A short promotional film produced by Turners Film Productions for James A. Jobling & Company of Sunderland to promote their Opalwear cooking and serving dinnerware for the catering trade. Includes footage of the stringent tests applied to the product, which demonstrate its legendary resistance to breakage, and its hygienic qualities. The film begins with hospital catering staff in green uniforms laying out plates on tables in a dining room. A close-up shows a dining table covered in...

A short promotional film produced by Turners Film Productions for James A. Jobling & Company of Sunderland to promote their Opalwear cooking and serving dinnerware for the catering trade. Includes footage of the stringent tests applied to the product, which demonstrate its legendary resistance to breakage, and its hygienic qualities. The film begins with hospital catering staff in green uniforms laying out plates on tables in a dining room. A close-up shows a dining table covered in white tablecloth, laid with Opalwear dinnerware and a bowl. Title: Introducing Jobling Opalware A woman places a stack of Opalware plates on table beside stacks of other plates. Title: A Major Aid to Catering Economy General views follow of various decorative Opalwear glass bowl laid out on a covered table; one serving bowl having a painted hunting scene printed on it. This is followed by those of a decorative Opalwear coffee set. A set of ‘Pyrosil’ cooking pans and coffee set turns on a turntable is followed by a pieces of glass laboratory equipment also turning slowly beside a label that reads ‘Pyrex Scientific and Laboratory Glassware’. Inside the factory of James A. Jobling a blob of molten glass drops through an automatic cutting machine, and are then pressed into plates before being fired in an oven. Plain Jobling ware plates move along conveyor belts in the factory. The film cuts to show a white Opalware plate turning slowly followed by various other pieces of glassware passing on a conveyor. Cartoon illustrations depict the different organisations that could use Opalware, including hospitals, schools, staff canteens, sports clubs, caterers, restaurants and cafes, snack bars. The sequence returns to the rotating Opalware plate. In laboratory a man tests the strength of an Opalware plate by dropping it onto a hard surface. It does not break. Next, a cup and saucer are placed on a machine plate which spins around as a revolving metal handle hits the teacup handle repeatedly. The handle doesn’t break. Against a corrugated cardboard backdrop, another scientist breaks the handle of a pottery cup against the much stronger handle of a Opalware cup, proving its strength.  A close-up follows of a scientist in a white lab coat hammering a nail into a block of wood with a Opalware teacup, then bending the nail using the handle.  The cup is placed on the table intact. Tests for the porosity and hygienic qualities of Opalware take place in another laboratory. A scientist takes a bottle of deep blue liquid dye and pours it into a Opalwear beaker. Close-up of two Opalwear jugs filled with blue dye in which two slivers of broken Opalwear and broken ordinary ceramic kitchen ware are tested. Close-up of the two broken fragments, one stained blue, the other still white. A scientist swabs cracks and chips on an earthenware plate to collect bacteria. He then transfers it to a small Pyrex plate of culture media. He places the samples from Opalwear and earthenware into a cream cylindrical incubator.  He collects the two plate samples from the incubator and examines them.  A close-up of the two plates of cultures follows, one of which has grown large colonies of bacteria. A close-up shows a testimonial letter from the Central Group Hospital Management Committee, a large-scale user of Opalware. Staff queue and collect their food from the counter of a hospital canteen, served by catering staff in green uniforms.  A close-up follows of a woman washing up dinner plates and cups in a stainless steel sink. A series of illustrations and graphics compare breakage for earthenware and Opalware tableware on hospital wards. Back in the hospital dining room, nurses and doctors are eating at tables. A close-up shows a dining table covered in a white tablecloth, laid with Opalware tableware and decorated with a bowl of flowers. A succession of different styles of decoration on dinner services are displayed. Close-ups show individual plate designs including Greek key, plain white, red, blue and green band and barley patterns. A male porter offers a cup of tea with saucer to a man sitting up in bed who uses both hands to drink from it. A stock person checks off packs of Opalware stacked on shelves. General views of various Opalware products available for use are shown next including two sets of cups and saucers, 6 ½”, 8” and 9 ½” plates, soup bowl and plate, 8oz fruit and cereal bowl and a  individual/divided vegetable dish. Opalware plates are packed between sheets corrugated cardboard and placed into boxes, then stacked. From the back of a Jobling’s lorry boxes of Opalware are unloaded. A succession of five boxes are stacked on top of each other, each containing a label on the side of the box reminding the viewer of the benefits of this product.   The film ends on a series of Opalware products moving along a conveyor. End title: James A. Jobling & Co. Ltd. Wear Glass Works. Sunderland End Title: Filmed by Turners Film Productions. Newcastle upon Tyne End title: Acknowledgement The Tooting Bec Hospital Management Committee. The Central Group Hospital Management Committee.