12 posts tagged “1950s”

If anything, this post was an attempt to figure out whether Vox had been fixed or not. The ‘Compose’ screen came up pretty quickly this attempt, though an earlier attempt resulted in a blank screen after a minute.
   Here are some rare cars from Autocade, anyway, since I’m not going to waste the opportunity to blog something. When I started Autocade, I expected some old cars that were around before my lifetime; what I didn’t expect was actually covering a good number of them. Here are some for those pub quiz nights.

Italia 2000 Coupé. 1959–62 (prod. 297 approx.). 2-door coupé. F/R, 1991 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Hand-made, rebodied Triumph TR3, with attractive Michelotti-designed bodies by Vignale, shown at Torino in 1958. Made under contract to Ruffino SpA. Never officially a Standard–Triumph model, particularly after Leyland Motors’ takeover and the company’s withdrawal of support. Often referred to as Triumph Italia. Very expensive when new, and not popular; underpowered considering the price, though reasonably competent.

AMC Marlin. 1967 (prod. 2,545). 2-door coupé. F/R, 232 in³ (6 cyl. OHV), 290, 343 in³ (V8 OHV). Marlin shifts to the full-size AMC Ambassador (1967–8) platform, but production dropped further due to poor sales. Deleted after one year. Price up from 1966 as Marlin became a full-size car, with more luxury appointments.

Ford Anglia Torino. 1964–8 (prod. over 10,007). 2-door saloon. F/R, 997 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Rebodied Anglia, with body made by OSI of Italy. Created for markets which might have found the original 105E to be too unconventionally styled, but export plans were never realized and the car remains very rare. Doors and front windscreen shared with English Anglia, but other panels new. Michelotti design: attractive to some, ugly to Angliaphiles. Two one-litre engines: standard tune with 41 hp and Torino S with 52 hp from 1965.

Volvo P1900. 1956–7 (prod. 67). 2-door convertible. F/R, 1414 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Flimsy fibreglass convertible from Volvo, with uprated engine shared with export model of PV444, developing 70 hp. Inspired by American roadsters of the 1950s, but killed off after new Volvo boss, Gunnar Engellau, felt the quality was under par.

I put in a few oddball cars on Autocade today. The following, all with French brand names, are either market failures, or vehicles that are strange to my eyes. At one point, there was a great push to have car model names consistent throughout the globe; now it matters less if a Chevy based on the Astra is called a Vectra in Brazil, or, for that matter, if a type 206 Peugeot is called the 207 there. The Renault Avantime, meanwhile, showed that doing niche vehicles did not always pay off.

Citroën Bijou. 1959–64 (prod. 207). 2-door coupé. F/F, 425 cm³ (2 cyl. OHV). Coupé version of 2CV for British market, with more conservative styling designed to appeal to UK consumers. Parts’ bin used, with single-spoke steering wheel, and rear window from DS Safari. Heavier than 2CV and considered expensive; 425 cm³ was underpowered, developing 12 bhp.

Peugeot 207/Peugeot 206+. 2008 to date (prod. unknown). 3-, 4- and 5-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1360 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC), 1587 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC). Facelifted 206, as Peugeot of Brazil claimed it would be too costly and impractical to launch the European model there. Sold in Brazil and neighbouring markets, but exported as 207 Compact to those countries where European 207 was also sold. Four-door saloon called 207 Passion; faux off-road SW estate gained extra Escapade model name, as had 206 in Brazil. No major improvements on 206—better thought of as a mid-term facelift. Criticized around launch in Brazilian press for being a revised, rather than all-new, model. Launched in France in 2009 as a budget model, built at Mulhouse, and bearing 206+ nameplate.

Renault Avantime. 2001–3 (prod. 8,557). 2-door coupé. F/F, 1998 cm³ petrol, 2188 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC), 2946 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Odd marriage of MPV silhouette and two-door hardtop coupé configuration, developed to use Matra facilities in Romorantin. Built using composite panels, as with earlier Matras and original Renault Éspace. Huge doors, making it less practical in smaller car parks. A fast cruiser with an excellent view out; but too bulky to be a real coupé. Considered a flagship, but flopped; production ceased two years after launch.

If only they showed this in the ’50s about life in 2000!

(Forwarded by Larz Shinobi on Twitter.)
   Man, I need some Soylent Green.

I paid a visit to a friend today and this was at his workplace:

   Ah, they were all happy days. I remember Henry Winkler playing a dweeb type before Happy Days, guest-starring as Rhoda’s date in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. You would not have known he would wind up as an American cultural icon that decade, with his jacket in the Smithsonian.

I had no idea that the love theme from The Godfather, ‘Speak Softly Love’, was originally used by the same composer, Nino Rota, for a 1958 film called Fortunella. Apparently, Mr Rota was nominated for an Academy Award for The Godfather and it was withdrawn when it was discovered the theme had already been used. (Strangely, he went on to win one for Part II and that had the same theme, and he did win a BAFTA for the first film.)
   I don’t think it’s uncommon to see composers reuse work but it is a little out of the ordinary. Monty Norman maintained that ‘The James Bond Theme’ was based on work he did for a musical; John Barry, who went on to compose and score most of the Bond films in the 1960s to the 1980s, reused a traditional tune from Zulu in Cry, the Beloved Country, and I understand a rejected theme for The Prince of Tides appeared in Across the Sea of Time. Then there are those confusing things like the Grange Hill theme on Give Us a Clue …
   Here is the Fortunella tune, which was interesting to hear—this would have been the first version some people heard of this theme, and the treatment is very different to that of The Godfather.

What if Star Wars were made in the 1950s (and presumably in colour) and Saul Bass did the titles? A student worked on the following and I loved it.

   Another YouTuber responded with a parody of a parody, taking aim at the ‘remastered’ version:

Still one of the most romantic scenes in the cinema, in my view. I keep threatening to perform this live if they can find me a Grace Kelly.
   I don’t know what won the Oscar for best song this year, but I believe this took home the award in its time.

PS.: A quick Google search indicates I was wrong that this song took home an Oscar. It was nominated but lost to Doris Day’s ‘Que Sera, Sera’ from The Man Who Knew Too Much.—JY

[Cross-posted from Lucire] We like this idea: Above + Below London, a new footwear label, uses fabrics that have been reclaimed from London buses and Underground carriages from the 1950s through to the 1990s—with the permission of Transport for London. Some are rare and will likely take wearers back to an earlier era. Continued at Lucire.

I see from an ad that Will Smith is in a comedic movie called Hancock. With all these Americans remaking British shows, I guess it’s a big-screen version of the TV programme. It’s great Will is in the title role, but who takes Sid James’s place?

Way too tired today. Got up early to take Dad to hospital for a check-up, and it’s amazing what missing half an hour of sleep can do to you. And the check-up was surprisingly quick: here I was, armed with laptop and about six hours’ worth of work packed—only to return by 10 a.m. and needing sleep—and refusing to take it.
   So, tonight, instead of more intelligent blogging (did that already on the other blog), I decided to carry on from my discussion with Nick in the comments to the last entry and hunt for a few more cheesy old movie trailers. As threatened, Hanoi Jane in Barbarella is next: note that the scenes are all from the opening striptease and not the Excessive Machine. That French husband of hers was a bit of a perve. OK, he was a total perve. Then, his first name was Roger.

   I should note that I am not really a Barbarella fan, though I do love the cheesiness today. I guess it was the whole Vietnam thing and selling out US troops that spoiled Hanoi Jane for me. I know the lady has apologized, but if I was that upset as a civilian, what do the vets think?
   Next, a film I am a fan of, big time. Probably another of my top five:

Now, this is well edited and as a trailer it does stand up well, apart from the narrator’s VO. I’d imagine these days he’d have an American accent. There’s so much to say about this film that maybe I shouldn’t in this post.
   Here’s one which young people might know as I Am Legend. But when it wasn’t named after the original book, it was The Omega Man, with our old friend, Charlton Heston.    All we need is for Hollywood to ruin this next one and some aspects are dangerously worrying for life in 2008. The “future”, 2022, is not that far off. Remember this film talks about environmental disaster as well as the widening gap between rich and poor. Back to a serious narrator here and Herb Lubalin’s Avant Garde typeface:  The scene where Chuck watches Edward G. Robinson dies is poignant. Apparently, Heston was one of the few that knew Robinson was terminally ill and legend has it those are real tears. What we need is a remake with Will Smith in it. Or maybe not.
   I always thought a good name for a cross-country race transporting Soylent Green to various cities could be called The Cannibal Run.
   Finally, something to liven up proceedings after a couple of downers. Welcome back, cheesy narrator, and the word sexcapade (oooh):

She makes movies, she sings, she’s easy on the eyes—and she ain’t J. Lo. Not that much new under the sun.

Les publicités des années 50 et 60 pour les films hollywoodiens classiques.