On Film


On Film Inc. was an American industrial film production company in the 1950-60s known for its innovative and award-winning creative productions and advertisements and its roster of talented filmmakers and documentarians. Scholar Dr. Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece described On Film Inc. as "making lightly surreal films with plays on surfaces, tints, and music... with a playful approach of color, light, and texture rather than narrative coherence."
Robert Bell led the firm, along with his wife Virginia Bell in operations and creative leadership roles. The film company was headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey and established in 1951. It soon started was producing motion pictures and slide films that were sponsored by local and federal government agency, industrial, medical, and commercial clients.
Another distinguishing feature of the company was that "On Film rarely promoted a single creator; instead, the production unit worked together as a team and was acknowledged as such, illustrating the left-leaning collectivist politics embraced by much of the company and the avant-garde artists they often hired." Noted filmmakers associated with the company include Bert Spielvogel, Stan Brakhage, Willard van Dyke, Len Lye, Stan Vanderbeek, Marcel Rebiere, Richard Miller, Richard Bagley, Hugh and Suzanne Johnston, and Weegee.
Its commercials, such as "Qualities of Aluminum," for the Aluminum Company Of America, were notable for its experimental style and striking visuals. Other ad clients and campaigns included Ivory soap, NBC, Johnson & Johnson, American Airlines, and Newsweek Magazine.

Filmography

''