Living the American Dream, 1950s Suburban Life

Clip ref KLR814.
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EXT white clapboard suburban house. INT house, bedroom, woman opens wardrobe door, takes out tie. Man sits on bed getting dressed for work, woman walks over and passes him his tie, good wife, housewife.
INT bathroom, woman puts her lipstick on in the mirror. EXT front door of suburban house, young couple waiting, man opens door and they walk in. Could be boss invited round for dinner, dinner party. INT hallway, man takes woman's coat and hangs it up in built in wardrobe, suburban dream. Woman and two men look around living room, taking tour of new home. Smiling woman greets men and woman in living room, hostess.
EXT patio, teenage boy and girl dancing. Tame teenage party.
INT stunning modern kitchen, large kitchen, teenagers getting food. Women in kitchen, housewife takes food out of fridge. Mod cons. Woman puts dish into oven. INT dining room, two glamorous women walk through and take tray of food to men who sit in living room.

[danieldennison]

I remember as a teenager in the late 40’s and 50’s my parents would have “dinner parties” similar to as shown.. they would stay up till 2-3am listening to Sinatra etc... a simpler time perhaps

[purplepolarbear]

THOSE DRESSES AND SUITS are you kidding? so gorgeous, i wish people still dressed like that

[RevoEvo]

Back when houses were actually affordable.

[annelarsen]

I miss those days and I wasn't even born yet

[kevinkane]

Young, healthy and rich is good anytime and anywhere.

[gibsonguitarplayer]

I was born in 1955. I remember our homes in my neighborhood were like this. My mom always wore dresses, heels, and lots of jewelry. Like Donna Mills. Everyone was thin. Saturday nights were it! Neighbors stopped in, men wore suits, mainly appetizers and all the adults smoked. But they looked elegant. They played a lot of card games and sent all us kids to the basement to play and not bother them. It was a simple time, oh I would love to do it all over again.

[khiggins]

That 1950s housewife looks REALLY good!

[litamtondy]

People, stop complaining about how nobody dresses like that today, clear the path and start doing it yourself!

[serenitypeaceandcomfort]

Men actually wearing a suit for guests instead of a sloppy flannel shirt and sneakers....mindblowing🤯

[Matt_from_Florida]

This was the *LAST* decade in the U.S. when it was still considered an embarrassment for the husband if his wife worked, because it meant he didn't make enough money to take care of his own family.

[koalabear]

The husband put a clothing item on a hanger and put it in the closet. I re-watched it 24 times 😍😭

[MidnightVentures]

Being able to actually watch this vintage stuff is kind of amazing.

[temporaryexistence]

Both women and men looking classy, everything works.... Thanks for smashing it Frankfurt School.

[MrEjidorie]

When my parents were newlywed in Japan, the American way of life as described in this video was an ideal life which many Japanese people dreamed of during 1950`s and 60`s. Young Japanese people worked very hard at that time in order to lead such wealthy life as Americans enjoyed.

[ultra_marcus]

meanwhile in 50's Britain my Dad informs me that everyone in his street shared the same toilet.

[lowbridge]

I was born in 1969. So, I grew up in the 1970s when 1950s nostalgia was very popular. And I was swept up by it. I just fell in love with the 1950s decade. By the early 1980s I was in high school and being raised in an abusive, dysfunctional household.

One day during class for reasons I cannot recall, they rolled in the school 16mm movie projector and played for us kids a few of those old, antiquated 1950s short instructional films on how to date, how to be polite, etc. My fellow classmates laughed through them. The wooden acting, the cheap production values, the over-politeness, the innocent slang of the time (golly, gee, swell, etc), the squeaky clean activities (a picnic, a carnival, bike riding, dinner with the family, etc.) I on the other hand wasnt laughing. I found these films to be quite sweet and charming. A sort of time capsule of a more kinder, innocent era.

Don't get me wrong. I had no illusions. I was well aware that the 1950s weren't so perfect and innocent. No decade is. All decades have their faults. But still, it seems to me that there were SOME things they were doing SO RIGHT in the 1950s that we were doing so horribly wrong in the 1980s as well as today.

[teabiscuits]

Nowadays that house would look like a murderers hideout

[rander]

I was born in Jan '49. There was entirely too much smoking by nearly everyone back then. My mother didn't smoke, and dad would have a cigar which he stopped in the '60s. I recall going to other people's homes as a kid. As the evening wore on, we would get tired and be put on a bed with the adults' coats. I would fall asleep listening to the laughter in the other room as the adults played cards. Falling asleep to laughter is the best.

[TrueGold]

70 years later and this house is still better than many worldwide houses these days....

[normhardy]

Such thin and trim adults, pretty women, handsome men, wholesome attractive teenagers, all in this short video. Fun to watch and dream about. Driving that mid-1950's American automobile. Safe and secure in the suburbs. Happy Days.