Jack Behrend Collection

Mural Midwest Metropolis

Transcript (Download)

The sun rises in a foreign port of call, and yet there is no smell of salt nor sound of gulls in the morning air.

To the ocean -going European sailor, this place is new, strange, different.

Along the harbor, South Sea Island -like beachcombers wear store -bought shoes.

Glass and steel replace romantic palm trees.

Here, four -footed animals thrive amidst the shoes and concrete.

Quite unconcerned that tall giraffes, mechanical ones to be sure, stare down upon them.

From above or below, here's a city world of many points of view.

Here's a point of view limited to few.

And to our delegate brother, here's another.

One for fathers and mothers.

Another for lovers.

The city has many things to say.

Thank you, sir.

After all, it depends on what's in the mind.

For the paper -stabber, litters the thing.

For the art student along the boulevard, art's the thing, and the litter gets sketched right back in.

The city sees itself painted in broad strokes, or as a window opening on an inland sea.

She preens herself accordingly.

She is forever window shopping in the marketplace of her imagination.

And once in a while, something catches her eye.

Something that says, made for each other.

There.

There she stands proud.

Proud of her power and her magic.

She deserves attention and gets it.

And whether packing her hope chest with daydreams, or working for them to come true, she still demands attention.

To paint her, one requires a canvas of huge proportions.

Is she a color? A line? Or a shape? She is all these things and more.

She is Chicago.

Chicago, the go and the scroll and the scoundrel we know.

Chicago, watch it build, watch it move, watch it grow.

She is the one.

She is the one.

She is the one.

For much of Chicago, the day begins at the city's ever receding perimeter, far out beyond its central heart.

Old fashioned neighborliness in the modern manner is part of the far flung city.

Deserving as outer links between people and places are the new attractive shopping centers.

Here the old prairie echoes with the sounds of the new pioneers.

Each morning nearly one million people travel to the inner city.

From the north, from the west, from the south, people at the interchanges and the transfer points.

From the near north, the near west, and the near south, people.

Chicagoans meeting Chicagoans at the outer rim of the inner city.

The city of Chicago.

The city of Chicago.

What is this inner city, this central area, this downtown? This is where the people come bearing gifts of love, labor, and creation.

Here they come to receive service and solace, counsel and delight, enrichment and challenge.

Here they may purchase a dream or a reality.

The city of Chicago.

The city of Chicago.

The city of Chicago.

The city of Chicago.

The city of Chicago.

The city of Chicago.

Yes, it is a large self -portrait our city paints of itself.

And in the course of any day, this day if you will, the diverse elements of the mural grow together.

Most valuable player three times running.

If he says cutie one more time I'll.

Just a drop of water.

What a head I got.

I'm going on a strict diet tomorrow.

Two weeks she's been at our house now.

I think circus stripes would be cute in the kids room.

So I said ask for a raise.

Here's a world of plenty.

Plenty of goods and services.

Shops for girls and girls who shop.

Fertilizers to make the grass grow.

And lawn mowers to cut it.

Glasses to see through.

And glasses to drink from.

Records to keep and records to play.

Sun lamps and sun shades.

Dinner plates and dental plates.

Paints for walls and faces.

Shoelaces and Irish laces.

Buttened out collars and dog collars.

Dog licenses and marriage licenses.

Shops for the tall girl, the fat man, fresh eggs.

Food for thought and food to eat.

Real estate and the fourth estate.

Stethoscopes, fluoroscopes and lots of scope.

Microscopes, horoscopes, telescopes, way out scopes.

Of all the inner city's abundance and variety, there is one specialty that belongs to it alone.

The daytime, nighttime, pastime of window shopping.

Miles and miles of display where all the world is yours.

Your world and the only admission and imagination willing to be triggered.

Yes, the shop windows seem to have a life of their own.

All good things must come to an end.

Time for lunch.

The break in the day is for relaxing, sometimes for thinking.

For contemplation of what others have given you, of what is still yours to do.

Behind every great work there is the idea, the plan, the inspired belief.

In the projection of the Chicago to be, there is more than the prospect of beautiful buildings and bridges, parks and centers, broad boulevards and beaches.

Here is the story of a people, safeguarding their priceless architectural heritage.

Designing their dream, fulfilling their image.

An image modern, bold and rich in color.

The new grows out of the old.

Today this is the becoming and tomorrow it will be history.

And what Chicago is, is still only half revealed.

Under separate cover we are forwarding to you title on 3500 acres and grazing land.

I can give you reservations for two on flight.

The new policy will not only protect your wife but provide for the education of both your children.

A classic is as timeless as love and hate, fear and desire, rage and humility.

So the human variations on these themes are infinite.

Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Dorstyevsky.

Here, listen to this.

Please stand absolutely still.

Hold your breath.

Good.

Now the other eye.

H -E -O -Z -V -W -M -O.

Now there's a good boy.

Open your mouth good and wide.

You're just fine now.

No restrictions.

Stay healthy.

A change is what you need.

Something different.

How about a new hat? Boxes, bags, packages too.

Green and white and delicate blue.

Flat and small and dabbing air.

Round and tall and way out there.

You can see easily she's been in town.

You can't buy him glittering rocks.

Be prepared with jazz socks when your spouse stalks the house impatiently.

Stacks of sacks hold everything.

Ties and pies and fishing flies.

Nicks and nacks and artifacts.

Those and these for she's and he's.

Hey there, ma.

What you got for me in there? Be prepared with a sable or a mink or a label when your spouse stalks the house impatiently.

And in Chicago you can be sure when a pretty girl hurries just to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

There's something worth waiting for.

Other things are worth waiting for and working for.

Going home.

The day is beginning to end and the opening door says, welcome home.

Home is a fairy castle of glass and a tower of strength.

But home is more than a place.

It is also what you share with those you hold most close.

Memories, music, make believe.

Childhood of a man or a city is memory and make believe.

Alice dashes into wonderland, into the city that grew from the prairie, down the street of I will be.

I will be both graceful and alluring.

I will be a good provider.

I will take a blow in passing because I will be strong.

I will be a great success and I will prove it.

I will have everything.

When I grow up.

I will be the star in the Midwestern sky.

I will be and I will be and I will be.

I will work and I will study and I will grow.

And I will rule the inland sea.

The street of dreams darkens into reality as the day hurries toward night.

It has had a busy day.

The inner city has been a good host.

It calls Godspeed to its guests outward bound.

It welcomes the quiet to renew itself.

For tomorrow it looks up again.

For the Greeks had a word for Chicago, Metropolis, Mother City.

Make no little plans.

This is Metropolis Midwest.

Our home, our own, a breathing work of art.

We love this town.

We love our warmth and heart.

She's worked, she's tears, she's fun.

All things to everyone.

Our friendly grow in town.

Exciting go in town.

Our home, our own, our private love affair.

And we would die to be away from there.

Where you'll discover Christmas all year round.

Our home, our own, our town.

Where real excitement happens all year round.

Our home, our own, our town.

Chicago, the go and the scroll and the town.

Wait now.

Chicago, the go and the scroll and the town.

Identifier
F.2004-02-0017
Date Of Production
circa 1960
Abstract
Promotional film for Chicago as a tourist destination. The narrator highlights many attractions, including: boating on Lake Michigan; going to the beach; beautiful cityscapes; architectural detail; shopping on the Magnificent Mile; Grant Park; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the hustle and bustle of pedestrians and commuters. Most footage is of Chicago captured in action with some directed scenes and stylized shots.

Some of the vital landmarks captured in this film include the Executive House, London Guarantee  Building, Michigan Avenue Bridge, Hubbard Woods Station, Dempster Street, Morton Grove, Central Station, Carsons on State Street, Pure Oil Building, and Fullerton Apartments. 

 
Log
Narrator introduces Chicago with a series of scenes of everyday life in the bustling city. 00:00 - LS sunrise over Lake Michigan harbor, cloudy sky, POV from boat PAN RIGHT, MS captain of ship, LS shore 0:25 - TILT UP water to two beachcombers with high rise buildings in background 00:38 - Var MCU dachshund on leash walking Chicago sidewalks 00:44 - LA TS construction worker in crane in front of high rise 00:51 - TS HA view sidewalk and strip of shops 00:58 - HA busy intersection below from POV on top of high rise 01:04 - man looking at cityscape POV through sunglasses 01:15 - MS interior full sightseeing bus, TILT UP out roof window TS buildings downtown 01:72 - FA young man and woman lying on beach blanket on beach flirting, cityscape in background 01:35 - MS man in business suit depositing mail in mailbox, CU man POV from inside mailbox Man picking up litter, woman drawing city, CU rendering of cityscape, narrator speaks of how the city draws its own portrait. 02:13 - ZOOM OUT busy sidewalk, cityscape Compares Chicago to a woman shopping around the city “demanding attention” from construction workers. Men begin to paint “her,” or “Chicago,” on a large billboard mural. 03:44 - HA LS bridge over Chicago River, top of the Wrigley Building, HA ELS TILT UP full cityscape of Chicago Opening credits, scenes of Chicago starting its day. 04:29 - Var shots people waiting on platform, HA train tracks, LA ZOOM IN elevated train pulling into station 05:04 - Var shots women being neighborly in front of suburban home 05:35 - CU pink rose in foreground, Var MS, POV CU children riding bikes around shopping centers with landscaping throughout, MCU girl on sidewalk pony ride 06:12 - HA POV high platform, train passing below 06:18 - Montage of fast TS, POV from car, highway ahead, POV from train, tracks ahead, passing shopping centers, other trains, neighborhoods, HA people on platform getting on train, Red Line “L” train going underground, HA CU cars speeding towards camera one at a time, ZOOM OUT LS highway full of cars driving towards camera, then driving towards cityscape, continue montage of TS cars driving under “L,” on highways, nice view of cityscape from highway, crossing bridge looking over Chicago river 09:20 - CU sign N. State St. and E. Madison St. 09:27 - Var HA LS, MS people exiting “L” train, POV riding up escalator, FA crowd walking across street, LA feet, sunset in background 10:10 - Var shots loading goods onto a large ship with Chicago cityscape in background Montage of signs and advertisements, ZOOM OUT billboard mural from earlier in film with more paint as we see more of the city. Scenes of shopping in Chicago. 10:58 - Montage of police officer directing busy crowds of people walking and window shopping on the Magnificent Mile 11:38 - HA POV from high rise “L” train coming around loop 11:43 - LA PAN RIGHT in complete circle capturing high rise buildings above POV from sidewalk 12:48 - Man [acting] pantomiming in shop window with mannequins inter-cut with people window shopping “Time for lunch” 14:17 - Var shots people sitting in Grant Park, Michigan Ave. 14:50 - Var shots interior Art Institute of Chicago, grand staircase, people in galleries 15:04 - Var MS model plan of Chicago 15:28 - Var stylized shots architectural details and cityscapes 16:10 - TS POV exterior elevator going up, cityscape 17:37 - Montage MCU midsections of people carrying shopping bags “Going Home” 20:04 - LS cityscape, PAN RIGHT ZOOM IN to Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millenium Park 20:20 - Stylized vignettes children playing make believe in city, inter-cut with goods to buy, “I will have everything when I grow up.” 22:32 - Var shots people going home, sun setting on city Billboard mural painted throughout the film is now finished. It reads “’Make no little plans...’ Daniel Burnham” 23:21 - MS dark profile people waiting on platform, sun setting in background 23:37 - LA boats passing by on water, dusk, high rise, night 24:45 - Var LS Chicago cityscape, sunset Credits painted on billboards, message reads “’Mural Midwest Metropolis’ is a tribute to the people of Greater Chicago who insure the city’s continued growth and bright future...”
Run Time
0:26:09
Format
16mm
Extent
1,000 feet
Color
Color
Sound
Optical
Reel/Tape Number
1/1
Has Been Digitized?
Yes
Language Of Materials
English
Element
Answer Print
Genre
Sponsored
Travelogue
City symphony
Form
Short
Subject
Tourism
Leisure
Recreation
Chicago (Ill.)
City and town life
Related Collections
Jack Behrend Collection

Related Places
North America ➜ United States ➜ Illinois ➜ Chicago

Sponsor/client
Sperry and Hutchinson Company

Main Credits
Weisenborn, Gordon (is director)
Fred A. Niles Communications Centers (is production company)

Additional Credits
Siegel, Sid (music)
Costikyan, Andrew (is cinematographer)
Harder, William (is contributor)
Romolo, Frank (is editor)
Hurt, Orville A. (is contributor)
Henning, Robert (sound)
Weisenborn, Gordon (is writer)
Weisenborn, Selma (is writer)

 
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