MovieChat Forums > Family (1976) Discussion > Filthiest House on the Block

Filthiest House on the Block

posted 16 years ago by acockroft
26 replies | jump to latest

I just started watching Family - trying to bone up on some of the 1970's series of note that I missed. I liked the pilot, but one thing really bothered me.

Why was this seemingly upper middle class house so dirty? Even the casual viewer will notice that there is DIRT all over the place. The white walls clearly show handprints and that type of dirt all over the house. Especially around doorknobs etc. A big example is the scene in which Buddy is sitting on the stairs listening to her parents conversation - the corner of the wall is seriously caked with dirt. In the same scene, the kitchen cabinets have the same filth around the handles. What's up with that?

Right off the bat we see Kate scrubbing garbage cans, and are told that she has 'help', so why can't one of those two wipe the walls. I realize it was the 70's and people were into being a little greasy and 'earthy', but this is ridiculous.

Any thoughts on this would be great. :)

[–] davidrobertlaman 12 years ago

It's been over three years, acockroft, since this post. Did you finally clean your television screen?

[–] jefgg 11 years ago

I would love to see what the original poster's home looks like.

When I was growing up our home wasn't the cleanest. Why? Both my parents worked long hours at full time jobs. Whatever my mother lacked in cleaning she more than compensated for with her cooking.

[–] Chiisu61 11 years ago

I just watched the pilot episode on DVD and made the same observation. The painted woodwork, kitchen cabinets and wallpaper were all pretty dingy and showed wear. I also noticed that the painting over the fireplace in the living room was improperly stretched and wavy looking, one of the ones on the wall going up the staircase had a tear in it, and there was dust on the tops of the frames. In one scene, in the hallway outside of Buddy's bedroom, there was a crack in the wall. Most of these things wouldn't have been noticeable in the original broadcast, but large screen HD TVs and the even the just the better clarity of DVD makes these things apparent. It also seems that they shot the pilot in the actual house, which may have been aged with stagecraft or was just as worn/dirty as it looked. In the regular episodes they filmed on soundstage sets, the kitchen is well painted (Kate would never have had kitchen cabinets that looked like the ones in the pilot), with a slightly different floorplan than in the pilot. I always thought the interiors in this show were excellent, and added to the high production values. The linen slipcovered living room furniture is pretty timeless, the kitchen with it's antique stove and butcher block island still make me envious.

[–] terryshilo 9 years ago

Because I read your OP; and 1976 being a bit too far back to remember the state of upkeep in the home, I recently watched the pilot.. YOU ARE CORRECT. I can only think set decorators obviously went overkill with the older home, needs paint and clean up. It certainly seems for the time they were considered upper middle class.. I don't remember seeing this much grime on walls, doors and cabinets being pervasive at the time, and I saw several unkept homes back in the day. Once I looked for it, I couldn't miss it. Thanks.. it was all I was watching for.. heh heh. Still a very good show starting in my mid teens.

[–] thedavidavin 9 years ago

I just went back and watched the first 6 episodes and yes, there is a noticeable difference in the art direction between the pilot and the 2nd episode. The dirt, dust and cobwebs are gone by the 2nd episode, even to the extent where you can see the adjustments, especially on the kitchen cabinets, and it looks like the earlier "dirt" and "grease stains" were actually painted over. The darkened areas around the knobs is a little brighter, "new paint touch-up" looking. It also looks like the stairway was perhaps restructured. I'm not sure how factual the post is that suggests that the pilot was shot using some of the actual interiors of the house, but had I originally watched this in 1976, I would have noticed the crud and asked why. Especially with "Willie the House Boy" on hand.

So I think enough people probably noticed after the pilot (even back then) that it was perhaps a little too realistic for color TV. What I found rather comical were shots that look like they had endless cathedral ceilings. Interesting house, but the interior doesn't really match the exterior frame. The set decore is an essay unto itself, and very realistic for the time. Note the number of antique lamps, even in Buddy's room. The production crew also tweaked the items appearing in the background of every shot and there's some subtle but very poetic symbolism in the technique, much like in The Waltons. And Dame Kate spent a fortune on fresh flower arrangements. Not quite as comical as we see on soaps. I once counted 5 fresh flower arrangements in a college student's studio apartment on an episode of Days of Our Lives.

Great show though. Still holds up.

[–] dmarie-32244 7 years ago

How can I get all episodes of this show....Just thru DVD? Can I watch it anywhere online?

[–] Who (5146) 4 years ago

Should have called the show The Filthy Family.

Willie always wore the same clothes. That stanky tan coat and dirty jeans. Buddy had greasy hair in half the episodes. That little kid who came to live with them spit when she spoke, leaving droplets all over the place. Nancy let her baby spill drinks and leave crumbs on the sofas.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Everything looks dirty on TV shows from the 70s

[–] liscarkat (16565) 4 years ago

"it was the 70's and people were into being a little greasy and 'earthy'"

Where in all of creation did you ever get such a preposterous idea? Maybe your family's house was greasy and earthy in the '70s, but not mine or anybody else's I knew.

[–] joi2049 (5488) 3 years ago

I noticed it. The dirty areas are mostly around the HANDLES on the kitchen cabinets.

And it is pretty funny to have KATE CLEANING the GARBAGE CANS, but then not caring about the DIRTY areas on her kitchen cabinets.

Plus we also see BUDDY cleaning and polishing the FAMILY SILVER, but no one cares about the dirty cabinets???