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Film Description
Men and Machines (1936)
Sponsor: National Association of Manufacturers. Production Co.: Audio Productions Inc. Narrator: Lowell Thomas. Transfer Note: Scanned from a 16mm print held by the Library of Congress. Running Time: 10 minutes.
Dramatized documentary supporting workplace mechanization. Men and Machines argues that the introduction of labor-saving machines results in cost savings and more leisure time for Americans. The concluding narration accompanies a montage of consumer goods and reminds viewers that “we Americans are sitting on top of the world.”
Note: The film was distributed in a multimedia package as part of the “Business Facts Program” for employers. Also released in 16mm. Remade in 1947.
Resources
“Machine ‘Lectures’ in Its Own Defense,” New York Times, July 23, 1936, 24; Strother Holland Walker and Paul Sklar, “Business Finds Its Voice,” Harper’s Magazine, Feb. 1938, 324–25; William L. Bird, Jr., “Better Living”: Advertising, Media, and the New Vocabulary of Business Leadership, 1935–1955 (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1999), 131, 133, 270.