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CHEVROLET AUTOMOBILES PROMOTIONAL FILM "SAFETY BUILT IN" CHEVY BEL AIR (See 87365z) 87365z (1957)

1957 · Short film · 9 min

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Synopsis

This black and white adverting film about safety built-in to the 1957 Chevrolet cars is presented by Chevrolet dealers and is a Jam Handy Picture. The film attempts to present safety innovations featured in the car, and while there are some, hindsight reveals that the cars of the 1950s were woefully equipped to meet accidents. Few if any were equipped with seat belts, and the Bel Air (like many cars of its era) had protruding items on the dash board, a telescoping steering wheel column the could crush a driver in a crash, and a solid, non-breaking steering wheel among other things. A 1920s dressed man drives a 1920 Chevrolet FB-50 Touring car now a 1950s street (:07-1:00). The image is replaced with a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe (1:01-1:35). The female driver’s 1957 bow pump shoe is shown up-close on the gas pedal and then moves to the power brake (1:39-1:43). The large steering wheel is shown, followed by an up-close view of the ventilation button choices (1:44-1:52). The turn signal at the back of the tail fin is shown blinking (1:53-1:55). Her finger pushes in the automatic windshield washer button, turning the electric wipers on. The new larger windshield is compared to one from 1937 with the strip down the middle and corner posts, 1949 is the same with curvier glass, 1953 has no center strip, 1955 has tipped the corner posts back, and the 1957 version as one large windshield made of safety plate glass without the blind spots in the structure (1:56-2:40). The Bel…

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Details

Running time
9 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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