This wartime black & white educational/promotional film is about Texaco and its petroleum products, and what Texaco service station owners can do to help the war effort. Since civilian car production was curtailed during the war, what this effort amounted to, was to help keep existing cars on the road. This was made in early 1942, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor as America’s involvement in the war deepened, and as rubber, oil, gasoline and other products began to be rationed.
Opening titles: “Help Make America Strong!” produced by WIlding Picture Productions, Inc. for Texaco (:06-:13). Newspaper headline: December 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor Bombed. A bomb explodes. America readies for war. Tanks drive. An oil rig. Nurses on the march. Factory workers use machines. A defense or Liberty Bond is bought. Income tax (:58). Cars drive through the city. Shirtless men line up to be weighed as part of induction in the military. Soldiers train. Oil refineries. Texaco tanker trucks. Oil tankers on the high seas. Gasoline is put into a gas tank. Train goes by. A pipeline is being worked on. Sherman tanks go down a highway. Texaco gas station. Cars drive towards a city (:14-3:08). Soldiers march. Newspaper headline reads: Production Stops on All 1942 Cars. There is a rubber shortage. Metal shortage. Planes fly. Men work machines. A man cleans the Sky Chief pumps at a Texaco service station. A service station owner addresses the camera. Two gas station men talk as airplanes fly overhead. They realize times are changing and there is a war but they must put their attention to keeping cars on the road. The Texaco “Save Your Car” service plan can help. This plan is discussed and shown. People who have a vital need to use cars speak – they need to make sure their cars stay functioning (3:09-7:22). A car pulls up to the service station. The owner fills the car with gas. He wipes down the car as well, keeps it clean. He puts air in one of the front tires. The two men continue to discuss (7:23-9:24). Two service station men talk. Another car pulls up to the station. The man exits his car. The owner checks the oil and then goes into his car and looks around. As one owner watches, the other performs some work on the man’s car. The Dodge car is on a hoist and the tires are shown – they look heavily worn and need to be rotated (9:25-12:06). The owner works on the car as it’s on the hoist. The man returns for his car. Closeup on a bill. The man enters his car (12:07-13:24). The two owners continue to chat about keeping cars on the road (13:25-14:00). A car pulls into a Texaco station. Cars move down the roads of America. HELP WIN THE WAR is on the screen followed by KEEP CARS ROLLING and then GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS MORE AND BETTER SERVICE! Your car is a national asset is on the screen and then screen goes to gray, no end credits (14:01-14:51).
