Cooking: Terms and What They Mean (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #376 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]

Margie, a new bride, ruins her first chocolate cake because she doesn’t know the meaning of basic cooking terms like “stir” and “boil.” Fortunately, the narrator explains all of these terms to her, and consequently she gets to bake a new cake before her husband comes home, so he never learns of her first cooking disaster. But there are many meals to come, and if Margie is that clueless, disaster in the kitchen is only a matter of time. This is a cute, charming home ec film that says more about the gender roles of the time than it does about cooking. It would have been better, I think, if Margie had been allowed to talk, but still, her facial expressions are priceless. And the food, as expected, looks uniformly terrible (we’re talking the successful dishes). There’s even cheesy organ music in the opening and closing, though this is certainly not a Brighter Day in Your Kitchen. It is extremely mstable, though.

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

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