Automotive Wayback Machine: Trail of the Rocket – Lucille and Johnny Tour an Oldsmobile Plant Circa 1951
Last week we ran a post of mine about the Jam Handy Organization, a motion picture studio located in the Detroit area that created many of General Motors’ promotional films for decades. A couple of the readers liked my idea of posting some more of those vintage films as a recurring feature here on TTAC. Jam Handy, though, wasn’t the only person who recognized the potential of using motion pictures to promote the sale of automobiles.
Ford had its own Ford Motion Picture Laboratories, but there was another “indie” in Detroit, so to speak, besides the Handy company and that was Wilding Picture Productions. Based in Chicago, Wilding operated a Detroit office, from where they produced films like Trail of the Rocket. It features Lucille and Johnny, a couple of singers whose television show is sponsored by Oldsmobile, who offers them a V.I.P. tour of Oldsmobile factory in Lansing. Like many of the Handy produced films, this was intended for theatrical release, so it had to be entertaining, hence a rather lame science fiction subplot involving a possible Martian spy at loose in the factory (though the little bit of social commentary on how Earthling behavior would negatively influence Martian society starting at ~6:00 is pretty humorous, comic books, be-bop music and television commercials!).
Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, the original 3D car site.
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I found it charmingly quirky, it really did not take itself seriously (income tax? heh). The production techniques were fascinating, the amount of skill and resourcefulness to mass produce engines without the modern crutch of computerized technology (which now covers up a lot of sloppy engineering... field problem? do a software update). Probably at that time these may well have been among the best mass produced engines in the world. GM, Ford and Chrysler had provided engines for the military, and with most of the industrialized world in pieces there was probably nothing like this plant anywhere else. I'd match the skill of those production engineers, given their limited tools available, against anything today.
I have heard a few rumors over the years that Jam Handy was also something of a cloak and dagger internal GM spy network. No idea if it's true, but it sounds interesting. At least more interesting than Harry Bennett.
That was just a swell futuramic moving picture. And very cheesy. But a good way to kill 30 minutes. Thanks for posting about it because I likely never would have seen that otherwise.
Thanks Ronnie! I was hoping for some recognizable scenes and found a few. In '69 as a college co-op I guided a few tours of the plant. Running 24/7, it produced 1.25 million V8's a year, the largest output from a single engine line anywhere, ever, iirc. The scale model of the plant was still in use in my co-op days from '69-'74. Olds also had a sophisticated wood model shop which made the models as well as mockup engine and other vehicle parts. Some of the buildings still in use until the 3,000,000 square foot facility was demolished for the Lansing Grand River Cadillac plant dated to the teens and looked similar to those in the movie.