1970s

Vassar jokes continue unabated in ’70s sitcoms. This episode from the series about a domesticated witch in suburbia is late in the run of the series. Not the usual sort of joke.

Super low-budget adventure film with a white family involved in animal conservation fleeing from some kind of terrorist/insurgent group. An early scene here establishes a character point about the absent mother.

This is a strange one! A sex scene with Jack Palance in a very obscure movie set in the world of Prohibition. Palance is a nightclub owner with some curious ideas of foreplay banter.

Here’s Burt Reynolds being a sexist and obnoxious cop/investigator/renegade working outside the law. Vassar as character point for a woman who can handle herself.

The collection’s earliest-set clip, in the 1870s, from this long-running Western series has a scene with a wealthy rancher giving his wife some good news about their daughter coming home from Vassar. This is especially delightful because of some choice comments about the expense.

Sweet little unremembered live-action Disney film, where our protagonist is camping in the Canadian Rockies and connects up with a ranch hand trying to capture a particular wild horse. Gorgeous cinematography of the landscape, less great acting, but Vassar’s fame extends even to Calgary cattle ranchers.

More iconic 70s television, here with a family of grifters who just made a big score.

Here’s New York’s toughest cop from the iconic ’70s show first getting an assist from another intelligent and multilingual Vassar girl, and second making some gentle fun of Detective Crocker’s date.

James Bond investigates the theft of a space shuttle, uncovering a plot by an industrialist to destroy the world and repopulate it with a master race from space.

In 1977 Saturday Night Live ran a contest for individuals who wanted to be the guest host; 150,000 people sent in a postcard application and five finalists were chosen, one of which was actual Vassar freshman, Connie Crawford ’81.

Action comedy set in the world of redneck moonshine gangsters. This family is discussing their daughter’s college plans and get caught in the crossfire of the gang warfare.

This is a filmed play by Wendy Wasserstein, written originally as her Yale thesis. Focusing on six women reminiscing about their senior year at Mt. Holyoke, the play moves back to present that time in their lives. Featuring Meryl Streep and Swoosie Kurtz, in this scene Vassar is compared to some of the other Seven Sisters.

A sad and bitter scene from a well-known drama. Jill Clayburgh has left her husband, and is here confronting him about having him pay for her and their daughter’s therapy. Vassar as character point for someone smart, beautiful, and sophisticated.

The show was set in the 1930s in rural, mountain Virginia. John Boy meets an old friend, who’s come home from college “up North.” She’s a little wild—and Vassar equestrians in particular might like this one. Vassar as character point, for a free-spirited and demonstrative woman.