1956 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country - One Day at a Time

The original "One Day at a Time" TV show was about a divorced mother named Ann Romano raising her teenage daughters Julie and Barbara in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ann was portrayed by the late Bonnie Franklin; Julie by Mackenzie Phillips and Barbara by Valerie Bertinelli. With a simple premise, a revolving cast of characters and storylines reflective of the issues of the times, the show remained on the air for a remarkable nine seasons from 1975 and 1984.

I caught a first season episode on "Antenna TV" recently and I was floored by the 1956 Chrysler Town and Country Ann and the girls are traveling in the opening credits. Wow, talk about random. Or, was it?

If I recall correctly, I don't believe that outside of quick glimpses of the car in the opening credits, of the show, there wasn't further reference to it. It wasn't a set piece like the Ford Gran Torino in "Starsky and Hutch" or even the Desoto Howard Cunningham had in "Happy Days". For that matter, it had less of a presence than the LaSalle, "that ran great", that Archie and Edith Bunker sing about in the opening credits of another Norman Leer TV classic, "All in the Family".

So, why did the producers use a beat up old Chrysler in the opening credits of the show? Well, probably to efficiently set the premise of the show and help develop the show's central characters. Rather than spend several episodes on Ann's crumbling marriage, divorce and subsequent move downstate after leaving her husband with daughters in tow, the producers gloss over all of that in the opening credits. We see them loading up the old bomb and then we see them take the trek to their new life in Indianapolis. Along the way, you'll notice, the Town and Country really stands out from everything else on the road; it was easy for the audience to keep an eye on. Even in the 1970's, cars from the '50's look as old as they do now. For certain, had the producers used something more contemporary, even a 1966 Town and Country, the car would have been harder to keep tabs on and would have blended into everything else giving the opening credits less impact as a table setter.

What's more, with regards to character development, the beat old station wagon establishes that Ann is far from wealthy; in fact, driving a car that old and decrepit she may, in fact, need to be on federal assistance. I mean, c'mon, it's missing its left from wheel cover - they've got to be poverty-stricken. I don't recall if the show ever dives into that subject matter but it's not a reach to say that Ann being on welfare is within the realm of being possible.

Similar to Michael Cimino's use of a 1959 Cadillac as a socio-economic metaphor in "The Deer Hunter", we can put some stock in the symbolic use of the Town and Country in "One Day at a Time" as a harbinger of happier times. After all, "One Day at a Time" premiered in 1975 - right in the midst of America's post-Vietnam/Watergate/gas crisis fog. Incidentally, "One Day at a Time" predated "The Deer Hunter" by three years; conspiracy theorists could surmise that Cimino was inspired by the 1956 Chrysler in the opening credits of "One Day at a Time". That's utterly ridiculous but you never know.

However, much like the lifestyle Robert DeNiro's character, Michael, in "The Deer Hunter" abides by, several things don't add up for Ann Romano and the '56 Town and Country. For instance, how is it, again like Michael in "The Deer Hunter", that someone of Ann's exuberance, intelligence, and emotional depth would lead such a spartan, hand to mouth lifestyle; one that we're led to believe was brought upon by a series of bad life choices? Much like Michael in "The Deer Hunter", it's possible that someone so bright could be so downtrodden but when we dig beneath the surface of what's visible, it really doesn't make sense. Poverty struck Ann Romano is almost patronizing to people of lesser means.

Just as well then that we never see Ann's Town and Country again outside of the opening credits of the first season of "One Day at a Time". Then again, in terms of casting, the car wasn't as miscast as  much as Bonnie Franklin was.

The Chrysler Town and Country was a series of coupes, sedans, station wagons and minivans produced between 1941 and 2016.