Modern Production (1950-1959) 

A group of school children watch a model of a wheel turning driven by a sort of water pump that drives a hammer action. Primitive water lifting devices for irrigation along the banks of the Nile. A graphic of a large Egyptian statue being pulled along by slaves using wooden rollers on a track. An oxen walks in a circle turning a large wheel that is connected to another wheel raising water for irrigation. A clock that runs for years driven by a ball rolling over a tilting plate.
Cut to a large industrial production line at British Motor Corporation showing the production of engine parts and their assemble. At the head of the line an operator clamps an engine block into a fixture that will automatically pass it from one machine to another as the engine is machined, drilled and bored to completion. Each step of the process is shown in great detail until the whole engine is completed and then the gear box case is added. No detail is spared and there are natural sound effects for every moment of the operation. The narrator tells us that "these wonderful machines are a far cry from the rollers the Egyptians used and yet in practice they are doing the same thing, lessening the load on man, easing his work and at the same time increasing his productivity. This method of production has been called "Automation".
For similar shots to these, but in full colour see "Magic in Metal" *PM2299*. This is also produced by B.M.C.
FILM ID:2299.06
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