She Wears Ten Hats

Summary

Promotional film for the Presto Control Master, a unit that controls the temperature on various kitchen appliances. An American product made under licence in Wolverhampton.

Year:

1959

Duration:

0:09:30

Film type:

Black & White / Sound

Genre:

Advertising

Company:

Fred A Niles Productions Inc.

Master format:

16mm

Description

The film opens with a couple at home dressed in the costumes of c1900. The commentator talks about women in that era wearing one hat (the bonnet of a lady). Stills are used to show wealthy life from that era and the film quickly moves through the years using stills to introduce ideas of female emancipation, as well as a film clip of an atomic explosion. In the 'modern' era the commentator describes women wearing ten hats (nurse, cook, accountant, chauffeur etc). This busy lifestyle is aided by the housewife now having access to the Presto Control Master, a plug in device that controls the temperature of various cooking appliances. Inside a 1950s American kitchen we see a woman demonstrating the use of the Presto to control a griddle pan that cooks breakfast and an evening meal. This is followed by a 'fry-pan' an electric table top device in which she bakes a cake. Her husband cooks eggs and bacon with it (even an amateur can use it). This is followed by an automatic cooker fryer to cook meat dishes and finally the Presto device being used to control a pressure cooker.


Credits

Produced for The National Pressure Cooker Co. (England) Ltd in conjunction with National Presto Industries Inc USA


Notes

National Presto Industries are based at Eau Claire in Wisconsin, USA. The National Pressure Cooker Company made Presto products under licence at their Fort Works in Wolverhampton. This is an American film with the addition of a British commentary. An incomplete American commentary also exists in the archive. Fred A. Niles Productions Inc credited on the can but not on the actual film.