This General Electric picture “The Power By Which We Live” was produced by Wilding Picture Productions Inc. in New York in 1950. It describes how important electricity is in all aspects of life and explains in detail how General Electric ‘turbine generators’ are built and quality ensured. The film is directed by O. P. Lippert, photographed by J. Lafleur, narrated by Nelson N. Olmstead, and edited by John C. Fuller. Morgan Gibney wrote the story with C. S. McBride as technical advisor, music score by Benny Kyte, and sound by Ray Esh.

“Power by which we live” title banner (00:09). A sunrise over New York City (00:23). Locals attend to morning activities, such as the milkman delivering milk, and a person retrieving the daily newspaper (01:22). Commuters take the bus and trains, including one pulled by a GG-1 electric locomotive (01:30). A location of General Electric’s production of electric power (01:59). Two workers in the control room (02:16). A lift bridge is electronically operated from a bridge tower to make way for large ships sailing through the Harlem River (02:29). Clouds darkening in the sky before a storm (02:58). The control room workers meet the increased demand for power due to the weather conditions (03:07). Pedestrians walking through New York City (03:30). An electric power plant (03:38). Everyday activities, which require electricity, such as watching television and cooking (03:40). A turbine generator and illustrations explaining how it works by converting fuel into electricity (04:10). Cars driving on highways (06:07). Maintenance-work on the turbine generator (06:33). Mathematical calculations for developing the generators (06:45). A team of engineers and technicians is testing different parts of the turbine to research the development of the generator (06:59). Different metals are tested for turbine-durability in precision furnaces (08:45). A differential analyzer assists researchers in solving complicated mathematical problems (09:20). Engineers discuss new design ideas of the turbine generator (10:05). A furnace melts a block of metal and heavy machinery is used to shape the block once mendable (10:26). Metal pieces are cut out of flat metals plates (12:22). Produced parts are assembled as the turbine generator takes shape (12:36). All parts are inspected carefully to ensure the quality meets the standards (13:08). Silver pieces are polished to improve performance (15:21). An inspection process uses magnetic bath to reveal imperfections (15:47) Further inspections and tests are run to reveal faults and ensure the quality (16:31). All parts are assembled in the final stage of building a turbine generator (18:26). Workers perform a final test run of the assembled machine (18:59). A book with pictures of the turbine generators throughout time (19:43). A large ship carrying an operative turbine generator brining power out to sea for the Navy during times of war (20:08). An atomic explosion at sea as part of Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll 1946. (21:05). Illustrations explaining the use of atomic energy as a source of electric power (21:23). Atomic power plants (21:36). Views of New York City (21:48). Views of the generator production (21:58). An electrically powered train (22:03). Electricity powering communication, city lights, and homes (22:06).

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 and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com