500,000 to One (film #21 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

This film about insects starts with a dramatic scene of the end of the world, with the last surviving form of animal life being a bug. Cheery thought, isn’t it? The rest of the film gives us way more information than we want to know about insects, with lots of visuals of various kinds of bugs, some creepy and some beautiful. It tells us that human beings have altered the balance of nature in ways that affect insect populations, mostly creating overpopulation of pests. The solution to this is to wage all-out war on the insects we don’t like––after all, we can’t be expected to alter our routines any, can we? Lots of spraying of everything with chemicals is shown, but to the film’s credit, other types of insect control are also mentioned, such as traps, quarantine, biological warfare, importing predators, and the good old-fashioned flyswatter. Priceless moments include the animated apocalyptic opening scene, a 50s housewife rescuing her freshly-frosted cake from an overeager kid armed with a flyswatter, a big ugly 50s car pulling a trailer that sprays everything in sight with insecticide, a scary scene of an exterminator in a gas mask fumigating a house with cyanide (says so on the warning signs), and a scientist injecting larvae one at a time with a deadly insect disease. Still, at least lip-service is paid to the idea that the cure of the insect problem shouldn’t create new problems in the future, making this a slightly more enlightened film than most 50s films on this subject. And junior entomologists will enjoy all the footage of bugs.

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

Dow Midland (film #458 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

This 50s industrial film, made by Dow Chemical, is missing its soundtrack. Even without sound, it’s pretty obvious that its message is Dow chemicals are everywhere. Lots of great visual imagery is here, including factory footage, containers of various kinds of dangerous chemicals, guys in lab coats doing experiments surrounded by bubbling beakers, and a guy in the plastics department mixing chemicals in 50s kitchen mixers, resulting in mixtures that resemble cake batter. Without the soundtrack, the viewer can feel free to add his or her own commentary, inferring stuff that is lots worse than what was probably said (though who knows?), or perhaps better, but what fun is that?

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **** (mainly for the possibilities). Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.

Death to Weeds (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #411 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

That’s right, death to weeds! Kill ‘em all!! They’re EVIL!! That’s the attitude of this Dow Chemical film from the 50s. Certain plants are labeled “weeds” by human beings and are thus deserving of death by chemical means. And the film shows us how effectively Dow insecticides blast them off this mortal coil for good. Granted, some of the plants shown are genuinely problematic, but the strident note of this film gets to you after awhile. Like some of the fly control films made at the same time, you start to feel a sense that the bright, clean 50s world could only exist through diligent efforts to root out impurities growing underfoot, such as flies, weeds, dirt, and Communists. Organic food lovers and environmentalists will find this film upsetting. Plant-haters will delight in all the scenes of gruesome plant death and the ending declaration that all weeds, everywhere, must be eradicated by chemical means.

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