Please note: The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year, including around 1.2 million deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke. All forms of tobacco are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Other tobacco products include waterpipe tobacco, various smokeless tobacco products, cigars, cigarillos, roll-your-own tobacco, pipe tobacco, bidis and kreteks.

“Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco” (1943) is a black-and-white promotional film featuring musical performances by Kay Kyser and Frank Sinatra. Made for Lucky Strike Cigarettes, the film presents two live musical performances – one by Frank Sinatra singing “Stardust” and the other of Kay Kyser leading a live band and singers in “Ma, He’s Makin’ Eyes At Me.” The film also sheds light on the cigarette production process from the tobacco auction house to the Lucky Strike factory in Richmond, Virginia while the narrator repeats the tagline “Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco So Round So Firm So Fully Packed.”

Silhouette of male singer wearing fedora illuminated onto tobacco leaf (0:08). Stage with Lucky Strike posters hanging from silk curtains: conductor Mark Wano directing Lucky Strike Orchestra, the Hit Paraders choir appears on stage followed by star of show Frank Sinatra (0:30). Close-up of Frank Sinatra in 1940s double breasted suit in bow tie singing “Stardust” (0:52). Hit Paraders co-ed chorus: four women in front row wearing 1940s style floor-length dresses, men stand behind in white blazers and black bow ties (1:57). Camera returns to Sinatra (2:03). Wide shot of Sinatra, orchestra, and chorus for song finale (2:56). Female factory worker sits on assembly line, gathers completed cigarettes and stacks them into organizer; close-up of bee-hive like formation of cigarettes compactly stacked (3:24). Close-up woman’s manicured hand holding single cigarette, cuts through cigarettes side with small blade to reveal tobacco inside (3:36). Camera pans mature tobacco plants waving in wind; farmer inspects the tobacco plants in field, close-up of “nicotiana alata” tobacco flower (3:51). Wide-shot inside tobacco auction warehouse; clusters of dried and aged tobacco leaves laid on floor all throughout empty warehouse; close-up of tobacco auctioneer (4:07). Re-enactment of tobacco auction sale: representatives of Lucky Strike and other cigarette companies walk through warehouse with auctioneer inspecting the clusters of tobacco, buyers wearing fedoras and button up shirts with ties and rolled-up sleeves (4:38). Interview with tobacco auctioneer wearing 1940s double breasted suit and fedora (5:34). Aerial view delivery trucks carrying barrels of tobacco arriving at Lucky Strike Factory in Richmond, VA (5:48). Tobacco leaves blended in industrial mixer; completed cigarettes are placed by machine onto assembly line (5:56). Return to footage of female factory worker sits on assembly line, gathers completed cigarettes and stacks them into organizer (6:08). Row of female factory workers at individual stations in dresses and head piece organize finished cigarettes for packaging (6:21). Stage adorned with graduation cap and diploma, lucky strike cigarette boxes and tobacco leaves hanging from silk curtains: Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge featuring Harry Babbitt, Julie Conway, Sully Mason, Georgia Carroll, and “professor”/ conductor Kay Kyser wearing graduation robe (6:34). Kay Kyser speaks to camera before lively performance of “Ma, He’s Makin’ Eyes At Me” (6:45). Close-up Georgia Carroll (7:31). Close-up Harry Babbitt and Julie Conway singing together (8:08). Camera zooms into singular Lucky Strike cigarette, sleeve of cigarette splits apart to reveal cylindrical tube of tobacco (8:55). Animation of cigarette packaging, Lucky Strike logo placed on packet (9:12).

We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”

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