Signs of the Times No.58
A curious blue lake, a wonder tablet, a river boat and a picnic essential - sounds like the beginning of a story!
At the height of WWII, focusing on a blue lake in Switzerland which is a haven for trout seems a slightly odd topic for a Home Front news magazine - but Signs of the Times specialised in very short points of interest exactly like this. Other items include a mention for Elasto, the wonder tablet for joints, a variant of which is still available today. A tall mast on a river barge has a novel way to tackle low bridges - and the narrator doesn't hold back with the puns. Finally, audiences are reminded that it's essential to get the most out of wheat during the war, so ask your baker for National Wheatmeal Bread!
Cinemagazine combining general interest with advertising items.
Cover of a magazine called Signs of the Times. Words appear on the screen "THE MAGAZINE FILM" A hand turns the pages to the first story:
THE BLUE LAKE. A trout farm at Blau See, Switzerland where the water has a high lime content (125)
ARE YOU LEG WEARY? Advertisement for Elasto, the Wonder Tablet. Images of children running with optical tilting effect. Shot of a group of adult legs walking in the street, in slow motion, with on screen title, "Are you leg weary?"
Second shot of walking legs speeded up with titles, "Elasto will lighten your step! Elasto for... bad circulation... rheumatism... weak heart... leg ailments" Cuts to image of hand holding a box of Elasto tablets. Voiceover: "Remember the name. Elasto: the wonder tablet". Text on the screen, "Sold by chemists everywhere" (185).
SHOOTING A BRIDGE. A sailing barge approaches a low bridge. A man known as "the Huffler" rows out from the shore to aid its passage under the bridge by helping to lower the sails, which are raised again once the bridge is passed. Voiceover: "Just a barge, but built of the same stout English oak that conquered the seven seas" (310).
THE NEW STAFF OF LIFE. A wheat field. Voiceover: "It is essential in wartime that we get the best out of our wheat" A loaf of bread is sliced. "National Wheatmeal Bread contains all the wheat that is good to eat. So tomorrow, ask your baker for National Wheatmeal Bread." Name appears on the loaf. (335).
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