1. A few ounces a day (06:39)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
Alexander, Donald, 1913-1993
Summary:
This film uses diagrams to illustrate the importance of salvaging common everyday items in an effort to reuse important raw materials for building ships. The film asserts that one day's salvage by the whole British people counteracts the loss of one ship. An emphasis is put on "The importance of salvage to the flow of goods; [and] various examples of useful materials commonly thrown away."--War Films, Bulletin of the Extension Division, Indiana University, February, 1943.

3. A new fire bomb (08:46)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of Civilian Defense
Summary:
Describes and provides information about methods of defense regarding a recently developed type of German explosive fire bomb. In dramatic reenactments, wardens and civilians are warned to keep away from bombs that have fallen in the street. Various methods are shown for attacking bombs that have fallen in houses. The film demonstrates ways of applying water while taking advantage of the protection of brick walls.

4. A new supervisor takes a look at his job (12:36)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
A machine tool operator is made a group leader and his plant superintendent explains to him, through dramatized illustrations, the meaning of working with people instead of machines.

5. Airscrew (21:07)

Date:
1940
Main contributors:
Tharp, Grahame, 1912-
Summary:
This short nonfiction film depicts the intensive testing that goes into developing and producing aircraft propellers. It opens with the whirring or propeller blades. Animated diagrams show how the bite of the propeller moves it through the air and how the pitch determines the size of the bite. A trip through an airplane factory shows the manufacture of a satisfactory alloy. The rest of the process is painstaking hand work interspersed with dozens of careful inspections. The operation of the variable pitch mechanism and its use in taking off and cruising is shown. Then the propeller is assembled the complete job is tested for balance.

6. 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.

7. Battle wreckage (10:09)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army Pictorial Service
Summary:
Explains why large quantities of war materials, in particular steel, are needed for the war effort. Shows the sea battle and beachhead landing of the Normandy invasion.

8. Building a bomber : a defense report on film (19:10)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
United States. Office for Emergency Management
Summary:
"Step-by-step manufacture and assembly of the B-26 medium bomber in the Glenn Martin plant at Baltimore."--War Films, Bulletin of the Extension Division, Indiana University, February, 1943.

9. 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.

10. Health in war (13:19)

Date:
1940
Main contributors:
Jackson, Pat, 1916-2011
Summary:
"Offers revealing insights into the re-structuring of health services in London and elsewhere in Britain following the outbreak of WWII ... The film is broadly divided into three parts. The opening sequence looks at the advances made so far in the battle against sickness and disease, brought about through slum clearance, preventative and curative medicine and research. The middle section describes the re-organisation of existing services in preparation for air raid casualties, with the redeployment of city centre hospitals for emergency services and first aid, and the movement of convalescent, maternity and evacuation hospitals further out into the country. The final section uses pictures of happy, healthy children running free in the English countryside to remind cinema audiences of what Britain is fighting for."--British Film Institute website.

11. Improving the job (09:37)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
A supervisor asks an employee for work-improvement suggestions; the employee talks the problem over with his father and sister, obtains their advice, and makes some worthwhile suggestions.

12. Indiana, our Indiana (22:23)

Date:
1950
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
An Indiana University student shows a prospective student's parents the campus and explains the counseling system. Includes academic and extracurricular activities, the extension centers, and many buildings on the Bloomington campus.

13. Into the blue (10:39)

Date:
1940
Main contributors:
Catling, Darrel, 1909-1991
Summary:
Shows how young airmen are trained by the R.A.F. Not only is the standard training such as solo flying shown, but also learning Morse code, navigation lectures, and special bombardier and fighter pilot training.

14. Introducing the new worker to his job (15:21)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
Dramatization of how not to orient a new employee and get him started on his job; then by contrast, what should have been done.

15. It's up to us (10:39)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
General Motors Corporation
Summary:
Focuses on the conservation of important natural elements such as rubber, oil and metal needed to support the U.S. Victory Program. Viewers are shown various ways in which they can change daily habits to get the most out of these materials.

16. Japs bomb U.S.A.! (09:43)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Castle Films, inc.
Summary:
"Newsreel pictures of the attack of Dec. 7, 1941, on Pearl Harbor. Closes with America's ringing answer to the enemy challenge." (War Films Bulletin of the Extension Division Indiana University, February, 1943, 5). This American newsreel portrays the attack on Pearl Harbor and the aftermath of the strike. Includes footage of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's December 8th "Infamy" speech in front of a joint session of Congress.

17. Know your enemy--Japan! (14:47)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Knox, Gordon, 1906-1992
Summary:
"Produced in cooperation with the Institute of Pacific Relations, this film answers such vital questions as: How large in the Japanese Empire? Is Japan self-sufficient in food? What is Japan's naval and military strength? What are the living standards of the Japanese people? What are Japan's vital weaknesses? How can Japan be defeated?"--War Films Bulletin of the Extension Division Indiana University, February, 1943.

18. London fire raids : 29th-30th December 1940 (11:42)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
Walker, Bob Danvers
Summary:
Describes the first fire raid on the City of London on the night of December 29, 1940. Opening sequences in the film are taken from the roof of St. Paul's Cathedral. They show the London fire brigade working in the midst of blazing buildings and streets. Closing daylight sequences show the visible destruction of Guild Hall, St. Lawrence Jewry, St. Brides church and innumerable warehouses.

19. Negro colleges in war time (08:28)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
Presents the wartime activities of four African American colleges--Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, Prairie View College in Texas, Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Hampton Institute in Virginia.

21. Our enemy-- the Japanese (20:08)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Grew, Joseph C. (Joseph Clark), 1880-1965
Summary:
"Stridently anti-Japanese film that attempts to convey an understanding of Japanese life and philosophy so that the U.S. may more readily defeat its enemy. Depicts the Japanese as "primitive, murderous and fanatical." With many images of 1930s and 1940s Japan, and a portentious [sic] and highly negative narration by Joseph C. Grew, former U.S. ambassador to Japan."--Internet Archive.

22. Out of bed into action (15:36)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army Air Forces. First Motion Picture Unit
Summary:
This film outlines the convalescent training program for hospitalized U.S. airmen in World War II. It is designed to acquaint the convalescent with the program in which he will take part. Patients are shown in their beds, doing light calisthenics in the wards, exercising specific muscles using specially designed equipment, exercising and playing games out-of-doors, and engaging in hobbies and crafts. Other aspects of the program involve convalescents sharing wartime experiences with their fellow patients, teaching them new material and new skills, brushing up on their old skills acquired on duty, taking courses, and even earning degrees. The program also includes updates and discussions on the war, watching duty-related films, and engaging in purely social activities. The circulation and blood supply to various parts of the body are shown in animation.

23. Paratroops (09:00)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
"A quick overview of the weeks spent in learning to jump, tumble, and fall, in practice jumping from a tower and from a dummy plane, in packing the parachute one's life depends on, in learning to jump from a plane in half a second, to guide a chute by working the shroud cords, to land without splintering a leg, to disengage the chute and come up fighting."--War Films, Bulletin of the Extension Division, Indiana University, February, 1943.

24. Peace comes to America (10:46)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
Summary:
Asserts that although World War II is over, Americans still have responsibility for their government and veterans of the war. Features appearances by President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of the Treasury Fred M. Vinson, and Ted R. Gamble, national director of the War Finance Division.

25. Perishable rush (13:48)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. Army Air Forces.
Summary:
Shows how the Army Air Forces during World War II flew wounded men from Pacific battle areas to hospitals and home towns in the United States. Uses a mix of actuality footage and fictional reenactments to follow a soldier from being wounded in action, cared for by medics on the battlefield, undergoing surgery in a mobile hospital near the front lines, recuperating in Guam, being shipped back to the United States, and convalescing in hospital near the soldier's home town.

26. Pincers on Japan (18:58)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
National Film Board of Canada
Summary:
"Canada's place in the strategy of Pacific warfare is the subject of this wartime film. Convoys, carrying the sinews of war, steam out from her ports, while along her western coast lookouts and patrol boats keep constant vigil. The close cooperation between the United States and Canada in the Pacific is illustrated."--NFB website.

27. Placing the right man on the job (12:28)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
Dramatized cases of five different workers, unsatisfactory in particular jobs, who are reassigned to other jobs more suitable to their abilities and capacities.

28. RAF & 8th Air Force report from Britain (07:02)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army Pictorial Service
Summary:
"Includes a report from Britain showing the RAF and the 8th Air Force on a hedgehopping bomber flight over France and Germany, and the 5th Air Force report from New Guinea." ("News and Notes," Educational Screen, June, 1944, 266.) Shows a film clip claiming to be an "Official German Newsreel," with footage of American planes that have been shot down and have crashed onto German soil. Shows how Germans salvage metal from these American aircraft to use for their own war effort and explains that each crashed plane is indicative of loss of soldiers' lives.

29. Ready on the home front (23:56)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Constable, J. M.
Summary:
Presents the general aims of the civilian defense program during World War II. Describes the training and duties of the air raid warden. Closes with a proclamation by Governor Schricker.

30. 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.

31. Right of way (07:35)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Eastman, Joseph B. (Joseph Bartlett), 1882-1944
Summary:
Follows a troop train, a freight train, and a truck rushing to deliver men and supplies to a ship convoy in 1943. Explains the reasons for transportation delays and the shortage of goods in wartime. This film was intended to promote understanding and support of the war effort despite inconveniences on the home front.

32. Road to Berlin (18:48)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Army. Signal Corps.
Summary:
Using dramatized events and newsreels, this film shows the organizing done during World War II to ship war supplies to the military. Shows the work of the Army Transportation Corps in providing ship convoys, as well as the work done by supply depots.

34. 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.

35. Secrets (07:11)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. Navy Department
Summary:
Discusses the importance of various secret weapons used throughout World War II, such as radar and the atomic bomb. The film emphasizes the development and use of these weapons as being critical to winning the war, thereby justifying their costs. Ends with a plea to purchase victory bonds to support research that will prevent future wars.

36. Siege (09:50)

Date:
1940
Main contributors:
Bryan, Julien H. (Julien Hequembourg), 1899-1974
Summary:
Presents a vivid record, uncensored by military authorities, of the 1939 siege and fall of Warsaw.

37. Story of a transport (20:58)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. Coast Guard
Summary:
Reviews the World War II service of the transport "Wakefield," formerly the liner "Manhattan"; shows it being used for the transportation of troops, bombed at Singapore, and burned in the Atlantic.

39. Suggestion box (09:04)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Indiana University, Bloomington. Audio-Visual Center
Summary:
Explains how seemingly minor ideas can improve wartime production. Encourages workers to provide resourceful suggestions that, if tested and approved, can be circulated to factories around the country.

40. Survival of the fittest (16:41)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
Grashin, Mauri
Summary:
Shows the function of the physical training program of the Army Air Forces during World War II. Starts by celebrating the exploits of Army Air Force war heroes. The main story is a fictional story about two American fighter pilots who are forced to parachute from disabled planes. The uninjured man brings his wounded comrade through water and knee-deep marshlands to safety. The excellent physical condition of both men is presented as largely responsible for their survival. Includes footage of Army Air Force soldiers engaging in physical exercise.

42. Target Berlin (17:14)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
Borneman, Ernest, 1915-
Summary:
"The story of the Lancaster airplane, the first large bomber built in Canada. Shown are the workers involved in its construction, and the crew who ferried it overseas, as well as the combat crew who took it on its first flight over Berlin."--National Film Board of Canada website.

43. Target invisible (08:32)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
Kennedy, Arthur, 1914-1990
Summary:
Illustrates the use of radar on a bombing mission over Japan, and explains the work of the radar operator in the bomber's crew.

44. Target lights (17:36)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Office of Civilian Defense
Summary:
"This film is an illustrated narrative of the method of preparing any home for a "black-out". It illustrates the vital importance to every family of knowing what to do and just how to do it. No details are omitted and the instructions are clear and well illustrated. Preparation of a shelter room is described and illustrated."--Frank Frankowiak, "Analysis and Evaluation of 16mm Motion Pictures Library Available at Indiana State Teachers College" (thesis), June, 1948, 109.

45. The battle of brains (12:23)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
Hawes, Stanley, 1905-1991
Summary:
"This film illustrates the difference between World War II and the war of 1914, emphasizing the importance of mechanization, and contrasting the mobile tactics with the immobility of trench warfare. The scientific approach, both to problems of military strategy and to new weapons, is all-important. The film shows some of the work done by Canadian scientists to make these weapons as effective as possible."--National Film Board of Canada description.

46. The calls that cure (11:08)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
DeVoe, Ralph G. (Ralph Godwin), 1883-1966.
Summary:
Shows the telephone center and the bedside telephone service in a U.S. Army hospital. Discusses the beneficial effects on the soldiers of receiving telephone calls from home and advises families at home how to handle these important calls.

47. The case of the tremendous trifle (20:01)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army. Signal Corps
Summary:
Shows to the men and women of American industry the vital importance to the war effort of all the little parts that they are making. Discusses the importance of ball bearings to the Nazi war effort and the Allied strategy of crippling the bearings industry. Shows the planning and intelligence gathering that led to the bombing of ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt.

48. The children see it thru (07:51)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
Fletcher, Yvonne, 1917-
Summary:
A British production made as a fund raising appeal to American audiences to aid British children affected by the Blitz. The film depicts the hardships of life during wartime for children and discusses the relief efforts of the Save the Children Federation.

49. The Earthmovers (14:07)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army. Signal Corps
Summary:
Shows heavy equipment of all types used by the Corps of Engineers and the Seabees during World War II. Describes how the "work power" of military construction units clears beaches of mines, constructs new roads, builds bridges and airstrips, and sets up water purification systems. Contrasts the pre-technological building techniques of China, India, and Africa with the technological might of the U.S. military.

50. The enemy strikes (11:54)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. War Department
Summary:
Uses captured German footage to show the unexpected Nazi counter-attack at the Battle of Ardennes, begun on December 16, 1944. Extends a plea for the American people to remain in their war-time jobs.