8201. Endocrine Glands (10:49)

Date:
1939
Main contributors:
Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, inc., A. J. Carlson, H. G. Swann, Erpi Classroom Films Inc
Summary:
Demonstrates the importance of various glands of internal secretion. Experiments and diagrams illustrate how the pituitary gland exercises control over other glands and over growth, how parathyroid glands partially control calcium in the blood, and how insulin from the pancreas controls metabolism of sugar. Also describes how the thyroid affects respiration, and how certain hormones stimulate the growth of mammary glands.

8202. Giant People: The Watussi of Africa (10:53)

Date:
1939
Main contributors:
Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, George Herzog
Summary:
Reveals the activities, customs, and traditions of the Watussi, an African people characterized by their advanced culture. Shows the ruling prince and royal family and activities in the royal household, including weaving, decorating, cooking, and churning. Portrays the prince as he inspects his cattle and leads a hunt, and depicts his young son presiding over a ceremonial dance.

8203. Heritage (15:42)

Date:
1939
Main contributors:
Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau
Summary:
History of the settlement of the western Canadian prairie lands, from pioneers in covered wagons to the booming wheat industry of the early 20th century. Shows that the prosperity brought by wheat built the western cities and led to rampant increases in production, when "wheat flowed like a golden river." The plowing of vast acreage without concern for soil conservation led to the disastrous collapse of the western agricultural economy. "Long years of intensive drought, coupled with a disastrous fall in prices, forced many Prairie farmers to board up their homes and seek work elsewhere. But the majority remained, hating to leave the land they had broken, often lacking the capital to make a fresh start. To these, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration, working through engineers and scientists on the experimental farms and stations, restored faith and morale. Conservation of moisture, development of new methods of farming and conversion of sub marginal land to other uses all helped to put these derelict farms once again on a working basis" (National Film Board of Canada catalog record http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=18392).

8204. Juarez (29:51)

Date:
1939
Summary:
Teaching Film Custodians classroom film of excerpts from the 1939 Warner Bros., feature film, "Juarez". Dramatizes the struggle of Benito Juarez to maintain independence and republicanism in Mexico from 1863 to 1867. Focuses on the Juaristas' resistance to French-supported Emperor Maximilian. Records that, with the end of the Civil War, the United States government warned Napoleon to withdraw his troops from Mexico. Shows Maximilian gambling on a victory by the loyalist Mexican troops over the Republican Army, failing, and being executed.

8206. Land of Mexico (11:00)

Date:
1939
Main contributors:
Erpi Classroom Films, inc., Wallace W. Atwood
Summary:
Portrays, with animated maps, the physical characteristics of Mexico and its strategic geographical relation to the United States. Enumerates her natural resources and industries. Depicts urban life and rural activities such as corn harvesting and grinding, home-building, beverage preparation, pottery-making, and handicraft work.

8208. Navajo Indians (10:52)

Date:
1939
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
Tells the story of Taska and Alnaba, a young Navajo couple who are betrothed. Portrays their native environment and such activities as building a home, tilling the soil, tending sheep, carding the wool, and weaving it into colorful blankets. Also shows barter at a local trading post, the performance of native dances, the wedding ceremony, and the wedding feast.

8209. Round the World Trip 1939 : Part 1 South Asia and Europe (50:00)

Date:
1939
Main contributors:
Richard Leslie Gair (1892-1970)
Summary:
McRobbie-Gair Family Home Movies Collection: This movie documents farewell activities at the Port of Melbourne with members of the Gair family and friends on board the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, or simply P&O, ship, the SS Orontes. It then progresses through South Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Europe. Specific countries shown include Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), Yemen, Egypt, Italy, France, and England. Specific cities, locations, and activities include Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka, that include wildlife (elephants) and local street scenes. Another sequence showcases the port city of Aden, Yemen and another in Egypt with a shot of “Cooks Rest House,” the pyramids, the Sphinx of Giza, and local peoples. Naples, Italy follows with black and white and color footage of the ruins at Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius (which was active during filming!). London, England sequences are particularly interesting for their bustling urban shots and depiction of escalating wartime propaganda publications and signage, as well as capturing the Guard Mounting and Trooping of the Colour ceremonies. Several shots are taken specifically around Oxford and Regent Street. Footage consists of a combination of color and black and white film stock with title cards inserted for new locations.

8210. Round the World Trip 1939 : Part 2 – Europe (1:13:21)

Date:
1939
Main contributors:
Richard Leslie Gair (1892-1970)
Summary:
McRobbie-Gair Family Home Movies Collection: Footage is comprised of travelogue sequences primarily from south, central, and western England, but also of Sweden and Scotland. County and city locations in England include Canterbury, Nottingham, Twickenham suburb, Surrey, Manchester, the coastal town of Llandudno, Salisbury, and the Isle of Wright. Cities and locations in Scotland include Meikleour, Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, Loch Lomond, and Edinburgh, and locations in Sweden include Gothenburg, Stockholm, and Upsala, according to title cards. Highlights from England include shots of the “White Rabbit” monument in Llandudno commemorating Lewis Carroll’s inspiration for “Alice in Wonderland,” shots of Windsor, Conway, and Arundel Castles, the Manchester Piccadilly Station, Canterbury and Salisbury Cathedrals and a selection of hotel and restaurant signs from Canterbury (Tudor House, The Sun Hotel, Chequers Inn, Senlac Hotel, The BattleAxe – Crafts and Restaurant, Pilgrim’s Rest, and Fremlins George Hotel). Notable locations in Scotland include the Meikleour Beech Hedge [sic], and the Nigg Church of Nigg Parish (Nigg Old Church), Loch Lomond, and Edinburgh (Princes St.) city shots. Finally, sequences in Sweden open with travel on a passenger ship, the Patricia, to Gothenburg. In this sequence is also a shot of a Nazi flag, which according to the title card, was taken in Stockholm. Upsala cathedral is also shot with lots of sequences on waterways throughout. The film ends with a festival or event with people dressed in what appears to be traditional Swedish attire. Footage consists of color film stock with title cards inserted for new locations. Film shows signs of significant damage throughout, marked most significantly by a waving, shifting image, intermittent dark lines and small brown artifacts.

8211. Round the World Trip 1939 : Part 4 – West Coast, USA, and Pacific Ocean stops (48:00)

Date:
1939
Main contributors:
Richard Leslie Gair (1892-1970)
Summary:
McRobbie-Gair Family Home Movies Collection: This home movie concludes the footage from the 1939 trip and opens with beautiful vistas of the Grand Canyon, and then movies on to various locations, mainly in California, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, and Yosemite National Park. The film includes shots from the UCLA campus, St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, the Little Church of the Flowers, and the Wee Kirk o’ the Heather. Various beach shots capture the California coastline, including shots of the Cyclone Racer rollercoaster at the Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach. Footage then moves to Yosemite National Park, capturing various attractions, including the Grizzly Giant tree and the Massachusetts tree (which fell in 1927), as well as various shots of Yosemite vistas, waterfalls, deer, and chipmunk feeding. Footage then moves on to San Francisco and captures Fisherman’s Wharf, a parade, the San Francisco Zoo, and shots of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. The Gairs then sailed back to Australia on an American passenger ship, the Monterey, as WWII had broken out earlier that month and it was deemed safer to travel on an American passenger ship since the USA was not then at war. The Monterey sailed back to Australia with stops at Honolulu, Pago Pago in American Samoa, Suva in Fiji, and Auckland in New Zealand before arriving in Sydney. There are shots from all these ports of call. Footage consists of color film stock with title cards inserted for several new locations.

8212. The corn farmer (corn, hogs, beef cattle) (11:08)

Date:
1939
Main contributors:
Erpi Classroom Films Inc., William M. Gregory
Summary:
Describes the work of a farmer in planting, cultivating, and harvesting his corn crops. Presents problems of crop rotation, haying, hog and cattle raising, and marketing. Contrasts uses of machinery in modern farming with hand methods. Depicts scenes of typical home activities, a trip to town, and a livestock auction.

8214. [Trip to Norway 1938] (04:20)

Date:
1938
Summary:
Black and white scenes of a market in Norway. People selling fish by a harbor, an old woman buys flowers from a cart. Scenes on a city street and views of the sea. Exterior shots of Borgund Stave Church. Ends with footage of cars being hoisted onto a ship.

8215. Boats (10:36)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
Portrays the experiences of a boy and a girl going by boat from Albany, down the Hudson River, to New York City. Along the way, the children see many types of water craft, including a sailboat, a cabin cruiser, a fireboat, a barge, a police boat, and a huge ocean liner. At the captain's invitation, they inspect his wheelhouse and engine room.

8216. Bring the World to the Classroom (19:54)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
ERPI Classroom Films, Inc., Encyclopaedia Britannica Films Inc.
Summary:
Promotes the catalog of ERPI Classroom Films to educators, presenting excerpts from dozens of films with narration extolling their effectiveness (ERPI Classroom Films was the predecessor to Encylopædia Britannica Films, an acronym derived from Electrical Research Products, Inc.). "Designed to show how the sound film can surmount many barriers to human learning by bringing to the classroom concepts otherwise difficult or impossible to present" states narration. Examples of microphotography, animated diagrams, time-lapse and slow motion photography demonstrate the applications of the motion-picture film in the classroom. Travelogue, foreign cultures, training and trades are brought to the classroom. Cites a study finding that classroom films are particularly effective with "low I.Q." students. Includes time-lapse film of the solar eclipse of 1932.

8217. Camping Education (20:14)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
Advocates that camping be made an integral part of the school experience in this title originally produced in 1938. Examines a program for training professional educators in the area of outdoor education through a camping experience. Presents a glimpse of organized camping in this historical period of recreation education.

8218. Dance festival (11:36)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
Soyuz-Kino-Chronica, Tamara Hanoum, Ania Gouliaeva, Charikov, Coudelskaya, Zlobin
Summary:
Presents four styles of folk dances from the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Ukraine. Performed by the USSR delegation to the International Dance Festival in London, England. Dances include "Horoomi", "The Lezguinka", and "Gopak"

8219. Digestion of food (11:17)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
Encyclopaedia Britannica Films Inc., A. J. Carlson, H. S. Swann, The Committee on Medical Motion Pictures of the American College of Surgeons
Summary:
Covers the mechanical and chemical aspects of digestion, together with the controlling factors. Includes mastication, swallowing, stomach contractions, intestinal segmentation, intestinal peristalsis, the production of saliva and action of ptyalin on starch, the production of gastric juice and action of pepsin on albumin, the production of pancreatic juice and action of lipase on fats, and the absorption of digestive products into the blood stream.

8220. Distance races (10:04)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
Erpi Classroom Films, Lawson Robertson, Dean Cromwell, Brutus Hamilton, Harold A. Bruce, Amateur Athletic Union of the United States
Summary:
Includes races from 1,000 to 10,000 meters and steeplechase. Style of distance runner contrasted vividly with that of dash man. Differences in typical physiques. Steeplechase portrays various methods employed by participants in clearing barriers. An instructional sound film.

8222. Jumps and pole vaults (11:16)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, inc., Indiana University Audio-Visual Center
Summary:
Demonstrates in actual competition the running high jump; running broad jump; hop, step, and jump; and pole vault. Champions are pictured in slow motion photography.

8223. Livestock and Mankind (10:58)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
United States. Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Animal Industry
Summary:
An address given by Dr. John R. Mohler, Chief of the USDA Bureau of Animal Industry, provides narration for this film reporting on the work of the Bureau. "Animal husbandry and veterinary science increase the usefulness of domestic animals to mankind. Research, regulatory, and informational work of the United States Department of Agriculture; Cooperation with the States in the eradication of diseases; inspection of herds; laws regulating dairy conditions; livestock improvement; scientific poultry raising" (Motion Pictures of the United States Department of Agriculture, 1945, 35).

8224. Navajo children (11:42)

Date:
1938
Summary:
Shows the experiences of a Navajo boy and girl in moving with their family, household effects, pets, horses, sheep and goats from their winter quarters to their summer home. As they journey by wagon, they sing native songs and the boys hold a marksmanship contest with bows and arrows. At their destination they repair their home, plant crops, care for their sheep and goats, and weave rugs.

8226. The wheat farmer (11:19)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
Erpi Classroom Films Inc., Herbert B. Hartwig
Summary:
A view of life on a typical Kansas wheat farm. Shows how members of an average farm family spend their time, how the land is cared for, and how the winter wheat is planted, harvested, and stored in bins and elevators. Emphasizes the threat of inclement weather on wheat harvests. Includes animated sequences.

8227. The woodwind choir (11:26)

Date:
1938
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
Reveals the appearance, tonal qualities, and functions of various instruments of the woodwind choir--piccolos, flutes, clarinets, oboes, English horns, bassoons, and contrabassoons. Uses close-up photography to illustrate the techniques of playing these woodwinds. Includes excerpts from Brahms' First symphony, Beethoven's Turkish march, and Brahms' Fourth symphony.

8228. Thermodynamics (08:39)

Date:
1938
Summary:
Discusses the chemical reactions that create heat and how we harness heat to generate power.

8229. Velocity of chemical reactions (10:58)

Date:
1938
Summary:
Reveals how the nature, concentration, and temperature of reacting substances affect the velocity of chemical reactions. Through laboratory experiments and animated drawings demonstrates and explains the role of these factors with respect to the velocity of molecules, spheres of influence; and vibrational energy. Through animation explains reversible reactions and the abstract processes of chemical equilibrium.

8231. [Destroyed homes, 1937] (04:39)

Date:
1937
Summary:
Black and white footage of homes and buildings that have been damaged and destroyed, possibly as the result of a tornado. Ends with a man scaling a catfish. Location unknown.

8232. [Skating spring 1937--Wilkinson family] (04:31)

Date:
1937
Summary:
Bernadine Bailey's sister, Joy, and her nephew, Paul Freeman Wilkinson emerge from the Wilkinson family home in Western Springs, Illinois. Paul is wearing roller skates. He roller skates down the sidewalk with an unknown girl as a collie plays alongside them. Bailey joins her sister, nephew, mother (Nellie Voigt Freeman), and an unknown man (possibly her husband, John Hays Bailey) as the group poses in front of the house. Brief shots of Paul Freeman Wilkinson riding a tricycle and a couple (possibly the Wilkinsons) working in the yard.

8233. [Wilkinson family, 1937] (02:26)

Date:
1937
Summary:
Shows a group of people posing for the camera in front of their house, including Nellie Freeman, Bernadine Bailey's mother. The rest of the group is likely Paul R. Wilkinson (the younger man with glasses), his siblings, and parents. Paul F. Wilkinson, Bernadine Bailey's nephew, is playing with a group of other children.

8234. A backward civilization (the Berbers of Northern Africa) (21:00)

Date:
1937
Main contributors:
Erpi Classroom Films Inc., Ellsworth Huntington, Ph.D. Yale University
Summary:
Presents study of economic and social conditions in a society isolated from the rest of the world by almost impenetrable natural barriers. Discloses representative aspects of the daily life of superstitions. Analyze the factors involved in continued existence of backward societies.

8235. Animals in modern life (10:41)

Date:
1937
Summary:
Shows how domesticated animals are used throughout the world for power, clothing, materials, and food. Shows how about 50 of the 500,000 known species of animals have been domesticated. Junior and senior high school level. An instructional sound film.

8236. Body defenses against disease (10:28)

Date:
1937
Summary:
Demonstrates through animated drawings and cinemicrography the three lines of defense against infection--the skin and mucous membranes, the lymphatic system, and the circulatory system including liver and spleen. Explains immunity to certain diseases, and describes how man can improve defenses against infection.

8237. Electrons (10:59)

Date:
1937
Main contributors:
Erpi Classroom Films, inc., Harvey B. Lemon
Summary:
Through animated drawings and photography explains the hypothesis that electricity consists of unit elementary charges. Demonstrates the conduction of electricity through solutions, gases, and vacuum: Faraday's laws; movement of charges in vacuum tubes: operation of photoelectric cells: and reproduction of sound on film. For high school and college groups.

8238. Exploring the universe (10:53)

Date:
1937
Main contributors:
Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, Walter Bartky
Summary:
Illustrates dynamic aspects of stars within our galaxy and of galaxies themselves by use of animated drawings. Includes changes in the Dipper, binary stars, eclipsing variables, trinary stars, motion of stars in the Hyades and Hercules clusters, apparent star motion due to motion of the solar system, galactic rotation, and a portrayal of the theory of the expanding universe. Also describes the principles of refracting and reflecting telescopes.

8239. Future stars (09:05)

Date:
1937
Summary:
Mass exercise, tumbling, acrobatics, horseback riding, soapbox derbies, rowing, swimming and flying miniature airplanes.

8240. Heart and circulation (10:26)

Date:
1937
Main contributors:
Carlson, Anton J. (Anton Julius), 1875-1956., Erpi Picture Consultants, Incorporated
Summary:
Portrays how heart and blood vessels circulate blood throughout the body. Animated drawings depict the nature of the circulatory system and muscular and valvular heart action. Reveals factors affecting the rate of heart beat, flow of blood from a severed artery, and the effect of severing the cervical nerve. Through cinemicrography discloses capillary blood flow. For high school, college, and adult groups.

8241. Parabola (08:45)

Date:
1937
Summary:
Presents a rhythmical development and elaboration of parabolic curves synchronized with the Darius Milhaud ballet suite "La Creation du Monde."

8243. Shelter (11:08)

Date:
1937
Main contributors:
Erpi Classroom Films Inc., Wallace W. Atwood
Summary:
Shows the major concepts in the evolution of shelter, starting with primitive shelter construction from materials close at hand. Traces man's growing ability to change the form of these materials and shows how transportation has increased the variety of his supply. Emphasizes the high specialization of effort in construction of modern kinds of shelters, each designed for a special purpose. An instructional sound film.

8244. The nervous system (09:47)

Date:
1937
Summary:
Shows the structure of the nervous system, together with its pathways and connections; the nature of a nerve impulse; conditions for setting up impulses; their passage from cell to cell; their discharge; and resultant activity, along with reflexes, sensory integration, and finally, activity of the cerebrum.

8245. The romance of Robert Burns (16:12)

Date:
1937
Summary:
Presents a fictionized story woven about episodes in the life of Robert Burns. Includes Burns's trip to Edinburgh to visit wealthy patrons and his ill-treatment at their hands. He recites to them "A Man's a Man for a' That." Returning to his native village, he stops the wedding of his sweetheart to another man.

8246. Alaska's silver millions (30:55)

Date:
1936
Summary:
This informative short film narrated by Father Bernard Hubbard 'The Glacier Priest' shows in detail the large and lucrative salmon fishing industry in Alaska, from the catching of the fish to their canning.

8247. The solar family (11:04)

Date:
1936
Summary:
Presents an introductory study of the planets--their evolution, motions, sizes, and satellites. Shows, through animated drawings, the evolution of the solar system according to planetesimal hypothesis, and traces the real and apparent motions of the planets. Reveals special phenomena pertaining to certain planets, and describes the planetoids, Halley's comet, and the movement of the solar system in space.

8248. With the Yangtze patrol (09:17)

Date:
1936
Summary:
The United States Naval fleet in Chinese waters, showing commerce on the Yangtze River. Bluejackets visiting ashore in interior China.

8249. Safety on the Highway (05:41)

Date:
1935
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
A report on the writing and results of an article in Readers Digest entitled "And Sudden Death."

8250. The grey armada (09:20)

Date:
1935
Summary:
The United States Naval fleet in action. Film captures launching of planes and firing broadsides of big guns.