The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair (1939) User Reviews

Like opening a window up to 1939.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 3 October 2016]

"The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair" is a film that technically speaking has many problems...yet I still heartily recommend it. It's because it gives a real nice look into the World's Fair of 1939 as well as the state of the nation and American values. Sure, it's often heavy-handed and even a tad silly, but on balance it's still a nice little history lesson.

This film was created for the Westinghouse Corporation and you'll hear tons about how electricity and Westinghouse are bringing us a better future. In some ways, this look at life in the future is very reminiscent of the 1964 World's Fair exhibition "The Carousel of Progress" (now housed at DisneyWorld) but instead of using audioanimatronic folks to lecture us about inventions and patriotism, you have the Middleton family visit the fair and the nice young man from Westinghouse tells and shows them all the marvels. As a contrast (and an obvious one at that), you also have Nick--the daughter's boyfriend. Nick is obviously an angry communist and again and again he's on hand to demonstrate the stupidity of communism and the superiority of capitalism.

So why would I recommend the film? Well, how many other films show you are the World's Fair of 1939?! While it emphasizes the Westinghouse pavilion, there is a lot to see there--such as the futuristic robot and labor-saving devices. All this is like a time capsule...though I also would have loved seeing the rest of the fair. But, considering it was made for Westinghouse, it makes sense the film features them. A bit campy but fun and an interesting look back.

By the way, if you want to see the film, it's available for free download from archive.org--although, oddly, the movie isn't linked to its IMDb page like many of the other public domain films from archive.org.

Corny propaganda disguised as... well, corny propaganda

[fjhuerta-2 · 6/10 · 9 December 2008]

Thanks to the Internet Wayback Archive, this movie is available to anyone who wishes to watch it. I'm extremely grateful for such an opportunity - since there wouldn't be any other way to watch Elektro in action, and the Trylon and Perisphere in a movie.

I was reminded of Donald Fagen's "I.G.Y" (International Geophysical Year). It seems that back in 1939, optimism was rampant. The future was bright, and we'd all be dressed up in spandex jackets (oh, wait...). As a showcase of the 1939 Westinghouse Exhibit at the World Fair, this movie is unbeatable.

As far as propaganda goes, it's extremely dated, though. A cheating commie professor trying to marry the capitalist's daughter; the all-American engineer nabbing her at the end, African-Americans working menial jobs, the blind faith in technology and electricity to solve all of our problems. It's just too much - people and situations are nothing more than caricatures of their counterparts.

I'm not really surprised about the demise of Westinghouse after watching this piece, though. Then again, hindsight is always 20/20, isn't it?

Worth Watching

[stan_c · 6/10 · 18 February 2020]

I loved watching this film. Marjorie Lord is the daughter and it's a delight to see her way before she played Danny Thomas's wife on The Danny Thomas Show. The son is played by the great Jimmy Lydon. The TV exhibit is priceless. OK, not great art so I gave it a 6, but good to see anyway!

Now We Know What Capitalists REALLY Thought of the New Deal

[thomash85715 · 1/10 · 18 February 2020]

We stumbled across this on amazon prime and endured the entire thing mostly with jaws dropped. If we think our country recently became politically polarized after the 2016 election, watch this and learn. The right wing jack armstrong type and the left wing marxist sympathizer are constantly being warned by the girl in the middle to not make a scene at the family dinner. Sound familiar? We are trying to figure out if this were shown in movie theaters as a short second feature or at Westinghouse sales or stockholder meetings or elsewhere. It had to be a big hit at the NO THIRD TERM rallies that would soon put Wilkie on the republican ticket. .The most striking thing to us was the anti-intellectualism that pervaded the pro-capitalist speechifying disguised as stilted dialog. It's a wonder we won the war if this is meant to represent the best and brightest. The republic has made it this far maybe in spite of the thinking behind this film.

A time capsule more worthy for its historical value then its vision of inventions that were never used.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 11 February 2019]

No, there is no real family name the Middletons in this film, but they are supposed to represent the typical all American family of the late 1930's. Real life Hollywood actors get the chance to star in what would be referred to as an industrial film that had its exposition at the actual fair of 1939. There are mother and father (Ruth Lee and Harry Shannon), man crazy daughter Marjorie Lord, mischievous but curious younger son Jimmy Lydon, and the wise but fun loving grandmother Adora Andrews.

Their trip from small town USA to the Big Apple to witness all of the marvels is played along with drama concerning Lord's inability to choose between two admirers, one of whom is a cheat, and the other who is obviously more admirable. Grandma gets into the act to expose the lying soundrel with the help of Lydon, thanks to a visit to a 6th Avenue pawn shop.

Surrounding this feather of a plot are visits to various exhibits at the fair, the most amusing of which is the wisecracking robot who apparently can spot a beautiful woman in the audience even though it's not human. each of the family members has their own desired exhibits which they want to see more than the others, indicating that this was an event you could not simply spend a week at. It's colorful and fun but inconsequential in exposing the fact that many things seen here never came to fruition and that much of the inventions that were displayed never came close to seeing the light of day. But any film that shows in color what Times Square look like in the late 1930s is fascinating even though this could have been done with more detail and good will as an Andy Hardy movie which certainly it reminds me of.

Electro

[qtdfkte · 5/10 · 21 February 2021]

This wasn't so bad. It was fun watching what it was like in 1939. Of course, you had to sit through the socialist raining on everyone's parade. But, you have to take the good with the bad. Check it out.

A Time-Capsule in Celluloid (not "Cupalloy")

[khyde-2 · 10/10 · 2 January 2005]

As a longtime "movie-maker" for Westinghouse -- okay, it was "video" by the time I got there -- my feelings for this film run deeper than most. In many ways, it is the grand-daddy of all corporate propaganda films -- i.e., outrageously expensive, shamelessly self-aggrandizing, overblown, naive in its estimate of audience intelligence/suggestibility, and utterly clueless when it comes to creating believable situations and dialog. The loving, earnest ineptness of this show is only magnified by its hapless, jut-jawed, attempt to contrast the mendacious failure of Communism with electric dishwashers and a cigarette-smoking robot. There may be an intentional metaphor here: The only cigarette smokers in the film are the Communist (Makarov) and the robot (Electro), whereas Dad smokes a fat, patriotic, he-man cigar (probably a Cuban Cohiba, since it's 1939). Obviously, cigarettes are the smoke-of-choice for degenerate socialists and mechanical serfs. Then again, the unspoken sub-text may be that this film is best appreciated with a big "Bob Marley" joint in hand.

What I'm saying, paradoxically enough, is that "The Middleton Family" is an absolute must-see for anyone seeking to know, precisely, when and how America went mad. The 1939 World's Fair, it seems, is the exact moment when we all began buying into our own PR. "Streamlining" was hip. Capitalism was triumphant. Technology was limitless (if all you wanted to do was burp into a microphone). Black people were wise kitchen help. And manly virtue (i.e., compassionate conservatism) gave the lie to flip-flopping, hate-America Leftist claptrap.

Funniest thing: The film makes a big to-do about Westinghouse television technology. As it turns out, Westinghouse bagged its groundbreaking research into TV because it could not envision a profitable commercial application. Decisions like this contributed to the company's ironic demise as a property of CBS.

Second funniest thing: A centerpiece of the Westinghouse exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair was a "time capsule" fabricated of incorruptible "Cupalloy" and containing hundreds of artifacts (including Mickey Mouse) which were intended to represent our civilization to the humans of 6939. At the 1964 World's Fair, the company buried a second time capsule 10 feet from the original, presumably containing a paper note inscribed with the words "Never Mind."

Even funnier funniest things: (1) An ex-football-player/engineer spokesperson for two-fisted Reagan capitalism ("Jim Treadway") who could not be MORE like a gay, effete John Kerry on poppers; and (2) a Nancy-ass Commie art professor scared off by an angry Grandma and an exploding cigarette load.

Significant stuff: The obnoxious kid (Jimmy "Bud" Lydon) went on to become "Henry Aldrich" in a number of well-known Hollywood films, and was featured in the "Rocky Jones" sci-fi series. Harry Shannon, the unapologetically drunk and ineffective "Father," appeared in "High Noon" and played the role of Orson Welles' father in "Citizen Kane." Ditzy daughter "Babs" (Marjorie Lord) played a recurring role in various incarnations of the "Make Room for Daddy" TV series.

Alas, although the future finally arrived, it didn't look anything like the Trylon and Perisphere -- and neither robots, home appliances nor TV were enough to save Westinghouse from a series of fantastically crappy CEOs, unsecured commercial loans and a (comically ironic) lack of imagination. Much like its "time capsules," Westinghouse (as a trans-global conglomerate) was buried in 1994.

As near as I can tell, this program is unavailable to the public. However, I have a Beta master cloned from a professional 1" transfer, which I will gladly dub at cost for any authentic public archive. (NB: Charlie Ruch, the beloved long-time Westinghouse corporate historian, passed away some years ago. He may have installed a master copy at the Westinghouse Museum in Wilmerding, PA. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the museum first, since I don't own the damn thing, and I prefer not to spend the last few years of my life in jail).

A fun video, but obviously commercial

[rctimms · 8/10 · 10 December 2010]

I found a DVD of this film on The Historical Archive's website. The characters lack real-life complexity. The story is thin, and clearly skewed to showcase producer Westinghouse's exhibits. It's clearly the product of its culture (would you feature a cigarette-smoking robot in a promotional film today?). But there's not much better in terms of experiencing a visit via film. Much video exists but most is silent. And it's mostly unedited. This gives you a story you can watch and enjoy, and you get some idea of what a day at that fair must have been like. This film left me wanting more, but at least it gave me something of an experience. I'd buy it again.

A Look Back In History

[craig_smith9 · 8/10 · 21 December 2001]

The movie was written to take advantage of the 1939 World's Fair. World's Fairs were a real staple earlier in the 20th century. Even in our current climate of so many needs for programs we are still missing out by no longer having a "world" fair. This movie gives you a chance to see what people thought was coming (and the dishwasher did indeed come). Without a doubt this is a propaganda tool for the wonders of capitalism. And it does a pretty good job too. There is a story that deals with a family visiting the fair. Dad wants to show his young son that there is indeed a bright future ahead of him, that not everything has been discovered. The daughter is in college and is being wooed by her art teacher who is an adamant socialist. The daughter's former boyfriend still loves her. And tying it all together is grandma. And she is the real treat in this movie. She talks about the past (if anyone wants the good old days they can have mine") and she is ready for the future. She is also very aware of what is going on with her granddaughter and how to handle that situation (which she does in a very clever way). All in all, a look back at true history and an entertaining movie (thanks to grandma) as well.

A great film of a great time

[drsmith1966 · 10/10 · 31 March 2003]

This was like the Brady Bunch of 1939. but a great movie and a joy to view..its a shame life was not the way this film intended it to be. the actors all worked well with each other. the maid was super and so was grandma too. and to think that World War 2 was just around the corner.