I don't mind cigarettes used sparingly in movies. It can be used to show stress for example, or a shady character. BUT THIS WAS RIDICULOUS.
SCENE AFTER SCENE we have people with a cigarette FOR NO APPARENT REASON.
And don't think that having him quit at the end made it "a message against smoking". No, that's what they want you to think. This movie was indeed a paid presentation of the tobacco industry.
I don't know how old you are, but smoking was incredibly common place in 1969. It's so rare and demonized that it stands out to a younger generation. And, no, I don't smoke. My mother did, like a chimney.
share[deleted]
Precisely! Nearly everyone smoked in those days & nobody gave it a second thought. The film is merely being accurate to the time period.
shareVery true. I don't know when it stopped by Dennis Quaid's character would have grown up hearing cigarette ads on the radio with stuff like "9 out 10 doctors prefer the smooth taste of Camels over other cigarettes"
shareExactly and one of the main plot points was that his dad died of lung cancer because of smoking!! If big tobacco paid to promote their product by pointing out you can live 10-20 years longer by quitting using their product, they have a weird way of encouraging use of the product.
shareI agree, Kelly...my dad smoked (also like a chimney) and I remember all too well him lighting a cigarette with a cigarette. My mother never smoked. (I'm watching the movie right now - Frank just survived the fire and John is trying to get him to quit smoking.)
Have you seen films from the late sixties (or older)? That's how much they smoked in films back then.
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💕 JimHutton (1934-79) and ElleryQueen 👍
1. Smoking was virtually omnipresent in l969 America. A mid-30s fireman who did not smoke would have been very unusual.
2. The point was made many times during the movie that if Frank did not quit, it would kill him.
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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.