Behind the Lens (1940)

★★★ · or Why Cats Always Land on Their Feet · Christine Hennig · 2003-12-11

This film starts out pretty interesting, as it shows us and tells us about special scientific kinds of motion picture photography, such as time-lapse photography and slow-motion photography. But since it is a Jam Handy Chevrolet film, it has to get around to cars eventually, and when it does, showing us how special photography is used by Chevrolet engineers to understand how cars withstand bumps in the road, it gets rather boring. Fortunately, though, its a short film, and that means the boring part is short, too. Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***.…

★★★ · That Chevy is Hot · Dodsworth the Cat · 2025-06-04

This is yet another subtle push for Chevrolet, as we see how the company's 1940 sedans perform on imitation poor roads, and how its brakes handle heat, thanks to slow motion photography and "science." The slo-mo and time-lapse camera work is always interesting. As a bonus, we see a falling cat flipping over and landing on its feet. And AGAIN in slow motion. The short gets goofy at the end, with "heat" from a handshake and then from a kiss.