We watched The Automat (2021) last night. I’m a SoCal native. I’ve never been to New York or Philadelphia. I’ve never been to a Horn & Hardardt Automat. I have a vague memory as a child, getting dishes of food out of a wall of windows; but I don’t remember mom putting money in. I don’t know where that memory came from. (Maybe the cafeteria at Newberry’s? I don’t know.)
You all know I like film. I especially like black-and-white. And I like city scenes shot in B&W in the '50s and early-'60s. If I ever have time and money to make my own film, it would be in B&W with an early-'60s aesthetic. (And yes, I do have a script for a short film or segment of a feature-length film. 
)
Having said that, I loved the archival footage in The Automat. I liked the idea of the Automats, which I recognised in even in cartoons when I was little, though I’d never been to one. I liked the history of the Automats. I order my coffee from Baton Rouge. Frank Hardart brought New Orleans-style coffee to Philadelphia. It was nice hearing about how well H&H treated their employees, and it was cool that everyone was welcome regardless of race. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 98% positive reviews from 51 critics, and an average rating of 8/10. ‘A wistful ode to a bygone era, The Automat will make viewers nostalgic for America’s past – and hungry for a meal at the titular diner.’
Even if you’re not a film buff with an appreciation of B&W city scenes; and even if, like I, you’ve never been to an Automat, I suggest you see this film.
I enjoyed the hell out of that. It helped that Mel Brooks was in it and I just barely remember the Automats from when I was a little kid.
They were pretty wonderful to a pre-school age kid in the late 60s. We didn’t have one in our Bronx neighborhood, but it was a treat when we ventured down into Manhattan.
BTW: On Disney+ is a pretty good Marvel Show called Agent Carter. Season one is excellent and there are a lot of scenes in an Automat.
I loved the film. I have such a fascination with automats that I wonder* if I lived in NYC in a past life and ate there all the time. They’re just so cool!
Get me a slice of pie and a milk.
* not really, but boy I just live automats way out of proportion to the fact I’ve never seen one in person in my entire life
Thank you for the recommendation – that sounds awesome. We’ll be watching it soon.
As a West Coast kid I think my first exposure to automats was a gag on Candid Camera. I don’t remember the details but you can imagine the opportunities they presented for a show like that.
Candid Camera is shown on the documentary.
That, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg talking about doing her homework on the second floor.
Howard Schultz said that he got his inspiration for Starbucks from the Automat, but something must have been lost in translation.
My only reference to Automats in one Bugs Bunny cartoon (shown in the documentary) and I enjoyed the film. Highly recommended.
Turner Classic Movies showed it a while back, and I recently tried to watch my Tivo recording. After about 30 minutes, I decided that the topic wasn’t as interesting to me as it was to the filmmakers, nor was its presentation, so I shut it off and deleted it.