Freedom of the American Road (Part I) (1955)

★★★★ · To Create a Society Dominated by the Automobile · Christine Hennig · 2004-08-12

This 50s film, sponsored by Ford, emphasizes the need for better highways so that Americans can go places lots faster and the landscape can be further dominated by the automobile. How better highways were built in four different parts of the country is shown. It mostly involves the grass-roots efforts of ordinary citizens, yet the sponsored nature of the film makes you wonder how grass-roots these efforts really were. All changes that result from bigger and faster highways are shown to be beneficial in all ways. The campiest part of the film is the last segment, which shows the citizens of…

★★★ · It's Bloody Bayshore Day! · Spuzz · 2003-06-20

In this grand expose of why the roadways of America are in need of repair, RIGHT NOW! Henry Frd II sweatily introduces us to the film, Ford, who BADLY reads from cue cards, introduces us to the real star of the show, "the traffic safety and highway improvement reporter" Wesbrook Van Vorheen (????), a man who's face and body clearly doesnt match the voice. In his deep basso nova voice. 4 "actual" scenarios are reported on, each seemingly more duller then the first. The first report, about the mayhem and carnage on the Palo Alto Bayshore highway, is clearly the most interesting. Shots of…