Relaxed Wife, The
Relaxed Wife, The is a short film from 1957 released on 16mm. It is held in the Prelinger Archives collection.
Despite what we hear today from politicians playing the nostalgia card, the "peaceful" fifties weren't so stress-free. While documenting mid-century anxiety in excruciating detail, ephemeral films also show diverse responses to it: erasure, behavior modification, medication. Great narration rhymed in couplets.
| Relaxed Wife, The | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | On Film, Inc. |
Production companies | On Film, Inc. |
| Distributed by | On Film, Inc. |
Release date | 1957 |
Running time | 13:27 |
| Language | English |
- Thumbnail
More Details
To those conditioned to think of the fifties as the era of narcotized housewives, The Relaxed Wife's title might be a bit misleading. It's not about calming an anxious housewife so she can face the daily grind without going mad. She's already relaxed (although we're without a clue as to how she got that way). It's her husband (played by an unnamed actor capable of truly amazing facial distortions) that's the one with the problem. As a person, he doesn't seem particularly out of the ordinary, and he certainly isn't a candidate for deep psychiatry. What he's up against, the film seems to say, is the stress and strain incurred by good behavior, conformity and being a parent and spouse. As the film progresses, in fact, it seems more and more like a subsurface view of the bright, "happy-go-spending" world of In the Suburbs (see The Uncharted Landscape disc). This postwar, post-scarcity environment is wracked by traumas arising out of life at its most ordinary. And lurking in the bushes are pharmaceutical companies ready to medicate anxious citizens. Fifties popular magazines are filled with tips on anxiety management and stress reduction, and media cliches about "Miltown housewives," dependent on a famous tranquilizer.
The Relaxed Wife is densely packed with messages that harmonize with fifties pop-social critiques. There's a plug for self-absorption: "Let the world take care of its own worries. You'll help yourself most by concentrating on your own affairs," and a strong dismissal of perfectionism. Images of clenched fists straining against a rubber strap, signs reminding us to "think," "smile," and "work," sped-up telephone voices, and a feverish male running slalom through poles set against a blank white cyclorama remind us of familiar white-collar nightmares.
Narrated in rhyme (a common affectation in films of the time), the film reaches a peak of optimism and promise: "Today, medical science recognizes, that some folks aren't helped by relaxing exercises. In cases of difficult tension, and nervous apprehension, doctors are now prescribing an ataraxic medicine. It makes those who fear they're about to quit, feel like they're ready to begin, bidding their darkened spirits goodbye, for the calming peace of a cloudless sky. Of all the states throughout this nation, the happiest by far is the state of relaxation. There'll be fewer breakdowns and insomniacs, when more of us have learned to be relaxed. We'll be free to relish the joys of life, no longer tense over daily worries and strife."
Such calls for universal relaxation can't succeed without universal medication. This film was part of Pfizer's promotion campaign for the tranquilizer "Atarax" (hydroxyzine hydrochloride), named after "ataraxia," which, as the film notes, was the Greek word for relaxation. Introduced in 1956, Atarax was highly profitable for Pfizer.
Throughout the fifties and sixties, On Film, Inc. produced promoting national magazines to advertisers, films on interior and industrial design, and many films and television commercials sponsored by pharmaceutical industry. Their remarkable film In the Suburbs can be viewed on The Uncharted Landscape CD-ROM. The form in which The Relaxed Wife's credits appear intimates that the crew worked more collaboratively than hierarchically, that there was something different about this company's production process.
Shot List
14:26:22:04 CU Two hands gripping a thick piece of rubber, rubber builds tension as hands try to snap the piece apart; rubber snaps and immediately after tray with ceramic tea kettle and mug is lowered into frame; woman brings tea to man lying in twin bed separated from his wife s twin bed; woman places tea on husband s nightstand. Audio track of children fighting, CU father in bed looks up over his book as though hiding behind it; LS young boy and older sister, run into parents bedroom and mother sends them off; little girl slams door while saying goodnight to her father; MS father in bed angrily looks back at girl who slammed door and lifts up book with title Relax Relax.
14:27:27:21 CU woman holds cup of tea in front of out of focus man with face in book; as man grabs tea he comes into focus, man takes sip of tea and jumps out of bed and runs into the bathroom; MS wife speaking to bathroom door Are you alright? You weren t supposed to gulp it, just sip it. After all, how can a drink relax you if it isn t nice and warm. Angry husband in pajamas exits bathroom Relax. Impossible.
14:28:11:28 Great CU three books stacked horizontally on shelf titled: Relax Relax Relax!, Living With Tension, Living Without Tension. camera pans over to three more books on shelf: How to Relax, relax 365 Days a Year, Relax 24 Hours a Day. Woman grabs How To Relax book off shelf and places it on foot rest of pouting husband s chair.
14:28:40:01 CU book in woman s hands titled Wife Killer with illustration of hand holding bloody dagger and dead woman on cover.
14:28:55:24 Great physical comedy bit with man in pajamas and bathrobe reading in chair nodding to audio track reading words of book about symptoms of tension and anxiety.
14:29:31:07 Surreal white set with man zigzagging through a row of black poles; audio track is of chaotic city sounds; man runs into surreal office composed of an empty white set with one desk with large stacks of paper, and several poles with signs with various labels like Think. Phone rings and man grabs for phone stacked on top of papers; man looks overwhelmed at desk still wearing coat and hat; CU sign reads THINK, SMILE, WORK. Man at desk on phone still wearing his hat surrounded by large stacks of paper takes notes and looks stressed, CU sing PLAN AHEAD.
14:30:10:19 Woman in pink dress holding basket of laundry walks into empty white set with several poles representing doors and walls in a house; children quickly race by their mother and through the pole passages.
14:30:22:29 VS man reading in chair, man hears a fly, puts down book and holds up hand to swat fly; CU man s angry face as he is about to swat the fly; the fly flies off and man s whole body relaxes; man falls asleep reading book in chair; wife stands up out of bed takes book from man and reads to him sitting on the edge of her bed.
14:33:09:08 CU man with exaggerated stressed look on face with round meter on top of his head; meter fills like a mercury thermometer beginning with My Affairs , then Other Folk s Problems and finally to the top at World s Worries , suddenly man s face relaxes and the red fluid filling the meter goes back down.
14:33:29:21 CU stressed man with round meter on his head marking three levels Good Work , My Very Best, and Perfect.
14:33:51:09 Woman hands husband a round make-up mirror with pink backside; CU man looks at himself in mirror and begins to loosen the muscles in his face and relax.
14:34:16:08 LS woman at ironing board in empty white set with several black poles and a floating basket of laundry; woman shakes out hands and stretches her neck.
14:34:37:26 Man in robe jumps out of chair in bedroom and starts shadow boxing, then pretends to get punched in the stomach and falls to the ground; wife reads to man lying on the ground like a corpse; man stretches his feet and legs; CU man stretches jaw, opens mouth wide; CU man swallows air, yawns and becomes sleepy.
14:36:23:22 Great shot of surreal laboratory with various graduated cylinders, beakers, and flasks with various colored liquids, and two arms extending out of the table with stiff clenched hands.
14:36:32:25 CU flask with red liquid and colored felt giving the flask a frowning face; CU beaker with green liquid with a colored felt face; CU round boiling flask filled with yellow liquid and a felt worried face.
14:36:44:25 VS CU jar labeled Ataraxia suspended by string filled with white crystals; crystals fall out of jar into steaming beaker of purple liquid; beaker turns blue; cuts two shot of two flaccid arms extending out of table in front of blue beaker with jar of ataraxia crystals suspended above it.
14:37:09:27 Man at desk in empty white set with arms behind head relaxed; MS arm appears out of man s desk and hands him a newspaper; CU man reads newspaper the Daily Tribune with headline Hurricane on the Way ; man turns page to headline Hurricane Out to Sea ; LS man at desk tosses aside newspaper; arm appears out of desk and hands man another newspaper with headline Business Dip Due , Income At New High , man throws aside newspaper, sits back and closes eyes; a hook with sparkling fake money appears before man at desk; man dives for the money, misses and lies on ground holding out his hand, money on hook is lowered into man s hand.
14:38:41:27 Woman in bed turns off bed lamp and kisses husband in separate twin bed goodnight; Produced in Princeton by a Relaxed Organization superimposed over shot.
14:39:04:11 Great credits shot of melting wax letters spelling On Film Inc.