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Highways and Byways U.S.A. (1953)

1953 · Short film · 28 min

  • Western
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Synopsis

This 1953 film "Highways and Byways, U.S.A." was made by the "Farm Roads Foundation" as part of a surreptitious public awareness campaign by the Western Association of Railroads. The film and the campaign itself were intended to undermine the long-haul trucking industry in the eyes of the public, by making the point that tractor trailer trucks do not pay their fair share of highway construction and maintenance costs. "Highways and Byways" was in fact entered into evidence in a 1957 antitrust case brought by interstate long-haul truckers and the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association against the the Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference. In the end, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the railroads' publicity campaign was protected by the First Amendment, and dismissed the trucking industries' claims. The film was made by Dudley Pictures of Hollywood and shown for free in movie theaters. It was apparently based on an article by Emilie Hall, "You Can Have Better Roads" originally published in Country Gentlemen Magazine. The film dramatizes the efforts that farmers have to go through to get country roads repaired by the state. The point of the film is that farm roads in places like Dexter County are in very poor repair, harming everyday people, and that the government should fund better roads -- presumably by taxing the trucking industry. The film begins with images of modern highways and interstates, as well as a rural farm road (0:55) A red 1950's era Chevrolet truck is…

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Details

Running time
28 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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