THE 1960s — A
Casino poster from the summer of 1969 shows the featured
attractions for a week and a half. Click on poster to
see larger view.
Note how there's still a new movie billed every other
day, with two shows a night. Note that all the movies are
advertised as being Technicolor.
The big change for movies came just months before, in
November 1968, when the Motion Picture Association of
America (MPAA) instituted the movie ratings system.
Before 1965, cities or states could have public rating
boards which could determine if films were suitable for
public display. A Supreme Court ruling that year said
rating boards could only approve a film — they had no
power to ban them. The MPAA system is voluntary —
however, most theaters won't show unrated films, and the
major studios have agreed to submit all titles for rating
before they are released.
"Romeo and Juliet" wasn't an American film, so no rating
when it came out in 1968. There is a bit of nudity in the
original version; it was re-edited to earn a PG-13 rating
in 1973.)
Note on this poster that the Bob Hope/Jackie
Gleason comedy "How To Commit Marriage" is rated "M."
This rating, for mature audiences, was only used between
1969 and 1971. The MPAA found that the "M" rating was
viewed by audiences as more adult than its intended
meaning, which was to signify films inappropriate for
some children. "M" was changed to "GP" in 1971, (for
General audiences, Parental guidance suggested), before
films were re-rated to the now familiar PG, PG-13 or R.
In 1969: Richard M. Nixon is sworn in as president.
The Vietnam War is raging, with anti-war protests
continue around the country. The Beatles give their last
public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in
London, and John Lennon records "Give Peace a Chance."
The Apollo space program lands the first man on the moon.
(Four men will have stepped on the lunar surface by the
year's end.) The Woodstock music festival is held in
upstate New York. The Cold War continues. The Best
Picture Oscar of 1969 goes to "Midnight Cowboy."