16mm Jobs and Business (B&W) 1955
TITLE CREDITS:
THE THINGS PEOPLE DO
Comentary Spoken by: Franklin Engelmann
Photography: Eric Owen, Alfred Burger
Written and Produced by: Harold Baim
SCRIPT
Oddly enough, this is the first time I've had the privilege
of seeing what goes on in the cellar of one of London's leading hairstylists.
And as a mere male, it certainly made me sit up.
When I called, the dispute as to whether the young lady
should have her tresses cut or not had just been resolved by Steiner himself.
They tell me that for a lady to have her hair cut short is a
major episode in her life. But ever a slave to fashion and convention, madam must
conform to the style of the moment.
The battle of indecision is over and Operation Shortcut is a
success.
The next thing to do is shampoo and in the hands of an
expert, it's never a wash out.
Setting is important, for her new look will depend upon how
this is carried out.
Under a battery of what look like space helmets, this
gentleman is the process of drying.
Among other adornments, the weaker sex are going in for face
initials this season. Hair decorations are a decided asset to a lady's crowning
glory.
She can see you and many times through you in this latest
mask. This young lady is head and shoulders above anyone else.
Introducing another attractive headdress.
Steiner himself enters to try the latest in feather
creations on a client eager to be fashion wise.
Initials stenciled on the hair are the latest craze. They
make sure that her gentlemen escort knows he has the right girl.
A very pleasant experience and well worth my visit. From the hands of the experts, she takes a new
lease on beauty and the latest thing in earrings will not distract oncoming
traffic.
I've seen some queer fish in my time but the London
Aquarium's collection takes some beating. These are called Harlequins from
Malayan waters. With befitting names like Dominos and Sergeant Majors, this
group of cuttlefish originate in the Indian Ocean.
Texas Cichlids have a unique
manner for choosing their mates. They lock themselves together, mouth to mouth,
and then tug away for many hours. For the weak this game often proves fatal,
but that's the idea as the strong are considered to be capable of looking after
the young ones.
A born fighter, this specimen is called a Jack Dempsey. He
doesn't take much water with it either.
The Lake Galilee Cichlid said to be a descendant of the
Bible fishes. Attacking in large shoals, these man eaters are so called because
they are flesh eating.
Cannibal of the English rivers is the pike. Pretty vain,
too, if you ask me.
This is Joe, a Cichlid again, fairly intelligent in a fishy
sort of way. When annoyed, the blowfish will fill with air. Well, it gets him
to the surface, if nothing else.
From the Amazon comes the Bubblenest Catfish, armour plated
and quite a nasty character.
Another member of the Cichlid family, an aunt or something.
Hatchetfish can fly, though they didn't come here that way
from their home, which is in South America. The scorpion fish abounds in all
tropical seas. A scratch from one of them may well prove fatal, changing their
colour to suit their present background, they lie in wait for their prey.
Developed by the Chinese by selective breeding, the Celestial
Goldfish were once treated as sacred. Certainly very camera shy, this one was
interested in showing off his veil like tail.
“Ma, she’s making eyes at me”. We're again indebted to the
Far East for this specimen called the globe eyed Goldfish. The eyes certainly
have it.
Found in all seas, Anemones appear in many colours.
Attaching themselves to rocks, they feed by waving their tentacles and grasping
whatever comes their way. See how the tentacles react as food is dropped onto
them to be eventually carried to the mouth in the centre. I'm sure the Pearl Scaled
goldfish inspired the songs “I'm forever blowing bubbles” and “Trumpeter, what
are you sounding now?” He's the Billy Bunter of the fish world. But his school
is again China and Japan.
You see in China they read from bottom to top. The side view
to prove he's a good all-rounder. Anything they can do, he can do better if he
has to stand on his head to prove it. Not used to this film business. He gets a
sudden attack of stage fright and decides, oddly enough, that's all there is.
There ain't no more.
Picasso was born in Spain in 1881. Ten years later, he
exhibited his first paintings. One of the most controversial artists of all
time, it was not until 1946 that he became interested in pottery. At at an
exhibition recently I saw some excellent examples, the first of which was this tea
service. Fruit dish embodying the Dove of Peace, his favourite theme.
A typical Picasso in which his extreme individualism is
given full rein, is this dish with the motif of a goat's head.
A lamp base which has the forms of both a woman standing
with arms on hips and of her head with coils of hair.
Flower vase in the shape of a duck with holes for flowers on
its back. This massive bird vase is in black and white with touches of rust
color. The body of the vase forms an egg shape and two handles curve outwards,
like wings. Drawn freely, it's considered to be one of Picasso's finest
impressions.
The lady flower vase. The gentleman water jug. She's from
the north of France. He is from the south. They should be very happy together.
In classical Grecian style, this shaped piece with its
dancing figures is in terracotta on a white background. Picasso found he
enjoyed pottery immensely as it was a medium on which he could impose his own
amazing personality.
This painting was recently acquired by the Zwemmer Gallery
in London and is worth £5,000. It's an abstraction representing a woman's head
and body. It's supposed to capture a mood of mockery and disappointment. Not to
everyone's taste. One thing is certain, though, Picasso will be remembered as
one of the world's most original artists.
Now pictures from the past. Delving into my library of old
films, which is quite extensive, I came across this gem produced more than 40
years ago, Berkel's Dream.
It's a relic well worth looking at because it was the
forerunner of the cartoon film and gives us a first class insight into what the
cinemagoer of 1900 or thereabouts used to enjoy and what in fact, in those days
rolled them in the aisles long before the advent of Cinemascope wide screens
and other refinements of present day motion picture entertainment.
Berkel's Dream was a silent film, so let it be so. It's odd
enough without comment from me.
I couldn't quite make out when I first saw it what this
injection mold was making. It seemed to be producing parts of the human body.
Well, I wasn't far wrong as I was watching this take place in the largest doll
factory in Europe. I knew that they were parts, in fact, replicas of human
hands and legs and faces.
In the land of moving heads, I spent an intriguing day
watching the shape of dolls to come.
From the injection molds the various parts move on to the
polishers who see that all joints are as smooth as smooth before passing on to
the assembly line. There mustn't be a single part that would scratch or hurt
the proud owner to be.
Assemblers know what's what. And though it looks fairly
easy, it takes experience before one person can put a doll together in order to
turn out hundreds each week.
The individual parts must, of course, fit perfectly so that
the assembler’s task is not made difficult. It's really quite a precision job.
This process is called 'lipping and cheeking', because when
it's had enough of the lip, it's time for the cheek. This procedure gives the
doll its healthy, rosy colour.
It's not an optician's nightmare, but some of the millions
of eyes, all of different colours, which are used to give the dolls their wide
eyed Marilyn Monroe look. Not in the same surroundings as the lady showed
earlier in the film, but nevertheless with a great degree of skill and
application, hairdressing is a very important aspect of a doll's appearance.
Cutting, curling and setting are carried out with first class efficiency.
These are Princess Anne dolls calculated to win the heart of
many a young daughter.
Could be the work room of a large dress factory. So it is.
But the difference is that here only dolls’ dresses and underclothes are made.
The same careful designing and creating which goes into the
production of gowns for fashion houses is the order of the day when it comes to
making a trousseau for some youngster's birthday present. Some of the larger
dolls have complete wardrobes of indoor and outdoor wear.
Down the travelling band they come, some dressed for packing
and some, well, not quite ready.
Here are a few of the newest inhabitants of Toyland waiting
to be taken home and no doubt cherished until they bear little resemblance to
the wonderful replicas of humans they originally were. Oddly enough, today they
make them walk, talk, cry and sleep. I wonder what they will think of next?
And to the sounds of the wedding march, I'll say, so long.
[End Credit]
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