Maytag Presents: The Los Angeles Story - 16mm Film

[cadman]

This week's special is “The Los Angeles Story”. This marketing film was put together to give Maytag dealers’ a little shot in the arm on the rollout of the new Highlander models in glamorous LA.

Wouldn’t it be great to find one of those motorized displays stashed in a store attic?

 

[golittlesport]

Thanks for posting that! Very interesting to take a peak back at LA during the 50's and see all those department stores that are no longer around, a few I never even heard of.

 

[repairguy]

Thanks for another amazing restored archive Cory!

 

[peteski50]

Maytag!

Thanks Cory for the great video
Peter

 

[Unimatic1140]

Ugh that was so super cool! I love seeing the appliance departments of old department stores, just like I remember them when I was a kid in 60s.

Love the freeway shots as well!

 

[agiflow]

Thanks Cory, this is a wonderful series !

 

[appnut]

Cory, thank you for all the wonderful videos you've provided for us.

 

[maytagmike]

Maytag !!!

Thanks Cory, another super cool video, I am really enjoying these a walk back in time. Keep em comin.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thanks, Cory!

My aunt had that washer and dryer pair. The second switch was for the suds saving system, Drain or Save. I love the way the weak centering springs allowed the tub to rock and lean during agitation. We used to go to a coin op laundry to wash throw rugs and those Maytag Highlanders really leaned over during agitation.[this post was last edited: 4/30/2025-16:00]

 

[tolivac]

Very nice and enticing sales displays. Remember the cardboard animated displays from when I was a kid. They ran from one or 2 “ D” batteries. Loved to watch the displays. Displays for appliances now are BORING!

 

[tomturbomatic]

In 1960, or thereabouts, Frigidaire introduced the term Somersalt washing action with a little teddy bear that kept rolling over and over. I remember a Frigidaire dealer in Florida in 62 or 63 with the motorized display over the washers.

 

[combo52]

Maytag goes to Los Angeles

Thanks, Cory that was quite fun to watch, that’s real old-fashioned merchandising. That’s for sure.

I love the way they were trying to compete with Sears pricing, but the Maytag washer for that kind of money was so much more basic. You could get a nice Kenmore 70 for less money, and it was a little deceptive to say $219 when that was with a trade-in, a lot of people didn’t have a washer to get rid of.

I really love the pictures of all the old cars, and you could see the haze of air pollution hanging over Los Angeles in those days when all the cars have no emission controls whatsoever.

I believe California had some emission controls by about 1961. They started putting Positive crankcase ventilation controls on to get some of the worst emissions back into the carburetor to be burned at least.

Keep the cool videos coming thanks,

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Bagpipes? Oh, HIGHLANDER...!

Nice to see those washers and a place and time I wish I had been...

 

Thank you for...

 

 

 

-- Dave

 

[gansky1]

 

Really fun glimpse into the mid-century California shopping world.  Thanks for all your hard work, Cory, these are wonderful pieces of history.

 

[maytag85]

Reply #11

PCV valves became mandatory in California starting in 1962, that before being the road draft tube which not only cited problems with pollution, but caused oil sludge and ultimately oil starvation problems.

While emissions from vehicles was a problem, the bigger issue were many people still had incinerators in their backyards to get rid of garbage and household waste etc in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. The city and Bureau Of Sanitation began to crack down on backyard incinerators, offered waste disposal and hauled it off to a landfill or an incinerator with equipment to eliminate smoke and particulate pollution.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Maytag Highlander

So what was so special about the Maytag Highlander?

 

[angus]

I liked how large department stores sold major appliances back in the day. In Brooklyn, Abraham and Straus downtown flagship store had a separate building called "The Annex" connected to the main store via a skybridge across the side street from the store that sold Appliances, TV and Stereos. EJ Korvettes, just down the block on Fulton Street also had a large major appliance department.

In the "May Company" portion of the Maytag video, I liked how they showed the Highlanders among the Norge Timelines (clearly a few gas dryers there based on the access lids on top of the machines) and one or two Bendix models.

That exterior of the May Company on Wilshire was fascinating - looks very Jetson's space age. I never visited that branch - wonder if it is still standing and if so, what it is used for today. If I recall correctly, the beautiful Art Deco I. Magnin & Co. Wilshire Blvd building damaged during the 1992 riots was repurposed into a library or something used by UCLA after Federated Department Stores sold I. Magnin and Bullock's to Macy's.

 

[cadman]

Reply #16

One thing I find myself doing while restoring these films is doing a little digging on the people and places captured. This building is one of them, and it still exists!

I've attached a link as it's a fascinating story.

Diving into architecture, curation of Oscars Museum

Among the La Brea Tar Pits and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), a new star rises to celebrate the art and science of film while also bravely...

www.dailysabah.com

 

[appnut]

Maytag Highlander was Maytag's value priced model(s). All the same Maytag quality and performance, but a lesser price. From my observation, control panels were different and there may have been some difference in cabinet finish. Others will be able to further discuss at better detail their differences.