fncceo
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- Nov 29, 2016
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In 1970 a little comedy gem from Niel Simon called the "Out of Towners" came out. Starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis, its the story of a man and his wife from Ohio coming to New York for a job interview which means a big promotion.
In the movie, their flight is stuck in a holding pattern over New York for hours, the flight diverted to Boston. They miss the train back and by the time they get back to New York, the hotel has given away their room. New York is mired in a transit strike, a sanitation strike with no buses or taxis and huge mountains of garbage on every street. Their luggage is lost, they are mugged, hijacked in a stolen police car, forced to sleep in the park, attacked by a dog, caught in a protest riot, and thrown out of church. Eventually, on the return flight to Ohio, they are hijacked to Cuba.
"Gwen Kellerman: I don't know, George. I was hoping you would say no. I was hoping you would say that you and your wife don't really belong in New York. That you wanted to live the rest of your life in Ohio. That you never wanted to see a big city again as long as you live. That you didn't want to live here or in, uh, Chicago, or San Francisco, or New Orleans or Paris or any other place where people have to live on top of each other, and they don't have enough room to walk or to breathe or to smile at each other. That you don't want to step on garbage in the streets, or be attacked by dogs or have to give away watches in the middle of your sleep to men in black capes. That you were through traveling on trains that had no place to sit & no food to eat. And you didn't want to fly in airplanes that have no place to land, and no luggage for you when you land there. That you wish you never came here, and the only thing in the world you really wanted was to pick up your wife and carry her to the airport and fly home... and live happily ever after. That's what I was hoping you would say, George.
George Kellerman: That's funny... that's what I told him, word for word."
While it was ridiculous and hilarious that so many things would happen to a couple in a 48 hour period, it was a very plausible to audiences in the '70s because airport plane stacking, strikes, garbage in the streets, muggings, riots, were in the news every day. Americans were so accustomed to these things as part of every day life, they were able to see them as funny.
Even plane hijackings were relatively common place, with 22 international hijackings in 1970 and 1971 alone.
When I think of things today, I often look back to the more turbulent '60s and '70s and breathe a sigh over how much better things are so much better today.
In the movie, their flight is stuck in a holding pattern over New York for hours, the flight diverted to Boston. They miss the train back and by the time they get back to New York, the hotel has given away their room. New York is mired in a transit strike, a sanitation strike with no buses or taxis and huge mountains of garbage on every street. Their luggage is lost, they are mugged, hijacked in a stolen police car, forced to sleep in the park, attacked by a dog, caught in a protest riot, and thrown out of church. Eventually, on the return flight to Ohio, they are hijacked to Cuba.
"Gwen Kellerman: I don't know, George. I was hoping you would say no. I was hoping you would say that you and your wife don't really belong in New York. That you wanted to live the rest of your life in Ohio. That you never wanted to see a big city again as long as you live. That you didn't want to live here or in, uh, Chicago, or San Francisco, or New Orleans or Paris or any other place where people have to live on top of each other, and they don't have enough room to walk or to breathe or to smile at each other. That you don't want to step on garbage in the streets, or be attacked by dogs or have to give away watches in the middle of your sleep to men in black capes. That you were through traveling on trains that had no place to sit & no food to eat. And you didn't want to fly in airplanes that have no place to land, and no luggage for you when you land there. That you wish you never came here, and the only thing in the world you really wanted was to pick up your wife and carry her to the airport and fly home... and live happily ever after. That's what I was hoping you would say, George.
George Kellerman: That's funny... that's what I told him, word for word."
While it was ridiculous and hilarious that so many things would happen to a couple in a 48 hour period, it was a very plausible to audiences in the '70s because airport plane stacking, strikes, garbage in the streets, muggings, riots, were in the news every day. Americans were so accustomed to these things as part of every day life, they were able to see them as funny.
Even plane hijackings were relatively common place, with 22 international hijackings in 1970 and 1971 alone.
When I think of things today, I often look back to the more turbulent '60s and '70s and breathe a sigh over how much better things are so much better today.
