Across The Pond

Eagle-Lion Films was the name of two distinct, though related, companies. In 1944, UK film magnate J. Arthur Rank, under a reciprocal distribution arrangement with the US company, Pathé Industries, established an Eagle-Lion Films production subsidiary for American distribution. As a note, the Arthur Rank films can be recognized by a sweaty, shirtless man banging an enormous gong before the credits roll. From 1946 to 1949, led by Arthur Krim, Eagle-Lion produced its own B-movies yet most were not profitable, in part due to the large salaries for its actors and producers. 

Eagle-Lion changed its mode of production, using independent producers as a source for new films. Bryan Foy, the former head of the B-picture unit at Warner Bros., was one along with Edward Small, Walter Wanger and George Pal, best known as a special effects wizard. They began making lower-budgeted films, enjoying particular success with film noir. Of ten pictures released during Krim's three years, five earned a substantial profit: T-Men, Raw Deal, Canon City, He Walked By Night, along with an Abbott & Costello comedy, The Noose Hangs High. By 1951, with financial difficulties still looming, Krim was offered the leadership of United Artists which took over distribution of Eagle-Lion's current projects. In 1954, the film lot was purchased by the Ziv Company for production of its syndicated television programs, the more popular being Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, and The Cisco Kid.

Wagon Master (1950)

On this date, Wagon Master, the American Western masterpiece produced and directed by John Ford, premiered in 1950. Starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ward Bond, the story follows a Mormon pioneer wagon train across treacherous terrain to Utah. The film inspired the US television series Wagon Train (1957–1965), which starred Bond until 1960.

First Date Jitters

On this day in 1935, the horror film classic starring Boris Karloff and Elsa Lancaster, Bride of Frankenstein, the sequel to Frankenstein, premiered in Chicago, Portland, and San Francisco. Arguably the best of the two films. Though a classic in its own right, Mel Brooks essentially destroyed the impact of this film forever after the release of Young Frankenstein.

The Flour Child Grows Up

General Mills, Inc. is an American manufacturer and marketer of well-known brands of processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Although General Mills's single flour factory can be traced back to the Minneapolis Milling Company of 1866, with the merger of four additional mills, the company was officially established in 1928. In the 1930s, engineer, Thomas R. James, created the puffing gun, which inflated or distorted cereal pieces into puffed-up shapes. This new technology was used in 1937 to create Kix cereal and in 1941 to create Cheerioats—renamed Cheerios in 1945. In 1939, another GM engineer, Helmer Anderson, created a new device that sealed bags of flour with glue instead of being tied with a string. In 1947, the first Betty Crocker cake mix was introduced. Well before its buyout of Pillsbury in 2001, the pudgy Doughboy made his first commercial debut in 1965. And it was only the beginning of this widely diversified company. Their drive for innovation propelled General Mills into many new territories over the years, highlighted below.

Perhaps the most surprising is that General Mills established their Aeronautical Research Division with chief engineer Otto C. Winzen in 1946. This division developed high-altitude balloons in conjunction with the United States Navy Office of Naval Research, such as the project Skyhook balloons for atmospheric research. In 1956, hundreds of General Mills balloons carried reconnaissance equipment by the United States under Project Genetrix to survey the Eastern bloc country's nuclear capabilities. The now famous Black Box for airplanes was developed in 1953 in partnership with the University of Minnesota.

Also unknown to the average citizen, General Mills acquired many famous businesses starting in 1968 with the acquisition of Gorton's frozen seafood, though spun off to other companies by 1995. Also in 1968, the toy and game manufacturers Rainbow Crafts—the makers of Play-Doh, Kenner, and Parker Bros. were acquired. The following year, they moved into specialty retailing with purchases of Lacoste clothing, Monet Jewelry, and the Red Lobster restaurant chain. By 1970 Hamburger Helper made its way onto grocery shelves. The apparel company, Eddie Bauer, was purchased in 1971—later acquired by Spiegel in 1988—as well as the U.S. rights to the Yoplait yogurt brand. By 1983, The Olive Garden Italian restaurant chain was launched, later to be spun off to shareholders in 1995 as Darden Restaurants. More recent history was the joint venture with Nestlé S.A. called Cereal Partners in 1990, which markets many existing General Mills cereal brands outside the US and Canada under the Nestlé name. As per other lucrative multinational manufacturers, further acquisitions continued through 2023.

Synopsis: Thrust Into Television

Many movie character actresses found steady work and arguably more exposure with the advent of television. 

RANDY STUART (1924-1996)

Ask any of your like-minded friends and they will readily confess they never heard of Randy Stuart (Elizabeth Shaubell). Blessed with a commanding alto voice and spunky, girl-next-door attractiveness, Stuart got her acting career started with a Twentieth Century Fox contract. Typically buried in the credits, her small roles in, Sitting Pretty (1948), I Was a Male War Bride (1949) and "the girl" in All About Eve (1950) gave her some exposure and provided significant training. In what may have been her breakout role, she played the on-screen sister to Susan Hayward in the forgettable drama, I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1951). No stranger to television, she made the rounds in such anthology series as Chevron Theatre and two long-running series, The Ford Television Theatre and the Schiltz Playhouse during the early Fifties. She played the wife opposite Alan Hale, Jr. in, Biff Baker, U.S.A. (1952-54). The likable, energetic couple got caught up in trouble on their international business travels during the Cold War. It was back to the big screen for her “larger” and most famous role as the wife of Grant Williams in the 1957 Universal International’s science-fiction classic, The Incredible Shrinking Man her next to last film.

Stuart appeared for several years in television westerns, most produced by Warner Bros. for the ABC network. She had a recurring role in eighteen episodes of, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, starring Hugh O'Brien, as his romantic interest. She guest-starred four times on Clint Walker's groundbreaking western, Cheyenne, in strong-willed characters during the show’s late years. Stuart was back into the spy business for a Cold War-themed episode of 77 Sunset Strip, followed by roles on Lawman, Bourbon Street Beat, The Roaring 20s, and two appearances on Hawaiian Eye before taking a five-year hiatus. Just as Stuart’s career was winding down, she returned in 1967-68 to play the wife of Harry Morgan's character, Officer Bill Gannon, on NBC's Dragnet. 1975 marked her final role in ABC's, Marcus Welby, M.D., starring a classic example of an actor transitioning from film to television, Robert Young.

Find out more about Stuart's career at IMBD.

I Don't Remember Any Chocolates

Whitman's is one of the largest and oldest brands of boxed chocolates in the United States, currently produced by Kansas City, Missouri by Russell Stover Candies. The iconic box of chocolates was the brainchild of 19-year-old Stephen Whitman, who opened a confectionary store on Philadelphia's waterfront in 1842. Initially, Whitman's became popular with traveling sailors and their wives. They would often bring imported fruits, nuts, and cocoa obtained during their voyages to Mr. Whitman so that he could make the popular European confections that people craved in that era.

The Whitman's Sampler made its official debut in 1912. The box included a collection of the most popular pieces of candy sold in the confectionary shop. Three years later the Sampler emerged as the most popular assortment in the Whitman's line and the best-selling box of chocolates in America. In 1924, it became the first in its industry to use cellophane to wrap its packaged products. The Sampler's most popular advertising campaign, "A Woman Never Forgets the Man Who Remembers," was launched in 1939 and continued through the 1950s with film stars of the era endorsing the candy in ads for The Saturday Evening Post.

The Marauders From Planet Mercury

The redesigned 1963 Mercurys were simply upscale Fords, yet I have a special fondness for the one-year-only 1964 Montclair Marauder 4-door hardtop model pictured above. Purchased in 1966 by my dad, it was his first car with air conditioning. 

An acknowledged tweak to the 1963 model, the 1964 outward styling added a convex grille and pointed front fenders which better facilitated the accent "fin" at the rear, providing an accelerating, forward look. Out back the round taillights got flattened into ovals. Aside from my dad's "pink champaign" car color (officially Pink Frost), the image above is the same. The most distinctive feature for me is the stylish C-chrome piece to facilitate the extra two doors, something the 1963 fastback models did not offer. It softens the overall roof line and is not as jolting as the more common "welded-in-place" 2-door fastbacks. I cannot attest to the exact engine specs on the car pictured, but my dad's car came with the 4-barrel/390ci/300hp version. 

Note: The 1964 Mercury possessed a more aggressive appearance than the soft, bloated Fords of the same year. The Marauder's two checkboard racing flags emblem, forward the front wheels, added a faux excitement to me as a youth. 

Synopsis: Thrust Into Television

Many movie character actors found steady work and arguably more exposure with the advent of television. 

DOUGLAS KENNEDY (1915-1973)

The American character actor appeared in more than 190 films from the 1930s in uncredited spots, then in countless supporting roles through the 1960s. The 6' 3" Kennedy often portrayed Western villains, unscrupulous modern-day businessmen, as well as isolated romantic or positive leads in low-budget films. His long list of movie credits is nearly surpassed by his television appearances. Certainly becoming a more familiar face on the small screen. He appeared on many short-lived shows as well as long-running famous Westerns and modern-day crime series. Many of those were multiple appearances. His last credits were for three 1973 episodes of Hawaii Five-O. Kennedy died in Hawaii later that year.

Find out more about Kennedy's career at IMBD.

A Leap-Year Bonus

REEL CHARACTER SERIES

Clinton Sundberg (1903-1987) was an American character actor of stage and supporting roles in film. He was most visible from the mid-forties through the mid-fifties before turning primarily to television appearances throughout the Sixties. The soft-spoken, raspy tenor portrayed various desk clerks, waiters, butlers, and menservants with subtle comedic results, often with decidedly snippy or sarcastic opinions. On the small screen, he got bigger, with assertive roles in the likes of doctors or professors.

In his humorous initial scenes, Sundberg is shown with Gary Cooper in the film, Good Sam (1948).

Dum-de-dum-dum

Radio's Dragnet became one of the most realistic and popular programs of all time. As played by Jack Webb, Sergeant Joe Friday played it by the book and understood the seriousness of his duties. The program’s debut in 1949 was bumpy as Webb and company worked out the format and grew more comfortable with their characters. Friday's deadpan, fast-talking persona emerged as a cop's cop, tough but not hard. Webb was a stickler for accuracy and Dragnet used authentic touches, such as the LAPD's actual radio call sign and the names of actual department officials. The crime stories were taken from actual case files of the Los Angeles Police Department. The ominous, four-note theme with brass and tympani entitled, "Danger Ahead," was composed by Walter Schumann. It is derived from Miklós Rózsa's score for the 1946 film The Killers. The notes are the same for both but the film’s faster, steady tempo disguises it from Dragnet's halted rhythmic version.

Friday took his orders from Ed Backstrand, Chief of Detectives, played initially by Raymond Burr, then Charles McGraw. Both left the series within a year for budding film careers. Friday had a partner, and each actor brought their own personality to the series. Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben Romero, perhaps provided the most realism. His untimely death in 1951 brought in character actor Barney Phillips as Sergeant Ed Jacobs for a short run. The longest-serving partner was Ben Alexander (below left) as Officer Frank Smith. Smith would talk to Friday about his family or give advice, often with amusing results. Friday offered voice-over narration throughout the episodes, noting the time, date and place of every scene. Dragnet handled controversial subjects such as sex crimes and drug addiction with unprecedented and even startling realism.

The sound effects artists were extraordinary and brought realism to the show. The pictures in a listener's mind were all that was needed. While most radio shows used one or two Foley experts, Dragnet used five. A script clocking just under thirty minutes could require up to 300 effects. Accuracy was key. The exact number of footsteps from one room to another at Los Angeles police headquarters were mimicked, and when a telephone rang at Friday's desk, the listener heard the same ring as the telephones in Los Angeles police headquarters.

The show's opening narration was alternately provided by announcers Hal Gibney and George Fenneman, just one of the show's trademarks: "Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." Later versions dropped the words "only" and "ladies and gentlemen." Friday's oft-parodied catchphrase, "Just the facts, ma'am," was never actually uttered. The closest was "All we want are the facts, ma'am" and "All we know are the facts, ma'am." Fenneman took over narration duties full-time after 1957 and for the two television series.

Note: Due in part to Webb's fondness for radio drama, Dragnet persisted until 1957. The last two seasons were repeats, however. It was one of the last old-time radio shows to give way to television. A total of 314 original episodes were broadcast from 1949-1957. The TV show proved to be a visual version of the radio scripts, more in line with the Ben Alexander days with Harry Morgan as Friday's partner. The radio show was also adapted into a comic strip by Mel Keefer.

Revelling Over Aircraft

In the early 1940s, California entrepreneur, Lou Glaser, founded an injection molding company, Precision Specialties, that performed contract work for other manufacturers. Glaser realized that Revell should be selling children’s toys, specifically plastic model kits. The first Revell-made mold was the 1953 USS Missouri. The first three aircraft kits followed quickly. The F-94C, F7U-1 and F9F-6 were molded without landing gear and with minimal panel lines and rivet details. Decals were included and the stands were simple, small and molded in the color of the aircraft.

Revell quickly released more kits and went to a two-piece cardboard box with a lithographed “slick” artwork on the top. From 1955-59 the “S” logo was used. These kits have a yellow “S” in a red oval on the box ends to advertise the use of “Revell S Cement”.  The first three aircraft molds were modified to show increased rivet detail and were given landing gear. More kits were released as plastic models caught on, including the B-29, B-36, B-47, F-84, DC-7 and more. All aircraft came with the famous “Globe Base” transparent relief world map for desktop display. The “S” kits were perhaps the most extensive line of models available. Airplanes, pleasure boats, cars, trucks, tanks, guns, military ships, ocean liners, animals and more filled the catalogs.

Models Citizens

The original Lionel Corporation was founded in 1900 by Joshua Lionel Cowen and Harry C. Grant in New York City. Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer that operated for more than 120 years. Lionel specialized in various products throughout its existence. Toy trains and model railroads were its main claim to fame. During its peak years in the 1950s, the company sold $25 million worth of trains per year. The Lionel Corporation was permanently derailed in 1993. However, model trains are still in production as Lionel, LLC.

Lionel made its trains larger than those of its competitors, making them appear a better value. Their earliest trains ran on two-rail tracks with the rails 2-7⁄8 inches apart. In 1906, Lionel began offering a three-rail track that simplified the wiring of reverse loops and accessories. Its outer rails were 2-1⁄8 inches apart, which did not match any of the existing standards that other manufacturers had been using since 1891. Lionel marketed the non-standard track as "The Standard of the World," and soon adopted the name in catalogs as Standard Gauge. By 1915, Lionel got on the right track with most of its U.S. competitors by adopting the smaller "O gauge" standard for its budget-level trains. Cowen convinced department stores to incorporate his toy trains in their Christmas displays, linking toy trains to the holiday, and making them popular Christmas presents. 

Diamond Strike

The Diamond Match Company has its roots in a business started in 1853 by Edward Tatnall in Wilmington, Delaware. Ownership passed to William H. Swift and Henry Courtney, operating under the name Swift & Courtney, and marketed their product as Diamond State Parlor Matches. Experiencing a boost in business during the American Civil War, Swift & Courtney would acquire other match manufacturers to become the largest match company in the United States. Swift & Courtney was itself acquired by O. C. Barber in 1880 who rebranded the company Diamond in 1881. 

Throughout the twentieth century, Diamond would expand into the forestry business and manufacture other wood and paper products including cotton swabs, ice cream sticks, toothpicks, paper plates, and playing cards. Private equity firm Seaver Kent acquired Diamond Match Company in 1998 until their bankruptcy in 2001. It became a revolving door of acquisitions with Diamond being purchased by Jarden in 2003 and Newell Brands becoming the owner in 2016 after the merger of Jarden with Newell Rubbermaid. In 2017, Newell sold Diamond (except the cutlery line) to Royal Oak Enterprises. The Diamond brand remains America's leading producer of matches, producing some twelve billion a year. 

Note: A 1956 advertisement above

Dentyne By The Stick

AFFORDABLE ORAL 

HYGIENE WHEN 

ALL ELSE FAILS

In 1899, a New York City druggist, Franklin V. Canning, formulated a cinnamon-flavored chewing gum that he promoted as an aid to oral hygiene. "To prevent decay, To sweeten the breath, To keep teeth white," was his mantra. The tooth-whitening agent was way ahead of the times. Today it is an obsession. And more effective. The name was a combination of the words "dental" and "hygiene" (pronounced denteen). Dentyne walked a fine line regarding their health claims as the main ingredient was sugar, not the best additive for healthy teeth. The sugar was finally removed in 2006. In 1916 the brand was sold to the American Chicle Company. By the 1930s, Dentyne was produced by the Adams Gum Company. 

Most candy and gum products were originally crafted to be medicinal in nature. Dentyne is one of the first products to be sold in stick form, but the early gum product was more like small square blocks. It was about fifty years before these products would start to be marketed as enjoyable as much as being healthy. 

Radio Curmudgeons

Radio was initially broadcast over a giant wooden cabinet with an equally large round speaker. Smaller models were soon available but it was the transistor that made these "devices" truly mobile. Radio was where everyone got all the audible news of the world, along with their favorite dramas and comedy shows. The "offline" version was the newspaper. 

Every radio network had a vast number of announcers and correspondents. The ABC network is profiled in the above advertisement from 1950. You are likely dead if you tuned in to these newscasters as an adult. Today, perhaps only three stand out because of their more widespread notoriety, namely Drew Pearson, famous for his Washington D.C. "Merry-go-Round" political column, Louella Parsons with her pulse on Hollywood gossip, and Walter Winchell, famous as a narrator away from his news desk, most notably for the ABC police drama, The Untouchables, nine years later.

Putting A Price On Knowledge

The World Book Encyclopedia is an American encyclopedia. World Book, Inc. is based in Chicago, Illinois. The 2023 edition contains more than 14,000 pages with over 25,000 photographs within 22 volumes.

World Book was founded by publishers J. H. Hansen and John Bellow, who realized that existing encyclopedias were too technical for most readers. Michael O'Shea, professor of education at the University of Wisconsin, once  stated, "... encyclopedias are apt to be quite formal and technical. A faithful effort has been made in the World Book to avoid this common defect." The first edition of the World Book Encyclopedia was published in 1917, by the Hanson-Roach-Fowler Company.

Note: The encyclopedia was an expense many families could not afford. It was cheaper to go to the local library. A complete 19-volume set for the 1957 edition pictured was $170. Other binding styles were less, however. The current 22-volume 2024 edition is $1,200.

From Utah to Indiana

Utah Radio Products Company, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Chicago, Illinois, is known for manufacturing of loudspeakers, transmitters and transformers from the early 1920s. In 1929 Caswell-Runyan merged with Utah Radio Products to build a radio reception combination. 1946 saw the merger with International Detrola Corporation. In the mid-fifties, Utah Radio Products moved to a new plant in Huntington, Indiana. The plant flourished in the 1960s and 1970s with one-piece console stereos that proved popular in the mass market. The highly respected Utah loudspeakers were produced until the 1980s when Utah folded, due in no small measure to the influx of Asian competitors.

Cementing A Vacation Plan

Lehigh Cement was founded in 1897 by six Pennsylvania businessmen who funded the construction of a cement plant in Ormrod, Pennsylvania. Then a second and third. Since the company’s cement was being shipped as far west as Kansas City, another plant was built in Mitchell, Indiana in 1902. By 1920 Lehigh Cement was the nation’s biggest cement company in terms of number of plants, with annual production of more than twelve million barrels of Portland cement. Lehigh’s profits reached a zenith after 1958, climbing to $75.8 million. Net income of $12.1 million on sales of $100.6 million in 1959 was far higher than Lehigh would again earn, at least as an independent company. About the time the illustration above was conceived.

Pictured is the one-year-only styling of a 1960 Ford Galaxie. The model introduced numerous styling trends that set the automotive industry on notice. Yet some Ford customers were not fans of the styling shock. It was devoid of recent Ford trends, most notably the round taillights and seemingly no hint of fins. Coupled with this was the fact the car was larger: it violated vehicle width regulations in many states. Garages got smaller. 

Speaking of fins, I find the 1960 model unique for its sleek "stealth" fins that begin up front as a vertically chromed arch defining the front fenders. The accent chrome magically transforms horizontally into flat fins, the "bottom" of which folds inward, stopping at the trunk lid. A beautiful execution that made the 1959-60 Chevrolets decidedly awkward. The 1960 Ford has since garnered many fins...er...fans in more modern times, especially the elegant Ford Galaxie Starliner.