1966 ROYAL 660 OFFICE ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER PROMO / SALES FILM " SUCCESSFUL SECRETARY " 62264

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“Successful Secretary” is a film presented by Royal Office Typewriters (:22). Royal, aka Royal Litton, was one of the most popular producers of the typewriter. Founded in 1904 by Edward B Hess, by the year 1957 the company announced it had produced its 10 millionth typewriter. This film is from the sixties and is centered on the Royal 660 which is a 1966 model designed specifically to compete with IBM's Selectric. It was lower priced than the Selectric, but apparently less durable and required more frequent service. The 660 was the first in the 6xx series and has a similar aesthetic design to Royal's 5xx series. It appears to be an advertisement for female secretaries to purchase this model, with the typewriter playing the narrator (:33). The film is unabashedly, wonderfully sexist. It opens with the knowledge that in the mid-sixties, the business world was rapidly changing and that led to secretaries needing to be more efficient (:47). Flying became cheaper and more and more often, executives were flying away from the office putting more work on the secretary (1:04). The Royal 660 goes through tips and tricks to help make their jobs easier for example, the first woman is struggling over making team reports (2:20). This typewriter’s scales were all set up to go in the same direction which made setting of tabs and margins easier (2:48). A demonstration of how to set the margins and carriage controls follows including a specific look at the ‘magic margin’ (2:59). At (3:42) a special large paperclip is used to highlight important text. An example with a secretary at a doctor’s office is given next (5:03) who had to make an index card per visiting patient. The typewriter then shows a method of loading the cards directly into the typewriter and the line finder which enabled easy characters such as the degree sign to be used without losing the user’s place (5:39). To allow typing to continue to the end of the page, the plastic holder and paper lock are pointed to (5:54). The vertical spacer is then pressed which flips the cards over (6:02). The film turns to an experienced secretary who has to type up carbon copies (6:37). The typewriter automatically sensed the thickness of the paper and did not have to be reset for carbons (7:08). The lid is opened to show the ‘magic monitor’ which sensed the paper follows (7:21). She also had to address multiple letters and a demonstration of this is given as well in which the margin was changed instead of using tabs for addresses (7:54). A secretary for a hat designer follows (8:56) who must correct a typo. After the mistake is erased, the error correction key is used to fit a four-letter word in the space where a three-letter word once was (9:25). A senator’s secretary appears next who used pencil lines to warn herself where the end of the page was coming and the Royal 660 shows her the line meter which notified her directly on the machine (10:34). As she used shorter government paper, the line meter could be easily adjusted for the smaller papers (10:53). The film begins to wrap up with a quick montage through the film’s events (11:37) and the credits (12:19). It is a Thomas Craven Film Corporate Production (12:35).
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[@Madness832]

Then come that faithful day: Ol' Royal gets replaced w/ a word processor!

[@asd36f]

12:10 - Script writer Lee Thuna was a well-known writer whose works appeared on and off Broadway, on television and in movies.

[@hansimgluck4965]

Amazing how very far backwards we've gone - typing up a memo or an envelope used to take a minute. Now, if the computer or the printers are "down," you can't get anything done at all. It has all followed the story described in Brave New World - you can never keep a simpler, better solution. They always keep pushing you towards more technology for the sake of more technology.

[@gfinnstrom]

I remember being in college years ago... They were saying with the advent of the computers everything will be paperless... Since that false statement many more trees have been lost, a billion pound of paperwork has increase.... considering the time I was in college the idiot that claimed that statement was high as a weather balloon or was in congress one of the two... However I love watching these videos

[@hansimgluck4965]

I see no evidence that less paper is used now - we go through more of it than ever.

[@elimtevir1]

Okay, I'll need 35 copies, each to a different person and individualized. That I can do in minutes with a computer and get it to the customer in seconds. With an imbedded video and meeting request that automatically adds to a calendar. And with out a secretary...

[@someonespadre]

I’ve gone back to doing some calculations on paper with pencil and old books of tables I found in a forgotten cabinet. It’s almost as fast, and a lot more relaxing. No software licenses, no security getting in the way, just pure calculation.

[@mike89128]

Back in the 60s the IBM Selectric typewriters ran circles around all competition. Interchangeable type styles.

[@ethelryan257]

Yes, but the SCM office typewriters took an impressive share over a surprisingly short period - their much lower desk footprint, much lower cost and enormously higher reliability made genuine inroads (yes, we all know IBM at times held 90% plus of the market). Royal by this time was not the super-reliable, ultra-high-quality machine it had been. They were quickly losing ground as their reputation was sinking to match the cost savings Litton had imposed on what was, once, a really great machine. Come to think of it, I've still got an SCM on a back desk and (brief pause), yup, still works great after over 50 years of use and service. How many Selectrics are in use by other than collectors?

[@tsr207]

Having worked on this machine and its Imperial (UK) counterpart - the customer never had them for long - they usually bought something else !

[@tsr207]

@@stanleyclark1723 Could have been worst - it could have been an Underwood !

[@ethelryan257]

@@tsr207 No kidding. Gosh, I used my great-grandfather's ROYAL throughout undergraduate studies! Got the office SCM as a graduation present.

[@andrewsmactips]

Open the ribbon change door, Royal. I’m afraid I can’t do that, Darlene.

[@hansimgluck4965]

😏

[@kenmore01]

Thanks anyway, HAL. 😑

[@someonespadre]

What seems to be the problem, Royal. This memo is too important to be left to humans.

[@kenmore01]

Creepy and interesting. Kinda like a twilight zone show without the weird twist, other than the secretaries looking like bird cages.

[@someonespadre]

I see your problem Mr. Executive, your secretary is a wire frame. My 1938 Royal portable has a line finder.

[@gfinnstrom]

I remember taking typing lesson in college

[@whirledpeas3477]

I feel that pain

[@A3Kr0n]

Why yes, I'd love a rocket!

[@dadtype2339]

Why it's okay Diane, just pull out my hidden drawer and pour yourself a bourbon Sour, I not only have room for the lime but a small knife, and with my level top as a cutting board, after meetings and late nights at the office it's going to be a smash. And if my mini Royal Bar doesn't do it, Go ahead and open my lid to find that revolver and tell your Boss no more trips for his dry cleaning, go on tell him you want a raise, in fact I'll do it for you, quicker, easier, faster, and better just place it in my auto Aim, and set the line or group spacing to as close or spread as you'd like Diane, because at this point Diane what does it matter, you're talking to a typewriter, that you hear speaking, just tell them I did it, pour yourself a drink, and relax, I'll take care of everything. 👇😂

[@captainkeyboard1007]

This show was entertaining for keyboard specialists like me.

[@Merseysiderful]

The woman narrator has an accent which is a mix of American and Irish.

[@denisnapolitan7901]

Is that Shatner?

[@amiami5727]

It’s crazy how Incredibly patronizing and chauvinistic this is.

[@captainamericaamerica8090]

ALL OBSOLETE! TODAY, IN FIVE MINUTES, YOU CAN GET MORE DONE THAN THAT OFFICE CAN IN 12 HOURS!

[@someonespadre]

I’m not convinced we get more done. The evidence in our files is they got a surprising amount of work done with analog methods. Sure I can gather literally a million times more data in the same amount of time but is all that data really needed? Say I want to measure a building, I use a LiDAR Scanner and get 2 billion 3 dimensional data points in an hour. 1960 they take a hundred foot tape and get the dimensions in 15 minutes, they got the data necessary to report the dimensions of the building in less time.

[@someonespadre]

1960 a memo goes out once or twice a week and it is good…well thought out and well written. 2023: 60 emails have been dashed off and sent to everyone, do we really know what is needed? No half the recipients never see it because it’s buried under 200 spam messages and other stuff.

[@captainamericaamerica8090]

@@someonespadre You're MR. CLUELESS=YOU=😳😳SO I'LL KEEP OWNING YOU! BY USING YOUR ANSWER= 15 MINUTES WITH A TAPE MEASURE, TO GET THEIR MEASUREMENTS. 😂😂THE NEWEST TECH..TAPES, MEASURES THAT IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. LAZER JET POINT AND GO TAPES. I COULDN'T RESIST OWNING YOU AGAIN. 😂😂YOU'RE THAT EASY. TO ROAST🔥🔥🔥