This 1940s era promo film seeks to encourage the participation of young men from across America in the annual model building competition of the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild. Between 1930 and 1968, the Fisher Body Division of General Motors sponsored this competition, which offered enticing cash prizes as well as university scholarships, as a design aptitude litmus test for young men 12-19 years old who would go on to be automobile designers for GM. In addition to filling its ranks with new talent, the competition acted as a powerful and successful marketing tool.. For the first seven years of the competition, participants were asked to build models of Napoleonic carriages featuring the Fisher Body logo; however, after this period the competition was expanded to include model automobiles, many of which went on to be manufactured by GM.
Model-size Napoleonic style carriage (0:32). Model car prototypes (1:02). Inspection of carriage interior (1:33). Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild membership application (1:50). Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild membership card (2:20). Instructions manual for carriage (2:25). Young man working with carpentry tools (2:51). Teacher helping student work on project (3:10). Young man working on a piece for his model (3:24). Young man looking at final product of model-size carriage (4:09). Interior shot of carriage (4:34). Animated version of carriage interior with window view of animated American landscape (4:53). Details of competition prizes (4:58-6:29). Footage of America’s countryside as viewed from a moving train (6:32). Frontal view of a FT 103 diesel-electric train Santa Fe line (6:34). Detroit Statler Hotel also known as Detroit Hilton Hotel in Downtown Detroit, Michigan (6:38). Instruction manual for model cars (6:50). Close up view of model car (7:10). Animated footage of moving car passing signs with competition prize information. (7:30-9:05). America’s countryside as viewed from the window of a moving train (9:06). Side shot of Santa Fe line FT 103 diesel-electric train (9:14). Young men wearing newsboy caps and shirts with 1940s style convertible collars(9:28). Young man holding ‘Argus A’ model 35mm camera (9:35). Competition participants posing for photo in front of a D.S.R. Ford “Rear Engine” transit bus (9:36). Competition participants getting onto a bus (9:40). Interior shot of bus and boys, men, and women sitting in seats (9:52). Bus crossing United States-Canada land border from Detroit, Michigan via the ‘Tunnel to Canada’ (10:01). Busses driving on the highway heading to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan (10:20). Reproduction of Independence Hall, replica of the building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where the Declaration of Independence was signed (10:25). Participants walking towards Wright Cycle Co shop where the Wright Brothers built the first airplane (10:32). The original shop was in Dayton, Ohio but was moved to Greenfield Village. Scan of early inventions and machines (10:48). Streamline cruiser leaving dock amidst sailboats sailing across Lake St. Clair (10:59). Footage of young men on the streamline cruiser (11:07-11:17). The boat docks at an island and boys exit the streamline cruiser (11:24). Boys in a semi-circle holding may be a Hanna Manufacturing Company cupped style baseball bat (11:30). Baseball game east against west, from the nine regions of the United States, from Connecticut to California and Texas to Minnesota (11:32). Relay races (11:48). Sack race (12:03). Diving into a pool and swimming freestyle stroke (12:18). Individual doing the breaststroke underwater (12:36). Cargo ship (12:48). GM proving grounds in Milford, Michigan (12:54). Chevrolet 1940s car models being tested on race track (13:12). Car leaving GM factory (13:22). GM Assembly Line (13:33). Judges checking models (13:44). Large banquet for competition winners (14:06). Dr. George J. Fisher announces winners (14:15). American universities (14:37). Winners leaving the banquet (15:07). Model car and carriage on rotating table (15:25).
Dr. George J. Fisher was the National Boy Scout Commissioner (1919-1943) and Honorary President of Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild.
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, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
