Birth of a Car
Clip 1: Testing parts and manufacturing the body
1 min 56 sec
Taken from the sponsored film Birth of a Car (c1948)
Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be G
Availability of the complete title
Curator’s clip description
Car windows, springs, door locks and hinges, radiators and seats are all tested by machines. Panels are pressed into shape by large presses forming sections of the car body. These sections are then assembled and welded together to create the final body.
Curator’s notes
By showing the automated testing procedures and the manually-operated machinery in this assembly plant, modern manufacturing techniques are associated with signs of progress and productivity. Another documentary represented on this site, Spirit of Progress: Australia’s Wonder Train (1946) about the manufacture of Australia’s first air-conditioned steel train, also associates mass production techniques, the use of modern materials, and a pride in design as a sign of progress and development within the modern city.
Lauren Williams, curator
have teachers’ notes.
