“The Last Ten Feet” is a circa 1940 black-and-white presentation by oil and gas manufacturer Esso and the Oil Industry Information Committee. “All that the average motorist sees of the American oil industry is the ten feet of hose leading from the service station gasoline pump to his car. This is the story behind those last ten feet,” a card tells us at mark 00:47. From there the 1940s-era film embarks on telling that tale as friendly gas station attendants filling tanks, checking tire pressure, and cleaning window, and we see cars, trucks, planes, and boats in action — all of which rely on gasoline to move. At mark 02:15 the camera captures men and women as they head off to work and others working on oil derricks. Beginning at mark 03:20 the film offers a brief lesson on the history of oil drilling starting with Edwin Drake, the first American to successfully drill for oil in Pennsylvania in the 1850s. From there the film tells us of how “the greatest treasure hunt known to man” started — the search for oil — with scenes of drills biting into the earth looking for black gold and using dynamite to further the search (mark 05:25). The film illustrates how vibrations from the shock waves strike rock deep inside the ground and bound back to waiting detectors on the surface to help determine whether oil is present. Once oil is found, crews work to conserve as much as possible so as not to waste it, as it played out starting at mark 06:55. As a drill bit continues drilling the narrator explains how it is kept cool so as not to burn out and later how it is changed. Natural gas found with oil is captured to be used as fuel (mark 11:32) with the crude oil sent on to refineries, as is shown at mark 11:55. The distribution process follows (mark 12:38) with trucks, barges, and railroad tankers are shown transporting the product, as is the construction of pipelines.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com