The Great American Mug

John Nesbitt's Passing Parade considers the barber shop: not only of today -- if today is seventy five years ago -- but of an earlier time, where things were remarakbly the same: a place where men got together for something they had to get done, by which I mean buying cigarettes ad telling dirty stories.

I'm not quite as old as that, but I do recall fondly one of these old-fashioned places. I had just begun my business career, and I started to go to an Italian barbershop, where they had more than a dozen chairs, shoe shines, manicurists, and of course I ad my own barber. Then, one day while I was waitig for him to finish with another customer, one of those new-fangled lady barbers (gasp!) asked if I wanted her to cut my hair. I started to explai that I was waiting for my.... wait. I don't want to be sexist! Sure.

Worst haircut I ever got, until I moved out of the city and didn't get a good one for four years. I used to console myself with thoughts of that shop, and when I moved back, I headed over.... and discovered a hole in te ground. New construction.

Now that my head has left the top of my head to go elsewhere, I don't need a barbershop as much. A good thing, too, as the price goes up seemingly every time. But like Nesbitt, I mourn the old-fashioned gentility of the shops.

This is a 'Passing Parade' short from MGM. Like other films in the series, this one looks back nostalgically to the good 'ol days--back to the late 19th century when barbershops were quite the rage. You'll see barbers in action, a brief look at some barbershop quartet, cuspidors and the rest of the stuff you might find in such a place. It's interesting that the narrator and tone are so reverent and excited about a time and place that don't seem all that wonderful today. In other words, they seem really excited about a bygone time which really wasn't THAT wonderful--as diseases were difficult to treat, life expectancy was short and work was very, very hard. Now I am not saying it's a bad film--but one that didn't spark any interest in my as I watched.

The Passing Parade "one reel" ( about ten minutes) entries by John Nesbitt were often nostalgic in their nature, and this one is no exception. It talks about the traditional American barber shop. The short describes it as a place where men can bond over the races, sporting events, and off color traveling salesmen stories. It also talks about the different tonics and contraptions that the barbers used to grow hair back. They don't work - they never worked - but hope springs eternal.

Then Nesbitt goes back to the turn of the century to look at the barber shop when it first opened. His point is that although the hair styles have changed, that from the beginning it was a place where men could bond - a sanctuary from women. He does talk about unique customs of the early 20th century barber shops, such as each customer having their own mug stored in the shop, and all of the different and weirdly named cigarettes for sale there.

This short is interesting today because of the fact that barber shops are passe and largely have been replaced by styling salons for men. These places draw a more affluent clientele and offer such things as manicures and facials,. They have a sleek contemporary decor, and they are not conducive to "hanging out".

So this short that was ironically meant to show how nothing ever really changes in male bonding has become a curio and shows just how much things really have changed. As the middle class hollows out and the working class continues to become too poor for businesses to care about, there are fewer places for people to come together in an informal setting and form strong bonds in the community. An odd factoid? The African American barber shop continues to thrive.

Do watch this short if you get the chance, because it is sociologically fascinating.

The Great American Mug was one of John Nesbett's Passing Parade Shorts for MGM and it celebrates a great American Institution, the barbershop. This was made in 1945 and this film takes us back to the pre-World War I gaslight days of Patrons came in to these tonsorial palaces, had their own individual shaving mug, could get a bath also. In the days when people chewed tobacco, cuspidors were a necessary item. Beards and handlebar mustaches were treated with care and groomed to perfection. And in the days before radio, let alone television and all that has come after, you could get some compatible voices together for a singing quartet. All this short subject missed was a version of Sweet Adeline..

By 1945 some of these things were of the past, but if Nesbett were around to do it today, the changes now are astonishing. For myself, a hair stylist I do not need not with my thin thatch. And some barbers you have to make appointments with. No lounging around swapping jokes and gossip.

This was part of the good old days that was really good.

Great American Mug, The (1945)

*** (out of 4)

Another nice entry in John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series from MGM. This time out we get to take a look inside a barber shop from 1945 and hear the various discussions one might have. Then we go back several generations to see how a barber shop was ran in older times. This is a pretty interesting little short because it contains that great, nostalgic feel that the best episodes were always able to make but it also has some rather nice antiques to look at. We get to see various brands of older cigarettes and cigars that were sold in barber shops back in the day and getting to see these were very entertaining and you could say a nice way to preserve some history. We also got to see various styles men would wear their beards and the ways you would put certain perfumes on your head to make your hair grow. Nesbitt's nice narration helps build that nostalgic feel making this another must see.