movies_creation
American Movie Archives (美國電影檔案)
- Title
- All-American Soap Box Derby (1934) 1934
- Year
- 1934
- Abstract
- Official film of early Soap Box Derby competition at Dayton, Ohio; tribute to ingenuity of the American Boy.
- Notes
-
Produced: Handy (Jam) Organization
Sponsor: Chevrolet Motor Company
Run Time: 10:08
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W - Keyword
- Car culture: Children;Soap Box Derby;Gender roles;Soap Box Derby;Gender roles
- Theme
- All-American Soap Box Derby
- Review
-
General Motors sponsored this film, as well as the derby, which was supposed to be a tribute to the "All-American Boy." The bombastic narration lends a campy air to the proceedings, which is good, because otherwise they'd be pretty dull, especially the awards banquet at the end. Campy moments include the opening montage of "friendly competition," which goes from friendly games of marbles on to progressively more aggressive sports, such as football, wrestling, and boxing, all while the narrator expounds on how this builds character; the closing montage of faces of boys dissolving into each other, seemingly communicating a message of conformity, and the closing assertion that these boys would go on to fight other battles which is superimposed over an American flag––considering the timing of the film you can't help wondering how many of them would die in World War II. A ripe film for msting.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
(Reviewer: Christine Hennig) - Location
- A/V room, 2/F