The pop culture is a reflection of the social and political mores of the times. The 1960’s were a heyday in Hollywood movie making. Part of that is, in my opinion, because of the depth of talent in acting, directing and script writing. Part of it is technological advancements. Of course, home video equipment wasn’t available for another decade, so your movie watching was done either in a theater, or on television.
The period from 1960 – 1965 was very different from the second half of the decade, which was one of social and political upheaval. 1960 was the year that JFK was elected President, and the U.S. entered the Vietnam war. Civil Rights became a movement in the early 60’s, JFK was shot, and manned space exploration began. Cigarette smoking was not just socially acceptable, but popular.
The music I remember from this time is Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee, Everly Brothers, Elvis, Ricky Nelson, Bobby Darin, Lesley Gore, The Four Seasons, Beach Boys and Motown. The Beatles made their debut in this period too.
The movies – just in 1960 – Psycho, The Magnificent Seven, Exodus, The Apartment, Elmer Gantry. Others that I remember from this time are The Birds, Breakfast At Tiffany’s, The Hustler, Judgment At Nuremberg, The Manchurian Candidate, The Longest Day, Cape Fear, Days of Wine and Roses, To Kill A Mockingbird, Charade, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Zorba The Greek, Pink Panther.
My favorite movie from this period is Doctor Zhivago, a masterpiece of Cinematography, music, and acting. Who can forget the eyes of Julie Christie, handsome Omar Sharif, the beauty of the Russian countryside (as recreated in Canada, Finland and Spain), the horror of war?
1966-1969 was a period of social and political upheaval. The small things that I remember (some good, some bad):
- Pantyhose were created. Garter belts were a thing of the past.
- Dress codes gradually loosened – for women at least. We were able to wear slacks to class and in the workplace.
- Brassieres became optional (for some of us).
- The birth control pill was introduced.
- Television broadcasts were now in color.
Major political events were the marches for Civil Rights, riots in Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities, the assassinations of MLK and Bobby Kennedy, the protests against the Vietnam War.
The music of the times (in my memory): The bands of the British invasion, and popular folk music groups/folk-pop groups like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, The Mama’s & the Papas. Also hard rock, like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Cream, The Doors, Steppenwolf, The Rolling Stones.
The movies reflect the times, as well.
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff?
- Fahrenheit 451
- The Graduate
- Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?
- To Sir, With Love
- Bonnie & Clyde
- In Cold Blood
- Planet Of The Apes
- Rosemary’s Baby
- The Odd Couple
- Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
- Midnight Cowboy
- Easy Rider
- Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
What are your favorite movies from the 1960’s? Here is a list of favorites (with clips) at PJ Lifestyle:
Stella's Place 
Stella, Stella, you caused me to fall into a humongous rabbit hole….
I started out thinking about the shows I worked on in the 1960s:
IRONSIDE (1967-1975) – Raymond Burr
ADAM 12 (1968-1975) – Martin Milner, Kent McCord
MARCUS WELBY, MD (1969-1976) – Robert Young
Then I got caught up in trying to remember what shows I watched while still living at home (I moved to Los Angeles in 1963), but had to look up long lists of 1960s TV shows because the ole brain doesn’t keep such info at-the-ready anymore. It made me realize that I mostly watched shows that had a sexy male lead or co-star…like Robert Horton in WAGON TRAIN (1957-1965); Burt Reynolds in RIVERBOAT (1959-1961); HAWAIIAN EYE (1959-1963) starring Robert Conrad; 77 SUNSET STREET (1958-1964) – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. …and here’s the rest of the list….
RAWHIDE (1959-1965) – Eric Fleming, Clint Eastwood
ROUTE 66 (1960-1964) – Martin Milner, George Maharis
THE DEFENDERS (1961-1965) – E. G. Marshall, Robert Reed
THE VIRGINIAN (1962-1971) – James Drury, Doug McClure
THE MUNSTERS (1964-1966) – Fred Gwynn, Yvonne De Carlo (watched because it was funny, not because anyone was sexy…LOL!…and the rest of the list below simply because they were entertaining)
BEWITCHED (1964-1972) – Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Agnes Moorehead
THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1964-1966) – Carolyn Jones, John Astin, Jackie Coogan
HOGAN’S HEROES (1965-1971) – Bob Crane
THAT GIRL (1966-1971) – Marlo Thomas
DRAGNET (1967-70) – Jack Webb
IT TAKES A THIEF (1968-1970) Robert Wagner, Fred Astaire
THE NAME OF THE GAME (1968-1971) – Gene Barry, Robert Stack, Tony Franciosa
THE BOLD ONES: The Protectors (1969-70) – Leslie Nielsen, Hari Rhodes
THE BOLD ONES: The New Doctors (1969-1973) – E. G. Marshall, David Hartman, John Saxon
Well, it’s almost 2:00 AM; so any discussion of favorite music and feature films will have to wait. I’m exhausted. Thanks for the fun, though!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m still up…so I might as well continue….Any TV series episodes or film with Steve McQueen goes on a favorite list…his work in the 1960s…WOW! WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE (1958-1961); LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER (1963) with Natalie Wood; THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963); THE SAND PEBBLES (1966) with Candice Bergen; THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968) with Faye Dunaway; BULLITT (1968) with Jacqueline Bisset.
And I had a major crush on Oskar Werner in INTERLUDE (1968); SHIP OF FOOLS (1965); SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN (1968); FAHRENHEIT 451 (1966). I got to meet him on the set of a COLUMBO in which he starred in 1975, and still have a note he sent to the casting director that I worked for wherein he complained about a couple of things–not being met at the airport, for one. If I’d known the producer hadn’t arranged for him to be picked up, I’ve have done it myself. Disrespectful! LAX is a very long and boring freeway drive from Universal Studios in THE Valley (of Valley Girl fame).
Other favs continue to be CHARADE (1963) Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn; THE APARTMENT (1960) Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine; absolutely loved EXODUS (1960) Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint (her husband, director/producer Jeffrey Hayden, was a friend of my boss and a sweetheart of a man).
As for music, I remember playing Richie Havens album MIXED BAG (1966) along with A TRAMP SHINING (1968) by Richard Harris on a constant basis….
MacArthur Park
Dozens more films and albums are on a listing of fav 1960s entertainment. But Little Gee is bugging me to turn off the computer.
Good night, all!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well, you coveeed everything!my family had one TVsnd rarely went to the movies except occasionally thee drive in, so we watched all that together. And I started dating in 1965 so then I saw lots of movies in the theater. I had TV in the background all my life. Never met anyone famous. Your stories of people in LA are great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good day to you, Czarina. Reminiscing is fun. I do wish I’d kept diaries, though. A lot gets lost at my age.
One TV show I never failed to watch was NAKED CITY (1958-1963) starring Paul Burke (he was one of the co-stars in the McQueen version of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR). One phrase I’ve never forgotten is….
My family had only one TV, too. Although feature films were influential, I do think that TV was the much greater influence on the world. And it didn’t cost anything in those days, at least in America. Plus, as you say, TV was family-together time. I can only remember a handful of times we went to the theater before I moved from home.
Among my hobby of reading novels and the encyclopedia (yes, I was the kid who sat and read the historical info in the evenings…LOL!), TV was an every evening and weekend constant companion from grammar school until I stopped watching it just a couple years ago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just the other day my brother and i were talking about reading the encyclopedia to each other. The World Book, kept in his room.
LikeLike
LOL! Dad bought my sister and me a multi-volume encyclopedia put out by Funk & Wagnalls. He used to sit around reading them, too.
LikeLike