Sponsored Films

The Open Door: The Story of Foreman Jim Baxter, His Family, and His Job (1945)
Sponsor: Public Relations Staff, General Motors Corp. Production Co.: Jam Handy Organization. Director: Haford Kerbawy. Producer: Esther Schrodel. Writer: Gordon H. Miller. Cast: William Post Jr., Betty Kelley, George Mathews, Harvey Stephens. Transfer Note: Scanned from a 16mm print held by the Library of Congress. Running Time: 48 minutes.

Management training film commissioned by GM at a time when factory foremen were considering unionization. Machinist Jim Baxter is promoted and must decide whether to cast his lot with management or with workers. He discusses the question in the workplace and at home. Rather than permitting “third parties” to represent him, the new foreman decides to work out problems by talking directly with the plant manager.

Note: Filmed in 35mm, also distributed in 16mm.

Resources
William L. Bird Jr., “Better Living”: Advertising, Media, and the New Vocabulary of Business Leadership, 1935–1955 (Evanston, IL: North­western University Press, 1999), 271.