Favorite Movie or TV Kitchen

[twintubdexter]

from 1959's "Pillow Talk"...

Jan Morrow (Doris Day) sure had a great NYC apartment kitchen. Who wouldn't want to do the dishes with a view like that?

Miss Day prepares to serve orange juice to Rock Hudson. That juice had better be "spiked" with something pretty strong if she plans on getting anywhere with him.

 

[davey7]

Dave - CHA apartments (most of them), aka the Projects, mostly had block walls (don't know if Cabrini Green - which is actually just west of the Gold Coast, had been a ghetto since at least 1920 or so, which is where Good Times was set, had block walls inside, since they had brick exteriors). Although, in reality, the Evans' would have probably lived in a two-flat or maybe even a bungalow (working families had mostly fled the big projects in Chicago by the mid-70's, it was always a very New York show to me in that regard). Always wondered how Florida commuted to Tuckahoe from Cabrini, I don't think Metra connects with Metro North....

Doris always managed to have those massive kitchens on her working girl salary in New York, didn't she? I always suspected Jan Morrow got around a bit - with all those gentlemen admirers... There is a French and Saunders parody of her with a nice kitchen too. Down With Love had some kitchens inspired by the Doris-Rock movies too.

Didn't Ma & Pa Kettle have some ultra-modern kitchen once they hit it big, or am I thinking something way off here?

 

[112561]

Ma and Pa Kettle won a dream house, and they treated it like a dream house. I was wondering if someone would mention that killer kitchen in "Susan Slept Here" one of the best things in the movie! Honorable Mention is a kitchen in "The Girl Can't Help It" which has a thoroughly domestic Jerri Jordan (Jayne Mansfield) skidding around her apartment kitchen trying to hide a cooked turkey slopping grease and gravy about.

 

[applianceguy47]

I remember those Metra commercials. 0:37

 

kinda ... makes me wish I lived in a congested metropolis, with a high stress, polyester wearing job in a glass tower.  Oh, and of course a suburban home 2 hours away.

Ahh, stress CAN be fun.

 

[danemodsandy]

Another Doris Day Kitchen:

Before Doris landed all those hellaciously chic New York apartments with brand-spanking-new kitchens, she led a much homier life.

I refer to 1954's Young at Heart co-starring Frank Sinatra, Dorothy Malone, Elizabeth Fraser, and Ethel Barrymore. In it, Doris lives with her aunt and uncle, who have a Victorian house remodeled with the best of everything 1954 had to offer.

The kitchen in the house is the kind I like - good basic cabinets, nice appliances, but nothing for show and everything home-like. This set (and it was a set - even the exterior of the house and the entire street it was on were built on a Warner Bros. soundstage) shows what kitchens were like before solid cherry cabinets, stainless appliances and marble counters became the norm. I don't have the movie on hand to look at and identify the major appliances, but there were a bunch of Sunbeam smalls on the set, including a gorgeous Coffeemaster. The only thing I would change about this kitchen would be to tell Ol' Blue Eyes to get his butt off the counter.

P.S.: For those who are familiar with the movie: Ethel Barrymore's performance as Aunt Jessie is my late, sainted paternal grandmother, Mama Mac, to the very life. Lord, I miss that lady.

 

[lonestar1947]

lost in space

I always wanted a kitchen like the "Robinsons" in "Lost in Space"

Silver, spotless, lots of stainless and chrome.

Did they cook or did it get "Replicated?"

 

[applianceguy47]

That IS a nice kitchen, Sandy.  That bank of windows with the lace curtains is so comfy.  It goes well with the wallpaper.  

 

I can just see that overlooking an expanse of hillisde prairie, or a lake in the distance.  Maybe even a picturesque small farm with white fence and various animals free range.  Perhaps an expanse of garden planted in neat rows, green and lush.

 

And your comments about humble kitchens is so true. Originally, kitchen cabinets were made with solid wood. There were no laminates over particle board. The food quality was more wholesome then, as well. Not necessarily nutritious, but not filled with chemicals.

 

 

 

[davey7]

Oh god, the Metra logo! Do I need to scan my monthly ticket now!

Rock had that crazy commute in "Send me no Flowers".

Oh yeah, Jayne rocked that kitchen!

 

[retromania]

Decisions! Decisions!

Hard to to choose....

 

[appliguy]

The 1956 Frigidaire refrigerator on Good Times is not avocad

and the stove is not a drop in range...it is a 40 inch wide 6 burner gas range that they took the back splash of so the it would not get in the way of the camera's view of the actors while they were standing at the range.....PAT COFFEY

 

[appliguy]

Always wondered how Florida commuted to Tuckahoe from Cabrin

Obviously you never watched Maude Dave7 because if you had you would know that the answer to your question about Florida's commute is simple, she didn't...On Maude Florida Evans husband Henry was a fireman in Tuckahoe NY. (played by John Amos the same man who went on to play James Evans on Good Times). The way Florida made it all the way from from Tuckahoe to Chicago is this.  in 1974 Eric Monte (of Cooley High fame) and Mike Evans (the original Lionel Jefferson) created a TV show about a black family living in the Chicago ghetto. The show was simply called the Black Family. The characters names were Mattie Black, James Black, JJ Black, Thelma Black, Michael Black, and they had a neighbor and good friend named Willona. When Norman Lear decided to produce the show and talked Esther Rolle into bringing her Florida Evans character on board as the matriarch the families last name was changed from Black to Evans and the youngest member of the family ironically ended up with the same name as one of the shows creators, Michael Evans......PAT COFFEY

 

[danemodsandy]

Erik:

"I can just see that overlooking an expanse of hillisde prairie, or a lake in the distance. Maybe even a picturesque small farm with white fence and various animals free range. Perhaps an expanse of garden planted in neat rows, green and lush."

Well, Young at Heart is set in Strafford, Connecticut, a town which existed only in the minds of the screenwriters. One of the musical's songs, "Ready, Willing and Able," takes place during an afternoon's outing at the seashore, which places Strafford somewhere on or near Connecticut's coastline - say, somewhere between New Haven and Groton.

Here's an exterior shot of the house Doris lives in in the movie. As you'll undoubtedly notice, it's a set, built indoors on a soundstage. Warner Bros. built the entire street - both sides, all the houses, pavement, lawns, trees, landscaping, everything. I cannot for the life of me figure out why all that expense was gone to - there is nothing in the movie that demanded it, and Warner Bros. - like most studios - had a perfectly good back lot with standing sets of small-town streets - and knew where to rent plenty more.

 

[applianceguy47]

Did anyone else notice the <span style="font-size: large;">SIZE</span> of the cookies she's baking? 

 

All that lard and flour-

 

Just looking at it ups your chances of getting diabetes.

 

[launderess]

Simple, Large, But Totally Familiar

Type kitchen found in many of the Italian-American homes one knew growing up.

Perfect for cooking and feeding large families and of course hosting as it seemed no matter what the event everyone ends up in the kitchen. Well at least the women and young children! *LOL*

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[112561]

Another Doris Day kitchen from the pre '59 era is 1957's "Pajama Game" in the house she shared with her dad.

 

[jeffg]

> I cannot for the life of me figure out why all that expense was gone to - there is nothing in the movie that demanded it, and Warner Bros. - like most studios - had a perfectly good back lot with standing sets of small-town streets - and knew where to rent plenty more. <

Sandy, the film's studio (or maybe Doris Day, who's still alive) could explain why these sets were built.[this post was last edited: 12/19/2012-04:54]

 

[tomturbomatic]

Moonstruck Kitchen

I kept wondering why a high priced plumber would have a Kenmore DW. I know it was someone's house they were using, but I still wondered. And oatmeal cooked in a double boiler, does that ever bring back memories. We used to prepare long cooking grits that way, too.

 

[vacbear58]

Moonstruck

"I know it was someone's house they were using....."

Was it? I would have thought it was a movie set, given that some of the shots (say for example when Johnny Castorini returns and Loretta's aunt goes to open the front door) would otherwise have been filmed through a window.

Love the film though (I watched it only last week) and I loved the kitchen too as it seemed like an authentic kitchen that a real family might use

Al

 

[launderess]

Home Used For Moonstruck

Is indeed real and located in a beautiful and rather upscale/exclusive part of Brooklyn Heights. From the backyard/windows you have a clear view of the harbor including Manhattan and New Jersey.

Home sold about five or seven years ago for about 5 millon, probably could get more, much more today.

http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/3164

 

[launderess]

Kenmore DW In An Upscale Home

Back then Kenmore's DW's meant quality, good to excellent performance at a reasonable price. Many families one knew back in the day regardless of how well the husband was doing would have went in for "Miele" or some such. I mean even with being "well off" that generation drove Caddy's and Lincolns not Mercedes Benz and BMW.

 

[vacbear58]

Just to clarify

I never thought that the exterior of the house was a movie set, just the kitchen and other interior shots.

I have often thought how much fun it would have been to been employed as a set designer or props "locator" (I cannot think of a better word) doing the like of the Herclue Poirot stories.

Al

 

[danemodsandy]

Jeff:

"Sandy, the film's studio (or maybe Doris Day, who's still alive) could explain why these sets were built."

Actually, Jeff, actors often don't know why things in a movie are done the way they're done - their job is to act, not to concern themselves with production stuff. The only time that usually happens is when the actor who is a genuine star has a concern about a set, like Barbra Streisand often does. Her film contracts always stipulate that she is to be photographed from her left side, because she feels her left profile photographs better than her right one. That means sets have to be designed - or in the case of locations, chosen - with that in mind. Babs cuts no slack on the requirement, either.

Warners is unlikely to have any answers, either - this is a movie nearly sixty years old, and the production records are long scattered. The answer, if it still exists, would be in the archives of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, or one of the university archives to which Warners has donated obsolete records over the years. I've dealt with Warners for articles several times in my work, and what they don't have is amazing. When you think about it, it makes sense - they're in business to make movies, not keep historical records. At least they've donated their old stuff to institutions who care for it.

 

[danemodsandy]

Alan:

"Another Doris Day kitchen from the pre '59 era is 1957's "Pajama Game" in the house she shared with her dad."

Alan:

That kitchen is very nice work. Again, it's a set, very beautifully detailed to represent the character's lifestyle. Doris plays a garment factory worker, so the kitchen is downscale. Warners' prop department outfitted the set with very accurate touches, such as the farmhouse sink, the old range and its match safe, and a lot of small items. It's also raining during this number ("Small Talk"), which presents a host of challenges on a soundstage, from plumbing to electrical to lighting.

In this shot, the range is interesting, because the seemingly solid wall behind it is a "wild" or "jockey" wall, removable to permit shots from the point of view behind the range. A significant portion of the scene is shot from that POV.

 

[danemodsandy]

And of Course....

....No garment factory worker's life is complete without the struggle to pay for the new refrigerator:

 

[davey7]

Perhaps the backlot schedule was too tight and they needed to film in the winter? Didn't Sinatra get the ending rewritten for him?

 

[danemodsandy]

Davey:

I can't say if those factors you mention are possibilities. By 1954, major Hollywood studios were more desperate to use their capacity than anything else, because TV and the Justice Department's divorcement of studios from theatre chains had heavily damaged box-office, meaning many fewer movies were being shot than in former years. A fully-booked backlot was the stuff of dreams by then.

I don't know the shooting dates for the film (IMDb doesn't have any info, either), but it was a Christmas 1954 release, which means principal photography had to have been finished at least some months earlier. Young at Heart wasn't just a melodrama - it was a musical, and it takes a lot of post-production time to dub in the music, as well as all the other post stuff that has to be done on any movie (a later, much more elaborate, Warner's movie, 1964's My Fair Lady, took over a year in post). That makes me think it could have been shot that spring or summer. Doris's other movie that year was Lucky Me, which wrapped in February of '54, so that also suggests a spring or summer shoot for Young at Heart.

Hard to know without research. P.S.: You're absolutely right about the ending. In the original script, Sinatra's character, Barney Sloan, died after his self-inflicted "auto accident." Sinatra didn't necessarily mind dying in a movie - he'd done it before. But he didn't think it was right for this particular movie, and used his clout to get the ending rewritten. [this post was last edited: 12/19/2012-16:45]

 

[twintubdexter]

just wanted to sneak this in...

I know several other members have mentioned the kitchen on "Green Acres." I don't remember that much dialog from the series but for some reason I do recall this...

It's Oliver's Birthday and Lisa wants to prepare him something special for the day. She's thumbing through The Royal Hungarian Cookbook and tells her husband "here's something that would be good, Stewed Elephant." Oliver remarks "that's ridiculous, it would be too much work!" Lisa replies "oh no, it's very easy, you just drain the moat, fill it with champagne, toss in the elephant and in 2 hours he's stewed to the tusks." Why I remember that I really don't know.

I guess we all loved the wonderful and glamorous Eva Gabor.

 

[112561]

Thanks for that insight Sandy, Pajama Game had such a homey overall look to it, from the factory to the tidy Victorian homes on her street.  We had a farmhouse sink in our rented 1935 Cape Cod in Lynchburg, Virginia. I didn't care for it, or the 1935 bathroom, our one door Frigidaire fridge or the Norge apartment range. I did think our '58 BOL GE Filter Flo washer was spiffy. The house was totally updated according to recent real estate notes.

 

But back to movie kitchens, the one in the New York City apartment in "Please Don't Eat The Daisies" was nice looking, I thought. The kitchen in the '59 movie "Gidget" was disgusting, no detail, it was just thrown in there for a brief scene. And Bewitched nuts will notice Gidget's house was backward and the model for the Stephens' house. I believe I saw Alice Pierce running around in a Dennis The Menace episode with the Stephens' house in the background. Finally, Donna Stone's new kitchen in the second season was really nice.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Laundress, D&M dishwashers were never known for quality or anywhere near excellent performance. They were middling machines and prone, like so many D&M dishwashers to rusting in the sump area. If the machine had a high temp wash option, it could turn out clean dishes with the extra scrubbing time, but without that option, mneh.

If the plumber's family was sufficiently Old World, the women might have refused to use a dishwasher no matter what the brand. IF it was a real plumber's kitchen, you would expect some vintage KitchenAid or maybe something else old like an Apex just to show it off in the early days of domestic dishwashers and create more business. If you heard him give the estimate on plumbing to the young home owners, the man knew how to create more business.

 

[launderess]

Rosse Castorini

Wore Chanel suits and so forth, so while "old world" in some respects she knew and enjoyed the trappings of her husband's "sucess" in the new world. *LOL*

Lots of old school Italian, Irish, Russian, Jewish, etc... housewives one knew growing up had dishwashers. Will give you some didn't or they were installed/purchased by say the husband or children and largely sat unused.