Though this 43rd volume of the flag-waving Lifestyles USA series contains topics ranging from credit to carpets, they’re all part of the great parade of Americana Something Weird is only too happy to celebrate!
CENTER OF ATTENTION (1960, color) tries to make fun of old fogies who run their stores the old-fashioned way, without the benefit of the “new-fangled” American Express Courtesy Center which, of course, will make life on this planet better.
WHAT NOW! (color) is a public service film from “The National Institute of Rug Cleaning.” The National Institute of what?! Yup, this is all about what to do when dancing teens knock a bottle of Coke onto the carpet. Or when youngsters spill their milk on the dining room rug. Just blot up the excess liquid, apply a bit of mild detergent, then lay tissues and a heavy book on top of the stain for six to eight hours. Simple! But remember to not use too much cleaning solvent, and be sure to vacuum your carpet every goddamn day! Your friends and neighbors will thank you.
THE ALMOST PERFECT WEED KILLER CAPER (color) jumps on the spy-movie craze that engulfed the mid-sixties, with a comic tale of Boris-and-Natasha-style Russian agents who invade a farm (disguised as scarecrows) and abduct a farmer in the hope of learning why his soybean crops are so healthy. But it’s no state secret - the farmer uses Preforan weed killer! The farmer also deadpans while the Russians overact. And, look! There’s even a cameo by “Khrushchev.” (Who?)
“WE ARE BECOMING” (color) is… uh… well, it’s hard to say. It’s obviously a conceptual piece that seems to be promoting Dayton Corporation, but it’s so artsy-fartsy trippy as to be utterly baffling. Maybe Dayton makes LSD?
MEET MR. MONEY (color) uses cheap animation to hawk the Monsanto Benefit Program. Seriously, do you really want financial advice from cartoon characters?
THE FRIENDLY WAY (1966, color) informs Mobile gas station owners that servicing cars and pumping gas just ain’t enough anymore. No, Mobile owners should think of themselves as being in “the travel business.” Especially since the White House is pushing a “Discover America” campaign. And that means offering customers Mobile Travel Guides and Mobile Travel Directories and Mobile Close-to-Home Travel Tours and even a Mobile Travel Information Center as another way to seduce customers into your station and bleed ‘em dry!
MAN-MADE PROFITS (b&w) is again centered around the local gas station - in this case, Shell stations - explaining yet again why the local gas station was once the center of the universe.
CAR OF THE FUTURE (color) is an oddity: a single shot of a Jetsons-type Car of the Future, built by U.S. Steel, which rotates 360º as two sexy fashion models fawn all over it and do their best to ignore what a godawful clunker it is.
MIGHTY MISTER TITAN (color) hawks the Mister Titan TV Adventure Book for athletic boys who want to become astronauts! So sing along, kids: “Keep tip-top with Titan, join the Titan Team Today!”
7 окт 2024
