One of the most infamous "gag" films ever produced under the auspices of the Department of Defense, "Tough Sledding" was apparently created by the staff at Northrop Corporation in the late 1950s. No, we don't know what they were smoking! In this era Northrop was heavily engaged in conducting human factors research, and developing escape systems including ejection seats and parachutes for use in aircraft and spacecraft. This included the work of Dr. John Paul Stapp, who famously rode rocket sleds at Edwards AFB where he became known as the "Fastest Man on Earth". (Stapp also helped name "Murphy's Law" see "A History of Murphy's Law" on Amazon for more details). Made by "Lower Rank Productions", "Tough Sledding" is a full color blast into irony, the kind of film that could only have been made in America. It's just surprising it emerged from the very conservative 1950s, where such artistic creations were often frowned upon. Incidentally, the rocket sled shown is likely the one used for the T38 Talon, which Northrop produced beginning in 1961. Apparently the system required a great deal of work to perfect...as this five minute wonder aptly demonstrates!

Motion picture films don't last forever; many have already been lost or destroyed. For almost two decades, we've worked to collect, scan and preserve the world as it was captured on 35mm, 16mm and 8mm movies including home movies, industrial films, and other nonfiction. If you have endangered films you'd like to have scanned, or wish to donate celluloid to Periscope Film so that we can share them with the world, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us via the weblink below.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com