This black and white adverting film about safety built-in to the 1957 Chevrolet cars is presented by Chevrolet dealers and is a Jam Handy Picture. The film attempts to present safety innovations featured in the car, and while there are some, hindsight reveals that the cars of the 1950s were woefully equipped to meet accidents. Few if any were equipped with seat belts, and the Bel Air (like many cars of its era) had protruding items on the dash board, a telescoping steering wheel column the could crush a driver in a crash, and a solid, non-breaking steering wheel among other things.
A 1920s dressed man drives a 1920 Chevrolet FB-50 Touring car now a 1950s street (:07-1:00). The image is replaced with a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe (1:01-1:35). The female driver’s 1957 bow pump shoe is shown up-close on the gas pedal and then moves to the power brake (1:39-1:43). The large steering wheel is shown, followed by an up-close view of the ventilation button choices (1:44-1:52). The turn signal at the back of the tail fin is shown blinking (1:53-1:55). Her finger pushes in the automatic windshield washer button, turning the electric wipers on. The new larger windshield is compared to one from 1937 with the strip down the middle and corner posts, 1949 is the same with curvier glass, 1953 has no center strip, 1955 has tipped the corner posts back, and the 1957 version as one large windshield made of safety plate glass without the blind spots in the structure (1:56-2:40). The Bel Air continues driving on a highway. The female driver wears a white-collared striped blouse. She is showing pressing the brake pedal, steering, and pressing the gas pedal (2:41-3:03). The close-up is on one of the white-wall tires. The Bel Air logo is clearly seen. The inner mechanism of rivet-less bonded brake linings are shown. The Bel Air comes to a smooth stop on the road instead of the jerky stop of a 1940s car (3:04-3:44). Her hands grip the steering wheel in the proper position, and the dashboard is seen (3:45-3:57). To illustrate car balance, an upside-down glass bottle is easily knocked over by a spoon. When hit with the base of the bottle on the table, it doesn’t fall over. The lowering of the center of gravity in car bodies is illustrated. A Bel Air makes a tight turn around a corner on a cone track (3:58-4:50). Weigh distribution is illustrated with a box that swings out on a turn when one end is weighted heavier than the other. The new Chevy is weigh balanced just a little behind center. A Chevy drives past on the highway (4:51-5:44). A 1940s car has one front wheel drift off the edge of the concrete road and the car reacts. The 1957 Chevy repeats this action and smoothly gets back on the road, shown from the side and back views (5:45-6:45). A truck unexpectedly pulls out onto the highway and the driver quickly accelerates to pass it. A 1930s car’s back tire is stuck in mud. Posit traction is illustrated on the 1957 Chevy and it easily escapes the mud (6:46-7:35). A long-shot is of many cars on a busy highway with an overpass. The woman’s reflection is shown in her side-view mirror. Other male and female faces are shown in the mirror. A blank mirror is shown to imagine your face in it, driving the Bel Air (7:36-8:48).
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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 and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
