The Cinecraft Collection at the Hagley Library

Highlight Reel: The Cinecraft Productions Collection at the Hagley Library

Articles about Cinecraft from the Hagley Collection News 

Cinecraft Digital Collection

Finding aid for the Cinecraft collection

TELEVISION and INFOMERCIALS

Television Televised (1948) - Austin Company - Behind-the-scenes of television production

Food is Fun (1950) - American Gas Association - Featuring Louise Winslow, the "Martha Stewart" of early television
All films with Louise Winslow

Healthy Living is Fun (1950) - Natural Foods Institute - Considered the first TV infomercial, featuring Vitamix founder Papa Barnard
All films with Papa Barnard

Leisy’s Light Beer commercial (1950) - Leisy Brewing Company - Commercial with a catchy jingle! 

Bowl them Over - General Electric TV ad campaign (1963) - General Electric - Promotion for GE salespeople includes the earliest known clip of the Johnny Carson show

Ohio Bell mobile telephone commercial (1966) - Ohio Bell Telephone - Commerical for mobile phones

Behind the Scenes: Cinecraft, Inc. multi-camera filming technique demonstration (1966) - Explanation of Cinecraft's pioneering work that used three film cameras in production 

Quikut commercial (1968) - Quikut and Foodland - Animated and live-action TV commercial, the company would later change the name of the knives to Ginsu and market through infomercials

 

FILMS

Heart of Cleveland (1924) - Cleveland Illuminating Company (CEI) - Silent film about power plant operations at CEI and the expansion of electric service. Not a Cinecraft produced film but found among their archives.   

You Bet Your Life (1938) [SCRIPT] - Cleveland Railway Company - First Cinecraft film. No known print of the film but Hagley has a script and a production photograph

Romance of Iron and Steel (1938) - American Rolling Mill Company - Earliest Cinecraft film print in the Hagley Collection about the operations at an ARMCO steel roll mill. Includes a brilliant (and technically challenging) tracking shot following steel through the rolling process 

Linter Logic (1945) - Hercules Powder Company - Importance of linters (a by-product from cotton oil production) in the burgeoning synthetics industry

Naturally, it’s FM (1948) - General Electric - Marketing a new technology, FM radio, to potential buyers and sellers

Milestones of Motoring (1954) - Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO) - An industrial musical featuring Merv Griffith and Joe E. Brown to advertise SOHIO Boron gas.

The House with the Built-In Sale (1955) - Republic Steel -  Targeting home builders stressing the importance of the kitchen in selling homes

Long Ships Passing (1959) - Lake Carriers Association - Recruiting film for future sailors to work on the Great Lakes longships that carried iron ore, coal, and other materials throughout the Great Lakes and beyond through the St. Lawrence Seaway

Nixon for President 1960) - Republic Steel - Direct address from Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge to Republic Steel employees during the 1960 campaign for U.S. president.

Cleveland: City on Schedule (1962) -- Cleveland Development Association - Narrated by Chet Huntley, presentation of urban renewal and development projects in Cleveland  

The Velvet Curtain (1962) -- American Good Government Society [NAM and Republic Steel] - Hollywood actor Reed Hadley in the role of journalist discussing voting and voter turnout

Search (1964) - Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co - The research and development side of steel production, a highly stylized film directed by Hungarian immigrant Julius Potocsny. Read more about Potocsny here

Invitation to Ohio (1964) - Ohio Bell Telephone - Peanut vendor gets mistaken for high-powered CEO and is given a tour of Ohio. Film produced to attract new business to the state.

Projection 70: Communications (1970) - Standard Oil of Ohio - Part of series shown on local television throughout Ohio, discusses the future outlook on communications innovation

Where’s Joe? (1972) - Committee of Steel Companies - Addresses the issue of foreign steel taking business from American steel companies

Freewheelin’ (1975) -- B.F. Goodrich - Promotional for van tires that focuses on the 4th Annual National Truck-In, a celebration of vans and vanning, hosted by the National Street Van Association in Bowling Green, Kentucky

Cleveland Jaybirds (1979) - Ted Stepien - The country's first professional slow-pitch softball team, featuring team owner Ted Stepien

Where the River Enters the Sea (1982) - Standard Oil of Ohio - A fictional story of an Iñupiat Inuit family living in a remote Alaskan village. 

Films of Midvale Steel (c.1919)

Where's Joe (1972)

Freewheelin' (1975)