Secret Weapons
(1948)
A mysterious factory behind barbed wire...
Cinema promotional film for BK’s new enameled cookware.
Story
After a peek inside a mysterious factory, a headline announcing “New Secret Weapons Uncovered!” appears. A newspaper’s extra edition announces that the weapon will be revealed during an international Women’s League Conference. It turns out to be BK’s new enameled cookware.
Trivia
This animated film has been edited quite lively considering it was produced in 1948. At the same time, its use of imagery and sounds are direct reminders of the very recent Second World War – a risky approach for an a commercial film. Fear, barbed wire, search lights, secret glances from dark windows… Yet somehow Geesink manages to give it fun twist that makes you smile; that’s his strength..
More trivia
Halfway through the film abruptly shifts gears. After building up the suspense in an almost thriller-like way, headlines announce that the weapons will be revealed at… a Women’s League Conference. It could be argued that the film is over the moment we see the BK brand name. After all, enamelled cookware is not exactly a secret weapon, that would have been an anti-climax even then. This awkward mix of components may well have been the reason that this film never became a classic the way “The Big Four” did, for example. However it is well made with effective use of black-and-white photography and its imposing machinery.
Technical development
Anyone who sees the successive films made by Geesink just after World War II detects a substantial growth in technical development. Where the Geesink crew started with a combination of inexperience and the almost-impossible situation of filming in time-of-war, this film has become more technically mature.
The sets are impressive; moreover, they are beautifully lit and the black-and-white imagery helps build the tension. The editing to music works toward climax. Only the timing of the story is still a bit awkward. Consider that in the 1940s the production time for film like this was probably six months. During that time, sketches were translated into sets, music was made, the shots were shot and edited. For almost every new job, new technical research was done to perfect the basics of filmmaking.
To save costs within the expensive décors, it was evidently decided to give only the central figure a detailed head. All other characters were given a wooden ball as a head with an attached nose, ears and wig. In later films this would not happen again soon.
Credits
- Title: Secret Weapons ("Geheime Wapens" - 1948)
- Client: BK enamel factories
- Duration: 2 minutes
- Year of production: 1947
- Composer: Unknown (very likely Hugo de Groot)
- Performed by: Unknown
- Art Director: József Misik
- Animation: József Misik
- Camera: Unknown
- Puppets: Harry Tolsma
- Format: 35 mm, black and white film
