Random thoughts

I thought the movie was riveting. I'd have liked more information -- how often the men went home, how the system was set up.

The unemployment rate was low -- less than 4% -- but it seemed worse. We had just relocated to Seattle and Boeing was laying off. There was a billboard: Will the last person leaving Seattle please turn off the lights?

The women with their hair in rollers -- yep. Portable hair dryers weren't a thing back then, and the hairstyles for women of that age needed rollers. So we'd set our hair, wait for it to dry, style it, spray the hell out of it, and not wash our hair again for several days. Younger women had started wearing their hair long and straight, but not the married women.

The blonde woman seemed extremely depressed. I worried about her.

That was Minnie Pearl's voice on the TV in the scene where one of the guys pulled the plug on the TV instead of turning it off. It must have been Minnie on a variety show because Hee Haw didn't start until 1969.

Were those company cars or rentals? I can see convertibles in Miami but not in Boston and Chicago.

$50 was a week's pay for the average working man.

A very successful direct sales company in the Midwest at that time was the Jewel Tea Company. They sold tea, of course, but also dinnerware and even clothing. Your grandma might have some Jewel Tea dishes in her cupboard.

Those big cabinet stereos were popular. They'd also have a radio, and you could even get an 8-track attachment if you wanted really good sound quality. :wink: It was rude of that husband to turn on the music during the spiel, but it didn't slow the salesman down! Was that a Henry Mancini record? Everyone owned some Mancini.

Another popular sale item was the collection of classic world literature. You could even get a bookcase.