Refrigerator I.D.?

[danemodsandy]

Does anyone know what make and year the refrigerator in the photo is? The pic is from Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, released in 1948. That's Farley Granger talking to John Dall. Since the apartment kitchen was in a penthouse in the movie, I'm thinking the reefer was a really nice one.

If anyone knows, I'd sure appreciate some info! I've looked all over the net at GE, Westinghouse, Frigidaire, Crosley, and Philco, with no matches.

 

[neptunebob]

Do you find that in Hitchcock movies, everyone is a sharp dresser and the sets and such are well done. Rope is an exceptionally good looking movie.

 

[58limited]

Hard to tell from the angle, but possibly a Servel or Kelvinator?

 

[athanasius80]

Its not a postwar Kelvinator, they had a handlebar that went horizontally across the front with a round indentation in the door where you'd grasp the handle. Most stylish.

I wish the picture were more detailed. I think its a postwar machine based on the smooth door and general shape. GE was a bit more squarish. Have you checked out Coldspot?

 

[rp2813]

I'll venture a guess on either Coldspot or GE based on the round emblem. Leaning more towards GE as the emblem looks centered on the door and I think Coldspot was usually off to one side. You might find some clues in the film's credits, you never know.

 

[athanasius80]

It might be a GE, but I "think" most of the GEs had a much smaller bullseye in the center. Also, the GEs most always have General Electice around the logo. Check out the picture below, thats about a 1947 model.

I'm also looking at the horizontal door handle. None of the Kelvinators I've seen had that. Frigidaire had an altogether different logo. I wonder if this machine were an "Off brand" like a Leonard, Coldspot, Gibson, Admiral etc?

 

[danemodsandy]

More Clues:

Here's a little MS Paint sketch of what I can see of the reefer in the movie. There is a stamped-in crease in the door that echoes the shape of the door itself; the crease bisects the round chrome logo in the centre of the door. This detail is what designers call a "character line", designed to give some visual interest to a flat, unrelieved surface.

Also, John Dall goes into the refrigerator in one scene, and you can see inside. The freezer is full-width, not a little compartment like many reefers had at that time, which makes me think it was a fairly deluxe unit for the era. The freezer compartment door drops down, and it's blue, if that helps.

Servel sounds like a possibility; gas reefers were pretty commonplace at the time. But the search continues- I don't yet know for sure....

 

[danemodsandy]

Nailed It!

It's a Servel- look at the little inset pic in this 1949 advert- third from the top:

 

[goatfarmer]

There's a Servel I know of in a junkyard, that has a blue drop down freezer door.

 

[danemodsandy]

Kenny:

(Or somebody):

Doesn't someone here have a Servel? I seem to recall someone saying that they had rescued one and were tinkering with it...

If anyone has had success with restoring a Servel, I'd love to hear about it and know more. I know there's a recall advisory on them, due to the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of fouled or rusty burner assemblies. But it seems to me that a properly maintained unit, with a clean, sound burner, should be okay; these reefers were sold in huge numbers and were very popular in their time.

 

[goatfarmer]

It was a member in Texas, I believe. Can't remember the name right now.

 

[danemodsandy]

Better Pic:

Found one of these beauties for sale in a Kijiji ad- it's located in Windsor, Ontario. This is the exact model reefer seen in the Hitchcock film, blue freezer door and all- the only difference is the door is hinged right instead of left (this was before reversible doors- you had to order your reefer hinged on the side your kitchen layout demanded). I really like the interior- very Truman-era moderne:

http://windsor.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-home-appliances-Servel-Gas-Fridge-W0QQAdIdZ40831332

 

[neptunebob]

See what I mean, Hitchcock movies always had good looking sets, background, props, and costumes!

 

[danemodsandy]

NeptuneBob:

Go here, and check the entry for March 18th:

http://art.louisville.edu/morganlecture/

 

[goatfarmer]

That's the one in the junkyard. It doesn't look quite that good.....

 

[danemodsandy]

Kenny:

I wish I were in the market for a reefer; I might consider restoring one of these. Some online research showed that there are people who restore/service them, and that the Co2 problem can be overcome with a new burner assembly. Sadly, I'm tied to this rental for a while yet, but once I can relocate to the Midwest (as I'd like to do), then more appliance acquisition/tinkering will be possible. It would be very cool (pun intended) to have a reefer that was not dependent on electricity, particularly since I want to be in a semi-rural or rural area- I'm so over cities it hoits. When I was very little, we had a Servel in an apartment we lived in before Mom and Dad bought their first house. I remember that I was afraid of other people's refrigerators, because being electric, they made a racket when they cycled on, and ours was silent.

 

[athanasius80]

Its not CO2 (carbon dioxide) its CO (carbon monoxide) that one has to worry about. I'm told from others that these refrigerators were dangerous only when the user did not do the routine maintainance of cleaning the kerosene burner. Just like an oil lamp, you have to clean the air holes in the burner out regularly or the combustion is affected.

I guess a Servel is Darwinism in effect!

 

[danemodsandy]

My Bad!

"Its not CO2 (carbon dioxide) its CO (carbon monoxide)"

You're quite right, of course- that's what I get for trying to remember my chemistry courses after so many years!

 

[athanasius80]

LOL. Well thats about as far as my chemistry knowledge goes. But after the time I assisted in getting a 1925 Jewett touring car started in a garage, I learned the difference between the two pretty quick!