THE SYMBOL OF SUCCESS
I recently watched a movie on television. The movie was called "The Big Night". It was made in 1996. It is a story about two brothers played by Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub who own a very good Italian Restaurant on the New Jersey Shore. The restaurant is on the verge of bankruptcy due to a lack of business. The food is very good but not familiar to the local tastes of the people in the area. A nearby owner of a very successful restaurant who says he wants to help them improve business suggests they promote serving a fabulous dinner for free for one night. He also promises to have a famous celebrity appear at the dinner to add to the excitement of the "Big Night".
During the day of preparation for the big event a Cadillac salesperson who hears about the dinner appears with a brand new 1958 Cadillac and offers test drives to both owners hoping to sell one or two of these prestige cars. The Cadillac was introduced into the picture because in the 1950's the Cadillac was the car that was a symbol of the American dream. It was the car that announced to everyone "I am successful" It was a symbol of status.
General Motors the automobile company that manufactured the Cadillac had its world headquarters on the Grand Blvd in the heart of Detroit. The car capital of the world. On the main floor of the building all the G.M. cars were always on display. Every model they manufactured in the 1950's for people to look at and sit in seven days a week.
Chevrolet
Pontiac
Oldsmobile
Buick
and the CADILLAC.
When I was growing up in the 1950's I loved to look at new cars. I could identify the year make and model of most cars by the time I was six years old. My parents thought I was a genius. { They may have been easy to impress.} I could tell the 1952 Cadillac from the 1954 and the 1954 from the 1956 etc. I'm sure you get the picture.
I really liked going to the G.M. building and seeing the cars. I would ask my father if he would take me there every so often on a Sunday. He would usually say you want to go there again I think we were there not to long ago. He would usually take me again. {There was no charge.} It was a thrill to sit in those brand-new cars with the new car smell that cars had in those days. I could not believe that they would let me sit in a brand new Cadillac Convertible with plush leather seats the top down and all the latest equipment. I would sit behind the steering wheel and pretend I was driving that great car.
During the entire 1950's the Cadillac was the premier luxury car. It was the symbol of success. There were other very good top of the line cars. Ford Motor had the Continental. Chrysler Corp made the Imperial. But the Cadillac was the standard.
During the 1950's a couple of relatives did buy a Cadillac. My uncle bought one in 1956 white with a red top. A couple of family's I knew also purchased a Cadillac convertible. When I went someplace with people who had a Cadillac I would think people were looking at me. I would think to myself that's right I'm Important I know somebody who owns a Cadillac.
When we entered the 1960's and beyond foreign cars entered the American Market. Mercedes, BMW and Audi among others became popular luxury cars. As the decades rolled on many new cars were introduced.
The world keeps changing as we all know. The Cadillac still remains a very good high-end automobile. But in the 1950's nothing compared to the Cadillac. That is why they featured it in the movie "The Big Night that takes place in the 1950's. In the 1950's the Cadillac was part of the American dream.
WRITTEN BY
RONNY TURETT
born in the forties/raised in the fifty's
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