotel room and turns on the wall radio (high tech!) to hear the house band\* in the hotel lounge. Where can you do that now? Featuring vocalist Anne Bancroft in her movie debut! ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/42 "2010-07-12T16:36:16Z")
I’m just checking in to say the “deriving numbers anally” has just entered my vocabulary. Here at work I expect to use it frequently. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/43 "2010-07-12T16:38:48Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I was quoting _The Matrix_. What are _you_ talking about? Bugs Bunny said it as he was holding on to what was left of the Moon in “Haredevil Hare.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/44 "2010-07-12T16:42:37Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > A lot of schools in my neck of the woods did away with showering after gym class back in the 80s. The idea that it was one day required doesn’t just feel dated, but like ancient history. Heh. The first thing I thought of was that Beavis and Butt-Head episode where the boys are trying to avoid showering after gym class but are foiled by Mr. Buzzcut. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/45 "2010-07-12T16:54:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Spanking your children, yes, though cruelty to children was specifically banned by the Hayes code. > > Hitting your wife, no. A wife beater was considered a lowlife (not to mention a violation of the Hayes Code, too). I watched the John Wayne movie _McLintock_ last weekend (the 4th). [McLintock! (1963) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057298/) Both Wayne and his protege (played by his RL son) eventually solve their uppity wife problems by spanking them with (fireplace) ash shovels. I realise that this movie was supposed to be light hearted. This gag, though, isn’t going to hold up well. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/46 "2010-07-12T17:07:18Z")
In the Hitchcock movie _The 39 Steps_, the hero is at one point chased across the Scottish heather by a (very fake-looking) autogyro. At the time, I’m sure it looked really cool. There was an early Woody Allen movie in which Tony Roberts, playing a very Type-A egomaniac doctor, called his message service every five minutes to let them know where he was. Get a cellphone, buddy! As to cigarettes, Allen spoofs them in _Sleeper_ by having a doctor in the distant future encourage him to light up, saying something to the effect of, “The latest research has shown that there’s nothing better for you!” Fred MacMurray leaves his dying statement in _Double Indemnity_ on a desktop wax-cylinder recorder, which for its day would’ve been cutting-edge office technology. Mulder and Scully were always yakking on their cellphones, of course, but a flashback _X-Files_ episode, for laffs, showed Mulder toting around one of those giant early Motorola cellphones the size of a carton of milk. IIRC, there were eight postal deliveries in Victorian central London; you could get a dinner invitation in the first delivery of the day and immediately respond, showing up that night to break bread. No one thought anything of it. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/47 "2010-07-12T18:15:23Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > I watched the John Wayne movie _McLintock_ last weekend (the 4th). [McLintock! (1963) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057298/) > > Both Wayne and his protege (played by his RL son) eventually solve their uppity wife problems by spanking them with (fireplace) ash shovels. I realise that this movie was supposed to be light hearted. This gag, though, isn’t going to hold up well. I was going to mention spanking. Women who didn’t “know their place” were often spanked or threatened with a good spanking. I think a few episodes of I Love Lucy even had some spanking scenes. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/48 "2010-07-12T18:34:10Z")
In _Miracle on 34th street_, lttle Suzy is in a bachelor’s apartment for several hours. When her mother comes home and finds her daughter in the home of a man she has never met, she thanks him for looking after her daughter. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/49 "2010-07-12T18:41:22Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > In _Miracle on 34th street_, lttle Suzy is in a bachelor’s apartment for several hours. When her mother comes home and finds her daughter in the home of a man she has never met, she thanks him for looking after her daughter. Compared to today, when I went for a dip in the hotel pool. There was a mother and two young boys (under the age of 10 I think): Mom was in the hot tub, talking on her cell phone, the two kids were in the swimming pool. One of the kids actually dared to talk to me, _a strange man!_ His mom was so upset about it (and the fact that I had the temerity to respond) that she got out of the hot tub and pulled her kids from the pool, them yelling “But mom! We just got here!”, her glaring at me the whole time. I would’ve been more miffed about it, but I wanted the hot tub and a neglible blow to my reputation from people who will never see me again was a small price to pay for immediate access. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/50 "2010-07-12T19:42:22Z")
> [@Cumberdale](#): > > I was going to mention spanking. Women who didn’t “know their place” were often spanked or threatened with a good spanking. I think a few episodes of I Love Lucy even had some spanking scenes. Spanking an adult woman was always played for laughs – it was treating them like a child. I’m sure there are many movies today where women are spanked. You just don’t see them in the multiplex. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/51 "2010-07-12T20:57:43Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > To really date that scene, he hacks the payphone by shorting it with a pulltab. Does anyone under 40 even know what a pulltab is? They still exist. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/52 "2010-07-12T21:10:23Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > A lot of schools in my neck of the woods did away with showering after gym class back in the 80s. The idea that it was one day required doesn’t just feel dated, but like ancient history. Ancient history would be references on old sitcoms like **Leave it to Beaver** or **The Lucy Show** about the boys not needing a suit at the Y. **Green Acres** did an episode where a group of city children (3 boys & a girl) stayed with Oliver & Lisa on the farm. Oliver took the kids swimming, but the girl had to go back to house to Lisa. Why? Because the boys (& Oliver) were _skinnydipping_. A middle-aged childless man alone & with 3 unrelated pre-teen naked boys sounded alot less sinsister in the '60s\* than it does now. The only joke (other than the girl not being able to join in) was that Oliver caught a cold from not wearing this bathing suit. Yes it may have been _the Sixties_, but Green Acres was the safe family “establishmen” show that old people liked. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/53 "2010-07-14T16:34:18Z")
Many Who dunnits would last only a few minutes with todays forensics, Gps, and mobile phones. Married couples sleeping in seperate beds on T.V. Families sitting down together for breakfast, aswell alone the evening meal. The wife always a homemaker. The soon to be groom being asked about his prospects over Port and cigars by his future father in law. Couples getting married impatient to get into the sack for their first sexual experience. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/54 "2010-07-14T16:59:37Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > Couples getting married impatient to get into the sack for their first sexual experience. And just holding hands or kissing meant commitment. That kind of stuff happened well into the 1950’s, in contemporary movies. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/55 "2010-07-14T17:11:21Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Ancient history would be references on old sitcoms like **Leave it to Beaver** or **The Lucy Show** about the boys not needing a suit at the Y. That’s what I mean. Ancient history to your generation is 50s references to skinny dipping as acceptable attire for swimming. By the 60s/70s, that kind of thing had went by the wayside. So today it seems odd. Ancient history to my generation is 70s references to showering after gym class. By the 80s/90s, that requirement went by the wayside. So today it seems odd. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/56 "2010-07-14T21:32:45Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > To really date that scene, he hacks the payphone by shorting it with a pulltab. Does anyone under 40 even know what a pulltab is? Isn’t that what’s on every soda can? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/57 "2010-07-14T21:36:40Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Isn’t that what’s on every soda can? 😕 No: [http://www.cottontimer.com/2005/05/04/soda-cans/](http://www.cottontimer.com/2005/05/04/soda-cans/) I haven’t seen the old style pull tabs in quite some time. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224/58 "2010-07-14T21:42:30Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > They still exist. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Isn’t that what’s on every soda can? 😕 I assume it was the original kind, that detaches completely from the can rather than remaining attached. These became obsolete decades ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-movies-and-changes-in-technology-and-society/546224.md?page=2)