The Egg and Us (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #478 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

The “egg” of the title is a nest egg of U.S. Savings bonds. This film tries to attribute the postwar prosperity of the 50s entirely to the Savings Bond program, which is laughable, to say the least. Beyond that, though, this film is a great snapshot of 50s attitudes towards its own time. Postwar prosperity is presented as a natural outgrowth of the American way of life (read: capitalism) and the optimistic idea that it will never end is not questioned. This seems particularly naïve when they talk about inflation. For all that, it’s not very campy, really, but it does give you a good look at the 50s mindset. And it has lots of that 50s cute-style animation, too.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.