MovieChat Forums > Laura Discussion > Booze + Cigarettes

Booze + Cigarettes

posted 14 years ago by Criti-Cal
33 replies | jump to latest

I was reading a James Ellroy book about the unsolved murder of his
mother and he mentions that LA cops in the 50s and 60s identified with
Laura and in effect often fell in love with the female victims of
murder.

Somebody has mentioned the regular imbibing of alcoholic beverages in
this movie but the more shocking thing to our more politically correct age is the
constant use of cigarettes.

It seems Dana Andrews cannot say a line without having a smoking fag in
his mouth. In fact when he is disturbed in Laura's flat going through
her letters the ashtray is full to the brim.

Not only does Andrews smoke in every scene he's in, he smokes in
apartments without asking and even offers a cigarette to Laura in her
apartment and then lights his own and forgets to light hers.

She just quietly smokes her cigarette and doesn't seem unduly upset at
all.

I also was appalled when the stars including Clifton Webb regularly lit
up in busy restaurants having no apparent regard for patrons eating
their meals.

Thank goodness we've come a long way since those days.

[–] AliciaHuberman59 14 years ago

Poor Gene Tierney died of complications of emphysema.

[–] Gubbio 14 years ago

It seems Dana Andrews cannot say a line without having a smoking fag in
his mouth.

I take it you're from England where a cigarette is called a "fag?" Because, I don't recall a single scene in the movie where Dana Andrews had Clifton Webb in his mouth -- although, Clifton may have desired as much.

Seriously, I was a child of the '50's, and that's the way it was. At any family gathering 8 out of 10 adults smoked -- and pretty heavily.

You must also be quite young.....

Thirty years ago, I worked for a large corporation. Workers all smoked at their desks and manufacturing people all smoked at their work stations.

People smoked in the halls, and there were ashtrays on the wall, every so many yards, and at every stairwell.

People moved freely between buildings, cigarette in hand, and no one thought twice about it. Today, you'd get shot, fired -- or possibly both!

Times have sure changed.

[–] Criti-Cal 14 years ago

I'm actually from Australia and we still call them fags although the Clifton Webb types are also called fags. I'm sure Clifton would have liked the activity you mentioned.

I'm also a child of the fifties and can remember that smoking was ubiquitous and at school we couldn't wait to be like the adults and try the cool habit of smoking.

I think my point was that now it looks incredibly wrong to see constant smoking in a picture but no doubt at the time it wasn't even noteworthy and kids watching the movie would want to emulate Dana as soon as possible.

By the way that was sad about Gene's demise but hardly surprising.

[–] mike-osullivan3 14 years ago

Peter Cook, a heavy smoker, once got into troube on a TV show in the US by saying "You rarely find me without a fag in my mouth".

[–] boxerrebellion 10 years ago

kids watching the movie would want to emulate Dana as soon as possible

To the point that even as late as the mid-70s there were candy cigarettes.

[–] nammage 8 years ago

They still have them in many places today. I used to go to this mom & pop convenient store for years and I saw in the candy area chewing gum cigarettes. I told the owner if he kept selling it, I would never come back to his store again. While it was just bubble gum it was in the image of cigarettes and there was no way I was going to support a store who effectively or inadvertently advertised cigarettes to children.

He dropped it from his shelves within the week.

I guess he couldn't lose a loyal customer. Of course, I moved a year later.

I remember when they used to sell tobacco products in the candy aisle. And it was as far back as the late 1990s. Cigarettes were behind the counter but cigars, swishers, chewing tobacco, snuff, all in the candy aisle.

-Nam

I am on the road less traveled...

[–] nammage 8 years ago

Also the fact that cigarette companies advertised to children. I have a class picture from Kindergarten where KOOL cigarettes are being advertised in the background.

I told people that for years and no one ever believed me. So, I uploaded a picture of it to my Google+ account. They believed me then.

Oh, the first half of my Kindergarten schooling took place in a pre-school, which means they advertised to 2-5 year olds. Get them young, get them for life.

By the way, I smoke menthols.

-Nam

I am on the road less traveled...

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] LouisRenault 14 years ago

Yes, we certainly have come a long way to get to the vile, totalitarian world we now live in.

[–] walkinginrain 13 years ago

As a by-the-way on the subject, here in the UK all smoking is banned in workplaces, so how do actors in popular soaps get around this law? May be we have some actors on this site....

Such a small love. Such a little tear.

[–] Criti-Cal 13 years ago

I just saw the In-Laws a very funny 1979 movie with Peter Falk, a sad passing by the way, and he seemed to have a fag err cigarette in his mouth in every second scene. Maybe it was to bolster his pocket Bogie persona.

[–] nammage 8 years ago

More likely the cigarette company paid him to smoke their cigarettes all the time.

-Nam

I am on the road less traveled...

[–] deliaw1946 13 years ago

denbax, you are right, things were different back then. Drinking and smoking were considered sophisticated and people smoked regularly in public places.

[–] Foxlair45 13 years ago

My late mother-in-law was a young woman in the 30s. She told me that everyone smoked and cigarettes were a requirement when going out to dinner or a club. My father-in-law had a wonderful collection of cigarette cases and lighters, many in silver with onyx trim. These were considered popular gifts for gentlemen. My parents had a pretty Japanese cigarette box on the coffee table in our living room when I was a child.

[–] andrewwjohnson 13 years ago

During the thirties and forties people not only smoked but they drank heavily. During prohibition, in twenties, alcohol was illegal, at least the good stuff, so people were trying to make up for lost time.

TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.

[–] bron-tay 13 years ago

The booze was pretty amusing to me. The cop drinks on duty before noon. No one ever enters a room without a drink being poured. One of the lines that cracks me up every time is the cop saying "Bessie, get me some ice and a setup." Just the sort of thing we all have around.

~~~~~~~
Think cynical thoughts. !

[–] creek_girl 12 years ago

Yes, they did smoke a lot. Do you know what else they did a lot? They drank a lot.

Do you know what else they did a lot? Survived the Great Depression as young men and women and then go on to beat the Nazis and Japanese while going without due to rationing. Do you know what else they did? They came home and made the U.S. economy the best in the world. Then, they proceeded to raise a generation of whinebags in a land of prosperity that wanted to air their dirty laundry on Oprah and talk incessantly about their feelings to their gurus and whatnots. This entitlement generation proceeded to screw up the next generation and so on and so on . . .

So, I raise my highball glass to the Greatest Generation and smoke my cigarettes while they are still legal because the pantywastes are here to stay – created by a land of plenty that was created by the greatest generation that liked a nip from time to time. God bless you, Greatest Generation.

"Psychos do not explode when sun light hits them, I don't give a *beep* how crazy they are!"

[–] Criti-Cal 12 years ago

Hmm bitter hope you enjoy your tea party, the world's not such a bad place if you can lighten up some.

Us non cigarette smokers though resent being forced to smoke other people's cigarettes, we have rights too.

PS I am part of your so called great generation although I can't see anything about it that's greater than any other generation.

There's nothing for you here so move along please!

[–] creek_girl 12 years ago

Criti - you're right, my assessment can be perceived as being too harsh, and for that I apologize. I was mainly taking liberties for my own amusement. I only get my sense of humor. To answer your question - I honestly don't think it crossed their minds to be worried about their neighbors when they smoked in public. People just didn't think about such things, and this was way before second hand smoke. And, yes, you do have the right to not inhale cigarette smoke, but you cannot control all environments on earth. Private property owners have the right to allow patrons to smoke on their property just as private property owners have the right to ban smoking. Government buildings can be smoke free, if that is what the public wishes. Things like airplanes, where patrons are trapped, should be smoke free. However, the Greatest Generation didn't really bother with things like that. And, honestly, when you look at movies in the 80s, you see people smoking on public transportation, so this is a recent phenomenon.

"Psychos do not explode when sun light hits them, I don't give a *beep* how crazy they are!"

[–] sludgehound 11 years ago

As a born orphan of a WWII US Navy vet killed in action 1944 off the coast by a German sub, the 40s were a kind of blur. Don't remember people smoking on NYC subways or buses, actually not that much in cabs either. Mostly the night life saw that with the popular cigarette girls. Cheapie aunts like mine would buy a pack at drug store just in case some friend in club would hit on them for a butt. Jazz clubs favored smoke filled atmosphere. Kinda hide the bad talent and bad food. Never eat in a music place - seems they have more on mind than they have taste. Cigs and booze do knock down the taste buds.
Luckily the adults around me were into the food scene and highly prized their liking for a fine meal w/o messing it up. Choice wine was the main addition.
In this great film the use of such 'adult consumptions' as butts & booze is used to suggest the close interaction of the players. On that level notice the very low ceilings in some of the 2 player scenes. This is in contrast to the pre-war Depression era sky high ceilings that fed the hunger for prosperity. For a few cheap moments an audience member could escape into a fantasy world of opulence & splendor.
In Laura the intent is to focus tightly on shortcomings of supposed success. Floating checks, cheating, faking, all covered with veneer of fitting in.
However it could also be seen as thumbing noses at the war ration environment. There’s no military uniforms, there’s a maid, top drawer democratic parties, glossy home phone. US is winning and fat times are ahead w/o food stamps, gas cards, old cars, tough times, coffins.
Yet there will still be the battle with personal demons. Laura is what we get.
Lots of deep b/w, close ups. Trench coats, big hats, rainy darkness, black shiny cabs. Is this the American Dream dark side? There's no rah-rah of baseball, theater, boy scouts, the apple pie outlook. In this thing it doesn't just rain it POURS and has striking shadows to match.
Refreshing to see adults took such a strong, tho harsh, view into the soul of top drawer, bottom drawer life. Check the name of the cheap booze Black Pony. Can you just imagine tagline for that stuff? “It gets ya there fast and kicks ya in the head doing it...”
Now I know why some adults weren’t so broken up by the JFK killing. They had already been prepped by noir mysteries like Laura to look layers deep into criminal matters. There certainly are bad people doing bad things and no amount of Camelot could change that. Nixon to Obama have worked double time to create the fiction of Top Dog Americana. We need our Lauras, LA Confidentials, Pulp Fictions to counterbalance such moneyed glory.
Maybe Nebraska film offers a glimpse into another dimension of the US the way Laura does. Sure are a lot of hurt people floating round. Not always easy theme for film to get right.

[–] nammage 8 years ago

The greatest generation? The one with segregation, and making homosexuality a crime, and making women in the military not actually have rank or the benifits thereof entitled to them if they had rank? The generation that had little regulation, allowed employers to freely take advantage of their employees so the company, and those who ran them could make huge profits off them (not that much of that has changed), the one that put Japanese Americans in their own concentration camps while ironically we were trying to free others from other concentration camps in Europe? The generation who needlessly used atomic weapons on a country because they didn't want to spend 2 more years in a war (if that)?

The US doesn't have a single great anything. We get a few good years here and there but no generation is "great". The US is 240 years old. You know how many years we were at peace in that time period? 18 years. Collectively we've been at peace for 18 years. Those were the good days.

-Nam

I am on the road less traveled...

[–] baran_erik 9 years ago

Why would you raise a glass to what you think is the cause of all social ills in the country? It's funny that you look down on the "entitled" generations, yet give a pass to the ones that created them. You know what else they did, generally speaking, of course? They were lushes, they beat their kids and their wives, they cheated on their taxes and fooled around. They were great hypocrites. By the way, my parents were born in the mid 20s, so I kind of know of which I speak.

[–] nammage 8 years ago

Moronic. You really do see the history you want, don't you?

Gossip? You know how many gossip magazines existed back then? A lot more than today. So, the soldiers were eating barely anything? Oh, no, the people during the war were barely eating, right? Oh, no...thst was during the Great Depression...yes but if they were drinking, it was illegal. But we get the blame for that too, right?

Moronic.

-Nam

I am on the road less traveled...