Spinning Levers
Spinning Levers is a short film from 1936 released on 35mm. It is held in the Prelinger Archives collection.
"The transmission in the modern motorcar -- the mechanism that makes it possible to have three forward speeds and a reverse -- is a series of levers, levers that spin."
04:45:35:28 VS cartoon of Archimedes trying to move earth with a lever extending from the moon or another planet in outer space; CU cartoon of Archimedes says Give me a lever long enough and I can move the world.
04:45:56:19 CU disembodied hands using antique can opener to open a can of peaches; CU can open cutting through top of can.
04:46:05:17 Two boys playing on a seesaw.
04:46:09:25 CU pitch bar tool inserted between train wheel and track; man cranks large lever to move freight car along track; CU disembodied arm pumps lever lifting antique car off ground.
04:46:28:06 VS man demonstrates basics of the lever using triangular piece as fulcrum and a long metal piece, man attaches 10 lbs. weight to one end of the bar and a 5 lbs. weight to the other end; man hangs various weights from both ends of the bar balancing the two by moving the fulcrum to various points along the bar; man demonstrates how a gear is constructed through numerous interlocking levers.
04:47:19:10 VS stop-motion animation of two wheels with paddles added one by one turning wheels into paddle wheels and then into interlocking gears; cuts to more sophisticated gear; cuts to metal gears; VS CU different types of machine gears, worm gears, bevel gears, lopsided gears.
04:48:16:05 Disembodied arm pieces together piece by piece a basic motor with various gear components; superimposed text appears labeling various parts; superimposed arrows identify different gears; motor begins to turn; cuts to CU car drives across frame; cuts back to crude motor; camera pans to Revolutions Per Minute dial which reads 100 rpm, camera pans to another RPM instrument dial which reads 30 rpm; CU crude model of gears in motor, superimposed arrows show flow of energy through the system.
04:51:01:07 CU RPM instrument dial reads 60 rpm; CU churning gears of motor, superimposed arrows she flow of energy through gear system; VS man demonstrates on gears how shifting to various gears works.
04:51:33:25 CU arrow point to 90 rpm on deal labeled Revolutions Per Minute; VS man demonstrating different gears.
04:53:25:15 Great shot 4 lanes of cars stopped at stoplight on city street; Travel Bureau sign in background.
04:53:29:18 CU disembodied hand in white glove shifts clutch of car; CU motor shifting gears; CU tire with Chevrolet hubcap begins to move; 1920s and 1930s cars stopped at traffic light begin to move; CU inside car woman shifts gears; car driving down tree-lined highway in possibly New York, what appears to be the Statue of Liberty is seen off in the distance.
04:54:13:19 Woman enters drivers seat of Chevrolet, man waves start flag; car drives off down street; CU disembodied womans foot on gas pedal beside break and clutch pedal with Chevrolet logos; CU speedometer shows car hitting 60 mph; CU woman downshifts; CU speedometer goes down to 35 mph; car stops at bottom of hill.
04:54:47:21 CU sign along rugged road Steep Hill Use Second Gear| Spinning Levers | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Handy (Jam) Organization |
Production company | Handy (Jam) Organization |
| Distributed by | Handy (Jam) Organization |
Release date | 1936 |
Running time | 886 feet |
| Language | English |
- Thumbnail
