In 1987, The Perlinger Archives
released a two-volume collection of short subject films in the public domain. Produced
by Richard Prelinger and Robert Stein, Ephemeral Films Vol. 1, “To New Horizons”
(1931-1945) and Ephemeral Films Vol. 2 “You Can’t Get There from Here” (1946-1960),
include commercials, educational and industrial films, social guidance films, and
home films that bracket the pre-war and immediate post-war period. Both
collections in their entirety and links to individual segments are available
below from the Aeolus 13 Umbra YouTube channel.
Click on the above video to view the complete film.
Ephemeral Films Vol. 1, “To New Horizons”
(1931-1945) is dominated by productions sponsored by automobile companies. The
period of time covered by this collection represents the glory waning years of
the Machine Age, generally considered to have occurred between the years 1880
through 1945. This is the era of skyscrapers like the Empire State Building, large
ocean-going palaces like the Titanic, massive infrastructure projects like the Hoover
Dam and the Tennessee Valley Authority, electricity, telephone, film, radio, aircraft,
and a myriad of weapons of war. Noteworthy segments in this collection include Master Hands (1931), an industrial film with no narration,
just visual images, which shows American mass production at the height of the
Machine Age. ’Round and ‘Round (1939), is a stop-motion animated educational
film explaining how industry and consumerism work and interact with each other.
Ephemeral Films Vol. 2, “You
Can’t Get There from Here” (1946-1960) shifts from the industry-heavy segments
of Vol. 1 to more socially-oriented topics. There are still some
industrial films like A Report to Homebuilders (1946),
and Two Ford Freedom (1956), and the
surreal Design for Living (1956) is a must-see, but in this era we
begin to see what have been termed as “Social Guidance films.” Segments like Shy Guy (1947), Are You Popular? (1947), Dating: Dos and Don’ts (1949), and the The Last Date (1950) are stereotypical of this
genre. Flickering against screens in classrooms across Baby Boomer-America,
these films formalize social expectations for the youth. In a way, they helped
to ease the transition from pre-teen years to adolescence, but from a decidedly
white middle-class perspective. Indeed, one will be hard-pressed to find
any people of color in these films. While one can assert this is a reflection
of the era, the systemic racism of the times, manifested in segregation, infers
a concern only with the behavior of those of Northern European decent. For minorities,
the message was plain; this was a reality where they did not exist.
Click on the above video to view the complete film.
Some production companies turn up
repeatedly. The Jam Handy Organization was founded after World War I by Henry
Jamison "Jam" Handy (1886–1983), an Olympic breaststroke swimmer and
water polo player. According to Rick Prelinger in "Smoothing the Contours
of Didacticism: Jam Handy and His Organization" (Learning With the Lights Off: Educational Film in the United States),
the company turned out approximately 7,000 motion pictures and nearly 100,000
slide shows before closing shop in 1983.
The leader in Social Guidance
films was Coronet Instructional Films, established in 1934. If somehow you managed
to miss the industrial films of Jam Handy, as a Baby Boomer from the late 1940s
through the 1970s it was hard to miss a Coronet production. Known more
for quantity than quality, Coronet nonetheless was an early user of Kodachrome
film stock. The company ceased production in 1984
after a merger with MTI Films, which in turn was later acquired by Gulf and Western Industries.
It probably is no coincidence that both Jam Handy and Coronet came to an end in
the early 1980s as the video cassette recorder and inexpensive video production
equipment exploded in popularity about the same time.
Aeolus 13 Umbra has previously reviewed
post-war mass media in RetroTV Commercials: A Resource for Historical Study. Indeed, this site’s mission statement is to focus
on the influence of society on us. Individually as human beings, and
collectively as a civilization, we are the sum of many parts. Some are major historical
events. Some are artistic or literary works. Some are musical or poetic. Some
are important achievements in science and technology. Some are tragedies. Some
are personal stories.
And some, I dare say, are a bit
more ephemeral.
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Ephemeral Films Vol. 1, “To New Horizons” (1931-1945)
Click on links to view individual segments.
In My Merry Oldsmobile
(1931). Animation. Producer Fleischer Studios. Sponsor, Olds Motor Works.
Master Hands (1931). Producer, Jam Handy Organization.
Sponsor, Chevrolet Motor Co. Note: An excellent industrial film production that
tells its story with no narration, just visual images, and shows America at the
height of the Machine Age. In 1999, Master
Hands was selected by the National Film Registry for preservation.
We Drivers (1936). Producer, Jam Handy
Organization. Sponsor, General Motors Corp. Note: driver education film.
Chevrolet Leader News (1936). Producer, Jam Handy Organization.
Sponsor, Chevrolet Motor Co. Note: Corporate industrial film.
Relax (1937). Producer, Jam Handy Organization.
Sponsor, Chevrolet Motor Co. Note: People don’t know how to relax, so let
high-pressure busy automotive executives tell us how!
Precisely So (1937). Producer, Jam Handy Organization.
Sponsor, Chevrolet Motor Co.
Extra (circa 1938). Sponsor, Esso.
Breakfast Pals (circa 1938). Producer, Cartoon Films,
Hollywood. Sponsor, Kellogg’s. Note: Features the advertising characters Snap,
Crackle, and Pop.
Three Smart Daughters (1938). Sponsor, The
Singer Company.
Oxydol Goes into High (1936). Advertisement. Producer, Jam Handy
Organization. Sponsor, Proctor and Gamble
’Round and ‘Round (1939). Producer, Jam Handy Organization.
Sponsor, General Motors Public Relations. Note: Stop-motion educational film on how
industrial production and consumerism works and interacts.
Back of the Mike Completed in 1937; released to theaters 1939).
Producer, Jam Handy Organization. Sponsor, Chevrolet Motor Co. Note:
Educational film on how radio productions are made.
Leave it to Roll-Oh (1940). Producer, Jam
Handy Organization. Sponsor, Chevrolet Motor Co. Note: Entertainment short
about a robot assisting housekeepers in the future.
To New Horizons (1940). Producer, Jam Handy
Organization. Sponsor, General Motors Corp. Note: Industrial film. Features the NY World’s
Fair Futurama exhibit.
Let Yourself Go (1940). Producer, Jam Handy Organization;
Sponsor, Chevrolet Motor Co. Note: Efficient interior design and yet another
segment from Chevrolet on how to relax.
Magic in the Air (1941). Producer, Jam Handy
Organization. Sponsor, Chevrolet Motor Co. Note: industrial film about the
coming of TV.
To Market To Market
(1942). Producer, Jam Handy Organization; Sponsor, General Outdoor
Advertising industrial film.
New Sketches by Max Fliescher (1944-1945).
Producer, Jam Handy Organization. Director, Max Fleischer.
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Ephemeral Films Vol. 2, “You Can’t Get There from Here” (1946-1960)
Click on links to view individual segments.
A Report to Homebuilders (1946).
Producer, Jam Handy Organization. Sponsor, Stran Steel Division of Great Lakes
Steel Corp.
Shy Guy (1947). Producer, Coronet Instructional Films. Note:
Features a 19-year old Dick York (Darren Stephens on Bewitched). Also used as a filler segment on Mystery Science Theater
3000. First film by Coronet in its Social/Personal Guidance films.
Are You Popular? (1947). Producer, Coronet
Instructional Films.
Technicolor for Industrial Films (circa 1949).
Producer, Technicolor Corp.
Meet King Joe (1949).
Animation. Producer, John Sutherland Productions. Sponsor Harding College,
Arkansas
Dating: Dos and Don’ts (1949). Producer,
Coronet Instructional Films.
The Last Date (1950). Producer, Wilding
Picture Productions. Sponsor, Lumbermens Mutual Casualty. Note: Dick York
returns, this time as a daredevil behind the wheel — Can disaster, death, and
horrible facial disfigurement be far
behind?
A Date with Your Family (1950). Producer,
Simmel-Meservey.
Treasures for the Making (1951). Producer,
General Foods Corp, Certo & Sure-Jell Divisions.
What to Do on a Date (1951). Producer, Coronet
Instructional Films.
Young Man’s Fancy (1952). Producer, Edison
Electric Institute.
Ike for President (1952). Producer Roy Disney.
Sponsor, Citizens for Eisenhower-Nixon Note: This is the full-length version of
the classic election commercial often seen in short clips.
Mother Takes a Holiday
(1952). Producer, Whirlpool Corp.
Sniffles and Sneezes (1955). Producer, Audio
Productions. Distributor, McGraw-Hill Book. Co.
Two Ford Freedom (1956). Producer, Filmways.
Sponsor Ford Motor Co.
Design for Living (1956). Producer, MPO
Productions. Sponsor, General Motors Corp. Note: This one is bizarrely weird,
but an overall outstanding production in its own way. A surreal look at a concept
for future consumerism. Interesting set design and model work.
The Relaxed Wife (1957). B. Roerig & Co.,
Div. Of Chas. Pfizer & Co., Inc. Note: What helps us relax more than a pair
of disembodied hands pushing sedatives?
American Look (1958).
Producer, Jam Handy Organization, Sponsor, Chevrolet Div. General Motors. Note:
The freedom of individual choice is somehow linked to innovative modern kitchen
design and appliances.
A Wonderful New World of Fords (1960). Producer, FIlmways. Sponsor, Ford Motor
Co.
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