Archive Watch

The Quiet Revolution (1956)

1956 · Ephemeral film · 9 min

Synopsis

Shows how Ford earthmoving equipment helped the builders of Levittown, Pennsylvania achieve economies of scale, with images of home and infrastructure construction.

Synopsis, reviewed

Details

Running time
9 minutes
Collection
Prelinger Archives

Subjects on the Internet Archive

Reviews on the Internet Archive

★★★ · Was Levittown run by the Mob? · Spuzz · 2004-04-14

All you ever wanted to know about the building of the town of Levittown (Personal space? Never!) NY is shown here, all done by the sponsor of this film Ford Tractors. Speed speed speed is the importance here, as the builders take home building to news highs in productivity and new lows in originality. All of this was supervised by a bunch of suspicious-looking porty italian folk, who continually smoke while nodding to whatever plans. Fairly interesting, but not spectacular.

★★★ · Cute Homes, but · JayKay49 · 2012-01-28

...sheesh...too close together! I guess the practice of moving way way out to the sticks just to be cheek over jowl with the neighbors didnt wait unitl Macomb Twp Michigan got built up. It was already in progress in the fifties. There's one aspect of human behaviour I could never figure out. Thank God my parents always held out for a corner lot. I imagine with all those houses heated with oil heat, that neighborhood must've smelled like a refinery on a cold winter day. Wish they spent more time showing some of the finished homes and a little less Teeny Marone. Note how in those days they…

★★ · Building Suburbia · Karma Hawk · 2005-03-25

This film was probobly used as an instructional video for Ford employees on how to operate tractors and build houses. however it's hard to tell really as it could also be a promotional film to get people excited about ford tractors. The film is pretty basic in that it shows how Ford tractors and other vehicles are used to build a small comunity in Delaware. Overall it's intresting if your into tractors or 50's style suberbia, but not for anyone else.

★★ · The Quiet Revolution · trafalgar · 2004-03-26

...is apparently the 50's population shift to the suburbs. Which inspires this look at the equipment used to build those suburbs, brought to you by Ford's tractor and equipment division. The assembly line method of construction is explained, continually stressing how cheaply and quickly the homes were built. If you need stock footage of construction, or if you live in Levittown, this will be priceless. Also features a big fat construction worker named "Teeny".

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