Achievement USA (1955)
1955 · Ephemeral film · 10 min
- Documentary
- Short
Synopsis
In Flint, Michigan, on November 23, 1954, General Motors produced its 50 millionth car. This promotional film presents the big doings that day: no school, a golden Chevrolet assembled as that special car, and a parade downtown. The narration celebrates the auto industry as the driving force in the expansion of the U.S. economy for fifty years, and it weaves celebration of GM's success with patriotic fervor. We see the 50 millionth car assembled and the parade that features milestone cars, marching bands, and floats for each GM division and trademark. The crowd surges onto the street after the parade passes and the chorus sings, "You ain't seen nothing yet."
Synopsis from OMDb
Details
- Running time
- 10 minutes
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Prelinger Archives
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- Car culture: Ceremonies
Cast & crew
- Harlow H. Curtice
- T.H. Keating
- Ivan Wiles
Reviews on the Internet Archive
★★★★★ · great · kneel · 2004-01-18
this is a classic, also seen in the beginning and clips thruoughout michael Moore's "ROGER and ME" and I know he was never that special, i also noticed he took other clips from archive.org's movies in Bowling for Columbine, just wanted to pint that out :)
★★★★★ · Flint - Total Shitshow I Was Robbed at Gunpoint · Devi Detroit · 2025-08-06
In 1991, I was robbed at gunpoint in Flint, aka Little Detroit. Only in h.s., they got my id's & keys, my Dad immediately changed all the locks on the house. We lived over an hour away. I have previously worked for Ford & GM, don't be fooled. Thanks to the high-paying jobs & health care coverage, for the last 30 years, they now fill those roles with "Temps." Temps who work there for decades, without any of the benefits, profit sharing, raises, promotions, medical coverage, etc.
★★★★ · It was a great accomplishment, for those times. · Ermott · 2009-12-27
The building of the 50 millionth General Motros car, was for it's time an amazing accomplishment. It represented the cummulative effort of hundreds of thousands of people in the span of some 50 odd years. In the automotive world of 1954, (The film was made in 1954, showing the new 1955 model year cars.) it was a highpoint that those participating knew would not come by again during their working lives. The 100 millionth Chevy was built in 1979, a Monza. I think it's all too easy to loose sight of the fact that these films were produced during a time when industrial might was expressed by…
★★★★ · Great patriotic film · Spuzz · 2002-12-11
Achievement USA focuses on the production of General Motors' 50 millionth vehicle. To celebrate this, GM put on a whopper of a parade in 1955. This film has great coverage of the parade, with floats in styles they just don't make anymore, great production line scenes, and much back slapping by GM higherups. Once again, being 1955, it amazed me how many people turn out to see such an event. Maybe it's to see Sludgy, the oil drip mascot.
★★★★ · Achievement USA · Christine Hennig · 2003-02-23
Woohoo!! General Motors just made its 50 MILLIONTH CAR!! I mean, isn't that EXCITING??? GM sure thinks so. It makes a golden Chevrolet, trucks in a lot of bigwigs on a golden train for a really big shew, and hosts a parade for the citizens of Flint, Michigan, and everybody else as well, since they made a film of it. The speech by the old corporate guy is boring, but the parade is loads of fun, featuring tacky floats by the dozens, some hideously-mutated human sparkplugs, and a brief sighting of the thoroughly evil Sludgy (Bucky Beaver Warning!!). My husband asked, "I wonder how the Trojan…
★★★★ · A Time the U.S.A. was confident · ERD. · 2010-03-10
In 1954-55, our country was proud and confident of its future. It is so well seen in this film. Many people felt they could achieve part or all of their dreams.