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What's with the 1970's clothes + hairstyles in the 1950's?

posted 13 years ago by bigbluemarble
10 replies | jump to latest

This series was set between the end of WW II and the late sixties, but 'guest stars' in the series were not required to wear period costumes or wear period hair styles. This seems to have been normal procedure in the 1970's television at least for the ABC Network (ex. Happy Days) but it really detracts from the production. Just look at Bill Bixby or Linda Day George for example or even series star Peter Strauss for that matter they all look like they walked onto the set in their mid seventies clothes and hair styles and the viewer is just supposed to pretend that they are a part of the 1950's. Its too much in my opinion, it really cheapens the whole series.

[–] bradford-1 13 years ago

Unfortunately, that kind of lax thinking about hair/makeup/wardrobe permeates lots of "period" TV shows and films from the 70's.
I guess producers cut costs where they could. Still, it's hilarious to see THE LEARNING TREE, where black people in 1920's Kansas are walking around with Afros or war movies like ANZIO or KELLY'S HEROES, where WWII grunts wear groovy late 60's haircuts ('cept Telly Savalas!)
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

[–] Harold_Robbins 12 years ago

Susan Blakely's hair stylists must've had a field-day.

"In my case, self-absorption is completely justified."

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] PinkIcicle 10 years ago

Here's another historical inaccuracy that hit me right over the head while I was watching it on ENCORE about a month ago.

During one of the episodes that takes place in the early '60s, the camera person panned a shot of lower Manhattan; and the World Trade Center towers were staring right at me. I must say this startled me and blew my concentration for a few minutes. The WTC towers weren't completed until either 1973 or 1974. It was really jarring to see '60s-era vehicles on the street after having just seen the WTC towers, which would have been on the drawing board during the time the episode took place.

I love RM, PM and first watched it when it aired on ABC back in the mid '70s. This was one of the first, if not the first, mini-series, which were very popular back then.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (41638798) 10 years ago

Another funny moment was during the wedding scene in Cannes in France.

The camera panned to the folks gathered around the courtyard of the restaurant watching Tom and the others carrying on and dancing.

Behind them, over the 8 foot (or so) fence and through a couple of trees the entire backdrop from left to right was filled with the huge sound stages at universal. The top of the fence was placed about half way up the buildings and the rest of them soared upward into the sky.

They were right there...the unmistakable shape of their sound stage roofs as they dipped between each contiguous sound stage was there to see clearly. And they were the beige cement looking kind of exterior. We've all seen those sound stages!

I couldn't believe they did that. And nobody noticed? haha

Almost as good as the scene in "Hogan's Heroes" when Hogan was talking to Colonel Klink out in front of Klink's office and in the background far away over some kind of fence were huge dancing palm trees swaying in the wind---those kind of palm trees in LA that grow to 150 feet.

If you looked closely you also could see telephone polls on the other side of the lot fence all along in a row with all the wires strung between them (clearly there was a public road on the other side of the fliming lot's fence.) haha

Classic.

[–] valro 9 years ago

The same thing happened with "Happy Days" in the later episodes. You would see many of the characters wearing 1970s clothes and hairstyles even though the show was supposed to be set in the 1950s.

[–] Bethyl 9 years ago

Remember these were made before the invention of VCRs and any way of easily recording the show. They didn't expect folks to go through each scene slowly and critique it. Nowadays, people are a bit fanatical about realism, but most people really didn't care or notice back then. I know I didn't notice at that time, when I watched it's original showing.

[–] bradford-1 9 years ago

Nowadays, social media freaks out if an extra on "Downton Abbey" wears a skirt with a zipper.

May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

[–] Balberith 8 years ago

Well at least the performances and storyline make up for it!

"A real man would rather bow down to a strong woman than dominate a weak one"