41. An air raid warden's report (10:50)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of Civilian Defense
Summary:
Shows the importance of accuracy in the information a warden collects at the scene of disaster and the exact manner in which he should transmit information to the control.

42. The work of the rescue unit (14:24)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of Civilian Defense
Summary:
Presents the training of civilians for rescue work during World War II. Shows the procedures for assigning volunteers to the type of work for which they are prepared and training them to perform as a unit. Follows a squad from the sounding of the alarm, going to the scene, surveying the wreckage and taking notes, and tunneling for buried victims, to the orderly departure of the squad from the scene.

43. Fundamentals of end cutting tools (12:03)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of Education
Summary:
Discusses radius, threading, sheer-cut finishing, round-nosed finishing, and side-facing tools. Demonstrates the correct setting of the tools and the type of cut each makes.

45. Scraping flat surfaces (13:20)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of Education
Summary:
Shows how surface plates are used to check the flatness of surfaces, types of scrapers, how to remove high spots, and how to determine when a surface is scraped flat.

47. Monuments of Ancient Mexico (35:12)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
Summary:
"The title of this film is self-explanatory. It is especially adapted for students of archaeology and anthropology" (A List of U.S. War Information Films, Office of War Information, Bureau of Motion Pictures, April, 1943, 13)

48. Patagonian Playground (09:33)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
Summary:
Using color photography, this travelogue transports viewers in the U.S. to the exotic locale of Nahuel Huapi National Park, in the Argentine Andes. Showing the stifling mid-summer heat of Buenos Aires in January, the narrator explains city-dwellers' desire to escape to the cool, clean air of the mountains. The camera follows a group of young Argentines as they hike in the mountains, play with a herd of dairy cows, pick wild strawberries and prepare their yerba mate. Striking landscape photography shows glaciers, waterfalls, and captures an avalanche as it occurs. As with all Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs films, affinity between the nations of the Americas is encouraged by presenting foreign places to domestic audiences in an appealing, humanizing light.

49. The Hill Towns of Guatemala (10:09)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
Summary:
A narrated travelogue addressed to viewers in the U.S. shows life in several small towns surrounding Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Shows rope making from sisal hemp and traditional textile weaving. Concludes with a visits to the outdoor markets in Santiago Atitlan and Chichicastenango.

50. This Is Ecuador (17:52)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, Borge Hansen-Moller : produced and directed by, Kenneth Richter : camera
Summary:
A Coordinator of Inter-American affairs film intended to foster alliance and educate U.S. audiences about the Ecuadoran nation. "All who live in our hemisphere know that it must be kept as a place of freedom" states narration, urging the alliance of all the Americas in the fight against the Axis. The role of Ecuador and its Galapagos Islands territory in the defense of the Panama Canal are emphasized. Ecuadoran natural resources in service of the Allied cause include balsa wood and oil. Narration characterizes the viewpoint of the Ecuadoran people as supportive of the U.S. in the war: "Ecuador can hope for its rightful and untrammeled place in the family of nations only through the triumph of the United States and its allies." Concurrently, U.S. viewers are assured, "it’s good to know in these days of war that here is a friendly nation, a land ready for cooperation, for mutual defense..."

51. Pan-American Bazaar (08:54)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, R.H. Macy and Company, Inc.
Summary:
A Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs film reporting on a marketplace of goods from Latin American nations held at Macy's Department store in New York City's Herald Square. Promoting more than commerce between nations, both the bazaar and the film are intended to reinforce alliances between all the nations of the Americas during wartime. Showing the flags of the nations represented, narration states "21 symbols of American solidarity, 21 Republics firmly consolidated, to make up our western hemisphere." Color photography accentuates the beauty and exoticism of the displays. As shoppers are shown admiring the displays of art and culture and purchasing from each nation's vendors, the audience is told "they bought the goods that Latin America has to sell, money from merchandise, goodwill build on good trade relations, every sale a guarantee that the Americas mean business. Business that means friendship in the western hemisphere."

52. Sundays in the Valley of Mexico (11:01)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, Ralph E. Gray, A.C.L. : photographed and produced by
Summary:
A colorful travelogue of modern, urban life in Mexico City. "Shows scenes typical of modern Mexico, such as the tall buildings and wide boulevards of Mexico City. The canal leading to Xochimilco, with its fruit- and flower-laden boats, is pictured. Then describes a festival held in honor of the Vice President of the United States, Henry Wallace, when he visited Mexico City. It includes a bullfight and a parade of Mexican beauties. Ends with a pageant of old and new Mexican dances" (War Films Bulletin of the Extension Division Indiana University, February, 1943, 19)

53. Orchids and Other Flora of Tropical America (10:43)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, The National Geographic Society
Summary:
Described as a film portraying "twenty types of orchids and other flora of South and Central America and the conditions under which they grow" (U.S. Government Films, U.S. Office of Education, 1954, 134), its underlying subject is enchantment with the projected image itself. The color palette of Kodachrome reversal film is on display, capturing the faces of young women posed with exotic tropical flowers. The natural riches of Latin America --cacao, mangoes, and coffee--are presented for the delectation of audiences to the north. One of many similarly-styled productions in the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs catalog of short, documentary subjects, this film contributes to the war era campaign to sway popular opinion toward a spirit of allegiance and neighborly-ness between the nations of the Americas.

54. U.S. news review. Issue no. 2 (18:51)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
News stories include civilians giving up travel to enable the movement of soldiers, how a truck operates as a laundry at the front, the highway from Seattle through Canada to Alaska is completed, a report on the campaign in New Guinea, a sing-along version of The Marines' Hymn.

55. U.S. news review. Issue no. 3 (19:26)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
News stories include the introduction of the Mosquito reconnaissance bomber, the war in New Guinea, urging those at home to repair appliances as new ones are not available, the bombing on Naples, Italy, a letter to his fellow workers from machinist Arthur Hocking whose son has been killed in the war urging them to do everything possible to wind up the war, the United States Coast Guard song is played over scenes of Coast Guard life.

56. U.S. news review. Issue no. 5 (15:47)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
Newsreel contains stories about Veronica Lake getting her hair cut to promote worker safety, how absence from factory jobs can affect soldiers, how women going to war is affecting the care of children, British planes bomb Bremen, a sing-along version of the Army Air Corps song.

57. Youth farm volunteers (04:57)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
Shows how the Extension Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture helped recruit and place young people from towns and cities on farms during World War II to combat farm labor shortage.

58. Report from Russia (08:00)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures.
Summary:
Tells of the energy, the courage, and the efforts of the Russians behind the front lines in World War II. Shows the holding and striking power of Russia.