The Reality of Hollywood's Glamorous, Classic Period: Indebted to Cigarettes and Liquor

Films of Hollywood’s Golden Age were monitored by a Production Code much more stringent than today's MPAA Rating System. And yet almost any film from the so-called Classic Period will feature ubiquitous cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking. Today such depictions will often get an immediate PG-13 rating (if not R) depending on the context. Back then it was simply part of the culture and was totally acceptable in every way. It was sex and nudity that was seen as taboo and inappropriate. Although we still have restrictions on that kind of content now, there is no doubt that with the explosion of the sexual revolution in the 1960s things changed.

So there’s no doubt that smoking and drinking were prevalent in film, but what were some of the reasons? Why is it so associated with these old films? What were the effects of these cultural norms on these actors? How did it affect current and future generations?

Prime Examples

It feels necessary to get at this topic by first looking at some of the most iconic images brought to the screen in those Classic years. There’s Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca (1942) clad in a white tux smoking a cigarette. Or even later in the film when he bemoans, “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” He is of course absolutely trashed by this point drowning his sorrows about Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) with a bottle. It’s a timeless celluloid snapshot and it’s saturated in booze and covered in cigarette ashes.

There’s another classic the same year that is perhaps lesser known, but the all-pervading cigarette takes center stage once more. It’s another picture featuring Paul Henreid and this time his co-star is Bette Davis. Like many of the other films of the day there’s a flirtatious moment where they pull out a lighter and light up together. Now, Voyager (1942) gained iconic status when Henreid famously took two cigarettes in his mouth and lighted them together before passing one off to Davis. It struck a chord with audiences and it would have never been possible without the tobacco industry. Nowadays it looks antiquated, but back then it was charming.

In To Have and Have Not (1944) Humphrey Bogart had another sizzling scene over a cigarette and it’s possible that it led to his romance with fledgling 19 year old film star Lauren Bacall. In their famous meet cute, the first words that come out of Slim’s (Bacall) mouth are, “Anybody got a match?” as she stands alluringly in the doorway.  Bogart doesn’t say anything, but you can see it in his eyes: he’s intrigued.

On top of its often sensual aspects, the smoke created by cigarettes visually adds an atmospheric element to black and white films that we cannot achieve now. It shrouds characters in a smoky façade or develops a dynamic mise-en-scene that becomes a playground for the most inventive cinematographers. This is especially evident in film-noir and in many ways the style is heavily indebted to smoke.

James Dean was immortalized as angst-filled teen Jim Stark, who famously wore a red jacket, blue jeans, and of course took a cigarette with him practically everywhere he went.  Those famous images from Nicholas Ray’s Rebel Without a Cause (1955) are hard to forget, because even if you haven’t seen the film, you probably know the look. The film opens with a fully inebriated Jim lying in an alley before he is picked up by the local authorities. One could argue that drinking and smoking are still just as prevalent among teens now, but it appears almost commonplace here. It seems to fit the day and age, like how an old car can frame a period. Today, Dean appears less like a juvenile delinquent and “rebel” than an alcoholic. It might be true that he’s modeling this type of behavior for the teens of that generation. However, smoking and drinking are not his vices; they are more so a fact of life. They are how he copes in a socially acceptable way.

Into the 1960s, smoking and drinking were still widespread. Audrey Hepburn’s iconic Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) consumed ungodly amounts of alcohol, and the character is nothing without her cigarette holder. Cigarettes were not only key props, but parts of costumes lending to the aura of a great character. Because if there was a female counterpart to Dean’s performance, Hepburn walking the sleepy streets of New York in her Givenchy dress is one of the most obvious contenders. Her image is found everywhere and although we might have different views on smoking now, we would never consent to take her cigarette away. 

Counter Examples

Of course smoking was an accepted custom during this period, but there were several cautionary tales about the dangers of alcoholism. Two of the most prominent are The Lost Weekend (1945) and Days of Wine and Roses (1962). 

Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend, as its name implies, follows one man’s binge (Ray Milland) that sends him on a nightmarish journey, leaving him totally wrecked in the process. His problems with alcohol flood back with a vengeance and they are not glamorized in any way.  In typical Wilder fashion he does not tone down the ugliness, but lets the alcoholism show its true face. The broke protagonist runs in and out of hospitals, driven by his addiction to pawn and steal. It's suspected that Wilder was inspired to write it after working rather tumultuously with recovering alcoholic Raymond Chandler on the script for Double Indemnity.

A couple decades later Blake Edward’s Days of Wine and Roses was similar in its candidness depicting a couple as they slowly aggravate and accelerate their alcoholic proclivities. The results are heart wrenching and powerful. The film even had an impact on director Blake Edwards and the two stars Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, who all drank heavily at one point in their lives.  Much like The Lost Weekend, this film garnered high acclaim suggesting that people were not adverse to a story reflecting the debilitating consequences of alcoholism. In the years since it has become suggested viewing for those in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Then and Now

The presence of smoking in film and TV has dropped off substantially. The impact on young teens taking up these habits has been noted and combatted. You might still see it in a period drama like Mad Men, but very few mainstream characters light it up compared to previous generations. Alcohol, however, is still featured quite often. Why?

Tobacco companies strategically advertised during the war and post-war years, even going so far as to use the appeal of doctors. The RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company led a campaign with the now laughable slogan, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” The scary part is the fact that the phrase remained a mainstay of the advertising world for the next half dozen years continuing into the 1950s. The bottom line is that people actually believed in these ads and went out to the nearest store to pick up a few packs of Camels. The 1950s saw the rise of the famed Marlboro Man, who made the filtered cigarette no longer a feminine fad, but a must have for every rugged, red-blooded American man. It’s not quite as funny as the Camels slogan, but it’s no laughing matter that this campaign spanned from 1954 to 1999 and was one of the most successful of all time.

Now alcohol has taken precedent in media over smoking, partially thanks to a decision in 1998 which prohibited tobacco companies from doing product placement in film and television. It’s in our social consciousness that cigarettes can kill you, now more than ever. Smoking has left a trail of destruction on countless generations of Americans. Just take a look at this incomplete list of Classic Hollywood stars who either were heavily affected by or died from smoking related diseases: Lucille Ball, Tallulah Bankhead, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Betty Grable, Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, Robert Mitchum, Dick Powell, Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Tierney, Spencer Tracy, and Lana Turner. Whether it’s I Love Lucy or White Christmas (1954) it makes no difference. You can see the stars lighting up in front of the camera.

Then there’s alcohol. Sure, it can have a negative impact on our livers, but we’re not quite as afraid of that. Here’s a shorter list of stars whose deaths were related to alcoholism: Richard Burton, Veronica Lake, Errol Flynn, John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, and William Holden (The notorious Errol Flynn was eligible on both accounts). Might this suggest that since there is perceived to be less of a possibility to die from alcohol-related issues, it still maintains a substantial presence in media after cigarettes have fallen by the wayside?

When you look at where the movies have come and gone it’s evident that the industry has affected the culture and vice versa. The prevalence and appeal of smoking and drinking has waxed and waned with the years. The movies have had a major influence on what audiences thought and felt, but cigarettes and alcohol also left some destruction in their wake. Now in the 21st century it will be interesting to monitor if smoking will continue to decline in the media while alcohol remains prominent. Still despite the changing times, I doubt that your Casablancas or Rebel Without a Causes will be forgotten, because the smoke and liquor that fills the frame helps to transport us to that era. Not simply as a period piece, but a piece of visual history from the actual time and place.