Film #122 - Rochester: A City of Quality (1963)
Viewed May 2, 2006
Fresh off the experience of watching Assignment: Venezuela, I thought it would be fun to spend a week watching movies available for free download from the Internet Archive. So I began looking through the archives to find something to watch. When I do this, I usually browse by subject and what did I see as a subject? Rochester, N.Y.! (My home, for those of you out of the know.) This I had to see. What I found was a 1963 guide entitled Rochester: A City of Quality. It was made by the good folks at Jam Handy (famous for their many shorts that appeared on MST3K) and paid for by local utility Rochester Gas & Electric. I can’t say how accurate it is or how successful it was at attracting whatever RG&E was trying to attract, but I can say that it was a fascinating glimpse at my hometown six years before I was even born.
Rochester: A City of Quality has a lot in common with Assignment: Venezuela. They both speak about the essential nature of the location in question; it’s ecomonic and social structures. The big difference is that A:V is speaking directly to people who are going to Venezuela and seems to be meant to reassure them. R:ACoQ is something of a sales pitch.
Rochester: A City of Quality is very nicely shot and really shows off many of the landmarks of the time. It gives one a clear view of what the place looked like all those years ago. I found it particularly interesting to see how much of the area was undeveloped back then. The glimpses of things like the University of Rochester (where I currently work) shows how much it has grown in the intervening years. The huge tracks of land show how close to the country Rochester was in the days before urban sprawl. It also shows some of the things that have changed, like the Barge Canal, which no longer serves “in America’s network of inland waterways”.
The narration is a bit bland and some of the syntax is very odd. The voiceover is stereotypical of the day and it was strange hearing it being used to describe things I actually know well. Still, while I found that enjoyable, I was struck by all the things they left out. I know it was paid for by RG&E, but I can’t imagine why Kodak (the largest Rochester employer for many years) isn’t even mentioned. Perhaps it was Kodak who refused, but it’s still a mark against the film as an historical document.
This film is not for everybody. It lacks any kind of standout features (good or bad) that could recommend it as a period film worth viewing on its own merits. But for anyone who has ever lived or spent significant time in Rochester, I think it’s essential viewing.