Sponsored Films

In the Suburbs (1957)
Sponsor: Redbook Magazine. Production Co.: On Film Inc. Director: Tracy Ward [Virginia Bell]. Camera: Bert Spielvogel. Designers: Tracy Ward [Virginia Bell], Bert Spielvogel, Jean Sharpe, Carlo Arcamone, Joseph Cole, Herbert Hagens. Transfer Note: Scanned from a 16mm print held by the Library of Congress. Running Time: 20 minutes.

Film promoting advertising in Redbook as the best way to reach young suburban consumers, a growing demographic of the late 1950s. It makes the point through a rich collection of actuality footage showing families and children engaged in leisure activities at home and at the shopping center. Assembled like a collage, In the Suburbs integrates photographs and text and mixes sound with silent footage, color with black and white, and handheld with tripod shots. The narration is delivered with amused detachment.

Note: Produced in Kodachrome. On Film was a Princeton company with close ties to the avant-garde film community.