The Fabulous 50s

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C+     Program: B

 

 

Though made back in 1994, Reader’s Digest Magazine produced a still-impressive show called The Fabulous 50s.  While VCI’s DVD triple-set Forever 50s (with hundreds of newsreels, ads, and shorts, reviewed elsewhere on this site) was a nicely loaded compendium that holds one of the records for DVD chapters, this single-DVD offers the original program with some extras.

 

The main program is a well-paced and well-edited set of archival footage, much of which is more obscure than expected.  After seeing several DVDs of Marilyn Monroe, I was pleasantly surprised at the footage here I had never seen before, not featured on either of those DVDs.  There are the advertisements that are always a kick, and then there is a wild section of ads featuring the real-life Ronald and Nancy Reagan.  With daughter Patti, Nancy tells Ron how great life is now that she has a series of ultra efficient “electronic servants” on hand in the house.

 

Some will find this a hoot, others will find it bizarre, but the oddest thing is that the footage does not identify what company (or companies) made the products, unless it was some generic industrial film showing the kitchen world of the near future for some appliance consortium.  Either way, it is worth catching too.  The program also contains some more popular footage and lays it out in a smooth, chronological order.

 

Though all of this is off of an old analog video master, it still looks surprisingly good.  Just about all the images fill the screen, though a few are cropped, while others might have slights letterboxing or bookending.  Not to bash the magazine or anything, but I am still surprised Reader’s Digest (or anyone, I guess) pulled together such a good program.  It was so good, it is too bad it did not run on longer or was one of several chapters.  The 1950s is notorious for all of its old film stock footage.  The sound is serviceable Dolby Digital 2.0 that is mostly monophonic, with some brief stereo-like sound here and there.

 

The extras are in three sections:

 

Fads & Follies featuring

1958        The Hula Hoop Craze

1959        Campus Hi-Jinks

1953        The Harlem Globetrotters Antics

1954        America’s First Rocket Car

 

News Makers featuring

1951        Uni-Vac Computer Launch

1955        McCarthy vs. Murrow

1958        Elvis Answers the Army’s Call

1957   Rita Hayworth & Aly Khan

 

and Sports Sensations featuring

1951        Mickey Mantle, Hall-of-Famer

1952        US Winter Olympian Breaks Record

1958        Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain

1953        Alabama Football Fiasco

1958        The Birth of the NFL on TV

 

 

Too bad Digest did not run with this kind of programming, because it could have boosted their name and circulation quite a bit.  If there is more solid programming like this, as is the case with Glorious Triumphs and Great Tragedies also covered elsewhere on this site, then we will hopefully see them too.  The Fabulous 50s is a fun winner that exceeds expectations.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo