50 or $1.75 a ticket rings a bell. Also, they didn't have any matinee prices like they do now. Tickets were the same price all day. Question: What other movies came out that year that you remember?

Answer: The Bond film Live and Let Die. The Paul McCartney song for that movie was a big deal too, because of the film. My personal favorite movie for that year was The Sting, which also won best picture at the Academy Awards that year. Like I said, there wasn't any such thing as video rentals yet, like Hollywood Video or Blockbuster, so I remember going to the theaters to see it about five times. Oh yeah, Deliverance came out that year too. That was another one everyone talked about and flocked to see, and kids under 18 kept trying to sneak in with older people. Personally, I didn't like that movie as much as a lot of other people did. It was pretty disturbing, especially for that time.

Question: How have movies changed since 1973.

Answer: I'd say in general there was lots more storyline then, since they couldn't rely on special effects, like they do now. I'd say in general a lot of movies had better plots then, and there was a lot more attention to the plot because you couldn't distract audiences with special effects and skimp on the plot like you can now. Also, everything had to be done on real sets, or on location, because there weren't any computer programs that could substitute, like now. Like, say, if you wanted to have a crowd scene, you had to really hire a crowd of people to be in the movie.

Question: What movies did you not like that year?

Answer: I didn't care too much for The Poseidon Adventure.

I also asked my uncle about such things as clothing styles, television programs, music, and books that year. About clothing styles, he said "Clothes were very weird and gaudy in the '70's, not cool like the '60's. I remember lots of plaids and loud colors. Clothes were ugly. I think it was the year of the leisure suit." When I asked him about television that year, the only television show he could recall watching for...

The one musical hit he recalled for sure was "The First Time Ever I saw Your Face," sung by Roberta Flack (Personal Interview). MY own research on music that year, however, turned up additional titles of hits like "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John; "My Love" by Paul McCartney and Wings; "Let's Get it On" by Marvin Gaye; "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn; and "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon ("1973 in Music").
All in all, based on a combination of my own research and on a personal interview with my uncle, who was 18 years of age in 1973, it appears that 1973 was a year of crises, including the Arab Energy Crisis and the run-up to Watergate, and of personal insecurity on the part of most Americans, and perhaps worldwide. It was a year that signaled many changes in America and the world, including a shrinking of resources and a cynicism about government and elected officials. It was a good year, however, in arts and entertainment, and, after all, nothing could be too bad in a year when a female tennis pro, Billie Jean King, beat a male pro, Bobby Riggs, at tournament tennis, the MG came out, and the Miami Dolphins won the Superbowl.

Works Cited

Uncle's last name, Uncle's first name (Alphabetize this reference by Uncle's Last

Name). Personal Interview. May 10, 2005.

Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. New York: Peebles Press International,

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