Easy Does It (1940)

★★★★★ · I Love Jam Handy! · Robin_1990 · 2008-03-17

Out of all ther films in the Prelinger archive, It's the Jam Handy films I enjoy the most. Anyway, This film features some good footage of 1940 America, and it contains plenty of good footage of lifestyles and stuff. Jam Handy didn't create art, But their films are almost always entertaining. Light, Bouncy and Breezy; Just how I like my car commercials.

★★★★ · You've Got to Hand It to the Fair Sex; They're Anything but Slow... · Christine Hennig · 2006-03-11

Silly Jam Handy film that spends most of its time arguing that the members of the Âweaker sex do just as much hard work as men do, so therefore lots of time and energy has to be put into developing an easier gearshif for them. Yeah, I know, it doesnÂt make much sense to me, either, but since itÂs a Jam Handy film, itÂs bright and breezy and fun. I like the proposed automatic makeup machine portrayed at the end of the filmÂÂI want one for the Film Ephemeral Museum of Quirky Devices. Lots of great gender role stuff to mine here. Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical…

★★★★ · Yes, WW2 when the USA was respected... · JudgeBear69 · 2008-03-17

Yeah, we dumb USA Americans [not to be confused with our Canadian, Mexican or South American neighbors] had the so-called "good life" during the 1930s, when the depression all but sucked the life out of everyone's moral. I take it the previous reviewer is British, and I have ALOT of British friends, as well as a high regard for Britain. But this film is ABOUT effeciency. It's NOT about [USA] people living in "the land of milk & honey" while at the same time our neighbors in Europe [not just Britain] suffer. The FILM itself? A great time peice. SOUR GRAPES & sarcasm from ONE English reviewer…

★★★ · Break Out the Ergometer · Dodsworth the Cat · 2025-05-29

Jam Handy's writers litter this film with false equivalencies as it supposedly praises women (aka "modern girls"). Ironing? It's the same as laying 20 bricks (how many walls are made out of 20 bricks?). Men can't make a meal. Why? Well, because, um, because they can't. And how did that furniture get upstairs when men don't have the stamina to carry things like a mop up a floor? (Apparently bachelors are absolutely helpless in the Jam Handy World). And women can drive cars like men--but only because car companies (meaning Chevrolet) got rid of cranks and have some kind of cushioned shifting.…

★★★ · The ladies are weak! · Spuzz · 2003-04-28

In this so called salute to the american woman, which is really about easier gear shifters, we start out in a 'typical' household, watching a woman sweat herself silly over house chores. Methinks she's sweating because she's wearing awfully high heels for the chores. We then go fast forward and marvel at how much work she does (this scene is remniscent of 'Requiem For A Dream') we then (of course) switch over to car manufacturing. Realizing that women exert too much pressure on themselves shifting gears, scientists have created a much easier gear shifter, thereby easing the load. What makes…

While claiming to be "pro-woman" this film is deeply sexist · raininghoney · 2025-06-01

I'm so glad we don't live in the 1940s anymore. Nice shots of women doing cool things though. Swimming, biking, etc. Aside from the sexist commentary, the videography isn't bad. I used some clips for a music video.