Handy (Jam) OrganizationStreamlines (1936)

Streamlines are not just beautiful, but also safer, cheaper and more comfortable.

This item is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Handy (Jam) Organization
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Design; Automobiles: Design and manufacturing; Physics

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Karma Hawk - - April 12, 2005
Subject: Torpedo car! Torpedo Car! Torpedo Car!

To tell you the truth this was starting to look like a "2" for the longest time, but then in the second half they bring up a word that brought my ratting up a star. What is that word you may ask? "Torpedo Car" A "Torpedo Car" is what the film refers to as a futirostic "motor car" that can go "up too 120 miles per hour" due to it's "Streamline nature." The first part of the film also has some cool visuals. Would I recomend it? No, I would not, but if you have the time and want to hear the word "Torpedo Car" and "motor car" you might want to check this out.

Reviewer: Jussomgye - - June 30, 2003
Subject: Streamlining

Chevrolet short film implying their cars are better because of streamlining. Good video of turbulent flow around various shapes.
The wind tunnel scenes are interesting because they show an engineer in the wind tunnel with a ribbon on a stick to see the flow lines around the test object.

Reviewer: ridetheory - - June 23, 2003
Subject: Worth it for one shot

Nice animated shot of elevated highways of tomorrow.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - May 25, 2003
Subject: Stream on outta here

The effects of streamlining are explored in this short, which begins interestingly then somewhat gets bogged down with it's explanations. The comparisons with birds and planes and their streamlines are completely understandable, while the car's isn't. Don't get me wrong, I understand that cars are streamlined to the best way possible, but the 'features' that they tell us seem to total differ from the explanations of what makes streamlining efficient.

Reviewer: EWKEANE - - May 5, 2003
Subject: Norman Geddis is at the heart of this film

Short, and to the point, this wonderful little film shows how some ideas (practical streamlining) have applications today. I predict that the ultimate shape of autos (the rolling
teardrop) will be accepted within the next 10 years. Who will hijack the visionary ideas of Norman Bel Geddis? If you read his book "Horizons", it just may be you.

Shotlist

"STREAMLINES ADD TO THE SAFETY, ECONOMY & COMFORT OF THE MODERN AUTOMOBILE AS WELL AS TO THE BEAUTY."

kids swimming Ð shot of 3 kids calling offscreen kids into water
slomo of adult male diver into pool
underwater shot of long thin fish swimming
people outside office building fighting back against strong wind
Pan following pelicans and gulls swimming onto and around pier
VS birds flying
Wind tunnel sequence shot from inside: model plane tested in windstream to observe action of air currents
Engineer looking at airspeed meter
Man lecturing how motion pictures are taken of liquid movement in an air stream to record air currents
Aluminum dust added to liquid Ð man spreads it in small pool
Camera cranes down to show wedge in current cutting through liquid
CUs of nonstreamlined and streamlined shapes Ð abstract, good
Flat side of triangle resists air and liquid flow
Sphere shown
Egg-shaped body showing resistance
Wing-shaped body with fewer eddies
Streamlined body with blunt nose and tapering rear, geometric design (parabola)
Lots of abstract shapes shown in fluid which depicts airflow around these bodies
High angle pan looking down on busy city street showing traffic (good)
Hand drawing shapes on blackboard
Animation of streamlined city of future, where cars can go 100 miles per hour (good)
Hand drawing pencil renderings of streamlined features of 1937automobiles Ð wipe in and out of actual features shown on a current-model 1937 car (this happens five or six times with different features)
Running shot of 1937 Chevrolet from different angles
Circular wipe to Chevy hubcap and end title



CHEVROLET AUTOMOBILES ADVERTISING TRANSPORTATION DESIGN STYLING STREAMLINING AERODYNAMICS Safety