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Poster for Behind the Bright Lights (1935)

Behind the Bright Lights (1935)

1935 · Ephemeral film · 7 min

  • Documentary
Watch now On the Internet Archive

Synopsis

Documentary that focuses on the famous giant flashing "Chevrolet" electric sign atop a skyscraper in downtown Chicago. Shown are how the sign works, and the crew--from workers who replace burned-out bulbs to electrical engineers--that makes certain the sign and its thousands of parts are in working order.

Synopsis from OMDb

Details

Studio
Jam Handy Organization (JHO), General Motors, Chevrolet Division
Released
1935-11-22
Running time
7 minutes

Reviews on the Internet Archive

★★★★★ · Where are the unions when you need them? · Spuzz · 2003-01-12

A fascinating historical relic, The big Chevrolet sign seemed to be one GIANT headache to take care of. In the film we see workers precariously, and I mean PRECARIOUSLY, hanging off swings to screw new light bulbs in. Some are even shown hanging on to dear life with no support at all! This is not an easy site to see, folks. As well, we see the electrical goings on explained to us. All I can say to THAT is... ELECTRICAL FIRE IN THE MAKING. Reccomended!

★★★★★ · Excellent film for its era · ERD · 2006-05-25

"Behind The Bright Lights" is a flashy, short vintage film showing how the 1935 Chevrolet electric sign in Chicago worked and was maintained. Informative and entertaining.

★★★★ · CHEVROLET...CHEVROLET...CHEVROLET... · Christine Hennig · 2003-12-07

This 30s film tells us how the huge lighted Chevrolet sign in New York City worked, including the part where letters crawl by spelling various advertising messages. ItÃÂÃÂs actually pretty interesting and well explained. Of course, I love old signs anyway so this is just up my alley. Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.

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