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Well I really didn't mean to say when I posted that they were exactly the same fridge... but that given the common design elements that I presume that the fridge in 'All that Heaven Allows' and the other films is a similar vintage/model Servel.

I also had seen a Servel electric that was called 'Style Line', which was on the upper door front...

But I still think the basic design, and most specifically the boomerang handles, appear to be Servel.

Or did other refrigerator manufacturers use these handles?

moparguy++12-14-2013-18-55-51.jpg
 
Although this is a single door fridge (so not the same identical model in the movie), it also appears to be very similar. Love those boomerang handles!

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Kenny:

I'll have to take your word for the difference - from here in the cheap seats where I'm sitting, it looks like the difference in angle hides the "stalk" on back of the handles, which you can see in the shot from the movie. Maybe I'm wrong, though.

BTW, Jeff, thanks for that scrumptious photo of the inside of that California Servel. The ice maker is not complete (the bucket is missing at least), but at least it's there. That would be a really, really interesting fridge to find in good condition.

Just for grits 'n giggles, here's a shot of Jane's Wellington Gray 1954 Lincoln Capri four-door sedan, seen here in snow, as it is in most shots. In the best tradition of movie snow, the car is miraculously clean no matter what, with no ice buildup in the wheel wells, and Jane pilots this rear-wheel-drive behemoth over snowy roads with complete unconcern. Beautiful car! Jane's is not air-conditioned; you could tell an air-conditioned Lincoln back then by the two Plexiglas air ducts running up the back window. '54 was only the second year for A/C in Lincolns, so perhaps Jane just hadn't gotten the word on the latest car gadget yet.

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John (Suds):

I think what was going on was that Ford was probably very aggressive at seeking placement of Lincolns in movies. Lincolns appear in a lot of "A" feature films of the time, including A Star is Born, where James Mason has two of them, and Picnic, where Cliff Robertson and his father both drive them. All That Heaven Allows has two as well - Jane's sedan and Conrad Nagel's hardtop coupe.

What was done to put cars in movies was that the automaker would either get a request for cars from a studio, or would meet periodically with studio people to offer cars. When a car was wanted, the automaker would build and ship precisely what was needed to an L.A. dealer, who got a great price on it. The dealer delivered the car to the studio and provided any needed service, with the automaker picking up the tab. When filming ended, the dealer got a "cream puff" used car with a great sales story - "Did you know James Mason drove this in a movie?"

Ford was so good at this kind of thing that they could handle some very special "special requests." On Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, a Lincoln Mark III convertible was needed for both location shooting at Mount Rushmore and studio shots at M-G-M in Culver City, CA. No problem, said Ford. They built two identical cars, delivering one to a Rapid City, SD dealer and another to an L.A. dealer. This meant no hassles shipping a car, and no possibility of damage enroute that could hold up shooting. Onscreen, you think all the shots are of the same car.
 
I just wish I could find a nice one...

When we went to Omaha to the wash in at Gregs we went to an estate sale where there was a beautiful Servel for 50.00, but of course I didnt have a truck to haul it back to NC!
 
On Lincolns and 4-letters...

Either 'Perma Cold' or 'Style Line', both apparently used by Servel, would give us the 4-letter second word on the door of a Servel, presuming that the fridge in the movie is in fact a Servel.

Sandy, great photo of the Lincoln, and story on placements. I loved the way they wheeled that Continental around Mt. Rushmore. And the cars are often fabulous and clean like Jane's Lincoln, despite the elements or location. As for her car, as you say, it was often filmed in winter, so perhaps that explains the lack of air conditioning. Maybe we just didn't see her summer car, a Lincoln convertible!
 
John and I hauled a Servel out of a basement at an estate sale. It landed on my leg for a second or two. They are very heavy with all of that piping to make the adsorbtion refrigeration work. As for domestic refrigeration, the process was entering its last decade or so at the time of this film because it has a coefficient of performance of only about one fifth of vapor compression cycle refrigeration. As refrigerators became larger, the amount of heat input to make the refrigeration systems work became large enough to be like an oven operating full tilt all the time in a kitchen. It is used today when there are vast quantities of waste heat that can be captured to power the refrigeration cycle and in solar applications such as a solar-powered house on the National Mall several years back which had ducts in the ceiling which poured cool air on people walking through the exhibit.
 
Another interesting thread. I remember one of my Uncles or Aunts had a Servel, but too long ago to remember which one. Those handle designs are very cool. The lightning bold to broadcast "Electric" is really neat. Wouldn't someone who reads aw.org have one of these refrigerators?
I think Jane Wyman was briefly married to former President and actor Ronald Reagan, but haven't researched it.

Nice car...my dad's Uncle would drive Lincolns and Caddies. Uncle Carl. These threads sure go through a lot of years of wash. :-)
 
Jane Wyman was indeed married to Ronald Regan in the '40s; this is likely the reason John Waters chose the name "Wyman Way" for the mythical street in Baltimore where the Fishpaw family has their not-so-happy home in the 1981 movie classic Polyester. They also had a fab refrigerator, a turquoise '66 or '67 Frigidaire Imperial bottom freezer. I had the exact same model for years, my favorite refrigerator ever, and still miss those foot pedals. 

 

Ford was probably only too happy to build two identical Continental Mk III cars for North By Northwest. The '58-'60 Lincoln line was interesting for a number of reasons but Ford's grand plan to morph into a more GM like company featuring Ford, Edsel, Mercury, Lincoln and Continental in ascending order of cost came crashing down when Edsel, Lincoln and Continental all sold terribly. The enormous size of the Lincolns and Continentals was the reason for the downsized '61 Lincoln Continental. Had that sold poorly the president of Ford, Robert McNamara, would likely have made good on his threat to send the Lincoln Division the way of the Edsel.


[this post was last edited: 12/15/2013-11:31]
 
To automotive and other product placements...

I am most familiar with Mopar placements... among the best of which is 'Bachelor in Paradise', which also includes what I understand is an O'Keefe and Merritt combo prominently featured as Janis Paige and Bob Hope battle the suds! The car placements, which I think I had mentioned in another thread, are 61 Mopar convertibles, Fury, Polara, and 300G.
 
Ovrphil . . .

It's close but not quite the same. Mine didn't have visible door handles, you grabbed the chrome reveal at either side of the door. It was left-hinged so you had to pull on the right side but I'm sure they would have had right-hinged versions as well. It also had twin foot pedals, one for the refrigerator and one for the freezer. Overall, a very elegant design with the contoured doors. Somewhere I have a pic but can't find it.
 

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