Summary

American Thrift

Source Archive Films by Getty Images
Title: American Thrift
File Number: PA-2000 1 inch ; PA-0836 Digibeta
Color: Color
Type: Industrial
Year: 01/01/1962
Subjects: WOMEN HOUSEWORK FAMILIES HOMES HOUSES ADVERTISING DAILY LIFE STATUES LINCOLN, ABRAHAM WHITE GLOVES PENNIES COINS CITIES TREES SCENICS SUBURBS BUDGETS MONEY HUSBANDS WIVES PARENTS CHILDREN BOYS GIRLS MEN RUNNING PETS DOGS ANIMALS PET SHOPS PUPPIES MYTHOLOGY Chevrolet Division, General Motors Corp Families Leisure Relaxation 1960s Meals Food preparation Kitchens Women Housewives Housework Gender roles Trumpets Musical instruments Children Mothers Fathers Banks Brothers Undressing Hand-me-downs Supermarkets Stores Shopping Parking meters Driving Parking Toy stores Soup Campbell's soup Food (processing) Industry Ladles Vats Factories Vacuum cleaners Cleaning Ice cream cones Transportation Automobiles (transportation of) Golf Sports Picnics Romance Couples Sunsets Escalators Shopping malls Graduations Playgrounds Trampolines Zoos Gorillas State fairs Texas State Fair Midways Football Water skiing Skiing (snow) Chess Ferris wheels Wheatfields Infrastructure Pennies Thrift Wallace, Mike (narrator) Money Statue of Liberty Bridges (Golden Gate) Capitalism Free enterprise Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco, Calif (scenics) First aid Boys Stores (vegetable markets) Kisses Marriage Women workers (white-collar) Labor-saving devices Ovens Electricity Automation Families (African American) Daughters Church Religion Idealized imagery Cans (tin) Canning Gender roles Aerials
Description: American Thrift Ken Smith sez: Lots of shiny new Corvairs, BelAirs and Impalas appear in this beautiful, Chevy-sponsored film, a tribute to the American housewife, which sings the praises of the woman American and tells us that her primary function in life is the romance and adventure of choosing Those who produce goods have a responsibility to bid for her fancy and charm her with choice offerings calculated to please Hey, this film isn't about saving money -- it's about SPENDING it! This was the last of the lavish Jam Handy American series of films for General Motors A fifth title, American Choice, was temporarily cancelled in June, 1963, and never completed American Thrift is an absolute gold-mine of great stock footage clips! In glorious color, we have 1960's housewives, families, amusement park, AV of Statue of Liberty, Excellent supermarket stuff, and excellent coins pouring spilling (aka Pennies from Heaven) ---Money, Money, Money!! Great lifestyle stuff here [start of film not xferred, not shotlisted] worth noting: Short but excellent, crisp image of a shopping mall (what looks more like a strip mall with a large parking lot to today's observer) Looks much like the mall in In the Suburbs, but this is Michigan We see Gales Coffee Shop and Food Giant (23:05:41:22- 23:05:47:11) worth noting: A woman walks from a fruit market to her car The colors at the market are nice lots of bright yellow Beyond the fruit market is a gas station and a traffic light (23:09:55:08- 23:10:03:20) worth noting: A cargo train carries three levels of colorful cars along the track (23:13:47:05- 23:13:54:06) worth noting: Nice image of a bikini-clad woman and her leisurely dressed husband washing the car in their suburban driveway greenery is all around them (23:15:12:00- 23:15:20:12) 23:15:37:01- 23:15:47:24 Interesting walkways sidewalks in a shopping area Cement structures arch over people walking in between stores We see mostly woman who clutch their purses worth noting: Great shot of junior high school students leaving school for the day Floods of pre-teens walk towards the camera (23:18:57:10- 23:19:04:07) 23:01:11:00 LS Family sits in living room 23:01:24:00 MS Woman looks at Caribbean travel brochure 23:02:19:00 CU Woman prepares dinner in suburban kitchen 23:03:07:00 MS Boy grimaces at injury mother comes to take a look 23:03:27:00 MS Woman peels potatoes in kitchen 23:03:43:00 CU Boy plays bugle badly 23:04:01:00 MS Boy plays bugle well 23:04:15:00 MS Boys hang out on suburban stoop 23:04:21:00 LS Woman strolls in commercial shopping area 23:04:27:00 CU Hanging sign US National Bank 23:04:46:00 LS Five brothers jostle each other 23:04:56:00 CU Camera pans boys faces from oldest to youngest 23:05:05:00 LS Five boys start to take off their pants 23:05:19:00 MS Hand-me-down scene: pants are handed down the line from the oldest boy to the youngest 23:05:33:00 MS Little girl standing on staircase puts her hand over her mouth and laughs 23:05:37:00 LS Brothers chase little sister up the stairs 23:05:43:00 LS Camera pans suburban shopping center and parking lot 23:05:49:00 LS Large supermarket produce section woman pushes shopping cart toward camera 23:05:55:00 CU Woman's smiling face in supermarket 23:05:57:00 CU Packaged foods, international and gourmet foods section canned eel and octopus rattlesnake meat chocolate covered ants 23:06:08:00 LS Woman browses aisles in busy supermarket, pausing briefly 23:06:19:00 LS Woman places paper sacks of grocery into her car in parking lot 23:06:29:00 LS Forklifts move wooden pallets loaded with boxes of packaged goods in warehouse 23:06:45:00 MS Woman with baby in shopping cart selects groceries 23:06:57:00 CU Two packages of ballpoint pens 23:07:01:00 MS Woman in supermarket considers two packages selects one returns other to rack 23:07:08:00 LS Couple in car drives looking for parking meters with time left on them 23:07:18:00 CU Man in driver's seat smiling behind steering wheel 23:07:19:00 CU Parking meter with Time Expired flag up 23:07:34:00 CU Parking meter not expired 23:07:39:00 CU Car fuel gauge with needle on empty 23:07:41:00 CU Parking meter red Time Expired flag pops up 23:07:46:00 MS Woman with baby in shopping cart examines merchandise 23:08:01:00 MS Salesman showing woman luggage 23:08:06:00 MS Saleswoman shows fabrics to woman in mink stole 23:08:13:00 CU Hand in white gloves caresses textile 23:08:15:00 MS People shopping for children's clothing in department store 23:08:36:00 MS Woman shopping for toys in department store 23:08:41:00 CU Stuffed animals plush toys 23:08:53:00 MS Girl selects stuffed animal in store 23:09:03:00 MS Rack of fancy dresses is wheeled through store 23:09:20:00 MS Saleswoman shows dresses to woman in fur coat 23:09:29:00 MS Camera pans refrigerated case of cheeses 23:09:36:00 MS Woman selects packaged cheese from dairy case 23:09:44:00 MS Couple shops at outdoor produce stand, consulting with shopkeeper 23:09:48:00 CU Hand-lettered sign: Special 4 lbs 19 cents 23:10:04:00 LS Log is cut into boards in lumber mill 23:10:14:00 CU Saw blade slices boards off log 23:10:32:00 LS Family gathers around father who is sitting in easy chair in living room they give him several presents 23:10:40:00 Montage of shots of products made from wood cellulose 23:11:02:00 LS Men stirring giant vats of red soup (probably Campbell's tomato) 23:11:10:00 CU Hot red boiling soup in vat 23:11:17:00 MS Shiny tin cans descend through automated machinery 23:11:22:00 MS Shiny tin soup cans move along machinery which fills them with soup 23:11:41:00 CU Cans of Campbell's mushroom soup are mechanically put into shipping boxes 23:11:49:00 CU Water being added to Campbell's soup (at kitchen sink) in preparation for heating 23:12:01:00 LS AV of factory 23:12:24:00 LS Truck travels on private industrial road 23:12:27:00 LS Gate opens for truck 23:12:51:00 MS Canister vacuum cleaner in use in living room 23:13:01:00 CU Stainless steel kitchen sink zoom out to show entire kitchen 23:13:22:00 CU Tray of ice cream cones 23:13:24:00 MS Mother calls children to come get ice cream 23:13:28:00 LS Children vie for ice cream cones 23:13:42:00 LS Cars being transported on giant truck on highway 23:13:49:00 LS Cars being transported on railroad 23:13:56:00 LS Man and woman walking in picturescape landscape of the American Southwest 23:14:02:00 LS Children run out of the house and scramble into the family station wagon which mother and father load up for a picnic 23:14:10:00 LS Two men and their sets of golf clubs leave car and head to course 23:14:18:00 LS People enter suburban house to attend community bazaar 23:14:26:00 MS Couple with back to camera sit on wooden fence gazing into golden sunset and hold hands 23:14:36:00 LS Husband and wife shown in suburban driveway with their two cars both are going to work in the morning Husbands leans down into car to kiss his wife goodbye Narrator speaks about career women 23:15:01:00 LS Family members kiss young woman goodbye in front of car (She is going to college) 23:15:04:00 LS Men use surveying equipment at construction site 23:15:17:00 LS Man and woman in casual clothes wash car in suburban driveway 23:15:23:00 MS Woman dumps moth flakes into garment bags in closet 23:15:31:00 MS Side by side up and down escalators 23:15:44:00 LS Outdoor shopping center 23:15:54:00 LS Two women walking arm in arm with back to camera pause in front of dress shop window 23:16:00:00 LS POV interior shoe store women gaze into window display they enter store 23:16:15:00 MS Interior fully stocked refrigerator 23:16:17:00 MS Woman selects dish from refrigerator and places it in oven 23:16:32:00 CU Hand setting clock and timer on Frigidaire oven 23:16:41:00 CU Woman's hands set electric kitchen timer 23:16:47:00 MS Woman checks household thermostat 23:16:50:00 MS Woman puts on white gloves picks up her handbag and exits through door 23:16:59:00 CU Oven temperature dial 23:17:01:00 CU Electric coils (hot) in oven interior 23:17:03:00 CU Electric coffee percolator plugged into electric timer 23:17:06:00 CU Household thermostat 23:17:07:00 CU Lamp in house turns on 23:17:10:00 MS Woman bearing groceries enters through door 23:17:20:00 LS Woman walks through kitchen peeks to check food in oven smiles 23:17:28:00 LS Woman walks on street through shopping district 23:17:32:00 ZI on man working on window display he leers at woman walking by 23:17:45:00 LS Well-dressed people gather in front, then enter building a church 23:18:10:00 MS African-American mother fusses over daughter's dress they are dressed for church 23:18:12:00 MS Mother gives child some coins which she places in a piggybank 23:18:32:00 LS Line of relatives looking at college graduates in caps and gowns 23:18:38:00 MS Happy family members wave at relative 23:18:49:00 LS Many children frolic in school playground slide swings 23:19:00:00 LS Children exit school building 23:19:06:00 MS Children tumbling through air against background of blue sky 23:19:10:00 LS Many children gamboling about on many trampolines 23:19:11:00 MS Monkey frolics at zoo 23:19:17:00 LS Cheerleaders tumble at football game while stadium celebrates 23:19:21:00 MS Man and woman waterski 23:19:26:00 LS Person skis down snowy slope toward camera 23:19:31:00 MS Grandmother and grandson play checkers 23:19:38:00 LS Ferris wheel 23:19:45:00 LS Crowd scene in amusement park midway (Texas State Fair grounds, Dallas) 23:19:53:00 LS Two people stand inside curve of giant rock outcropping in the Southwest Camera zooms out to show how small they appear 23:20:00:00 LS Camera pans neon signs of Chinese restaurants at night (probably Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles) 23:20:00:00 LS Camera pans wheat field 23:20:24:00 AVs: factories farms cloverleaf highways 23:20:47:00 MS Hundreds of copper pennies fall into frame, making giant pile 23:20:15:00 LS Golden Gate bridge with Statue of Liberty superimposed 23:20:40:00 LS Chicago skyline with Statue of Liberty superimposed 23:21:49:00 LS Jefferson Memorial EXT 23:22:00:00 LS Lincoln Memorial EXT 23:22:17:00 LS Statue of Liberty 23:22:25:00 LS AV Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island camera zooms in (23:01:03:28- 23:02:16:24) DOMESTIC SCENES (SS) Dad, Mom, girl, and boy sit in living room Mom works on a pattern on the floor, Dad reads in his easy chair, girl pets puppy, and boy fidgets with something Dad hands Mom brochure about Nassau She smiles (creepily) and looks through it Dad and the kids cross their fingers Mom sees the price and lays the brochure down She continues working on her pattern (23:02:18:20- 23:03:28:28) MOMS (KITCHENS) (SS) MCU Mom getting all the meat off a chicken leg with knife Camera pulls out to her working laboriously (she's putting left overs together) Little boy comes in with cut on his hand Mom comforts him (23:05:49:08- 23:06:08:02) MOMS (SHOPPING) FOOD (WEIRD) (SS) Excellent image of Mom (with Stepford wife expression) walking through bright and colorful grocery store Cut to CU of her looking at one shelf Cut to slow pan of shelf of specialty food octopus, wild rice, pure-pack eel, etc (23:06:18:14- 23:06:24:23) MOMS (SHOPPING) (SS) Mom in tight outfit puts grocery bags in her bright blue hot rod (she's outside of the groovy-looking grocery store) (23:07:45:19- 23:07:59:09) MOMS (SHOPPING) (SS) Blonde Mom wearing baby blue outfit pushes baby around in her grocery cart She approaches sale item, picks up can and scrutinizes it, and puts it back (very bright and colorful shot) (23:12:51:07- 23:12:59:26) MOMS (CLEANING) (SS) Lower half of Mom in orange pantsuit vacuuming blue living room carpet (vacuum cleaner is round and space-like) (23:14:02:05- 23:14:09:15) DOMESTIC SCENES (FAMILY LEAVES TO GO ON OUTING) (SS) Great image of kids (three boys all different ages) race out front door of house to blue station wagon (they wear beach clothes) Dad follows behind (shirtless w swimming trunks on) carrying red cooler Mom is behind him carrying picnic basket (could be segue way into family's weekend trip in Danger Lurks) (23:14:24:23- 23:14:33:20) ROMANCES (SS) Young couple (silhouetted) sit on wooden fence overlooking the ocean watching the sun go down (23:14:35:27- 23:14:54:26) MOMS & DADS (LEAVING FOR WORK) Mom and Dad walk to their two cars in driveway (she carries a purse and he a briefcase) Mom gets in her bright blue car, and Dad kisses her good-bye Dad gets into his car (23:18:57:20- 23:19:04:07) HIGH SCHOOLS (SS) Nice image of high school students flooding out of modern school building (bright and crisp) Could be used as transitional shot (23:14:24:23- 23:14:33:26) TRANSITIONS (SUNSETS) (S) Couple (in silhouette) watching beautiful red sunset over the ocean
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