Grandma Goes to School is a classic late 1940s or early 50s promotional film made by Jam Handy for Frigidaire about American living and the advantages and proper use of home electrical appliances.The film makes an argument about the reasons to upgrade appliances for the modern versions with all the conveniences. The film starts with a focus group — a school board composed of older men and ladies — arguing that there is no reason to upgrade, and then gradually shows how opinions change. When an older woman named Grandma Rockwell is hired to teach the home economics course at the local school, lessons are learned.
The film includes at 10:49, the new ice making conveniences are shown. At 11:57, a deep freezer is shown that allows items to be stored for months at a time without damage. At 17:00, a typical 1940s homemaker is seen, with a school girl showing how many days’ supplies of food can be stored for weeks or months at a time. A salad is made at 17:25 thanks to the crisper function of the refrigerator. At 21:30, a taste test is made of frozen food versus fresh foods and apparently no one can taste the difference… Discussions at 24:40 about the concept of frostless refrigerators and freezers.
Frigidaire is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of European parent company Electrolux. Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first self-contained refrigerator (invented by Nathaniel B. Wales and Alfred Mellowes) in 1916. In 1918, William C. Durant, a founder of General Motors, personally invested in the company and in 1919, it adopted the name Frigidaire.[citation needed] The brand was so well known in the refrigeration field in the early-to-mid-1900s that many Americans called any refrigerator (of whatever brand) a Frigidaire. The name Frigidaire or its antecedent Frigerator may be the origin of the widely-used English word fridge, although more likely simply an abbreviation of refrigerator which is a word known to have been used as early as 1611.
From 1919 to 1979, the company was owned by General Motors. During that period, it was first a subsidiary of Delco-Light and was later an independent division based in Dayton, Ohio. Frigidaire was sold to the White Sewing Machine Company in 1979, which in 1986 was purchased by Electrolux, its current parent.
While the company was owned by General Motors, its logo featured the phrase “Product of General Motors”, and later renamed to “Home Environment Division of General Motors”.
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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
