1953 CHEVROLET SALES FILM "HOW TO BUY A CAR" JAM HANDY 78504

Produced in 1953 by Jam Handy, one of the most famous industrial filmmakers of the 20th Century, HOW TO BUY A CAR was made for Chevrolet to promote the sale of their new automobiles. It features a father who doesn't want to buy a new car, but of course the rest of the family has other ideas. Lots of great shots of 1953 Chevrolet cars including a convertible Bel Air, a wagon and sedan, as well as a Chevy showroom from the 1950s.
Henry Jamison "Jam" Handy (March 6, 1886 - November 13, 1983) was an American Olympic breaststroke swimmer, water polo player, and leader in the field of commercial audio and visual communications. Handy was noted for the number of training films that he produced over the years.
The Jam Handy Organization was probably best known for producing the first animated version of the then-new Christmas story Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer directed by Max Fleischer. After the war, the Jam Handy Organization was contracted as the Chicago-Detroit branch of Bray Productions, creating films for the auto industry, Bray's largest private client.
General Motors selected Handy's organization to produce short training films as well as other training and promotional materials. One such film was Hired! - a training film for sales managers at Chevrolet dealerships. This film was eventually featured as two parts on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes Bride of the Monster and Manos: The Hands of Fate. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 team also spoofed the Handy film short, "A Case of Spring Fever" during the Squirm episode, one of the final shows for the entire MST3K series.
Handy also produced films for other companies and for schools. He's estimated to have produced over 7,000 films for the armed services during World War II. Handy was noted for taking only a one-percent profit on the films, while he could have taken as much as seven percent. He was noted for never having a desk at work, instead using any available work space. Handy's suits didn't have pockets, as he thought they were a waste of time.
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[@kevin-hb1ex]

Makes me sad I was never able to experience this, but I am glad I get to see it!

[@vladtepes481]

My father knew Jam Handy as they would swim together. I met him a few times and he was a very interesting fellow.

[@alphonsocarioti512]

That wagon is keen!

[@stephenmulholland4868]

Love those sporty jobs

[@bloqk16]

If only the family and the old man could have held out until the 1955 Chevy model year came out . . . a radical change with American sedans designs and stylings in that year.

[@hatnj1]

Thanks for preserving and posting this film; these Jam Handy shorts really capture a slice of life from a bygone era. One correction: Despite the 1953 copyright date at the start, all the Chevrolets on display are 1954 models. As "Martha" in the film mentions during the opening scene, "the 1954 models ARE out." Presumably, this film was made in late '53.

[@HowardTeitelbaum]

@markjohnson7488 Mark, you're right about the title. My correction referred to the first paragraph of the OP's notes, which indicated "Lots of great shots of 1953 Chevrolet cars ...". (My earlier "@hatnj1" handle is defunct, but I did get your reply via email, so YT apparently still knows where to find me!)

[@JohnnyAloha69]

Boy, Mr. Mudrock should have waited a year. The 55 made a 54 look and feel like a ten year old car overnight

[@larryrwendelljr4465]

That was a real treat. My Dad did not start driving a car till 1958, he started out with a 1956 Ford, I know not a Chevy, but my Mother Brother-In-Law, Harry, was in the market for a new car, and instead of trading it off, he sold it to my Dad, I could not tell you the price, because I never knew about that at all . The only bad thing I remember about it was that the car's color, Pink over white, Yuck! As time went on, a door had to be replaced, but no pink and white doors could be had, so he had to settle for a Forest Green over White. Then the trunk hatch broke, and had to replace that, that was Red, later on the Hood had to be replaced, yep, you guessed it Black. The right passenger door and the roof remained the original colors, a Real Rainbow car, LOL Great video, Thank you for sharing. :o)

[@mickeybitsko1676]

Jam handy down on cass ave near GM bldg near Wayne state. Ha Lo from Albania

[@larryhutchinson126]

I wonder how many Chevy 210s like this one left the factories with Power Windows and Power Seat ??? ~~

[@danr1920]

If only if he waited for the 1955's.

[@lelandfranklinjr]

Dan R I thought the same thing!!

[@mdogg1604]

same here; new styling AND PowerPac V-8!

[@jamessawyer8889]

On a VHS tape of car commercials, the part where the daughter is at the wheel of the Bel Air convertible is at the beginning of one of them, then again, a small part of the beginning of this is also in the tape as well

[@maryannbenedetto8854]

I once had I think a 1967 Bel Air. The floorboard had a hole in it and I would get wet every time I went through a puddle.

[@jimmyohara2601]

Also as well ?? seriously, learn the meanings of words will yahs. dopey 😐🤐.

[@TestECull]

And here I am, in 2022, wanting a car that ONLY has FM radio and air con. I don't want power ANYTHING, I don't want an automatic transmission, I don't want anything fancy.

[@eleanorpowellfan]

Left that Packard in the dust!

[@ebwholesaler]

$ 2,195 + 131.70 sales tax ? And 300 $ for the trade-in. Way to go, dad !

[@lelandfranklin3487]

Love these old films. But, buy the '55 Chevy...not the '54!

[@SimonFurber]

The rise of American consumerism. A new car every year. The pressure of upward mobility. Next year it will be obsolete. A GM original idea.

[@tertommy]

mother hotter than daughter

[@Anton_Chigurh_2007]

Actually, when this began with the family walking into the dealership together, all I could think of was the beginning of "The Aristocrats," dirtiest joke every told.

[@stephenstewart9242]

Blue Flame 235cuin 6cyl w/ a Power Glide transmission but I like the 272cuin V-8 w/ the 3 speed manual transmission built by FoMoCo 2dr Coupe

[@J_Calvin_Hobbes]

👍

[@hippiekarl7]

Actually, the MST3k gang covered a ~lot~ more Jam Handy shorts than just the 2 mentioned in the uploader comments; almost all of the longer, color shorts they presented were JHs, as well....Uncle Jim's Dairy Farm, The Chicken of Tomorrow, Out of This World (the 'bread guy'), A few even featured Thurl Ravencroft (aka 'Tony the TIger's voice): Century 21 Calling, Design for Dreaming, Once Upon a Honeymoon....... Long live Mystery Science Theater 3000!

[@Paramount531]

Uncle Jim's Dairy Farm is the best of the bunch! I first saw it in the early 90s and still use lines from it. "So long you corn shucking suckers!" "Throw them their winter clothes and floor it!" and many more.

[@timpriddy349]

I wanna 265......oh yeah, maybe next year

[@DeLorean4]

4:05 I actually burst out laughing.

[@scottleft3672]

How to SELL a car.