[1940s HOME MOVIE OIL WELL OWNER INSPECTS HIS PUMPS PENNSYLVANIA OIL WELL SUPPLY CO.]

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1940?

Description: This circa 1940 silent black and white home movie was shot by E. K. Tryon 3rd, who was apparently one of the heirs to the Edward K. Tryon Co., a sporting goods retailer and wholesaler located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Whoever he was, E.K. Tryon 3rd owned (or possibly recently purchased) several oil wells, and the second half of the film shows him and his wife (?) surveying some of the wells. According to notes shown to the camera, some of them may have been pilfered or vandalized, or wearing out, as some notes indicate "pull rods gone", "ok except for oil line", "burnt power", "engine is a total loss", etc. The film also starts with shots of the Oil Well Supply Co., although the location is not known it could be the company's building in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. OWSC's Siverly plant in Pennsylvania specialized in producing essential oil field equipment such as sucker rods. Note: the oil wells shown in the second half of the film are on plots owned by the McKean Co. survey various equipment such as oil wells, processing tanks, power supply sources, oil lines and pull rods highlighting the process for collecting data and performing maintenance. 0:00 Film opens with the Oil Well Supply Company building, possibly in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh (:53). Pedestrians pass the entryway stamped with the company’s logo (1:05). The entrance of Frick-Reid Supply follows (1:10). (Note: Frick-Reid Supply operated in Pittsburgh, Tulsa and Matchbook, supplying gas, oil and water well equipment. They would later evolve into the modern Reid Supply Company.) Neon lights advertise La Salle’s dine and dance restaurant (2:13). Artistic shots capture a man’s silhouette and a highball glass against window blinds within a restaurant (3:52). Block 18, owned by McKean Company Inc., stands in winter snow (4:25). Surveyors jot notes on well #1 noting an issue with surface piping, a missing tank (4:56) and missing pull rods (5:08). Workers operate an early oil rig (5:18). Shots pan over for an oil processing tank (5:25) and connecting oil lines (5:33). Notes indicate the oil line has been damaged (6:20). Personal shots capture a female’s face on the grounds (7:45). Workers check the meter house (8:18); a facility containing equipment used to measure oil or gas volume pumping through the pipes. They check the power supply for another site (9:01) providing solution for issues in their notes (9:25). The film concludes with footage of an employee taking photographs (10:05) and a pair running down a snowy trail (10:14).

Online Copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM3dWBf5aDo

Metadata Source:YouTube