I noticed this as well. There are a couple of other phrases that are used occasionally and are completely out of place, but I agree with you that they are minor blimps in this masterpiece of a TV series.

I can't believe phrase wasn't used then. You can't possibly know that it wasn't used anywhere in the U.S.

zebra, you can think whatever you want to, but I lived through that period and I can you that no one used "Excuse me?" in the context described above. People were much more civil and polite in their public discourse with each other. The in-your-face type of communication that is so common nowadays would never have been tolerated in the 1960s. Like the aggression shown in your post, which would have been considered unbelievably rude and arrogant at that time. You would have been shunned by polite society. But no worries, there is no polite society anymore.

.....Wasn't "I beg your pardon?" more common around that time? .....And which may or may not have carried varying degrees of agression, if I am not mistaken.

Something that bothers me as a woman is listening to how many times Joan or Peggy say's, "of course". This may have been the way women were back then, but nowdays if I've sat down my husband would not expect to to get up to get him a glass of water. He would just get it himself. So glad this has changed.

@holo...and in addition to "of course,"...I believe I've heard "right away" as a response to a male request of a secretary.

Can't recall that I've heard "by all means" -- not yet anyway. (lol)

Good catch, jukeofurl, on the "excuse me's." That kind of mis-fire is jarring... fortunately there have been few.

Just hope I never hear "no problem"! (Why did "you're welcome" become a dated response to "Thank you?" ----I can understand "no problem" as a response to a "Sorry," but when I first started hearing it in response to "Thank you," I always felt like saying...."Who said it was a problem?."

Excuse me? I don't know that we can say with any authority that the phrase was NEVER used by ANYBODY in that particular tone in the 1960s - I myself have been using it for as long as I can remember. I used it to put a wiseass classmate in his place when he interrupted me mid-sentence during my presentation in 1967/68 in Latin American history class. That and a dirty look. Shut him up pronto. But then I always had a mouth on me. Had to keep it clean for the nuns, but the tone nailed him down for the duration.

I do believe the same tone could be found in the clipped phrase "pardon me?" which precedes "say what?" both indicating a disbelieving "did I just hear what I thought I heard?" or "are you serious?" Your mileage may vary, and it may not have been widespread (i.e. in movies or television) but at least in my little corner of the world it did pop up occasionally.