1. Abel Gance : hier et demain (29:08)

Date:
1963
Summary:
Focuses on the life of French filmmaker Abel Gance and examines his contributions to the motion picture industry. Explains that Gance pioneered such film techniques as polyvision and the use of the picturegraph and the picturescope. Illustrates these techniques through excerpts from some of his films, including Napoleon and J'Accuse.

2. And so they live (24:16)

Date:
1940
Summary:
Documents the tragic poverty of families in the southern mountains, the poor land, the lack of proper diet, inadequate housing, absence of sanitation, and the complete lack of adaptation of the school program to the local situation. Related title: "The children must learn"

3. Army in overalls (07:32)

Date:
1941
Summary:
Shows the Civilian Conservation Corps working with Army engineers to improve and expand military reservations in the United States. A defense report on film.

4. Asi Fue (So It Went) (56:42)

Date:
1986
Main contributors:
Strout, Toby (Writer, Producer); Schwibs, Susanne (script); Sumpter, Wally (Director); Arnove, Robert (Producer); Michael Luhan(Producer);
Summary:
Documents the political issues and diverse views of the people of Nicaragua during the period surrounding the elections of 1984; the first elections held since the overthrow of the Somoza regime. Sampling the campaigns of seven contending political parties, several major issues surface repeatedly and dominate debate: the direction of national reconstruction, changing social roles and responsiblities (particularly of women and young people), the war with the Contras, economic conditions, the makeup of the electoral process, and the conduct of the election itself.

5. Australia's platypus (13:15)

Date:
1952
Summary:
Tells how Johnny and the noted Australian scientist, David Fleay, embark on a trip to capture a platypus. Shows the method of capture and close-ups of the animal, and reveals Mr. Fleay's success in breeding them in captivity. Illustrates the teacher's use of Johnny's experience to present the animal's characteristics and to urge its conservation.

6. Bakuba (17:25)

Date:
1952
Summary:
Describes the arts and crafts of the Bakuba people of the Congo and briefly describes other aspects of their culture. Indicates the probable origin of the Bakuba in northern Africa. Pictures weaving, embroidery, tattooing, and making of statuary. Shows trinkets used to decorate costumes and presents details of the most ornate costume of the hereditary king.

7. Bauernvolk in den bergen (10:28)

Date:
1960
Summary:
Uses the activities of a farmer, his wife, and nine children living in the Alpine country of southern Austria as an example of a cooperative family enterprise. Shows members of the family participating in the harvest and other farm activities of late summer and early fall. Includes scenes of lumbering, sheep shearing, a funeral at a sixteenth century church, the children's school in session, and a village dance.

8. Blue ice (30:18)

Date:
1954
Summary:
Pictures and describes the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition in 1954. Traces the route of the expedition and follows the ship which took the men and supplies to the various scientific stations. Shows details of the ship going through the pack ice. Pictures in detail the trip to and establishment of the new scientific station on the Antarctic continent.

9. Cities : crime in the streets (1:01:31)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Discusses the two major aspects of the crime problem in the United States--police protection of citizens from crime and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders through training schools and reformatories. Aspects of these problems are examined by police experts, criminologists, and others. Methods of operation used by the Chicago Police Department are evaluated; training schools are visited; and their methods are contrasted with community programs designed to keep the juvenile from ever becoming a criminal.

11. Digging for black pride (19:55)

Date:
1971
Summary:
Shows children in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant section learning about their African heritage through classroom activities and "digs" in vacant lots and urban renewal areas to locate artifacts linking them to their 19th century ancestors. Explains that under "Project Weeksville" the black children are piecing together the history and organization of this self-sufficient black community which existed in the early 1800s. Examines how the Bedford- Stuyvesant residents held off white raiders during the Draft Riot of 1863.

12. East Africa : ends and beginnings (50:53)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Summary:
Presents an investigative report on the political, economic, and social development in Kenya and Tanzania, including an extensive interview with Tanzanian President Julius K. Nyerere. Observes that under Kenya's President Kenyatta the capitalistic system of business and trade is largely controlled by foreign investors which has led to increased unemployment and poverty. Explains that in Tanzania people are working together toward socialism as outlined by the Arusha Declaration and foreign investors must invest their profits in Tanzania so that Tanzanians may benefit.

13. Eskimos : winter in western Alaska (10:51)

Date:
1950
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
Illustrates Eskimo family life in western Alaska. Shows the primitive methods the women follow to obtain fish through the ice, how men trap fish and prepare to hunt seals, their means of transportation, and the family making its meal on raw meat. Concludes with an Eskimo dance.

14. Four families (59:35)

Date:
1960
Summary:
A comparison of family life in France, Japan, India, and Canada. How each family treats and cares for a year-old baby. Mother-child relationships, feeding and bathing the child. Anthropologist Margaret Mead discusses how the upbringing of a child contributes to distinctive national characteristics.

15. Four teachers (58:03)

Date:
1961
Summary:
Compares the daily activities of four elementary teachers from Japan, Poland, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Presents facts about each teacher's personality, classroom techniques, facilities available for use in the classroom, student-teacher relationships, salaries, home life, status in the community, and the importance of education in each of the countries. Between sequences, discussion of pertinent problems in education is carried on by a Montreal teacher, Glenna Reid; a Toronto professor, John R. Seeley; and the film's producer-commentator, Gordon Burwash.

16. Gift of choice (edited version) (29:03)

Date:
1965
Main contributors:
Richard Lukin, Ron Allen
Summary:
Condensed version of "Gift of Choice" episode of Population Problem. Reports on experiments being carried out to determine the factors controlling pregnancies both to aid those who want children and to control fertility for those who want to limit family size.

17. Goodbye and good luck (32:09)

Date:
1967
Summary:
A Black G.I. returns from Vietnam and is confronted by various Black Power activists. He is forced to question his reasons for having served in the military and what he wants to do in the future.

18. Hospital maternity care : family-centered (29:25)

Date:
1964
Summary:
This film, designed primarily for members of the medical, nursing and allied hospital professions, portrays an experiment in maternity care which is being conducted in the obstretical division of St. Mary's Hospital, Evansville, Indiana.

19. Last reflections on a war (46:58)

Date:
1968
Summary:
This is an excerpt showing one segment of episode 117. Presents critical comments and views of Asian scholar and war correspondent, Bernard B. Fall. Discusses the nature of the war in Vietnam, its effect upon the people, and the possibility of a practical solution. Includes taped comments.

20. Medicine men of Africa : part I (29:03)

Date:
1967
Summary:
The effectiveness of the African medicine man or “witch doctor” has been a subject of much speculation among the lay public and professional medical men for many years. In this program a Western physician investigates the work of “witch doctors” in Nigeria. The viewer is shown actual “healing” sessions and sees the results of what many doctors believe is mass hypnosis induced in his patients by the “witch doctor.” Nigerian physicians and psychiatrists give their explanations of the healing phenomenon.