“New York In The Twenties”, Walter Cronkite’s 26-minute 1961 documentary film made mostly from footage from the 1920s. Which is perhaps equivalent to someone in 2014 making a film about 1974. We might expect a certain level of mythologising to creep in to that, and I suspect we have some of the same thing happening here…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJli7fcy670&w=480&h=385]

Stanley Walker’s memories of a relatively pleasant commute are perhaps only relevant to those who used the long-distance commuter trains. There’s abundant evidence of the hellish experiences of riding the New York rush-hour subway at that time.