DIY tip: Don’t do the twist jerk while using scissors, please
Popular accent colors for kitchens in 1968
First, for the purpose of readers looking for advice on what was popular in 1968 kitchens, let’s capture the colors that Westinghouse was promoting. The decorator panels were available in:
- Supreme Walnut
- Rattan
- Catawba Cherry — Note, Early American, still popular in 1968!
- Astro-Glo Bronze
- Surftex Black
Oh, and there was lots and lots of blonde hair color going on, too, it seems.
In addition, homemakers could make their own panels. The parts of the film meant to generate ideas are the best. Hey: Remember our recent story about Kathy, who made her own dishwasher panel from an enlargement of her grandmother’s Betty Crocker cookbook? Such a great way to add vintage pizzazz — inexpensively and creatively. Tip: Don’t do the twist while using scissors.
Back to the film — 1968 a very bad year
I used to work in the car business, and these kinds of films were commonly created to set the scene for the new product lines being introduced to the dealers. The purpose was to get them all psyched up to sell.
But, oh my: 1968. In contrast to the let’s party mood (although there is a seamy darkness) of this film, the year 1968 was one of the most tragic and divisive (help, I am not a historian, not even sure what words to use) in America’s political history. Martin Luther King was assassinated. Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated. The Vietnam War was under way, with the Mai Lai massacre, Tet offensive, draft dodging and more dividing the country. Richard Nixon was elected president. Hmmm, unemployment was 3.3 percent. Yikes. I am not an expert on film history, but I took a class in college and this Westinghouse video makes me recall the 1966 film Blowup by Michaelangelo Antonioni. Films like this — which are considered “ephemera” and were not really meant to endure — are so interesting. Thank you, Jackie and Todd, for this discovery.
Kersten says
HA! PAM! This is the same video I linked to the birthday wishes I sent to you months ago on your facebook page!!!
pam kueber says
Oh! How did I miss that! I must have been in a birthday cake induced trance. Thank you, K!
Janet says
I graduated high school in 1969 and went on to college and NO-ONE dressed like that in 1968 and I was in stodgy New England. By then we were wearing low cut bell bottoms and grungy clothes and no self respecting hippie would be seen dressed anywhere near like that. What cracked me up the most was the headband and the flip hairstyle – very 1965 and my sister’s class. By my senior year in HS, we all had center parts and very very long straight hair (even alot of the guys), if we had to IRON it to get it that way. The show was really more 1966 in my opinion. I can’t attest to the music being like TV shows since I grew up without one, but I agree – B movie music all the way. The beginning totally creeped me out to be honest. There were three door fridges around 1963 or 1964 by Frigidaire. My college roommate’s parents bought a furnished and fancy home on Lake Winnepesaukee and there was a chocolate brown one there. I loved it and always wondered why it didn’t catch on; I was so happy to see “French” door fridges come back. I really cannot imagine dressing up your fridge for a party, but I do recall in the mid-sixties, it was all about showing off your possessions, a totally dismissed premise when the hippies showed up and it was a complete reversal to living on and with nothing and just spacing out all day long!
midmodms says
Yes, the first impression I had was the fashions seemed a bit earlier than 1968. And the open was very creepy.
DeeGee says
Remember, this had to pass a bunch of old stodgy corporate suit types, who, by 1967-9, were thinking this outfit looked great compared to the hippie chick stuff appearing.
So this was pretty dated by the time it came out. I did know some young people who did wear clothes like this in suburban Houston up to the early 1970’s… but they were suck-ups to adults anyway. LOL
nina462 says
Groovy! The gal walking through the woods, once in a while – she looked like Joanie on MadMen.
I agree, wish we could do this….heck, why can’t we? Million dollar idea people – let’s get with it!
John says
I found the beginning very ominous, expected a zombie or other creature of the night to pounce on her at some point till the Westinghouse logo showed up. It was straight out of a B movie from that period.
John
hannah says
Absolutely enjoyed it to pieces. What’s going to bug me is not being able to find out who did the musical score. Been searching….
Michael says
Wow.
You just can’t make this sh#! up! The first minute is insane! And then it just gets better from there.
What a time-capsule treasure this is!
puddletowncheryl says
They were doing the Jerk not the twist. That was way earlier. I loved my GoGo boots. That model looked familiar to me too.
Chris says
OH MY GOSH THAT WAS SO WEIRD! I am 45, born in 1966.
Yes, it came across as dark to me too — bizarre! Late 60s and early 70s stuff is just a little too…. what word am I looking for? I get a very creepy feeling up my back watching stuff like this.
The beginning, especially, was ominous. Any social historians out there who would care to analyze? I’d love to read about it, if so!
OH — afterthought…… remember the Batman TV series? Very similar feeling, in my opinion!
tailfinz says
Uhmmm….wow. Kind of like lost footage from “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”. I remember that feature, no surprise it really never caught on though.
Andrea says
The music in that super amazing film sounds identical to some of the music in the original Spiderman cartoon t.v. show from around the same time period, especially the swinging organ, that was used for party or nightclub scenes. The way-out approach to dolling up a boring old refrigerator was quite refreshing — though I kept expecting some Spiderman web-shooting sounds and some villainous mayhem to happen at any moment.