source: The Whistle at Eaton Falls

In the midst of monsters from outer space and marauding dinosaurs, here is an attempt to deal with a real world problem: the decline of light manufacturing in small American cities, despite an overall boom in the US economy. The suspense is gripping, as Lloyd Bridges grapples with old loyalties and new necessities. This picture would make an excellent second feature for Rod Serling's masterpiece, "Patterns" (1956).

While "The Whistle at Eaton Falls" is neither a famous film nor one that's highly rated, I absolutely loved it and think it's a terrific lesson about basic economics. It manages to tell a very intelligently written story in such an exciting way that it left me very impressed despite its overall current score of 6.8. If you give the film a chance, I think there's a good change you'll like it. The story is set in a New England town where the economy is based on a couple factories. After one of them closes, this makes it only one...and if that company fails, so goes the town. But the owner of the existing factory has bad news...they cannot keep up with the competition and unless there's a reorganization of the company (which means, at least temporarily, some layoffs), the company will have to close. Before he can implement this austerity plan, however, he has to consult with the head of the local union, Brad Adams (Lloyd Bridges). Adams is reluctant to go along with the plan and before he can say yea or nay, disaster strikes when the president of this plastics company is killed in a plane crash. Now here is where it gets interesting. The dead man's widow is going to pick a new president to run her company...and she picks Brad. After all, the union appears to be behind him and he is a smart and reasonable man...perhaps he can somehow manage to keep the company afloat. I loved so much about this film. Instead of showing the union or management as being 'the enemy', it's more about give and take and basic economics. It's also interesting because it delves into human nature...and explores the motivations of some who wouldn't mind destroying the company! Overall, exquisitely written and although it might seem a bit cerebral, an excellent lesson and an excellent and exciting story. Well done by everyone...especially Bridges and Murray Hamilton, who played the local jerk trying, for his own ends, to destroy everything.

I first saw this when it was screened as a supporting feature in Australia in 1951/52 and hasn't been seen here since. A pity, because it was rather more cerebral and realistic than almost anything else seen in that era. I was only 14 when I saw it so I can't remember much about the plot but its realism came through (I was a pretty savvy kid movie-wise, I must admit). I could only remember Lloyd Bridges until I looked it up just now and was surprised to see who else was in it: Anne Francis, Ernest Borgnine, Carleton Carpenter, Murray Hamilton etc, before they became known. I'm also a little surprised director Robert Siodmak didn't run into strife with the McCarthy hearings in those years as it seemed to me the movie could be seen as a tad leftish, but I may be wrong as I was too young to understand that at the time, and this was not an issue in Australia then. Anyway, the semi-documentary treatment and the (apparent} filming on location added to the straightforward treatment. Columbia made some interesting movies around that time, some that I would suggest are a high-water mark in American movie-making and should be seen more often. If it's as good as I remember it, it should be seen as a minor classic.

This is a wonderful, absorbing story of the people of fictional Doubleday Plastics. You'll be reminded of the Frank Capra school of storytelling with unforgettable performances by a terrific cast; and the taut plotline, prophetic in its day, will be now all too familiar to many who have since seen the problems faced by similar mom-and-pop firms in today's fiercely-competitive corporate marketplace. You'll find every scene absorbing in this underrated Siodmak masterpiece. Seek it out! Highly recommended to all.

... as in the Bibilcal tale of Solomon, in business terms. I just saw the restored version of this today, and it looks excellent. The story is rather unique and realistic for its time. I'm actually surprised it got made given the artistically repressive early 1950s in which it was shot. It is about the trials and tribulations of Wheaton Falls, NH. It was a two factory town, and then the The Granite State Shoe Company goes out of business. The titular whistle, which blew at the beginning of every work day, is moved to Doubleday Plastics, a converted textiles mill. But then the owner, Mr. Doubleday, brings in the leader of the local union , Brad Adams (Lloyd Bridges) to tell him that the company cannot stay in business unless it lowers its prices, and the only way that he can see to do that is to buy faster newer machines that only require one man per two machines, and lay off half the workforce. Shortly thereafter Mr. Doubleday is killed in an auto accident, and through a series of events Brad Adams is asked to leave his union post and preside over the factory. Adams has spent his adult life siding with labor, but he soon realizes the troubles of ownership and management. He is faced with some tough choices that will hurt the workers for awhile, or the entire factory will close forever. His former union buddies suspect he has turned traitor to them, a former executive wants revenge on the town and the business for turning the factory over to somebody (Brad) he feels is beneath him, and Brad is feeling the weight of the world. How does this work out? Watch and find out. Bridges is quite good here - I can't think of an earlier film in which he had such a prominent role. Dorothy Gish plays Doubleday's widow and the new owner. There really is not that much for her to do considering her reputation. Murray Hamilton is one of the workers who is a loud mouthed jerk and thinks he can lead the union better. Russell Hardie is a snobby jerk who thinks he can run everything better. Ernest Borgnine hardly has any lines at all as one of the workers as this was his first year in film and only his second film role. The thing that knocks this down from maybe a nine are some goofy interludes between town teen couple Anne Francis and Carleton Carpenter as inventor/artist/singer Eddie. These scenes just seem to exist to lighten the atmosphere as most of the tale is rather bleak yet realistic for the situation. It is interesting looking back on a time when American businesses were much smaller, often entirely local, and an inventive solution hammered out in a workshop in a garage could make a difference. It's also surprising how well this one turned out. Although Lloyd Bridges had ten years of film acting under his belt and the director was veteran Robert Siodmak, so many of the players were either from the stage, were new to acting, or had different career trajectories entirely, and Columbia was not known for its message pictures. And who would think that little Columbia could be so subversive - Brad Adams and his wife are shown as sleeping in the same bed during the production code era. Highly recommended.

At first glance you might think this is another story of technology's double edged sword. This film has lots of twists, turns, drama and division to make it highly entertaining. Poor Lloyd Bridges is stuck in the middle. Can he find a solution to please everyone?

The Whistle At Eaton Falls (1951) Is a timeless drama about people facing changes, labor versus technology versus job security versus management profits and or the lack thereof. The whistle is on the largest employer in a small New England town, a plastics factory that is struggling to keep up with competition when the president suddenly dies. His widow played by former silent film legend Dorothy Gish promotes young labor leader Lloyd Bridges hoping he can inspire the workers to see that the new changes that must be made if the company town expects to keep most of their jobs. Inside the union there are factions that want the new necessary changes and equipment to fail so they can keep one man on one machine. But the new machines can run so efficiently, one man can operate two at one time thus making the company profitable enough to stay open. But first there are production contracts that must be made to sell those plastic parts to pay the bills and buy the new equipment. Before long Lloyd is running out of time and money so fast he is forced to close the factory, lay off the employees and sell the backlog of stock at a loss while he works non-stop, round the clock to find the timesaving edge over his competition. Meanwhile Murray Hamilton (the weak whiny mayor from Jaws) brings in outside agitators to try and take over the union. Also on the side of the opposition is Russell Hardie a disgruntled employee who is so bitter about not getting the promotion to president he goes to work for the competition and tries to convince the Eaton Falls union he's on their side, all the while he's planning to close the plant once they steal Bridges' new ideas. Can the situation be resolved before yet another factory closes permanently, or will only one side win and take down everyone else? A message from yesterday that still applies today, that is if we want to have a job tomorrow...

Late 40s/ early 50s Hollywood was not notable for its workplace dramas, especially when the workplace was a plastics factory and the drama involved labor/management relations. Which makes this film commendable from the outset if for no other reason than its daring to go against the prevailing ethos of the culture. That it is also visually striking, with great location shooting in New Hampshire and harsh, almost noirish, cinematography that pictorially reinforces the conflicts going on between workers and bosses, as well as being even handed in its treatment of both sides, never demonizing nor putting characters on pedestals, adds up to a film that should have garnered more attention and acclaim than it did. But then again movies have always been escapist in their overall mood, never more so than from the 30s to the mid 50s. The bulk of the film audience then tended to come from the factories or other blue collar work sites and the last thing they wished to do when the lights went down and the big screen came up was to be thrust back there. Especially at the time this film was made audiences wanted to walk down a shadowy LA street next to Liz Scott or down Rio way with Cary Grant. So maybe it's prescient that the product being made in this specific New Hampshire factory is a TV channel selector because workplace dramas and sit coms would, in less than ten years from the time of this movie, become a staple of the much less dreamy small screen in the much more prosaic kitchen or den. That this film, however, is at no point small, prosaic or confined in its tone or look is thanks to director Robert Siodmak, cinematographer Joseph Brun and a fine cast of actors just starting out like Lloyd Bridges, Murray Hamilton, Helen Shields, and James Westerfield, as well as Dorothy Gish, who was winding down. So why 8 rather than 9 or 10 stars? Didn't care much for the dull ingenues Carlton Carpenter and Anne Francis and the ending was way too upbeat as if all labor problems had been banished from at least Eaton Falls, New Hampshire, forever. Give it a B plus.

Business is tough. The owner of the plastic manufacturing plant in town wants to put in new machines, but that will furlough half the workers. When he dies, his widow, Dorothy Gish, puts union leader Lloyd Bridges in charge. He gets a quick education in business and union relations. Producer Louis De Rochemont had been the longtime producer of the prestigious THE MARCH OF TIME newsreel series. He brought his concern with contemporary issues to this movie. Even seventy years later, the issues seem fresh and relevant and the faces, even those of well known actors, seen real.