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'Tupperware!' the Movie

Just after World War II, Tupperware was invented. Earl Tupper, a reclusive but ambitious inventor looking for a discovery that would change American life, created the unspillable, plastic containers with their revolutionary air-tight, waterproof seals.

But his product was not an instant hit, and sales were small. It seemed his invention was stale. But then Tupper met Brownie Wise. She was a divorced woman from rural Georgia, with no more than an eighth grade education. Not exactly the ideal 1950s woman. But Wise came up with a sales strategy that would ignite the Tupperware empire: women throwing parties at their homes to sell Tupperware.

Tupperware!, a documentary airing Feb. 9 on PBS' American Experience, tells the story of Wise and Tupperware. NPR's Melissa Block, host of All Things Considered, talks with the film's director, Laurie Kahn-Leavitt.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

As special correspondent and guest host of NPR's news programs, Melissa Block brings her signature combination of warmth and incisive reporting. Her work over the decades has earned her journalism's highest honors, and has made her one of NPR's most familiar and beloved voices.

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