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Another Cup Of Coffee (1948)

Seeks to create in minds of Prudential salesmen a favorable attitude toward prospective insurance buyers. Points out variety of prospect sources & presents five fundamental points of prospecting.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Production Company: Handy (Jam) Organization
Sponsor: Prudential Insurance Co. of Amer.
Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
Keywords: need keyword

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Retrojunkie - - October 23, 2007
Subject: I Don't Like the Look of This Coffee
I know someone who thinks his coffee talks to him. But I sure wouldn't buy any insurance from him. And here's a sure way to get the store owner on your side: throw your cigarette on the floor and step on it. Gracie (or is it Greasy) sure seems to have a crush on him, though. So did the teenage gal sitting to his right. Or maybe she just thought he was funny, talking to his coffee cup like that. Great fun!

Reviewer: lil_wing - - June 1, 2006
Subject: What was in that coffee?
Something that I love to look out for in the Prelinger Archives is movies that feature cigarettes. I find it really interesting to see how society has done a complete turn around as far as smoking goes. You can't even smoke in many bars today, but in these movies i've seen: a guy smoking during his job interview. A man that is so satisfied with the election ballot he casts, he pulls back the curtain and lights up right in the voting booth. And now this, maybe my favorite, the insurance salesman that, upon being asked to speak with a potential client (or "prospect"), stands up from the lunch counter in a drug store, and throws his cigarette on the floor! No one blinks, no one turns their head.... I know ashtrays existed in the '40's! Was this a routine thing?
Anyway, this is an enjoyable film, even when it drags a bit in the middle, the sets are always beautiful. I especially enjoyed the drugstore. It reminded me of Woolworth's.

P.S- the waitress's name is GracieAnyway, this is an enjoyable film, even when it drags a bit in the middle, the sets are always beautiful. I especially enjoyed the drugstore. It reminded me of Woolworth's.

P.S- the waitress's name is Gracie!

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - September 4, 2003
Subject: Another Cup of Coffee
A Prudential insurance salesman stops by a drugstore soda fountain for a cup of coffee, calling the waitress, affectionately I'm sure, "Greasy". You can tell Greasy appreciates her nickname, because she slips some LSD into the coffee at no charge. This causes the salesman, who is obsessing about finding more prospects, to see Twangy, the magic pixie that lives in his head, appear in the cup of coffee and start talking to him about his prospect problem. Twangy uses insidious mind control to get the salesman to see everybody he has a relationship, or even the least acquaintanceship, with as a sales prospect. He even gets the druggist to shill for him, calling "a member of my unpaid sales force." Once he has his hooks into somebody, he does his level best to make sure that they use every penny of any extra money they may have to buy various forms of insurance. What can I say? This is a thoroughly evil film, though perhaps not quite as entertaining as I make it soundÂÂthe guy's endless sales pitches get old after awhile. Stil, this does blow the lid off the mind control conspiracy lurking in the insurance industry (I should know, I'm from Omaha). Greasy would later get all squishy over Alexander Phipps in Young Man's FancyÂÂafter hearing her nickname I understand why she wanted to get married so bad.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.

Reviewer: Steve Nordby - - August 25, 2003
Subject: What are you selling today?
Ever notice the similarity between sales/con men of all types? "Prospects are people who need ____" Jim apparently gets enough coffee to hallucinate himself in his coffee cup giving himself pointers: Awareness, Continuous, Everywhere, Information, Sales.

The coffee goes cold, but not the prospects.

After all people *need* what he has, so he is serving the public. It's not like he gets anything out of it.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - August 21, 2003
Subject: Sam needs to cut down on his coffee intake.
In this really strange short, a Prudential insurance salesman wonders how he can get more prospects, when, of course, images in his coffee start talking to him. This is a sure sign of course for company leave.. a long long one. Anyways, the man in the coffee cup tells Sam of what leads to future prospects and getting customers to buy more insurance that they don't need. Scary pitches all around. Make sure you don't get a house, have the flu, get a raise or go to college, because those pesky prudential people will start wearing out the door.

Reviewer: Roland Deschain - - August 14, 2003
Subject: A better title would have been
This is clearly a promotional film to drill into insurance salesmen the importance of prospecting. It's easy to tell this as the word 'prospecting' is uttered every 15 seconds at least.

A model insurance salesman (slimy, over-confident) arrives at a cafe and orders a cup of coffee. It's explained that he's already canvassed the place and needs more (you guessed it) prospects.

So where does he look? Into his coffee cup of course! This is no ordinary coffee cup though. His even-more confident image appears amongst the coffee, and he begins to hold a conversation with himself.

It gets pretty boring from here on in; basically keeps reminding the viewer to treat everybody as prospects, not people. Nobody in the cafe thinks it odd that he talks to himself, or that he puts out his cigarette out on the floor.

Funny, but not nearly enough.