Signs of the Times No.2
A Technicolor magazine treat with movie stars, make-up and handy hints, promoting popular products of the day.
Gaze upon the Technicolor beauty of 1950s Britain as we peep behind the scenes at actress Jean Kent's new bath time luxury, where we learn that 9 out of 10 film stars prefer Lux soap. There are handy baking tips on adding cherries to a cake mixture. Wisk washing powder is put to the test and Maureen Dyson (nee Gardner), who had jointly smashed the hurdle world record at the 1948 London Olympics, loosens up for a demonstration of hurdling with grace and speed. Finally, costume designer Julie Harris is seen selecting fabrics, drawing a blueprint and giving instruction. The completed dress is fitted to a model as Harris endorses drinking Horlicks as a nightcap.
Cinemagazine, in Technicolor, combining general interest items with ads for Lux Toilet Soap, Wisk washing powder and Horlicks.
JEAN KENT'S NEW BATHTIME LUXURY. Advert for new bath-size Lux soap. Jean Kent applies make-up and is chauffeur driven to the film studios, where she enters her dressing room. "Like 9 out of 10 film stars she uses Lux" (53) TAKING THE CAKE. A housewife slices glace cherries and coats them with flour before adding to cake mixture. The baked cake. Icing the cake (154) SIMPLE AS ABC. Advert for Wisk washing powder: a housewife loads a copper-topped washing machine. During its 3 minute boil she soaks a dirty duster in a bowl of Wisk lather, wrings it out and dries it. By using Wisk 1-3 hours are saved each wash day (251) GRACE AND SPEED. British hurdler Maureen Dyson (nee Gardner) loosening up on a running track during training. Getting into her blocks. Her start and hurdling action are seen in slow and normal motion. She poses for the camera (346) A DESIGN FOR LIVING. Horlicks advert. Julie Harris, dress designer for the cinema, gets out of bed. She is seen selecting dress fabrics, drawing a blueprint and giving instructions to a toile cutter. The completed dress is fitted to a fashion model. Harris drinking Horlicks as a nightcap (442)
Tags
Cinema Advertising Comes of Age
The 1930s saw screen advertising find its voice. That wasn't just down to the arrival of the 'talkies', but to the increasing professionalism of ad agencies and production companies.
Through WWII and the postwar austerity years and into the 'never had it so good' 1950s - when it had to compete with the new commercial television service - cinema advertising offered a bigger bang for your advertising buck.
31 videos in this collection
1
2
Music Hath Charms
3
The Warning (Gibbs S.R. Toothpaste)
4
Every Man His Own Housewife (Persil Advert)
5
Let's Ask the Ladies
6
Murder in the Air
7
Bee Wise!
8
Sketchbook of Fashion (Knights Castile Advert)
9
Aladdin and the Junior Genie
10
Signs of the Times No.3
11
Fable of the Fabrics
12
It all Depends Which Way You Look at It (Solidox Advert)
13
Signs of the Times No 196
14
A Thief in the Night
15
Change for the Better
16
Little Miss Muddlehead (Rinso Advert)
17
What's Missing from this Picture?
18
Signs of the Times
19
Signs of the Times
20
Mousewife's Choice
21
Mrs Mopp's Birthday
22
The Trawl in Action
23
Signs of the Times No.2
24
Molar Mischief (Solidox Advert)
25
Shippam's Guide to Opera
26
Put Una Money for There
27
Signs of the Times No.58
28
Says Sirdani
29
Thief in the Night (Persil Advert)
30
Changing Hues
31