Dating to 1953 and starring Dinah Shore, “A Great New Star” was made by Jam Handy productions for Chevrolet, to promote the new 1953 Chevy. This sophisticated short uses Shore as both a narrator, and for her considerable vocal talents, and uses the premise of making a commercial about the new Chevy to entertain the audience. The film starts with Day on a soundstage, prompted by a film director and cameraman. She begins to sing “It’s a Most Unusual Day”. After the song concludes, Shore narrates a transition to the introduction of a “new performer” and “new star” — which turns out to be the new 1953 Chevrolet. Shore expresses admiration for the car’s detailed design, both exterior and interior, emphasizing its beauty, comfort, and innovative features. A car salesman is then shown speaking to customers and giving a full sales pitch; but then it is revealed that he and the customers are actors on the same soundstage as Shore, and even the background shown is fake — the result of process photography. This clever trick helps further the narrative. The film provides a detailed description of the car’s high-compression Blue Flame engine, highlighting its performance and economy benefits, as well as the new Powerglide transmission. The conclusion, with Shore accompanying singing the famous “Chevrolet song”, underscores the overall features and benefits of the 1953 Chevrolet, while showcasing the available models. (Note: at the time this film was made, Shore she starred in a twice-weekly 15-minute musical interlude for Chevrolet on NBC-TV.)
00:00: Intro. 0:37-2:38: On a Hollywood soundstage, a director, soundman and a cameraman are shown ready to film Dinah Shore. The “Quiet Please” lamp lights up, and Shore gets the cue to sing a song. 3:02-3:12: Day speaks to the camera and gives an introduction of the new 1953 Chevrolet, highlighting its beauty and design. 3:12-3:36: Continued admiration of the car’s detailed design and aesthetics. 3:36-4:36: A salesman in a showroom gives a detailed description of the new Chevrolet’s design features to customer / actors. His descriptions includes comments on the grille, fender lines, and windows. 4:36-6:45: Description of the new Chevrolet’s interior design, features, and comfort. Shots of the car out in the real world, driving down highways and past pleasant scenery. 6:45-7:01: Having made a costume change, Dinah Shore returns to the film, and narrates a segment explaining about process photography, while a commercial director puts the cast through their paces. The background behind the car changes as part of the process photography system. 7:01-9:29: Introduction and detailed description of the Chevrolet’s new high-compression Blue Flame engine, its performance, and economy benefits. 9:29-10:19: Explanation of the new Powerglide transmission and its drivability benefits. 10:19-10:42: Conclusion highlighting the overall new features and benefits of the 1953 Chevrolet. 10:42-11:30: Musical cue and Dinah Shore starts to sing a famous song, encouraging viewers to “see the USA in your Chevrolet” and highlighting the choice of Chevrolet models.
The “Blue Flame” engine shown in this film is perhaps better known as the Chevrolet Stovebolt engine. The “Blue Flame” name was only officially applied beginning in 1953, and then only for the 235ci version coupled to the Powerglide automatic transmission (including in the Corvette). The first Stovebolts were made in 1929 and production continued until 1962.and was the company’s base engine starting in 1955 when it added the small block V8 to the lineup. It was completely phased out in North America by 1962, but GM continued to build it in Brazil until 1979.
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