Wilding Picture Productions

Wilding Picture Productions, Inc. (also known as Wilding Studios or Wilding) was a major supplier of audio-visual communications services, involved primarily in the production and distribution of motion pictures, slidefilms, TV commercials, and business shows. It produced industrial films for many corporations on a wide range of subjects, from expounding proper use of the company's products to productivity. During World War II, it was the main supplier of war-related films for the United States Armed Forces.

History

1914–1936: Detroit period

The company was founded in Detroit by Norman Wilding (1892–1947), in 1914.[1]

1937–1966: Chicago Essanay Studio period

In 1937, Wilding moved into the Essanay Building in Chicago, once owned by Essanay Film Manufacturing Company.[2] Over the next few decades, Wilding became one of the country's biggest producers of industrial films.[3] At its peak, the company owned studios in Chicago, Detroit and New York.[4] In 1958, Wilding produced around 100 to 125 major business films, at a total cost of about 130 million dollars. Its customers included Ford, Chrysler, Goodyear, General Electric, U.S. Steel, Alcoa, and Amoco[5]

During the Second World War, Wilding produced many films for the US Armed Services. These included training films such as Combat Fatigue: Insomnia (1945)[6], an educational film used to teach soldiers how to overcome insomnia; and product promotion films such as Heritage for Victory (ca.1940s)[7] and Army on Wheels (1940)[8], which concentrated on vehicles and technologies used in World War II.

1967–Now: Closure

In 1967, Wilding was acquired by local Chicago projector manufacturer Bell & Howell,[1] which ultimately closed Wilding's Chicago unit in 1972.[9] Bell & Howell donated the real estate to Ch. 11, which in turn sold the property. Wilding's exhibits division and creative operations for the John Deere account remained in business in downtown Chicago until 1985.

Wilding was sold to Maritz, LLC on January 4, 1981. Maritz merged Wilding with their existing film and events production subsidiary, Communico, and named the new company Maritz Communications. Wilding's heavily unionized labor force did not blend well with Maritz's non-union culture, and over the subsequent five years, Maritz sold or closed down several Wilding operating units. These included event staging equipment rental, film editing, sound studios and major exhibit production.

Maritz Communications closed in 1992, and film and events clients were serviced by Maritz, LLC. In 1997, Maritz, LLC spun-off video production operations to Visiontracks, and meetings and events to EventSource. Maritz, LLC kept a creative group employed until 2009, when all media and event operations were closed.[10]

Partial filmography
Film Title Year Length Color/B&W Sponsor Director Notes
Behind the Scenes undated, probably early 1930s 10:19 min B&W Wilding Picture Productions J. Cullen Landis Gag reel of bloopers and flubs collected from various Wilding shoots. Contains both racist stereotypes and risqué moments.
Wheels Across Africa ca. 1937 50 min B&W Dodge Division, Chrysler Corporation Account of Armand Denis and Leila Roosevelt's expedition across Africa in Dodge automobiles. Wheels Across Africa is both an African travelogue and demonstration of the Dodge vehicle's capacity to perform under “terrific punishment.”[11]:99
Blame It on Love 1940 feature-length B&W Edison General Electric Appliance Company Wallace Fox The plot involves a wealthy manufacturing heir who elopes with a nightclub singer who can’t cook. When the couple breaks up, the singer goes to cooking school, learns how to use Hotpoint appliances, and prepares the perfect meal for her estranged husband. They reunite and the accomplished cook earns the respect of her formerly unsupportive in-laws. The film includes scenes of a television program promoting the Hotpoint electric range.[11]:13
Land of the Free 1940 30 min B&W Dodge Division, Chrysler Corporation Isolationist film arguing that America can take care of itself. Extolling the country's prosperity, power, and self-sufficiency, Land of the Free intersperses historical re-creations with images of American plenty—the prolific countryside, productive workers, World's Fairs, and consumer goods. The film was among current releases singled out by Business Screen as reinforcing the “wave of public sentiment for ‘America First.’”[11]:52
This Amazing America 1941 20 min Color Greyhound Lines In the narrative a history professor beats a Southern woman in a radio quiz show, but both win cross-country bus tickets. Aboard the Greyhound, the professor teaches the woman about America and they fall in love. The tour ends at Niagara Falls. Educational Film Catalog noted that “the advertising is so much a part of the story that it is almost unnoticeable.”[11]:89
Unfinished Rainbows 1941 42 min Color Aluminum Company of America Jean Yarborough Big-budget film linking the history of aluminum products with Alcoa's quest to find new and better ways to use the element for the good of humankind[11]:96
Sightseeing at Home 1943 15 min B&W General Electric Company J.M. Constable Film promoting television at a time when the medium was still in limited use. It shows how television works and tours GE's flagship station, WRGB, in Schenectady, New York.[11]:82
The Ship Is Ours 1943 19 min B&W United States Navy Bureau of Navy Personnel The film narration and acting explain dos and don'ts of watchstanding.
A Letter from America 1948 32 min B&W Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Lewis D. Collins The story begins with a letter, written by an immigrant worker to his family behind the Iron Curtain, that describes the American way of life and the opportunities provided by his employer, Goodyear. Flashbacks show the worker's arrival in America, his experience with the American democratic system, and his success at Goodyear. He explains that because many workers are also corporate shareholders, there is no longer a gap between capital and labor.[11]:54
Last Date 1950 19 min B&W Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company Lewis D. Collins The drama centers on a reckless driver, who together with his girlfriend, takes one risk too many. Like other safety films made for teenagers, Last Date implies that death is preferable to disfigurement. The dramatic accident sequence and surprise ending have often been emulated by other films targeting the same audience[11]:53
Big Idea 1951 53 min B&W Swift & Company Edward M. Grabill A woman reporter from an Iron Curtain country and an American newspaperman, a “fellow traveler,” tour a Swift plant and visit workers’ homes. Together they come to realize that capitalism is the system that provides the greatest degree of worker freedom.[11]:12
Midwest Holiday 1952 27 min Color Standard Oil Company of Indiana Midwest Holiday interweaves a trailer adventure through 10 states, a boy-meets-girl narrative, and the broader themes of America's freedom of the road and Manifest Destiny[11]:63
Memo to Mars 1954 24 min Color U.S. Rubber Company A Martian automaker sends his district manager to the United States to scout out the market for the “convertible Jet-16.” The visitor determines that Martian cars are too advanced for the congested, poorly maintained roads found on Earth. The only hope, the Martian concludes, is for Americans to insist on improving their highways.[11]:62
Production 5118 1955 30 min Color Champion Paper & Fibre Company Kirby Grant A corporate executive fails to communicate effectively at work and at home, and dramatized tableaux demonstrate the Power for Progress 76 unfortunate results.[11]:76
1104 Sutton Road 1958 28 min Color Champion Paper and Fibre Company In the story a dissatisfied factory worker imagines what it would be like to become a company foreman or the company president. The worker comes to learn that every employee, regardless of position, must be productive to succeed. Through this parable, 1104 Sutton Road argues that improving personal relations and communications in the workplace increases productivity and makes each employee a better person.[11]:29
Why Braceros? 1962 19 min B&W [[Council of California Growers Film explaining the benefits of the bracero program, originally initiated by the United States in 1942 to alleviate the World War II labor shortage. Attempting to answer public concerns over immigrant labor, the film shows the productive contribution of Mexican guest workers to California's farming, ranching, and food processing industries[11]:100

References
  1. "Bell & Howell, Wilding, Inc., Plan Merger". Chicago Tribune. March 28, 1967 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune.
  2. Atkinson, Leigh (November 10, 1949). "Keystone Cops Make Way for Modern Movies". Chicago Daily Tribune – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune.
  3. "Masquerade Ball benefits Essanay Studios' restoration | Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising". | Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising. 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  4. "Wilding Picture Gets New N.Y. Studio". Chicago Tribune. 6 January 1957.
  5. Gavin, James (June 22, 1958). "Chicago Part of Film World: Wilding Productions Having Good Year". Chicago Tribune.
  6. Wilding Picture Productions (1945), Combat Fatigue: Insomnia, retrieved 2019-04-01
  7. Wilding Picture Productions (c. 1940s), Heritage for Victory, retrieved 2019-04-01
  8. DODGE TRUCKS IN PRE- WORLD WAR II ARMY EXERCISE ARMY ON WHEELS 40414, retrieved 2019-04-01
  9. Lazarus, George (September 23, 1972). "Bell & Howell Closing Wilding Unit in Chicago". Chicago Tribune.
  10. "Gala fundraiser to preserve historic Essanay Oct. 6 | Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising". | Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising. 2012-09-18. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  11. Rick, Prelinger (2006). The field guide to sponsored films. San Francisco, CA: National Film Preservation Foundation.
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