movies_creation
American Movie Archives (美國電影檔案)
- Title
- Relaxed Wife, The
- Year
- 1957
- Abstract
- Remarkable, surreal industrial film promoting "Atarax," a tranquilizer, and asserting how "ataraxic medicines" can help us all to achieve the relaxed state we long for. Created by Coni Johnston, Mel London, Joseph Cole, Bert Spielvogel, Tracy Ward (a pseudonym for Virginia Bell) and by Rune Hagman, Delores Phox, Jeanne Sharp, Dick Brophy, M. Opelle, Herb Hagens.
- Notes
-
Produced: On Film, Inc.
Sponsor: Roerig (J.B.) & Co., a division of Charles Pfizer & Co., Inc.
Run Time: 13:27
Audio/Visual: Sd, C - Keyword
- Psychology;Pharmaceutical industry;Medicine: Psychiatry;Pharmaceutical industry;Medicine: Psychiatry
- Theme
- I'd give it 6, but the scale only goes to 5
- Review
-
Funny how it is sponsored by Pfizer, nowadays huckster of antidepressants directly to the public on TV ("You know when you're not feeling like yourself... can't even sleep."), which was illegal at the time of this film. Instead, it is "A Public Service Presentation," so TV stations could air this and not only be running what amounts to a commercial for Pfizer, but earning credit to their (then FCC mandated) public service fulfillment!
Intended to be comic, tense husband can't relax and get to sleep. With his wife's help, he tries the self-help books, but when he's almost relaxed and asleep... wife wakes him! So he tries physical relaxation techinques, and while he does this, and it seems to work, we get the the explanation of why we needs drugs! An absolute winner that combines big business marketing hubris with camp.
(Reviewer: Steve Nordby) - Location
- A/V room, 2/F