Lou Taylor

Lou Taylor

Baby Boomers—The Movies of the 60s and 70s

Baby boomers, those born sometime during the ‘baby' boom following the second world war, were somewhere between ‘tween-age' and ‘young adulthood' in the 1960s and 70s. A look at the movies produced through those two decades will dredge up countless memories for boomers and will define the Age of Aquarius and the Hippy Movement during the time of the Vietnam War, Haight Ashbury, Woodstock and free love. These movies are listed in the order of the highest grossing movies, the best barometer of the times:
1960:

• Swiss Family Robinson with John Mills and Dorothy McGuire by Disney Studios.
• Psycho with Janet Leigh, Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles and John Gavin by Paramount/Universal Studios
• Spartacus with Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, John Gavin and Tony Curtis by Universal Studio

1961

• One Hundred and One Dalmatians with Rody Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson and Cate Bauer (voices) by Disney Studio
• West Side Story with Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer by United Artists Studio
• The Guns of Navarone with Gregory Peck and David Niven by Columbia Studio

1962

• Lawrence of Arabia with Peter O'Toole by Columbia Pictures
• The Longest Day with Kenneth More, Richard Todd (who took part in the actual invasion), Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Red Buttons, Leo Genn, Peter Lawford, Gert Fröbe, John Wayne, Irina Demick, Bourvil, Curt Jürgens, Robert Wagner and Arletty. This first EPIC film was produced by 20th Century Fox
• In Search of the Castaways with Haley Mills and Maurice Chevalier by Disney Studio

1963

• Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton by 20th Century Fox
• How the West Was Won with Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, George Peppard, Caarroll Baker and James Stewart by Cinerama/MGM Studios
• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World with Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney and Ethel Merman by United Artists

1964

• Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke by Disney Studio
• My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison by Warner Brothers Studio
• Goldfinger with Sean Connery, Gert Frobe and Honor Blackman by United Artists

1965

• The Sound of Music with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer by 20th Century Fox
• Doctor Zhivago with Omar Sharif and Julie Christie by MGM
• Thunderball with Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Luciana Paluzzi and Adolfo Celi by United Artists

1966

• Hawaii with Julie Andrews and Max von Sydow by United Artists
• The Bible: In the Beginning with Michael Parks, Richard Harris, Ava Gardner and Stephen Boyd by 20th Century Fox
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton by Warner Brothers Studio

1967

• The Jungle Book with Phil Harris, Bruce Reitherman, Sebastian Cabot (voices) by Disney Studio
• The Graduate with Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross by Embassy/United Artists Studios
• Bonnie and Clyde with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway by Warner Brothers

1968

• Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif by Columbia Studio
• 2001: A Space Odyssey with Keir Dullea by MGM
• Bullitt with Steve McQueen by Warner Brothers

1969

• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Paul Newman and Robert Redford by 20th Century Fox
• They Shoot Horses, Don't They? With Jane Fonda, Michael Sarazzin and Susannah York by Cinerama Studio
• On Her Majesty's Secret Service with George Lazenby, Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas by United Artists

1970

• Love Story with Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw by Paramount
• Airport with Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg and Jacqueline Bisset by Universal Studios
• MASH with Donaold Sutherland and Elliot Gould by 20th Century Fox

1971

• Fiddler on the Roof with Topol by United Artists
• The French Connection with Gene Hackman by 20th Century Fox
• Summer of '42 with Jennifer O'Neill by Warner Brothers

1972

• The Godfather with Marlon Brando and Al Pacino
• The Poseidon Adventure with Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons and Shelley Winters by 20th Century Fox
• Cabaret with Liza Minnelli and Michael York by Allied Artists

1973

• The Exorcist with Ellen Burstyn and Max von Sydow by Warner Brothers
• The Sting with Paul Newman and Robert Redford by Universal Studios
• American Graffiti with Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard by Universal Studios

1974

• The Towering Inferno with Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden and Faye Dunaway by 20th Century Fox/Warner Brothers Studios
• Blazing Saddles with Gene Wilder and Madelaine Kahn by Warner Brothers
• Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn and Gene Hackman by 20th Century Fox

1975

• Jaws with Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss by Universal Studios
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon by 20th Century Fox
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher by United Artists

1976

• Rocky with Sylvester Stallone by United Artists
• A Star is Born with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson by Warner Brothers
• All the President's Men with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman by Warner Brothers

1977

• Star Wars with Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher by 20th Century Fox
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind with Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr and Melinda Dillon by Columbia
• The Rescuers with Eva Gabor, Bob Newhart and Geraldine Page (voices) by Disney Studio

1978

• Grease with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John by Paramount
• Superman with Christopher Reeve, Margo Kidder, Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando by Warner Brothers
• Animal House with John Belushi by Universal Pictures

1979

• Kramer vs. Kramer with Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep by Columbia Pictures
• Alien with Sigourney Weaver by 20th Century Fox
• Apocalypse Now with Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando by United Artists

Looking through these, I've realized how many of them have been remade through the years, an apt testimony to their credit. Just as with music, the movies of the eras will serve their place in history.

About the Author

Along with watching good movies, Sammi enjoys working in her lawn and gardens. Garden Harvest Supply is one of her favorite garden sites which offer begonia plants and other beautiful annual flower plants for sale.

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