Saturday, July 29, 2006

Retro Video - The Front Line (1965)


The Front Line (1965)

I'm sorry, but I just love the heck out of these goofy old public domain industrial films! Can't resist posting them here (and I think they're related enough, in the general scheme and mood of things). You'll have to bear with me if you don't share my enthusiasm, cuz I think they rock. :) And this one is almost a pop art masterpiece of exploding colors, music, hair-do's, and groceries, in my opinion!

This film is a 1965 instructional short from the Super Market Institute, that delves into the fine art of cashiering, and all that it entails (which is a lot, it turns out). There's some really nice vintage grocery store footage in it, including all those gaudy, old-timey cash registers and food labels and what not.

I know this whole super market deal pretty well myself, as a matter of fact, having worked in a huge Farmer Jack grocery store here in Michigan for quite a while many years ago. Those people earn their money, let me tell you! (The good ones anyway, who actually care and work hard at it, which not everyone does.) It aint no jazz garden, that's for sure.

Our checkers today:



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14 comments:

  1. is it me or are all these presented by Readers digest? I know those were the womans choice of lit back then but jeez talk about stereo typing the consumer. great find anyways and yes they are pretty funny.

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  2. No need to apologize, Keith. I understand your obsession! It is sorta depressing to look at, though. The margin for human error on your grocery bill with those old cash registers was high. No wonder our parents would go over it with a microscope when they got home from the store.

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  3. Thanks for the comment, Jimmy. As I stated in the post, I certainly know, first-hand, how tough it is!

    Moose: Yeah, a lot of these are RD-produced deals. Seems odd (when you see the wildly varying subject matters), but true. They had a special production division that churned out these educational/industrial films.

    And yes, you definitely need to check your brain at the door when you watch most of these! Times sure have changed (for the better in many social ways). Basically, you can't watch these old films and take what they're saying to heart. If you do (and especially if you're a woman), you may find some slightly offensive, which would actually miss the point.

    As this is largely a "gallery" type, viZual blog (as I intended it), so too, when I post old educational films, are they meant to be watched and enjoyed for the kitschy, pop culture elements and imagery they contain--NOT at all for their outdated social attitudes and messages.

    Breaking them down too much like that, for their messages, is really a moot point today, and again, would miss the main reason I post them here. For me, it's all about the music and imagery.

    Just wanted to make that clear, since some of these are pretty out there in their silly stereotyping ways! Lol. I don't endorse those parts.

    And thanks, Rob! Good point on the receipt thing. :)

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  4. Supermarkets accepting credit cards is a very recent development -- like within the past 10 or 15 years. I remember Fred Meyer used to take credit cards for non-grocery purchases only.

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  5. Did the narrator introduce that first checker of the year as Ruth Buzzi?!

    I did appreciate the demonstration of proper bagging using a clear plastic bag. I'll try to put those techniques to use when I have to bag my own groceries!

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  6. I loved the video! I have worked as a cashier for Kroger Food Store for 28yrs. and the funny thing is the imformation on this video is about the same thing they tell us now, 40yrs. down the line. Like: the checker is the first and last person the customer sees so be polite and pleasent, always check the bottom of the bascart, package heavy on bottom then lighter on up. Running out of space, thanks for the look back! Carol

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  7. 20 years ago, when my sister started bagging groceries for HEB (a food retailer here in Texas) she was instucted, when noticing items in the bottom of the cart, to say to the checker "Have you seen Bob lately?" Bob meant Bottom of Basket. The management didn't want to offend the customers. It would have looked like the bagger thought the customer was trying to steal. I was in one of their stores recently, and heard a bagger say this to a checker.

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  8. Love those ergonomic cash registers. My wrists started hurting just watching them punch, punch, punch, ker-klunck. They remind me of Kmart since they had those registers well into the Nineties.
    Did you say, bag your own groceries? I went to Pak N Save once and was completely surprised I had to bag my own. I probably used three times as many bags as they would have. To this day, I only go to full-service grocery stores.
    Scott

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  9. Wal-mart is leaving Germany? How is that possible?

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  10. btw, I often wonder how it's possible we make more waste than anyone. With the bag concept in Germany, now I'm beginning to see why. We throw them away after a single use. We have those damn bags everywhere since some stores insist on double-bagging.
    Oh, and Wal-Mart will NOT allow you to refuse a bag. I tried and the holy-than-thou cashier got all pissy and said I had to take the damn bag.
    Scott

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  11. LMAO...'Check of the year...'

    Ah, the day when a woman could work as a checker into her 40s and be universally admired for it. Where have those days gone?

    Otherwise, interesting film. The music was very telling of the era.

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  12. Boy, this was a terrific video! I'd like to show the bagging sequence to the cashiers at my local supermarket. I swear their mantra must be "drop the watermelon on the eggs". One thing I would like to know; how come the cashiers in the pink frocks got to wear football helmets in the video yet the cashier in the green smock has hat hair? ;-)

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  13. i love this site that film i seen befor is my fav im a young guy 20 s but for some reason i love them old cash registers and i find them and restore them they are the coolest thing that one in the film is my all time fav

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  14. When I briefly worked as a cashier, we only had baggers available during the evening rush. In all other cases, the store didn't bother wasting money on that.

    Anyone know the name of the actress playing the customer? She was kind of a "Hey! It's That Guy" to me. She's very tall and imposing in the video. Another site had someone guess she was in a pancake commercial from the '70s.

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