The Selling Wizard
The Selling Wizard
| 01 January 1954 (USA)
The Selling Wizard Trailers

A commercial short film presented by Anheuser-Busch to showcase large modern freezers that make it easier for grocers to sell their goods and make higher profits. It is aimed at businesses that require display freezers for their products.

Reviews
Laikals

The greatest movie ever made..!

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pointyfilippa

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

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filippaberry84

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

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Ortiz

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

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loserbrett

Not really, but I can see how some might think that from the other votes on here. This was featured as a short on Mystery Science Theater 3000 before The Dead Talk back. Of course, with mainstream attention, idiots will misinterpret the entire purpose of this short as they have so many others.In this short advertisement, Anheuser-Busch shows off a new line of frozen food cabinets. In the film, the freezers are shown off in mute by a young woman in a somewhat revealing, but not obscene outfit, who is referred to as the Selling Wizard. The narrator doubts her sales abilities and the shows off the new line of frozen food cabinets as a guaranteed sales-booster. It ends when the sale is done. The woman is somewhat believable in her acting, although her appearance in the film was only as an attractive model and she had no lines and that's difficult not to mess up. The narration was dull and seemed fairly phoned-in, which incidentally probably would do more harm to freezer cabinet sales than good.Contrary to some statements, this film was never intended to be an educational film, nor was it intended for the general public. It was merely an advertisement made for sales and conventions. After all, that's the entire demographic for a GROCERY STORE FREEZER! Some reviewers need to think for a couple of seconds before making wild claims on here. Not everything from the early half of the 20th century needs to be considered appalling.The only offensive part of this short would be the implied sexism in using a model, however, it's nothing at all to be shocked about, considering Anheuser-Busch is the largest BREWING COMPANY in the United States. Being appalled by the thought of a beer company using a sexy model as eye-candy is like being surprised by the pain that a good kick to the testicles causes. Although, she WAS quite attractive, so this was a kick in the testicles that I didn't mind.My point being that this is a simple advertisement and not the horrid evil from the fiery pits of Hell that the other reviewers made it out to be. Idiots.

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Lee Eisenberg

In one of the many so-called educational films that Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank sent to Mike, Servo and Crow on "MST3K", a happy-go-lucky (but strangely silent) young woman shows the audience how a freezer can make everyone happy. I'd say that it's perfectly easy to believe that...provided that you're a robotically manipulated air-head consumer obeying corporate messages like a lemming; otherwise, it easily becomes an object of mockery. The woman has her looks and nothing else, and "The Selling Wizard" is very much a product of the 1950s (e.g., they don't treat women with much dignity). But, Mike, Servo and Crow had lots of fun heckling it, as they always do with these crummy flicks.

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Jordan_Haelend

Usually, short films that were intended to sell or at least be informative about a product targeted the general audience. For example, "Century 21 Calling," which was filmed at the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, Wa., was an informative film about future products Bell Systems intended to have on the market (many of which came true, including push-button dialing, speed dialing and conference calling.) This short, however, is in a different category- it is a commercial aimed at businesses that required display-freezers for their products. As such, it IS informative. It is also boring and uses hamfisted sexism as a selling tool. I'll say that I've seen worse, such as "The Chicken of Tomorrow," but that that's no endorsement. Today it's yet one more relic in the vault of 1950's culture. As such I'll give it a 4, for historical curiosity only.

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icehole4

I'm sure when this was made in 1954 it was considered exciting and very informative. These days, it's an object of much ridicule. Presented by Anheiser-Busch, this short film talks about the refrigerated cabinet. It demonstrates how the designs they've made can help sell frozen products. The narrator is very boring and annoying, and there's a spokeswoman who was definitely chosen for her good looks and not her acting ability. There's also some sexist references here as well.

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