Entering 50’s vehicles from opposite side

[Snagglefoot]

My wife and I watched a few 50’s movies and noticed a very different behaviour when the actors entered their vehicles. It was common for the woman to enter through the drivers door and slide across to the passenger side.

If the driver had no passenger, it was common for the driver to enter through the curb side door and slide across to the drivers position.

Also, it was common for the male driver to get out and walk over to the female’s passenger door to open it, especially if there was an attraction between the two. Women weren’t encouraged to operate doors. Very amusing.

 

[supton]

Bench seat, column shift, and console delete for the win. Also being on the thinner side surely helped. Vinyl seats too.

But for movie making, the director probably was choosing between how often to move the camera and what he wanted to capture.

 

[PontiacHO]

Flat vinyl seat cover and plenty of room between the dash and the seat. Yes, men were more formal back then with opening doors for women.

 

[iahawk]

back before keyless entry, when you'd still need a key to unlock a door, I'd first unlock my girlfriend's / wife's door and open it for her. This was as recently as the late 90's

 

[mk378]

In the early 1900s many streets were dirt and full of mud and horse manure. The only pavement was what is now called the sidewalk, it was a thin strip for walking only. People avoided walking out into the road even to get in or out of a car-- they would enter through the right side door and move across. This tradition continued even after the streets were paved.

 

[Snagglefoot]

back before keyless entry, when you'd still need a key to unlock a door, I'd first unlock my girlfriend's / wife's door and open it for her. This was as recently as the late 90's

Also there was that period when most cars had power door locks but not keyless entry. You would safely be in the drivers seat and unlocking the passenger door with your driver side mounted switch but your wife would still be standing outside the passenger side door waiting for the door to unlock. This was more prevalent when you and your spouse were used to going to separate sides when approaching the vehicle.

 

[nomas]

Look at the doors on some of those old cars . They were HUGE . Opening the drivers side door to enter could force you to step well out into traffic .

 

[bullwinkle]

Look at the doors on some of those old cars . They were HUGE . Opening the drivers side door to enter could force you to step well out into traffic .

Technically, if there are no obstacles in the vehicle, the driver, by law, is actually SUPPOSED to enter on the passenger side & slide over when parked on the street. One of those archaic laws that are no longer enforced, like jaywalking, stopping for stop signs or red lights, speeding, well... Pretty much ALL of them, unless it's quota time!

 

[Astro14]

Opening a door for a lady, whether that door would be the entrance to a building, or an automobile, is a sign of good manners. A sign of respect.

The fact that you don’t see that done, says more about modern manners than anything else.

I still open the door for my wife when she is the passenger. I open the door for her when we walk into a building. She is an extraordinarily capable, retired US Navy Captain. She does not need help opening the door, I do so out of courtesy.

 

[ATex7239]

I kinda miss the middle seat. I dated a few girls who would always hop in on driver’s side of my truck and slide over the middle seat next to me. I quite liked it actually as it was easier to be more friendly with each other.

 

[eljefino]

My dad had a 1940 Ford coupe that only had a key lock cylinder on the passenger side door. He explained it as Ford was looking out for people by not having them fiddling in traffic, though the manure explanation also holds water.

Movies had a style at the time. They often removed car glass like windshields and rear windows to cut glare. They were only held in with rubber gaskets so it was easy to do. When they used rear projection or mattes in studios to simulate driving, the background and foreground were both in perfect focus, a technical impossibility. To tell a story through film you often feel pressure to use the techniques and tropes all the other movie makers are doing.

 

[JHZR2]

back before keyless entry, when you'd still need a key to unlock a door, I'd first unlock my girlfriend's / wife's door and open it for her. This was as recently as the late 90's

Agree. On my old Mercedes cars that didn’t have keyless I still do that for my wife. Of course that system the. Automatically unlocks the rest via vacuum.

The rule I learned before power locks were in place was that you unlocked the door for the front passenger, and if she was worth keeping, she would lean across and unlock your door.

 

[ATex7239]

The rule I learned before power locks were in place was that you unlocked the door for the front passenger, and if she was worth keeping, she would lean across and unlock your door.

I heard this growing up. Didn’t end up holding water for me as the crazy girls ended up doing it too.

 

[ag_ghost]

The bench seat in my parent's 1968 Ford Fairlane 500 had three seat belts, which made for cozy and somewhat safer dates.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I heard this growing up. Didn’t end up holding water for me as the crazy girls ended up doing it too.

There’s also a good kind of crazy.

 

[dishdude]

Remember the door test from A Bronx Tale? I can't link the clip due to the f word being used, but this is the dialogue.

Alright, listen to me. You pull up right where she lives, right? Before you get outta the car, you lock both doors. Then, get outta the car, you walk over to her. You bring her over to the car. Dig out the key, put it in the lock and open the door for her. Then you let her get in. Then you close the door. Then you walk around the back of the car and look through the rear window. If she doesn't reach over and lift up that button so that you can get in: dump her.

 

[Pterostylis]

back before keyless entry, when you'd still need a key to unlock a door, I'd first unlock my girlfriend's / wife's door and open it for her. This was as recently as the late 90's

My DD doesn’t have central locking so I still do that. My wife unlocks the drivers door from the inside as I’m walking around and on the rare occasion that she doesn’t, one of us usually makes a joke about the central locking being slow.

 

[TheLastWord]

My dad had a 1940 Ford coupe that only had a key lock cylinder on the passenger side door. He explained it as Ford was looking out for people by not having them fiddling in traffic, though the manure explanation also holds water.

Movies had a style at the time. They often removed car glass like windshields and rear windows to cut glare. They were only held in with rubber gaskets so it was easy to do. When they used rear projection or mattes in studios to simulate driving, the background and foreground were both in perfect focus, a technical impossibility. To tell a story through film you often feel pressure to use the techniques and tropes all the other movie makers are doing.

And legendary to see convertibles at 60mph and perfect hairdos men and women. And no noise.

 

[wpod]

I still open the door for my wife when she is the passenger. I open the door for her when we walk into a building. She is an extraordinarily capable, retired US Navy Captain. She does not need help opening the door, I do so out of courtesy.

Indeed, I also hold open the doors at stores etc for women. They really enjoy the courtesy but then so do I !

 

[wpod]

The bench seat in my parent's 1968 Ford Fairlane 500 had three seat belts, which made for cozy and somewhat safer dates.

There is nothing better. It is one of the simple pleasures in life.