Auto Show 1953 at The Waldorf Astoria in New York. Easter Parade Of Stars. Collector automobiles.
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- From the Waldorf Astoria in New York, travel back in time to the 1953 auto show. A classy formal presentation of the car new models of 1953. Beautiful Irene Dunne is your host exploring the automobile models, trying her best to pick the best one. You will see the Desoto, Kaiser Frazer, Packard, Dodge, Studebaker, Nash, Plymouth, Hudson Jet, Chrysler, and the Aero Willys. Most of these models are now orphan cars, no longer manufactured. Sponsored by Auto-Lite, the show also pays tribute to the women in uniform from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. There are patriotic songs, as well as a fabulous dance number with a chorus line of beautiful women dancing in uniform. With singer Robert Merrill and The Peter Birch Dancers. Rex Marshall is the announcer. The opening of this show is "Suspense." This special program preempted the usual television program. Air Date April 7, 1953. Transferred from 16mm b-w kinescope film.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I wish America still had this kind of spiritnand dedication. Earlier saw how my town use to go all out at Christmas time in the 1950's to seeing this car extravaganza. Everything seemed so respectful and classy back then.
Yes look at all the people of color dancing, singing and of course in sales and management.
@@robertoconnor3683 actually, no i'm not looking for them. don't even think about them.
didn't know they existed till late 60's. all white was nice. no offended black people
No...we were just pressured into being very conformist, and phony.
Thanks for digging this up. The picture and sound quality are excellent. A wonderful slice of Americana, the likes of which we'll never see again.
No minority folks in sight! Gee, I wonder why?
When new models almost brought my little burg to a standstill in city-wide anticipation. One could look at a car back then and id it by model and year.
Staying abreast of car models was the first thing I learned to do as a child. September car ads for the upcoming year's models was my opium…
What a treat to see one of my 53 Rambler convertibles and one of my 53 Willys Aero! I’ve always been a fan of the orphan car company’s and they are well represented here! Fabulous show!
Irene Dunne's affected upper class accent is amusing. The DeSoto and other Chrysler cars were dated by 1953 and it wouldn't be too many years before they came out with the really big fins. All in all this is an entertaining piece of history.
Most certainly extremely entertaining!! I vaguely
Remember watching this Tv
Program 70 years ago when
I was 8 years old....
I wouldn't say affected; she had a classic mid-atlantic accent used by many actors of her generation (think Katherine Hepburn).
@@larskars5835 Yep!
Well, that was the way she really talked!! A fine, cultured, devout and extremely classy lady! The likes of which we will probably never see again!
Irene Dunne ! Ms. Dunne had basically retired from films at this time , but she was A BIG STAR from 1930 to 1945 . She was about 54 at this time .
She would become "Granny Clampet" in 10 years later
She was clearly desperate for some show-biz work, even stooping to take in this goofy sales pitch.
@@BillAlexander-cv6oj Wrong Irene, fool!
@@BillAlexander-cv6oj That was Irene Ryan I believe.😉
I adore automobiles! The only thing that could have made this perfect, is for it to have been colorized. Just wonderful. People today, just can't know how exciting each new car year was. Or a family in one's neighborhood having bought a new car. The neighbors would all "just happened to be taking a walk" right past the new owners home. Children, too, wanted to admire the new features. It was the best time to be alive.
Carbon footprint fools.
@@waynemasters8673 I was a small kid back in those days...we were all brainwashed by corporate advertising, and had no awareness of "carbon footprint" !!! It was NOT the best time to be alive!
I remember when America had class, nice to see it again. 😅
😂😂😂
Americaca with a chitos dusted ex president going to jail.
Ikr. Liberals ushered in the age of degeneracy and ratchetness.
@@waynemasters8673 nice spelling
@@joeslish-p1p
I never know if Cacanada is part of Americaca or not?
@@waynemasters8673 what the hell are you talking about
Studebaker, Kaiser Frazer, Nash, Willys, Desoto, and the finest of all, Packard, all gone.
And Packard....yes." ...and throw in those beautiful Hudson Hornets.....
Don't forget Hudson terror of early Nascar.
The Willys had "one piece" construction. A unibody? I thought the Chrysler cars were the first. The technological advances of power steering, power brakes, automatic transmissions and the wraparound windshield were the hottest thing!
Unlike today’s cars, none of them look alike and they all had great styling. Awesome video ❤
@@willgeary6086 Absolutely!
How great it would to have been there. The Studebaker was considered one of the best designs ever. My dad had a 53 Plymouth. It was a dependable good car and one of my favorites.
That was a terrific year for Plymouth!
@@alanblanes2876 I really like 1950 to 1953 Plymouths. Almost bought a 53 Cranbrook but my brother talked me out of it.
My family had a 1952 Plymouth 4-door,6 banger, 1965 my brother drove from NY to MSP,we still laugh😅 55 mph top end all the way...I wss 15 in 1964, if I behaved i would get the Plymouth in 1966, went to reform school 1966, never got the plymouth😢
@@alanblanes2876 The '49-'54 Plymouths would just NOT DIE! I knew a guy who bought a '49 NEW and drove it daily well into the 80's!
They don't show GM or Ford models because they don't use Auto-Lite parts--but eight years later Ford would acquire AutoLite (and make it one word)
Likewise imports ("foreign cars", then a paltry fringe of the market but an interesting one) because they all used one or two national electrical-component suppliers - Lucas in British cars, Paris-Rhone or Ducellier in French ones, Magneti Marelli in Italian cars and Bosch or Hella in German ones.
Auto-Lite was the sponsor of the Suspense TV series. This presentation aired in the place of a Suspense episode.
@@gwenniegirl50
Much thanks for mentioning that. I like to check up on TV anthology series, Suspense was unknown to me.
My 51 Chevrolet still motors on 73 years after her first start up and roll off the line.
Original dip and splash oil system thrift master 216 cubic inch ( in line) six cylinder. Overhead valve and liquid cooling of block and head. Deluxe cab has climate control heater installed. ( cowl vent forward of windshield split and door vent windows for summer comfort at speed ). Tri Co of Buffalo New York vacuum wipes still operating fine for inclement weather operations.
Starts on touch of the start button six volt electric system. Four on the floor manual transmission equipped with sealed torque tube final drive. Still operating with out attention other than occasional top of gear lube due to slight leak.
40 degrees below zero or 110 Fahrenheit. Fuel miser one barrel Rochester carburetor ( down draft manual choke ) gives economy yet rated at 90 horsepower.
Time proven quality. Made in the U.S.A. 🇺🇸
Sounds too good to be true! Makes you wonder why they stopped building '51's!
Because the calendar ticked over to 52 smart alec
Hang onto that gem! 😁
Fake!...No 4 on the floor shifters for Chevy that year! It would have been on the steering column, but even then, it would have been a 3sp manual.
Amazing! Thanks for sharing this.
Our pleasure!
I've got an idea. How about Studebaker and Packard get together, with Nash and Hudson and become one of "the big 4". What a sales monster that would be.
The Studebaker was the best design
Yes, that Studebaker was years ahead in styling...such sleek and clean styling!
@@BrodyJoeandBriars agreed - The Studebaker was the "Mustang "- 10 years before tthe Mustang
I agree, I worked on a project with John Epstein, a designer with Raymond Lowey, who's office created several models for Studebaker, including the Avanti sports car which came later. Epstein was responsible for the prototype shown at the Waldorf Astoria show in 1960 I believe. John owned a later model Avanti in white. It's a stunning design, even today. The Fiberglas body was almost like a unibody design, very strong, not a thin shell like the Corvette. Studebaker had problems with it in production. It had a coke bottle look to create an impression of lightness and forward motion, GM later used this look for several of their designs in the 60's and 70's.
@@bernieschiff5919 Thank you for all that great, little known information. For me, anyway.
The Hawk was designed by industrial designer Raymond Loewy who designed the Avanti, Greyhound Scenicruiser and many others.
This was very unusual, entertaining and informative. Thanks! I'm also enjoying the comments here. RIP Studebaker.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely beautiful! When people and cars had class and self-respect! :Lovely, very distinctive and exciting automobile designs! Completely unlike the ugly, look-alike and very boring auto designs of today!! Irene Dunne is beautiful, classy, sweet and very glamorous!
My thoughts exactly!😀😀
The good old, phony, racist and superficial 1950s...Good riddance.
The 53 Plymouth is a tank. I had a 53 Cranbrook that was hit at 60 mph from behind when I was 17. Slight bumper damage was all that happened. It was hit by a 56 Ford that was no lightweight either. Valley Cab in LA had a fleet of them and they held up well. That "Hi Drive" was a weird system. You would drive like a 3 speed manual if you wanted but once going could pull up to a light and just stop like an automatic. You did need to shift manually to use reverse. My mom had a 52 Chrysler that had it. My car was a regular 3 on the tree.
Ah yes, true Detroit sleds. I had a 53 Ford, 53 Studebaker, 53 Chevy, 53 Plymouth when I was a kid because they were 15 years old and cheap, not to mention easy to work on, especially compared to now. 1953 was another world.
Great quality! If it came that way, great, but if it was processed, it was a fine job. Pleasure to watch that way. In 1958, my Grandma traded in her '39 Plymouth for a '53 Plymouth Cranbrook. I remember riding in both, but I liked the '39 better.
Many thanks!
My first car was a 1953 Plymouth...fond memories of that car.
Aesthetic body styling differences among the companies made for a MOST interesting car show.
Studebaker was, by far, the most beautiful and innovative of them all.
A MOST enjoyable video! 🇺🇸
My dad had a '53 Dodge Coronet with the Red Ram V8. It hauled ass!
My dad had a 1953 dodge coronet . Flat head six. It wouldn't get out of.its own way
Notice the drip pans under each car.
Ah ! The good old days !!
I was eight years old when this wonderful experience was being watched on TV...
Great video. I was recently west of Ogden Utah looking at a rusty car collection and was having a difficult time figuring out what one of them was. I now know it's a Packard with a grill exactly like the one in the video. The car is rusty no paint but still solid. It's been sitting for decades but that grill is still gleaming. They really did chrome right back then
Love this presentation 👏
Thank you!
First 2 things I noticed, progress of automobile and when America was in the driver seat then. The good old roaring 50’.
wow what a show. to see all of those moguls in one place at one time... how about the dodge music played during the hudson segment. for me i would buy the packard. although i am a great fan of hydrive. the kaiser was beautiful but not a true hardtop. don't discount desoto. that marque had a loyal following. remember all of those cars were re-engineered to cope with the new highways. thank you.
William Dozer was the Executive Producer. Think - BATMAN and GREEN HORNET. 💋
Best Memorial Day Treat 🇺🇲this is when America was still all American 💕⭐had a Buick Special, last yr. for the straight 8 (263cid) first yr. Buick V8 (322cid) 😬
Yes, we were good, but could have been the best if we had built electric cars then.
You mean, when America was still a racist, white-bread country...see ANY black folks in that film?
This is the peak of stodgy styling. The Studebaker Commander 2 door hard top (Starliner) really stands out.
Studebaker in so many ways.
We had " rauschnot" Studebaker on 898 rice st,st Paul,1955-1966... Only 2 car showroom...2 gas pumps and full service mechanic/ warranty work,1-1963 Charley got 1 Avanti...1962 fire destroyed the shop/ 5 cars...they all worked ass of to make their tiny Studebaker dealership a success,best memories ever
An interesting movie; for sure about cars. I didn't expect a movie. You didn't tell us which car she picked! I know, this was made in 1953! I got that. That's a lot of suspense.
I was unaware that women had been allowed in the Marines as early as 1953. Wow.
Very surreal that we are watching this in 2024 going 80 miles an hour down the highway on UA-cam
great video enjoyed irene dunn aka mrs thurston howell the 3rd
Glad you enjoyed it
Um for the record Natalie Shaefer played Mrs Thurston Howell the 3rd...not Irene Dunn...
@@stephenmakos1649 for the record she sounded like here never mentioned the actress
@user-zh9ow3jz1t he said Irene Dunn
aka.
Also known as.Mrs.Thurston Howell
the 3rd..sounds like an accreditation to me..
Two features of 1950's televisions, not lost to time (along with Studebaker, Kaiser Frazer, Nash, Willys, Desoto & Packard)...
The fall season previews of coming new shows followed within a couple weeks with the fall previews of the coming new models of automobiles. The family would gather in the living room for both.
todays new cars blah
Interesting ! Selling cars was a lot different from today.
Yes it was
71yrs later almost all of them brands gone - Chrysler's on life support will it make to the end of this decade ? & Dodge is in the coaches office "needing to lift its game, just not getting them touch downs you use too". The Stude Starlight - 15yrs ahead of it time, wasn't until 65 onwards " Personal Luxury Car" market would truly take off.
Notice how contrast and detail are sharper? This was lost when the color standard was introduced. Even though we didn’t have a color tv for years it was always easy to determine when a show was in color (assuming one missed the opening announcement) as the picture was muddy by comparison to B&W .
B&W shows look better on a B&W tv also! Color tvs don't do them justice. I remember you could almost tell what the colors were on the old tvs..
Of course I should have added this all changed with the introduction of HDTV. My comments were strictly for old NTSC standard.
The Raymond Loewy/Robert Bourke-designed Studebaker was clearly a standout from the crowd. The Starliner still looks sharp today.
Sweet and so innocent 🏁✨
I'll take The Packard and the Chrysler (Esp an Imperial!). But truly I'd take ANY of these. Way cool cars!
Fantastic. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🗽🗽🗽🎆🌌🎇🎇🎆🌌😊
Nice to hear Willys pronounced correctly, instead of 'Willees'.
Driving through the waves at 3:58 and knowing how un-protected the cars where then, i'll bet it had lots of rust issues in 2-3 years.
Worse than that...those cars offered no safety construction, no seat belts, crappy brakes, etc. Many drivers would be crushed by the non-collapsing steering columns. The best years for American-made cars were from 1962-75 or so. Still had styling, and were more safe, mostly thanks to mandatory government safety regulations.
If all of those independents had combined like originally planned, American Motors Corporation would still exist today.
Not completely sure, as after 2008 even mighty GM is a shell of its former self
AMC was combined with Nash, in 1954...and they lasted until the late 1980s.
This is a very interesting deviation from the usual scripted thriller drama format of Suspense.
I really wonder how interested Irene Dunne was in this auto show? The conversation is, I am sure, somewhat scripted, and seems forced.
Of course it was scripted. It was essentially an infomercial.😅
And even though it was scripted the delivery was often awkward and clumsy. Too bad GM and Ford weren't part of Auto Lite, they would have stolen the show.
I get the idea she may have been in financial trouble at the time. It's a pretty lame gig for a major star.
@@georgechambless2719 Absolutely.
@@Alan-yn9fkThere were other great memorable cars for 1953 other than GM and Ford, But 1953 was the start of a nasty price war between the two of them, Still I thought that it would have been pretty cool to hear Dinah Shore singing SEE THE USA IN YOUR CHEVROLET!!!!!.
According to this film, all the cars are wonderful. So how am I supposed to choose? 😂
It should be noted that all of the cars shown in this film used Auto-Lite spark plugs and other Auto-Lite products from the factory (Auto-Lite was the long-time sponsor of "Suspense" on both radio and TV). And the shots of cars in action were taken from contemporary TV commercials. Ford Motor Company used Champion spark plugs, and, of course, GM models used AC spark plugs
I’m surprised Groucho Marks didn’t show up for the Desoto 🤣..the early50s were the best years in America…
By the end of this model year, 1953, Hudson merged with Nash, Kaiser bought out Willys/ Overland, Packard and Studebaker merged. So long "Little Six". In 1952 Crosley folded. Chrysler ran to the "bank" and borrowed 10million dollars to revamp for the 1955 models and add Power-Flight to its lineup. Reason: Henry the Deuce decided he would overtake Chevy once and for all and dumped Fords onto the dealer lots at cost. It failed 'cause GM could do the same thing, and did. Other manufacturers could not compete. Also GM and Ford had their own financing the little six needed loan companies(Banks) for their customers. Result the "only 2" in 2024. Stellantis owns Chrysler. Honeywell indirectly owns Studebaker. The big get bigger... the small go out of business. Its helps when the Secretary of Defense in 1953 was the former President of General Motors.. Cast Iron Charlie Wilson. Remember his quote, "What's good for GM is good for our Country".
Hudson and Nash merged in 1954
Studebaker. WOW!
53 was the first year for the Corvette, probably the star of the show. It didn't have the sponsor's spark plugs, so we didn't see it. Those Studebakers were 15 years ahead of everyone else as far as styling goes! If I had to pick any of these other turds, I think I would just take the bus...
This was the year I was born. The cars were sure boxy then! lol
did you even watch the show. you think that the kaiser dragon and studebaker starlight are boxy?
@@russwabuda1556 yes, I watched the show. I'll give you that on the Kaiser and Studebaker not being boxy.
I thought the Hudson Jet was better than the Nash Ramblers soon to come. I saw one at a car museum and it looked like a well thought out car.
"The car that torpedoed Hudson."
The Jet really did have anything special going for it.
An influential Hudson dealer in Chicago wanted a car as much like a smaller Ford as possible...sadly he got what he wanted.
@@JohnReitz-ps2ct Didn't :)
@@JohnReitz-ps2ct Yep! Jim Moran of Courtesy Motors. He sold 5% of the Hudson fleet.
Via Googling
Waldorf Astoria strucures from 1931. It's been closed for renovations since 2017. Their web page is really nice.
Irene Dunne (1898 - 1990)
About age 53 in the promotional film.
Miss America 1953
Neva Jane Langley
( 1933 - 2012) About age 20
On the Trumk of the Nash Rambler "convertible" was very heavily promoted as a compact car of interest to women and so the women service members featured at that time. Louis Lane character of contemporary Superman TV series drove near identical car. Clark Kent on screen drove George Reeves personal car in the series, a very rare Nash Healy.
Phyllis Kirk was the original TV series Lois---she was very hot!...But never made the grade as an actress...just B-movies, etc.
If only irving wilson could see my twin engine zero steer 3 steering wheel 42 desoto lawnmower, he might say , well done ....
The military theme. A country that had been at war for years.
Thanks....
Hare Krishna.
Eisenhower Era.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep! His horn went Beep Beep Beep!
They didn't even bother to show this rich, clueless socialite an Imperial, Cadillac or Lincoln?!? Someone missed out on a healthy commission lol!
The Chrysler on display was an Imperial.
Irene Dunne was not quite a "clueless socialite"..
Imperial didn't become a separate make until 1955.
@@trudygreer2491 I was referring to the character portrayed here, not the actress herself.
THIS IS HARD ON THE EARS ;) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
but easy on the eyes
19:00: Chrysler prez K. T. Keller infamously didn't like small cars, to wit: "I want a car I can sit in, not piss over."
She should have waited till fall of ‘54! The all new 55 Chevrolet!
Interesting that Dodge is the only surviving marque (I'm not counting Chrysler b/c they showed a Chrysler Imperial and the Imperial marque didn't survive either)
Interesting how, except for Dodge and Chrysler, all the car models featured in the video have since become obsolete.
Wonder how much longer they'll be around, too.
Remember American Motors (AMC)?
@@handsomeman-pm9vy I should have mentioned that the Jeep model name also survived.
all gone except for chrysler and dodge and they will be gone soon, studebaker was the best looking by far
Plymouth and Dodge were reskinned for ‘53.
I did not see any Fords or general motors cars
UA-cam ads SUCK!! Stop interupting the video mid-word for some bullshit ad!!!!!
UA-cam Premium has no ads. It's a very good deal. Just pay the few bucks a month and no ads
Where’s the fords and mercurys? Did I miss something?
That woman drives a stick shift! 😅
And…
No habrá sido fatalidad ese show.."evento jeta"..y curioso todas esas marcas desaparecieron con excepción de Chrysler.. y claro USA perdió la guerra de Korea....si fuese presidente de alguna automotora no llevaría mi modelo a producir ahí.......no se ustedes...........😮😮😮
Padded steel dash and no seat belts!
I can see that GM and FOMOCO were skipped from this Auto-Show. No Cadillacs, Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs or Chevrolets.
No Lincolns, Mercurys and Fords, either!................Why???????????
No Cadillac?
Boy, it wasn't until 1955 when cars finally got some style ! The Willys was always a bore. NASH rambler always looked like an Easter egg on wheels! The Studebaker was actully pretty neat looking. I must keep in mind this was 1953 during the Korean war.
Cringeworthy.
Just incredible, how schmaltzy/corny times were back then...and using the military to sell cars?...Obscene!. Thank God we broke away from that stuffy,corporate BS stuff, and loosened up our society.
And how has that worked out ? Our society looks worse than a third world country !
And what?
No Chevy
Or Ford
And Cadillac
Lincoln too😳😊
she was so fake even in 1953
And gas was 25 cents a gallon
Yep
Gawd, early 50's Cars were terribly fugly ! I like the Music, tho . and the line up the back of the Stocking !
Classic
Where are the GM and Ford cars????
Someone wrote above that GM and Ford didn't use Auto-Lite parts then, hence their omission.
Was somebody's car companies bought out by them
Talk about hocky
I can confirm i had the same experience last week when i visited the Kia dealer! LOL
Have you ever seen so many old white men in your whole life?😮
Yes in Congress
they seemed to know how run the auto industry unlike today
A white undivided America - isn't it great.
Terribly dull cars - but it was a conservative era.
So today's crossovers and pick up trucks look so much better I suppose😂
No, indeed! But between these boring cars of the early ‘50s and the boring cars of today there were the most exciting production cars ever.
Are you familiar with the Studebaker Commander Starliner? Came with a V-8! Still racing them on the Bonneville Salt Flats today. Not a dull car.
@@janetzellman4912 That one is a beauty :-)
dull? just look at todays crap
This was just a few years before the automotive industry broke out of its stodgy design era ( although studebaker was already ahead of its time with the loewy inspired starliner...