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Century 21 Calling Advertising short for Chevrolet combining live action and animation. The film relates the story of Gilbert Willoughby, who, exasperated by his stubborn boxspring mattress, imprudently wishes for the disappearance of springs. Coily, the animated spring sprite, grants his wish, and Gilbert is bedeviled by once-familar appliances that no longer function. Apologizing to Coily, Gilbert acknowledges the contribution of springs to daily life, especially in the Chevrolet. NOTE: From the Direct Mass Selling series, this film combines two features common in industrial films: the anthropomorphized product and the discovery of the product’s central role in everyday life. Viewable online at Internet Archive, www.archive.org/details/CaseofSp1940. 73. CENTURY 21 CALLING (1963, sound, 14 min, color, 35mm) SPONSOR: American Telephone & Telegraph Co. PRODUCTION CO.: Jerry Fairbanks Productions. DIRECTOR: Robert W. Larsen. PRODUCER: Jerry Fairbanks. RESOURCES: Copyright not registered. HOLDINGS: LC/Prelinger, MacDonald, UCLA. Promotional film, set at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, illustrating AT&T’s technological leadership and new products. Running enthusiastically through the AT&T exhibits, a young couple learns about radio paging, speed dialing, Touch-Tone telephones, and home appliances controlled remotely by telephone. NOTE: Produced in Technicolor and released in Eastmancolor and Technicolor. Distributed in 35mm and 16mm. Viewable online at Internet Archive, www.archive.org/details/Century21964. 74. A CHILD WENT FORTH (1942, sound, 20 min, b&w, 16mm) SPONSOR: National Association of Nursery Educators. PRODUCERS: John Ferno, Joseph Losey. WRITER: Munro Leaf. RESOURCES: Copyright not registered; Ed Scrn 21 (June 1942): 236; Film Forum Review staff, “A Child Went Forth,” in Ideas, 159; EFG (1953), 409. HOLDINGS: LC/Prelinger. World War II–era film illustrating the importance of quality child care on the home front. Following a day at summer camp, A Child Went Forth candidly shows young children learning to express their creativity, enjoy nature, and solve problems independently. The commentary links the camp activities to progressive education and discusses the child care needs of female defense industry workers and emergency evacuees. NOTE: Also distributed in a Spanish-language version. Viewable online at Internet Archive, www.archive.org/details/- ChildWen1942. Munro Leaf also wrote the children’s book The Story of Ferdinand. 75. THE CHILDREN MUST LEARN (1940, sound, 13 min, b&w, 35mm) SPONSOR: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. PRODUCTION COS.: Documentary Film Productions Inc.; Educational Film Institute, New York University; University of Kentucky. Director: Willard Van Dyke. WRITER: Spencer Pollard. CAMERA: Bob Churchill. MUSIC: Fred Stewart. EDITOR: Irving Lerner. NARRATOR: Myron McCormick. RESOURCES: Copyright not registered; Living Films, 30–31; EFG (1943), 93; Film Forum Review staff, “The Children Must Learn,” in Ideas, 159–60. HOLDINGS: LC/Prelinger, MacDonald. Documentary profiling an Appalachian farming family struggling to scrape out a living. Linking education and economic development, The Children Must Learn suggests that better schooling, especially in agricultural techniques, would bring improvement. NOTE: Made in conjunction with And So They Live (entry 22). Viewable online at Internet Archive, www.archive.org/details/Children1940. 76. CHILDREN WHO LABOR (1912, silent, 13 min, b&w, 35mm) SPONSOR: National Child Labor Committee. PRODUCTION CO.: Thomas A. Edison Inc. DIRECTOR: Ashley Miller. Writer: Ethel Browning. CAST: Leonie Flugrath [Shirley Mason], Robert Conness, John Sturgeon, Viola Flugrath [Viola Dana]. RESOURCES: Copyright 23Feb1912 J166654-57; More Treasures, 64–68. HOLDINGS: MoMA. Social-issue melodrama exposing the exploitation of child mill workers. The film begins with 18
children beseeching Uncle Sam for help as the word “greed” floats above their heads. After falling from a train, an industrialist’s daughter is rescued and adopted by immigrant workers. Unbeknownst to her father, she ends up working in his factory. She falls ill, becomes reunited with her parents, and persuades her father to hire only adults. NOTE: Praised by contemporary reviewers, Children Who Labor was part of the National Child Labor Committee’s multimedia campaign to fight the industrial exploitation of children. 77. THE CITY (1939, sound, 44 min, b&w, 35mm) SPONSOR: American Institute of Planners, through Civic Films Inc., with funding from Carnegie Corp. of New York. PRODUCTION CO.: American Documentary Films Inc. DIRECTORS: Ralph Steiner, Willard Van Dyke. Producer: Oscar Serlin. WRITERS: Henwar Rodakiewicz, Pare Lorentz, Lewis Mumford. CAMERA: Ralph Steiner, Willard Van Dyke, Jules V.D. Bucher, Edward Anhalt, Roger Barlow, Rudolph Bretz. MUSIC: Aaron Copland. EDITOR: Theodore Lawrence. NARRATOR: Morris Carnovsky. PRODUCTION MANAGER: John Flory. RESOURCES: Copyright 23Jun39 MU9480; Karl Schriftgiesser, “Man and His Cities,” NYT, Apr. 30, 1939, 101; “Wonder City Seen in Film at Fair,” NYT, May 28, 1939, 21; “The American Institute of Planners Presents The City,” Am City 54 (June 1939): 129; Living Films, 31–32; Film Forum Review staff, “The City,” in Ideas, 197–98; EFG (1951), 587; Henwar Rodakiewicz, “Working on The City (1939),” in Unseen Cinema, 109–10; Nicole Huffman, “The City,” New Frontiers in American Documentary Film, xroads.virginia.edu/~MA01/- Huffman/Frontier/city.html. HOLDINGS: GEH, LC/Prelinger, MoMA, UCLA. Film advocating New Deal “green towns” as a healthy alternative to congested urban slums. Presenting the traditional New England town (represented by Shirley Center, Massachusetts, the home of pioneer planner Benton MacKaye) as an inspiration, The City shows the decay and overcrowding of New York City and Homestead, Pennsylvania, and finds alternatives in the newly planned communities of Radburn, New Jersey; Greenbelt, Maryland; Greendale, Wisconsin; and Greenhills, Ohio. “Year by year, our cities grow more complex and less fit for living. The age of rebuilding is here,” proclaims the narrator. “We must remold our old cities and build new communities better suited to our needs.” NOTE: Produced for screening at the 1939–40 New York World’s Fair, The City was later released theatrically and made available to civic groups and educational institutions. It was excerpted in the MGM short This Is Tomorrow. Selected for the National Film Registry. Viewable online at Internet Archive, www.archive.org/details/CityTheP1939. 78. A CITY DECIDES (1956, sound, 27 min, b&w, 16mm) SPONSOR: Fund for the Republic. PRODUCTION CO.: Charles Guggenheim & Associates. DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Charles Guggenheim. RESOURCES: Copyright not registered; Howard Thompson, “The 16mm Honor Roll,” NYT, Dec. 29, 1957, 57; William J. Sloan, “The Documentary Film and the Negro: The Evolution of the Integration Film,” Journal of the Society of Cinematologists 4 (1964–65): 66–69. HOLDINGS: MacDonald. Documentary, with some dramatized sequences, covering the racial integration of St. Louis public schools after the 1954 Brown decision. William J. Sloan wrote, “The film was noteworthy in that it revealed, at least briefly, the fears of Negro parents in having their children attend school with white children.” NOTE: The film employed nonprofessional actors and voice-over narration by a local schoolteacher. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 1956. 79. THE CLEAN LOOK (1951, sound, 30 min, color, 16mm) SPONSOR: Armour & Co. PRODUCTION CO.: Stanley Neal Productions. CAST: Mary Bayless. RESOURCES: Copyright not registered; “That Clean Look,” Bus Scrn 12, no. 5 (1951): 27. HOLDINGS: MacDonald. Good-grooming film for women that was funded by the meatpacking and consumer products giant to showcase the company’s Dial soap. The Clean Look teaches how to apply makeup, bathe, develop proper posture, apply shampoo, and comb one’s hair. NOTE: The short was produced in Kodachrome and distributed to schools and women’s groups. 19 The Clean Look
Page 1 and 2: THE FIELD GUIDE TO SPONSORED FILMS
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments i
Page 5 and 6: Cinematheque), Megan Shaw Prelinger
Page 7 and 8: tory sequences for employee trainin
Page 9 and 10: 1940s to recognize worthy examples,
Page 11 and 12: Research took the project into reso
Page 13 and 14: FILM ENTRIES 1. A IS FOR ATOM (1953
Page 15 and 16: and farms and shows how aviation se
Page 17 and 18: at the Illinois Steel Company, wher
Page 19 and 20: housing shortage in Los Angeles. Vi
Page 21 and 22: Copyright not registered; Lin Nelso
Page 23 and 24: cereal, the “Breakfast of Champio
Page 25 and 26: 51. BIRTH OF A BABY (1937, sound, 7
Page 27 and 28: Drama arguing for more sympathetic
Page 29: and illustrates how the school make
Page 33 and 34: a folk music sound track, Coffee Ho
Page 35 and 36: 94. CONQUEST OF THE HUDSON (1938, s
Page 37 and 38: 104. THE DAVID HALL STORY (1963, so
Page 39 and 40: 113. DEMOCRACY’S DIARY (1948, sou
Page 41 and 42: 122. ELECTRIC SHIP (ca. 1934, sound
Page 43 and 44: effects. NOTE: Educational Film Gui
Page 45 and 46: 137. FIBERS AND CIVILIZATIONS (1958
Page 47 and 48: 147. FORD EDUCATIONAL WEEKLY (1916-
Page 49 and 50: Film picturing a “day in the life
Page 51 and 52: 163. GIVE YOURSELF THE GREEN LIGHT
Page 53 and 54: and Tom looks for a reason. He sees
Page 55 and 56: Mgmt 61 (Oct. 1, 1946): 134; Gregor
Page 57 and 58: EDITOR: Philip Martin Jr. CAST: Fra
Page 59 and 60: Four-part series crafted by large b
Page 61 and 62: older Americans forced to rely on i
Page 63 and 64: marionettes to tell the story of co
Page 65 and 66: Safety film sponsored by a large ra
Page 67 and 68: PRODUCER: Irving Jacoby. CAMERA: J.
Page 69 and 70: shows local industries and includes
Page 71 and 72: 247. MAKING FILMS THAT TEACH (1954,
Page 73 and 74: 257. THE MARCH OF PROGRESS (1945, s
Page 75 and 76: professionals, Mental Hospital show
Page 77 and 78: Film sponsored by the radio network
Page 79 and 80: to sell tree seedlings for planting
Page 81 and 82:
progress” and cannot continue to
Page 83 and 84:
dust from diesel engines. Howard Th
Page 85 and 86:
PRODUCER: Philip W. Alexander. RESO
Page 87 and 88:
319. A PLACE TO LIVE (1941, sound,
Page 89 and 90:
unfortunate results. NOTE: Produced
Page 91 and 92:
339. RHAPSODY IN STEEL (1934, sound
Page 93 and 94:
Copyright not registered; Howard Th
Page 95 and 96:
Celebration of the American truckin
Page 97 and 98:
31; “Free General-Interest Movies
Page 99 and 100:
Angeles County Sheriff’s Departme
Page 101 and 102:
tomer. This unusual training film m
Page 103 and 104:
egistered; Rita Fitzpatrick, “Ban
Page 105 and 106:
401. TODAY’S NEWS, TOMORROW’S M
Page 107 and 108:
411. 24 HOURS OF PROGRESS (1950, so
Page 109 and 110:
Round Air Operation Shown in Color
Page 111 and 112:
428. WE SAW IT HAPPEN (1953, sound,
Page 113 and 114:
Partly animated technical film illu
Page 115 and 116:
“Films Interpret the Annual Stock
Page 117 and 118:
APPENDIX 1: WORKS FREQUENTLY CITED
Page 119 and 120:
Sales Mgmt Sales Management. Secret
Page 121 and 122:
Maryland Maryland Historical Societ
Page 123 and 124:
APPENDIX 4: FILMS BY DATE 1897 Admi
Page 125 and 126:
1941 The Co-ops Are Comin’, 96 Ha
Page 127 and 128:
In the Suburbs, 198 The Information
Page 129 and 130:
American Iron and Steel Institute,
Page 131 and 132:
colleges and universities, 27, 64,
Page 133 and 134:
Georgia Agricultural Extension Serv
Page 135 and 136:
Knoxville News Sentinel, 401 Kodak,
Page 137 and 138:
North American Air Defense Command
Page 139 and 140:
Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corp., 44
Page 141 and 142:
Westinghouse Electric Corp., 105, 1
Page 143 and 144:
Bitzer, G.W., 430 Blaché, Michael,
Page 145 and 146:
Fleischer, Max, 138, 196, 291 Flook
Page 147 and 148:
Lardner, Ring, Jr., 65 Larkin, Marg
Page 149 and 150:
Rapf, Maurice, 65 Rappaport, Mark,
Page 151 and 152:
Webber, George, 51 Webber, Melville
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