This film is part of Free
Man at the Wheel
By 1937 the American lifestyle promised pleasure at home and adventure on the road: this entertaining film shows how the country was coping with some unforeseen hazards.
Overview
The sheepish expression on the face of a butcher, caught out as a short-measure cheat, is just one of the incidental pleasures in this issue, which champions consumer rights, condemns unscrupulous shopkeepers and shows how new methods in science and education could improve the quality of modern American life. Particularly engaging are the dramatic shots from the Mellon Institute showing mattresses, textiles and hats being stretched and pummelled in wear and tear tests.
By 1937, as the ‘Man at the Wheel’ story points out, an automobile had become ‘a family necessity’ in the USA. With the rise in vehicle ownership came a year on year increase in road deaths: 39,500 fatalities in 1937. Designs for new roads, better signs and education in schools had all helped reduce the tally by 1938. Some of the more outlandish ideas proposed in this issue - that traffic regulated by microwaves could make collision impossible - never came to pass but the sight of hundreds of cars, on brand new highways, crystallises an aspirational vision of a modern nation of pleasure-seeking consumers, travelling in safety to beaches, national parks and campsites, to pursue a life of leisure and happiness.
Related
Inside Nazi Germany Inside Nazi Germany
Documentary 1938 16 mins
A genuinely historic film, which caused much controversy at the time: the first commercially -released American motion picture to explicitly attack Hitler and Nazism.
Presidential Year Presidential Year
Documentary 1948 15 mins
‘Crisp and sincere’,‘carefully trained’ or ’resonant and vibrant’? Which voice would appeal to you if you had to pick the Republican candidate for the 1948 Presidential Election?
Great Britain Coronation Great Britain Coronation
Anthology 1937 24 mins
Weatherproof bunting, fog, clockwork dolls and a Hollywood exodus to London: this sideways look at preparations for the Coronation of George VI provides a wry American take on a very British ceremony.
Metropolis Metropolis
Documentary 1939 18 mins
This ode to New York from March of Time shows us how seven and half million people from every race and nationality in the world, live, work and play together in ‘the greatest metropolis of the New World’.
Irish Free State Irish Free State
Anthology 1936 23 mins
How Ireland turned herself into a self-sufficient powerhouse - plus a study of the "lunatic fringe" in US politics.
America Thinks It Over America Thinks It Over
Documentary 1939 17 mins
In a world on the verge of war, will America support the democracies of Europe, or turn inwards and embrace isolationism?
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.