Business screen magazine (1947)

Case History: rural America FARM AND LUMBER PRODUCTS IN THE NEW FILM THE NEW EH. MS lead oil m Ecbiuaiv uiili a iuhiiIki ol agi iciilluial Mibjcrts. Dairvins. luniljciing. (hickcn hatching and till' good l)U4incss of farming itself are noleudiiln among the programs of tin' moiilli. ELSIE COMES TO LIFE Sponsor: Borden Company. Film: Life With Elsie. Producer: B. K. Blake, Inc. i( Elsie, Bordtn's lamous cow wlio lias appeared in countless magazine advcrlisements lor the past twche years, is now the star of a new color motion ])icturc. Life Willi Elsir, which tells the story of the milk industry. Ilie problem of portraying Elsie in an animated cartoon was an unusual and difliddl one. .\ very precise im])ression ol Elsies character has been formed by the .Vmeriian public after so many years' accjuaintance with her; any slight deviation from this diaracler woidd have robbed the film of its charm and credulence, besides having a detrimental effect on Borden's delightful trademark. But. after testing do/ens of \oices and discarding (bki.ow) Eliic, liordcn's loidcly-iidvi-rti.sfd low is llie lirroinc of Ihe new nuiinalt'd cartoon suhjecl ri'vicu'fd on lliis l>(igi'. hmidieds ol cartoon likenesses. Elsie has linallv become alixe, and the resulting animated seciuences of her home life add a gieat amount ol popular appeal to a good educational |)iciine. .\n inleresling sidelight on the intensi\e and prolonged jjioduction work in\olvcd in bringing Elsie to life is the possible use of the cliaracter in television programming. Borden has been a |jioneer television advertiser and a silent static Elsie has become well known to televiewers as the Compan\ trademark. The establishment of the moving, talking cow may lead to a much increased use of her in futuie television commercials. Following the animated inliodiK tion, l.ijc Willi Ehii lollows in live action the path ol the milk we chink from cows grazing in a pasiuie to the milkman at the door. We are shown ihc Kiu li.inis. imlking. rcccixing stations, bottling plants, and the elaborate testing procedures in every step of the way to insure fresh, pure nnik of a constant high (piality. One interesting sequence shows the testing of milk bottles mider a polariscope to determine strength. liottles with weak s|)ots are discovered b\ the characteristic red. giecn and yellow rings caused b\ internal stresses and are discarded. Life Willi Elsie is a good example of carelul Idm |)lanning. From its inception the lilni has been organized as a production-disII ibiMioiipromoiion package to meet the ex,1(1 needs ol the Borden Conipanv. 15ecause ilie Borden oigani/alion encompasses tliirlv local companies operating in as manv cities ihiDughoiit the tountrv. often with a diflereni (Ol pen ate name, the film was produced so ilial local names and scenes could be sul)Mi lilted in versions for the use of each compain One hundred prints will be used iniiiallv in cooiclinaled distribution and piomotion plans involving non-theatrical school and adult giDiip slums I'roiMoiion pieces and suggested lie in materials for the various companies and dealers are now being ]jroduced for use in iiiiensive local promotion. This film, on the milk industry, is the first ol a series of film packages designed to ])reseni Borden products to niolion picture audiences. Productions are also being planned on cheese, coffee and otfier products. (ieorge Blake wrote and directed Life With Elsir, and 15. K. Blake. Inc. produced for the Borden C^ompany. LUMBER INDUSTRY Sponsor: \Veyerhauser Timber Company. Film: "Green Harvest." Producer: \\'ilding Picture Productions. * Green Harvest is a public relations film designed to show how one of the major lumber producing companies ni the countrv conducts its operations, and |)roiects our natural lesources. Becausej^ the film is meant for general audience use, the point o[ the film is carried in story form. .-V young couple, played by Inez Cooper and Bob Wilcox, take themselves off to a cabin in the .Northwest forests for their honevmoon. While enjoving the scenic splendors of the wooded regiejn they get into a discussion of whether lumber companies are destroying the forests. A visit from her uncle, who is a tree specialist, settles the questicjn for them, as he explains and the picture illustrates how the Weyerhauser Company operates. .Shown are the tree fanns and re-foresting ejperaiions of the companv. Selective logging and re|)lanting of logged over areas assure a continuous supplv of lumber in the regions ejwned or controlled b\ W'eveihauser. as well as protecting the forests, the watersheds and preventing eiosion in this, one of .Vmcrica's few remaining heavily forested regions. Exteriors for the film were made in Oregon and Washington, interiors weie filmed in the Wileiing Siuelios in Los .\ngeles. JUST FOR FARMERS Sponsor: Texas Company. Film: Just A Fanner. Producer: .Audio Picxluctions. •k f he average worker or small businessman ill :iii\ line of endeavor usually gets along 26 BUSINESS SCREEN MAGAZINE