Strange Customs
Anyone who watches a lot of old movies knows how acceptable and unquestioned smoking was in the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. Some scenes still come as a bit of shock. In Dinner at Eight (1933), a doctor smokes in his office while seeing a patient. (I hope he doesn’t do that for those with asthma or emphysema.) In Kid Glove Killer (1942), the proto-CSI and his comely assistant smoke in the laboratory while working. Even if they knew nothing of long-term health effects, I would have thought they would know that smoking would (a) contaminate their hair samples and other scientific clues, and (b) quite possibly blow them up, what with the various chemicals all around the room.
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One of my favorite “smoking” movies is “Hatari!”. In every scene, except the ones where they’re chasing or fooing around with animals, everyone is smoking.
Comment by Jim C. — Saturday: October 1, 2005 @ 10:56 AM GMT-0500
Saturday Night Live had a skit on this subject, with Phil Hartman playing the smoking doctor.
Comment by Andrea Harris — Saturday: October 1, 2005 @ 2:22 PM GMT-0500