Instructional Videos/Teaching Films

[donnie]

This is kind of a nice Coronet—I like Dottie.

https://youtu.be/oRbcB8XbEVo

[Kitty]

That was really great. I could feel everything that Dottie felt. I found myself comparing things in her life to mine. This was a really thought-provoking Coronet film. I think it should still be shown!

[donnie]

Yes, it does still have a lot of relevance. I was struck by the part where the husband goes off to work, leaving her there to basically do housework and stare at the four walls—all day, every day. I'd never really thought about it, but that's how it was, I guess—no internet, or for that matter TV, probably—you'd have radio and reading and maybe a visit with friends or a family member occasionally, I guess. Still, I would probably go stir-crazy. You get a good sense of how trapped she felt, though she loved her husband and marriage. I'll guess a lot of young wives could identify with that.

I felt sorry for her mother-in-law a little, though, imagining how lonesome she would be. Or do you think the mil was a know-it-all busybody?

[Kitty]

I watched the Thanksgiving video again. I think it's genuine. The narrator sounds too authentic for the dubbing to be fake. I also think this really was made for Thanksgiving, as the narrator says "celebration" and "Thanksgiving" multiple times, and the boys are wearing Christmas sweaters at the beginning of the story.

For the second go-around with your thoughts in mind, I definitely can tell how bad the music is. It's a little distracting, actually, when you're paying attention to it.

I was trying to research Children's Productions and came up nothing much, except that this was really made by a company called Instructional Films Inc., and Children's Productions seems to be an offshoot of that company. (Maybe a different department?) The reason I was looking was I had the thought that maybe the mother is a nun in real life and that's why she looked so stern Well, I don't have any confirmation on that, sorry.

There are a couple postings on archive.org of this video, and I'm surprised at the harsh criticism that this gets. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but I didn't think it was really all that bad. It could be because I'm so used to this era of production.

I did notice how cute as a button that little girl is the second time around. She's really hamming it up. The littlest boy looks familiar, too. I wonder what became of these people in this video. I hope they had nice lives.

[donnie]

Thanks for your thoughts on that. I saw that it is in the internet archive (though I didn't read the comments), and yes, that would point to its being genuine, but I'm still skeptical. The narration just doesn't sound quite right to me.

And that music...it doesn't sound at all like what someone who have chosen for a background score in that era. Instead, it sounds to me as if somebody said, "I know what would be funny—let's show how maudlin this thing is by finding some of the stuff that sounds like old silent film music to put under it."

I also think this really was made for Thanksgiving, as the narrator says "celebration" and "Thanksgiving" multiple times, and the boys are wearing Christmas sweaters at the beginning of the story.

But "Thanksgiving" is mentioned only in the narration, so if the narration is fake... I didn't notice the Christmas sweaters, although that could be coincidental. It still looks like a film about meal manners in general, unrelated to a holiday in particular.

But on the other hand, if it is a fake, it seems the "real" version would be somewhere online, and it apparently isn't, so...you're probably right...but it's just weird.

You know what? Maybe I'm too suspicious. You know what else? I'll bet we are the only two people in the world debating the authenticity of this film. Oh well, somebody had to do it...might as well be us.

[Kitty]

Look at these Wendy's training videos from the late 80s. You know it's old, because they don't even sell Biggie anymore! First one's hot drinks, second ones cold. I like the first one best. What do you think?
https://youtu.be/3xSyVjkSib4

https://youtu.be/PJ-JBFXh2IU