Car Talk: Movie Division

Today we take a breather from worthy matters of note and go instead for some folderol.

The other day, my friend Patrick Goldstein brought up something he’s noticed when watching old movies and couldn’t figure out.  Now, Patrick is an A+ journalist who’s written extensively about movies (and other things entertainment related) in his column for the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere.  And if there’s something to find out, he’s the guy who can do it.  Or, he can ask me, which is the easier route, especially when he’s not getting paid for it.  Or am I. 

It was that he’d noticed that in a lot of old movies, people seemed to be getting into their cars on the passenger side, and then sliding over.  And, as I said, he couldn’t figure out why?

I didn’t know either, but made a couple of guesses.  One was that because cameras weren’t as maneuverable in the old black-and-white days, it might have been easier to set them up on the sidewalk to capture the action, and just leave them there when it was time to get into the car.  Another guess was that maybe there was something about laws getting into cars on the street back in the 1940s that we didn’t know about today.

But I didn’t know, that was the best I could do.  “Well, maybe you could find out, if you ever decide to,” Patrick said in his clever, subtle way, a journalist trick he must have learned years ago. 

And me being me, I actually did do a little research on his question about why people in movies get in (and out) of cars on the passenger side.

I should add here that after I did all my research and wrote him back all that I’d learned, I brought up a final matter.  I asked him, “When you asked me about this and gave me the goofy Goldstein Challenge – did you think that was the end of it, or did you (knowing me) think you’d get a follow-up response?”  And he wrote back -- 

“I confess that I asked you the question because I thought – Of all my friends, who is most likely to try to come up with an answer? -- and I of course thought of you.”

The moral here is to be careful who you chose as your friends.  Though, in fairness, Patrick appears to have chosen well.  On the other hand, when it all starts the day you’re both assigned to the same cabin in summer camp at Camp Nebagamon, “choice” may not always come into play.  But for all I know, he may have known as a kid that he would grow up to be a journalista, and this Elisberg kid seems like a good source to cultivate.  Which might explain why he followed me to the beloved Northwestern.  And then to Los Angeles a couple miles away.  Hmmm.  Well, just know that where you go to summer camp, it all might lead you down various directions off the beaten path. 

But I digress.

 When I wrote Patrick back, the first thing I figured is that he’d be pleased to know that his question wasn’t all that off-beat (not that he’d have cared), but rather a lot of people ask the very same question.  And second, for all the time I spent researching, far I haven’t come across a definitive answer.  However, there are two most-guessed answers (both of which I’d guessed as possibilities when we spoke).  And I also came up with a third possibility that’s fascinating.  And I think that the combination among them is most likely the answer.

 The first two common guesses are –

 1) Back then, it was considered safer to enter and leave a car from the passenger side, and with bench seats it was easy just to slide across.  Also, apparently some states had laws that required using the passenger seat. 

2) Before Steadicams and more portable cameras, it makes it easier to set up a shot (from either side) and let the person get in or out from that side.  And since most action starts or finishes from the sidewalk, it makes more sense to set up the camera from the passenger side.  Especially if you factor in Reason #1.

 Now, I have no idea if either are true.  Or, as I said, it’s maybe a combination of the two.

But the third explanation I came up with was fascinating, and (given that it appears to be based on physical reality) may be a notable factor.  A person wrote that – “Lots of cars and trucks in the 50s and prior did not have door locks on the driver’s side so you had no choice but to get in from the passenger side.  For instance, my ‘52 truck doesn’t have a key on the driver’s side.  It was done because it was deemed saver to get in that way.”

Now, of course, I had no way to know if this was true or not, but it sounded weird.  Though the guy said his own, old truck had no key for the driver’s side door.  But I kept reading, and someone else did some research and replied –

 “I had no recollection of this situation, so I decided to page through one of my reference books. And, I found that…to a certain extent…you are correct! 

“Make by make, here is what I found regarding when driver-side door locks were added to cars:

 “Chrysler & DeSoto–1941

Dodge & Plymouth–1942

Ford & Mercury–1941

General Motors–It appears that all GM cars had driver-side door locks by 1940–possibly earlier

Hudson–1947

Kaiser-Frazer–1949

Nash–1946

Packard–1947

Studebaker–1947”

 Which I find absolutely fascinating.  So, it’s possible (indeed from this, seems likely) that in the ‘30s and early – but even late – ‘40s, people could not get in a car on the drivers side!  If so (and it certainly seems so) it may be that, since this was the reality, when you add the safety factor, and also some state laws, and bench seats, and also add the occasional possibility of setting up a camera – it may be that it just stayed the tradition for a while to get in a car on the passenger side, even if you didn’t have to.  And eventually, as it became common for all cars and trucks to have door locks on the drive side, and bucket seats were added, and more portable cameras, the tradition (for movie making) faded out.

Who knows?  But assuming that that physical reality of driver-side door locks is real (which is appears to be), it’s hard to see that not being a huge factor for a while. 

And ultimately, my feeling about most things is that there’s rarely One Reason for them occurring, and it’s usually a few explanations.  So, that mix of possibilities might be what makes the most sense, rather than One Reason.

But “no driver-side door locks” is intriguing, and goes to another comment I made when Patrick and I talked – that I wondered if it was related to something in the 30s and 40s that we just don’t know about today…

This all seemed to satisfy Patrick’s curiosity – not necessarily as the definitive answer, but something that was at least worth sending me off into rabbit holes and coming up with something at least reasonable. 

Which is why I have long-hold the position here at Elisberg Industries, Vice-President of minutiae, arcana and guesses.

Bobbing for Medals: 2024 Edition

I just love watching Katie Ledecky in the 1500m freestyle. (And not just for her swimming, but also her joyous, gracious, charming interviews after.) It isn’t just that she's so great, but she’s at another level. She has the top 20 times in the event!!  She won the race today, and (like always) you see her swimming...and she's so far ahead -- no one else is on camera!  What must it be like for other swimmers in this event always knowing that you’re competing for second place?  This was her eighth Olympic Gold medal, the most ever by an American woman.  And her 12th Olympic medal overall, the most ever by an American woman.

No, this isn't Katie Ledecky practicing in the pool after everyone has left.  This is what it's like when she competes in the 1500m freestyle in the Olympics against the best swimmers in the world.

Olympic organizers finally, apparently, got the Seine clean enough for the triathlon competitors.  The goal was to have the swimming portion of the race take place on the river as a unique, majestic backdrop for the race.  The challenge was that the Seine has been closed to swimming for a century.  So, France spent $1.5 billion to make it safe enough for the athletes.  But up until yesterday, it still tested too high for bacteria.  (That bacteria, by the way, was…e coli!!)  And so, the men’s triathlon had to be delayed, twice. However, organizers said it was now fine, so the women’s triathlon went on without a delay, and the men’s triathlon is back on the schedule.  Whether any competitors come down with an illness remains to be seen…

While it was fun to see the swimmers in the Seine, NBC did an awful job broadcasting it, since the whole point of being in the Seine was that you could see the athletes swimming through Paris!!  Yet most of the camerawork was medium or close-up shots where all you saw were swimmers in water, which could have been anywhere.  The most we ever got was an occasional shot like this -- 

It’s a nice look, though it doesn’t say, “C’est Paris!”  And was only an occasional look.  I only recall one or two wide shots that showed Paris, and had the Eiffel Tower in the background.  But any Parisian landmark would have been good.  Or anything Parisian.  A baguette floating by with a beret, perhaps.

 The most interesting view of the swimming came at the end when the triathletes left to water to run to their bicycles for the second leg of the race, first having to run up the ornate stairs to get to the Alexandre III Bridge. 

After that, the cycling did take the athletes through the streets of Paris, and it was fun too see.  (Though if you’ve ever watched the Tour de France, that’s where the final day always takes place every year, for decades.  So, it wasn’t a unique look, but a very good one.)

 The problem for the riders is that the streets were slick from the earlier rain, which is still coming down in Paris.  And so bikes were sliding and crashing through this portion of the race.  But at least it did takes us through Paris. 

The race was very tight, as the last Olympic’s Gold medal winner, 36-year-old  Flora Duffy from Bermuda (of all places, for a triathlete), and one of the sport’s legends, took a big lead in the one-mile swimming portion, though 25-mile cycling caught up with her, and about 10 racers all moved in contention.  Eventually, as the six mile run began, she fell a bit behind, as did most of the others, and four competitors broke away for the three medal positions, with just one 1.5 mile lap – two of them French.  In the end, the triathlon was won by Cassndre Beaugrand of France, to a roaring crowd,

There seems no great need to have equestrian dressage.  I get the show-jumping and cross country horse events, at least enough to get a sense why it’s an Olympic sport (though they should give some sort of medal or at least acknowledgement to the horse that’s doing most of the work), but dressage in the riders’ frou-frou attire seems something out of a Turner British landscape -- you expect a fox to jump out at any moment.  It’s not really a higher-swifter-farther athletic competition at all, but more a “Who trained their horse the best” thing.  A step up from making dog shows a competition, as in dressage it’s just about getting the horsies to canter, trot, jog to one side, then the next, and backwards and forward again.  A USA Today article described dressage as “really more of a hobby than a sport – a niche within a niche – and those who participate in it or follow it regularly only do so because they really love horses.“  It’s very skilled, to be sure, but then so is getting your dog to roll over and play Frisbee.  Further, it’s the horses that are doing almost all the work here – the rider has trained the horse, to be sure, and is giving commands, but it’s up to the horse to perform them.  At least in horseracing the jockey has to maneuver through the race, and in show jumping, timing by the rider is critical.  But I’m sure it will be in the Olympics forever, because it likely dates back to the first Games in 1896 and is too “traditional” to the IOC noblesse oblige past. 

That said, there actually was a scandal in dressage yesterday.  Three-time Gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin of England withdrew when 2-year-old video came to light of her repeatedly whipping her frightened horse trying to get away while training.  Another rider, Carlos Parro of Spain, got a formal warning from the Federation for Equestrian Sports governing body) for potentially causing “unnecessary discomfort” to his horse, though because it took place prior to the Games, no further action was taken.  On the other side of the coin, when I was watching, an official noticed that a horse had cut itself on a gate, and the horse and rider were eliminated for safety)

But dressage looks substantive when it comes to a new Olympic event added this year.  (I don’t have it in me to call it a sport.)

Up to now, there are two Olympic events that I find ludicrous and can’t bear to watch.  One is synchronized swimming (or “sync ‘R swim” as I refer to it) and rhythmic gymnastics – the one where they run around waving ribbons and tossing rubber balls in the air.  I can now add a third.  Break dancing.  Yes, really.  Honest.  Break dancing is now an Olympic sport!!  Though they call it “Breaking,” because apparently that makes it sound legitimate like it’s an actual higher-stronger-swifter Olympic sport. 

For years, I’ve been uninterested in ice dancing, since (to me) any event that has a required rhumba, waltz, and tango is artistry, not an Olympic sport.  And I’ve wondered why, if you have ice dancing, why not make ballroom dancing an Olympic sport?  They actually do have ballroom competitions, after all.  And they are pretty, physical and skilled.  They just aren’t a sport.  They’re artistic competitions.  Having a competition doesn’t make something a sport.  The Oscars are a competition.  Why not make Moviemaking an Olympic sport?  Chess has competitions – but it’s not an Olympic sport.  (Yet.)  But if they’re going to make “Breaking” a sport (because calling it break dancing, which is what it is, would probably get it laughed out of the Olympics…), then ballroom dancing may be next. 

Though I don’t care much for ice dancing, I semi-understand it as an Olympic sport (sort of) because it so closely overlaps with figure skating, and the ice and need of skates does at least lend a sport aspect to it.  But “Breaking” (sic) makes ice dancing look Olympian at a level of the original Greeks.  Yes, I understand that “Breaking” is very physical, difficult, and skilled, but so is ballet, and that’s not an Olympic sport.  Yet.  For that matter, so too are road construction, roofing, and hand-picking raspberries, saffron and cocoa beans.  And farming isn’t an Olympic sport.  Yet.  Furthermore, great physicality isn't a requirement for being a legitimate Olympic sport (let alone how pretty it looks...) -- consider riflery and archery: the competitors basically stand there under great pressure, timing and aim, and then eventually shoot.  At the moment, NBC hasn’t yet aired break-danci – sorry, “Breaking,” yet, they only had an interview with an American participant.  And I’m sure it will be fun to watch, and I’m sure it’s very difficult.  And very physical.  And very skilled.  There is just one thing it’s not (to me) – an Olympic sport.

​Let the Games continue...

Bobbing for Medals: 2024 Edition

We spend most of the day watching the Olympics, so you don’t have to. 

I hope people heeded my admonition to watch at least the final two laps of the men’s 10,000m race – since it was so exciting that NBC Primetime led their broadcast with the final four laps!  It was that amazing.  Just all-out sprinting for the final lap after running for over six miles.  And once again, USA’s Grant Fisher won Bronze, only the second medal America has won in the race in 56 years.  And just the third…ever.

The Decathlon started on Friday with the early heats.  It’s interesting, though I find the Decathlon at its best later in the competition.  That’s because (to me), the Decathlon is sort of like a marathon where in the early part, the competitors are more jockeying for position.  They aren’t, but because they’re all trying to accumulate points, and finishing back in the pack during an event they aren’t strong might be okay if they get enough points in it, it’s the later events when the point totals have grown, and the medal positions come into sight, that I find the intensity of competition gets ratcheted up.  I will add that in the athlete introductions, the Decathletes seemed the most posturing, preening, arrogant of all those I’ve seen at the Games – and that includes the sprinters, which is saying a lot.  Anyway, all that aside, the Decathlon did get decided on Saturday with Markos Rooth of Norway winning.

And Katie Ledecky won again, this time the 800m freestyle again her one rival, Ariarne Titmus of Australia, who has won occasional races against her under 1500 meters.  This was Ledecky's fourth gold medal in the 800m, the first woman to win four Gold medals in the same event.  This harkens back to the great Al Oerter who won the discuss Gold medal four times.  One other thing I love when Katie Ledecky wins is how excited her family is in the stands, to the degree that it's like she's never won before, and they're almost surprised.  It's endearing. 

By the way, the runner for the Netherlands for ran the spectacular final leg of the mixed 4x400 relay to come from far behind and beat the world record-holding Americans at the very end was Femke Bol.  She is the woman I wrote about yesterday who face-planted at the 2023 world championships, whose teammates call her “Bambi” because she is clumsy.  Clumsy or not, she ran incredibly.  (You can see that 2023 video here.) 

 Individual disciplines in gymnastics began, and the first competition was the women’s vault.  Simon Biles won yet another vault, and wonderful too is that her teammate Jade Carey got Bronze, notable because she had a chance for Gold four years ago, but slipped on her run-up and ended up out of the medals.  In the men’s pommel horse, Ireland won the Gold, but USA’s Stephen Nedoroscik got the Bronze in his specialty.  (The funniest part was when they later showed his girlfriend in the stands – also a gymnast – maniacally screaming her head off during his turn.)  

Of course, when mentioning women’s vault, it’s almost impossible to not remember perhaps the most famous moment in U.S. women’s gymnastics, this from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwa5Bf656As

​

I bring that up, though, because it’s difficult for me to remember that vault and not tie it together with one of the best Saturday Night Live Olympic sketches done shortly after  It may be my favorite thing Chris Kattan did on the show.  He also wrote the piece along with Robert Smigel, whose best-known character is Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.  What impresses me most about the sketch, though, is that Kerri Strug was game for doing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wib_c9CVKZo

By the way, Simone Biles had a surprising and superb political slam that she posted after winning the All Around Gold medal.  She sent out a post on social media, embedding a photo of herself in action, and wrote, “I love my Black job.”

 Before going to the BMX bike racing event (one of the disciplines that come from the X-Games world), the studio host described it as being “like NASCAR, but on wheels.”  Oh, spare us.  It is absolutely nothing like NASCAR – unless NASCAR decided to have races that, instead of being 400 miles, were only a single time around an irregularly-curved track warped with hills, little bumps and valleys, that send the cars flying in the air.  That aside, the French swept the men’s event – the country’s first sweep in any event since 1924, one-hundred years ago.

 As I noted at the beginning of the Olympics, the IOC would be holding a special ceremony presenting Gold and Silver medals to the United States and Japan for Team Figure Skating at the last Winter Olympics.  That’s because the Russian team, that had finished first, had later gotten disqualified when one of their members was disqualified for illegal drug use.  For reasons I don’t fully understand, there will be no medal presented to Canada who had finished in fourth place.  There was a challenge, which was not allowed.  But an official date and time has been set now for the ceremony – August 7 at 5 PM Paris time.  I have to believe that NBC will cover it.

Let the Games continue...