“Saturday Night Fever” Remembered

The film “Saturday Night Fever” opened in New York City on this date (December 14) in 1977. As assistant arts editor, I had the first read on the original manuscript, “Tribal Rights of the New Saturday Night,” written by British journalist Nik Cohn and illustrated by James McMullan, that appeared in New York magazine on June 7, 1976.

The magazine’s staff attended the film’s premiere and then we all headed off to Tavern on the Green for the first-night party and dinner. What fun!

We were not required to wear the platform shoes and the garish polyester outfits favored by the Bee Gees, who composed the score and performed the songs, and the disco dancers of the day.