The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair (1939)

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Few promotional films have received such wide circulation, and for so long a period, as 1939's Middleton Family at the NY World's Fair. Originally designed as a 50-minute, full-color "informercial" for Westinghouse, the film follows a "typical" American family as they take in the wonders of the… More Few promotional films have received such wide circulation, and for so long a period, as 1939's Middleton Family at the NY World's Fair. Originally designed as a 50-minute, full-color "informercial" for Westinghouse, the film follows a "typical" American family as they take in the wonders of the World's Fair at Flushing Meadows, Long Island. Naturally, the Middleton Family is most impressed by the collection of futuristic time- and labor-saving appliances at the Westinghouse exhibit. The film's most fascinating sequence finds the Middletons in awe at that miracle of modern technology--Television. Instead of the usual collection of unknowns, the cast of The Middleton Family etc. is comprised of quite a few familiar faces, including Harry Shannon (Kane's dad in Citizen Kane) as dad, Ruth Lee (costar of the Robert Benchley one-reelers) as mom, Marjorie Lord (future "Mrs. Danny Williams" on The Danny Thomas Show) as daughter Babs, and Jimmy Lydon (two years away from his "Henry Aldrich" series) as son Bud. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi