30 min film tour of the Mills factory 1935

[badpenny]

I've never listened to doctors or even black cats.
Also I've never smoked because common sense told me it must be harmful.

[coppinpr]

your right it was Camels that had a doctor on their side,but I dont think the Craven A black cat ever said it either ,it was this lovely lady covering her nicotine stained teeth and the bright yellow metal add boards outside buildings.

As to BP..are we to believe he has never had one drink to many because it is common sense not to

[jimmy55]

These Black Cats have had their building tarted up a bit since I did a stint with Brown and Root there decades ago. The old Carreras factory.

[badpenny]

As to BP..are we to believe he has never had one drink to many because it is common sense not to

Well Paul
As an ex publican common sense suggested to me that regular male drinkers often reach a stage in their mid 60s where not only do they not recover the next day quite so easily as they used to. Also liver spots on the back of their hands grow as well as twinges in the kidneys. I decided at the age of 37 that I should give up alcohol before 65.
I am 66 this year and by my birthday I shall have been dry 2 years.
Do I feel healthier? No not really, I certainly don't sleep so deeply at night.
Do I feel better in the mornings? Perhaps, but what I do know is when I wake up that's the best I'm going to feel all day.
Have I more money in my pocket? No, because there's always something that needs it.
Sure I used to have one drink too many even though it is common sense not to

BP

[pennymachines]

A copy of this film sold for £3,800 at the Nic Costa sale of January 2006:

Lot 136. The Mills Novelty Company. Rare silent 16mm film footage of The Mills Company factory in a tour presentation of the premises in circa 1934, showing the various production...

It would be great if the owner would release a high resolution scan of it, but possibly not financially viable. I think the company was at its peak in '34, just before the Dice machine took a massive toll on their profits, followed by America joining the war in '41, and the company's post-war decline.

[arrgee]

Very interesting film, notice how those chaps just lifted up a machine as if it were just an empty cardboard box!!!

[quadibloc]

I had only recently heard about the Mills Dice machine, a little-known competitor to the Buckley Bones and Bally Reliance.
I hadn't realized, although that certainly sounds plausible, that it was a major debacle for the company. I had learned from another forum that because the design was complicated, early models needed frequent warranty service - but there was a redesign, initiated by the California office, that addressed the issues.
Thus, I learned that there are four kinds of Mills Dice machines: the original prototypes (round 25 cent label, white dice), original manufacturing (round 25 cent label, red clear dice), ones modified and corrected in California (square 25 cent label, white dice), and new production incorporating the improvements (square 25 cent label, red clear dice).
The improvements involved things like lowering the glass at the top by 1/8 of an inch and rounding some corners.