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UnknownMaking a New Day Out of Tuesday (Part I) (1946)

How the Ironrite automatic ironing machine makes the life of the housewife much easier.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Unknown
Sponsor: Ironrite Company
Audio/Visual: Sd, C
Keywords: Home economics: Laundry; Occupations: Housework; Appliances: Sales

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: doowopbob - - January 14, 2008
Subject: Gee,Grandma, Thats Not A Bed Time Story!
Grandma Rode An Ironrite,She Said It Warmed Her Thigh's,It Made Her Short & Curlies Perm,Was Loved By All The Guys! But One Day She Went Swimming, Then She Fell Down On Her Tush, And All Thats Left Of Grandma Now.... Is One Exploded Bush!

Reviewer: IthacaNancy - - June 6, 2007
Subject: A Satisfied Ironrite User
Unless you have a B&B and use one of these regularly, it may seem like a feminist's nightmare. I watch DVDs from Netflix while I use the Ironrite and I really appreciate how much faster and easier the Ironrite is than ironing things by hand (as I did for two years). It is also much cheaper than sending the sheets out - over $20 per set. With high count cotton sheets, this is the best way to be sure they are smooth and luxurious as they should be. It works great on my linen and cotton dresses too.

The film is dated, of course, but the fact is ironing is easier with the Ironrite, and for those of us who must iron, the machine does make life much easier.

Reviewer: 78speed - - September 2, 2006
Subject: Arm-Hole Seams and Knee Controls
"A shirt that's IRONedRITE is one of life's greatest satisfactions."

Sorry, you lost me at Arm-Hole Seam. Tries to sell and instruct, but fails at both. "Looks simple, and IS simple" my ass. It's interesting to hear from the housewives and gay men who have encountered these, as it's surely an antique relic, but as a relatively young lad I've never heard of this machine. It's no wonder why not. I'm sure only a few unfortunate suckers were ever sold on it, and they're probably now short a digit or two.

Reviewer: Michaelman2 - - April 28, 2005
Subject: My Dear Ironrite
This has to be one of the most comical films I have seen/heard. Just the narriator is a complete hoot. It did teach me how to use a mangle to its fullest!

Reviewer: Hystorical - - April 15, 2005
Subject: OMG! I can't wait!
I have my grandmother's Ironrite, and I can't wait to try it out! My life will surely be changed! Seriously, though, if I do get it running again, it has GOT to be easier to iron table cloths and fabric (for sewing) than using an ironing board. This fabulous Forties marketing film may actually help me figure it out.

Reviewer: waterglass - - January 23, 2005
Subject: wow
The title is sheer poetry. No comment on the film.

Reviewer: Tombrecht - - January 10, 2005
Subject: Iron your way to a better you!
While everything that the other reviewers say may be true, there are some of us out there who think that the Ironrite *IS* the answer to their dreams, and can't imagine why every household doesn't have one. You'd have to have a laundry fetish to understand, I suppose, but I convinced friends of mine to drag an Ironrite I found in Council Bluff, IA more that 600 miles to Madison, Wisconsin and set it up in my basement. My partner suspected I was insane--that was, until he saw this film, and then he KNEW I was insane (and happily so)! As someone who feels slightly, ahem, disenchanted with the current state of the things here in the US, it's nice to know that, according to this film, I can be more attractive, a better American, and even a better wife and mother (not bad for a childless gay man) SIMPLY BY IRONING! -An end to drudgery indeed!

Reviewer: Marysz - - February 28, 2004
Subject: Don't throw away that iron just yet
Everywoman 1946 housewife ÂMary Jones demonstrates the ÂIronrite ironer. WeÂre told the postwar American womanÂs Âjob is to make a home the American home. An important part of this Âjob is being a consumerÂand buying an Ironrite ironer, Âwhich annihilates ironing drudgery. The rest of the film is spent demonstrating how this dangerous contraption works. ItÂs similar to the kind of pressers that professional cleaners use, and we see Mary using it to press shirts, skirts and dresses. She works with complete concentration, undisturbed by crying children, ringing doorbells, husbands expecting dinner or any of the constant interruptions that make doing housework so draining. This type of gadget works in a laundry where a person sits at it all day with nothing else to do, but itÂs useless in a regular house. And it would be an overwhelming temptation to devious children. ItÂs easy to imagine them deciding to iron their younger siblingÂs clothesÂwith the child still in them. ThatÂs if it hasnÂt overheated and burned the house down first. And no doubt, the hapless postwar couples who bought this overpriced machine paid for it on the installment plan. As in almost all of these sales films, an overbearing male announcer trumpets the Ironrite as an end to domestic Âdrudgery. The only way to end domestic drudgery is to hire someone else to do it.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - November 1, 2003
Subject: Susanne Somers take note.
Mary Jones has it all, a husband, a hermaphrodite kid (I guess it's a girl, when she sees her off, the kid is wearing ribbons in her hair but dungarees and a long sleeve shirt) a lovely house with frilly windows in the kitchen, and of course, the 250 pound Ironrite that sits in the middle of her living room. These contraptions in this film were made to make ironing easier.. No wait! It was made so that you would WANT to do ironing! The machine, which looks hopelessly dangerous and complicated operated by pressing on levers with your thighs (!!) and letting the rollers press the clothes in the proccess (watch those fingers!) Why it's so easy, you can do it blindfolded! (yes, that is shown). An amazing contraptual film, nice color and totally insane. Highly reccomended viewing!

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