Many Cadillac enthusiasts are probably well aware that the company officially came to life way back in 1902, a time when cars were still known as “that horseless carriage thing.”
But did you know that Cadillac actually started out of the ashes of the Henry Ford Company? Or, that the first car out of the factory featured a one-cylinder engine?
If you’re into deep-dive documentaries then this 17-minute YouTube video is exactly what you’re looking for.
And we haven’t even mentioned the best part: The documentary itself was filmed in 1959 so the entire thing is in black and white and the voice-over work is done by the same guy that apparently lent his pipes to every single movie ever made in the 50’s and ‘60’s.
Plus, all the guys wear bowler hats and fedoras and all the video clips have that sped-up look to them.
On a more serious tip, it’s amazing that even during some of the darker years when Winton, Chalmers, Franklin, Auburn, and even Pierce-Arrow had to close up shop, Cadillac stayed afloat and still continues under the same ownership it’s enjoyed since 1909.
If you want to know all there is to know about Cadillac– up until 1959, obviously– then this one’s for you.
Comments
“.. all the video clips have that sped-up look to them.” That is because the cameras were hand cranked while filming, and the playback was done on electric motorized projectors. Even in the 1950s movie cameras were still hank cranked or had a wind up clock-like mechanism to move the film. My Dad had a 16-mm hand cranked camera which he took a movie of me and my brother around Columbus Circle in 1963. I have that film on a DVD now.
Tis true. Undercranking meant that film was being cranked through the the camera too slowly so that when it was played back at normal rate, the footage appeared to be sped up.
Overcranking is just the opposite; turning too fast and making everything appear slow on playback.