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Last Word In Automatic Dishwashing (1950)

This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Production Company: Handy (Jam) Organization
Sponsor: Mullins Manufacturing Corp.
Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
Keywords: need keyword

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: ERD. - - July 28, 2007
Subject: Too Long
This production could have been much more effective by not repeating itself so much.
This film was made for the dishwasher saleman.

Reviewer: mullinsboatclub - - October 22, 2004
Subject: Fantastic Early Dishwasher
Film shows the beginnings of what evolved into an everyday appliance. the Mullins Jet-Tower Dishwasher. I recently attended an Open-House of a very fine up-scale home that still had one installed and working. I own the sample size still in its box. Along with the garbage disposal the Mullins dishwasher was a major step on the road to the modern kitchen as much as the early gas-powered Maytag clothes washers were generations before.
Painting dishes with food and drying is still the method used today for testing of dishwashers. Numerous homes still contain Youngstown Kitchens the best selling products of their day.

Reviewer: Marysz - - April 17, 2004
Subject: Another ridiculous appliance of the fities.
Why do dishes the old-fashioned way? asks Mrs. America, When you can do them the modern way! This is a sales film for the incredibly impractical Youngstown Jet Tower Dishwasher, an over-priced 1950 folly similar to another product featured in an Archive film, the Iron-Rite ironer. In order to sell these products, the housewifes life must be portrayed as one of domestic drudgery that can be solved by buying an appliance. The film starts in the usual waywe see a woman at the kitchen sink washing dishes. Why cant something be done to modernize this everyday task? she asks the camera. Unfortunately, the Youngstown Dishwasher is not the answer. Its easy to see why it failed. The dishes still have to be scraped, its too deep, its laborious to load and it takes up precious kitchen counter space. And its one more thing the housewife has to take care of. The jet tower has to be removed and cleaned regularly as well as the filter. The men who designed the dishwasher were completely fixated on the hydro-brush spray action of the jet tower (I wonder why). Like the Iron-Rite ironer, the Youngstown Dishwasher created more work than it saved. And it was probably noisy, expensive to run and prone to break down. The film makes a big point about how the machine gets the dishes hygienically clean, showing the concern about the spread of infectious diseases that people had in those days. We see a comical display of three men brushing a mixture of mustard and eggs on dishes to prove the dishwashers superiority. It would never occur to these men to help their wives with the dishesthe truly modern solution to this "everyday task."

Reviewer: Umass_Kid - - April 17, 2004
Subject: Dish pan Hands
Why do your dished the old fashion way? When you do all your other housework the modern way! This little gem was clearly produced for the sellers of the dishwashing unit. Give instruction on what to say and what info will impress the ladies. The value is in the imagery of that housewife. Lots of good images of the kitchen, domestic life, and every day kitchen chores. The film does run a little long and can get boring at times. Thats why I can only give 3 ***

Reviewer: Spuzz - - November 14, 2003
Subject: Dishes! Dishes! Dishes! Three times a day!
Great little film about an odd little appliance, the Youngstown Dishwasher, a device which was novel in the day, but because of the design, was replaced by the more familiar design we have today.
Very much designed like a washing machine, this machine had a central revolving sprayer which supposedly sprayed off all the food particles. Not too convincing demonstrations are shown, and Mrs houswife is all to happy.
Incidentally, this was made for furniture sellers, and it shows some great trade ads for the dishwasher as well.