15401. Middle East (07:10)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
British Ministry of Information
Summary:
Using maps and animated diagrams, the importance of the Middle East in the world strategy of the Allied nations during World War II is shown. Austere images and narration inform the viewer of the strategic issues at stake: control of oil production, the region's role as a wall obstructing supply lines between Japan and Europe, the distance Allied supplies must travel to reach Egypt, Palestine, Iraq and Iran. Narration states "The Middle East stands between our enemies. While we hold it our enemies cannot win, and it will become a vital instrument in their defeat."

15402. 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)

15403. 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.

15404. 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."

15405. 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.

15406. Picturesque Patzcuaro (11:19)

Date:
1942
Summary:
Shows Lake Patzcuaro in Mexico and the life of the Tarascan Indians who live on its shores. Portrays their daily activities, such as fishing, and their market day at Patzcuaro. Then pictures a fiesta day, with scenes from the famous Dance of the Old Men. Ends with further scenes of the calm lake.

15407. Radio dynamics (04:20)

Date:
1942
Summary:
Visualizes Color-keyed moods, recurrent themes, contrapuntal melodies, and various rhythmic patterns through the animation of Oskar Fischinger. Presents an interplay of shapes, Colors, and movement in GasparColor.

15408. 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.

15409. Reaming with straight hand reamers (20:25)

Date:
1942
Summary:
Shows types of reamers; how to check the size of reamers; and how to ream straight holes with straight-fluted helical-fluted, and adjustable-blade reamers.

15410. Report from Russia (08:10)

Date:
1942
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.

15411. 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.

15412. Roads south (18:19)

Date:
1942
Summary:
The seventh in a series of a film about the Americas, this film shows the water, rail, motor, and air transportation routes of Latin America, tracing their development from early Spanish exploration to the 1940's.

15414. Rules of the Nautical Road: The Halifax Incident (26:04)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States Navy, Bureau of Aeronautics, Walt Disney Productions, University of Washington Naval R.O.T.C. : technical direction
Summary:
Part of a series of martime navigation instructional films titled Rules of the Nautical Road. Animation produced by Walt Disney studios.

15415. Salvage (07:15)

Date:
1942
Summary:
A message from Donald M. Nelson, chairman of the War Production Board, urging Americans to save metals, rubber, and greases for the World War II effort.

15416. 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.

15417. Scraping flat surfaces (13:54)

Date:
1942
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.

15418. South Chile (20:44)

Date:
1942
Summary:
This travel film shows the country, scenery, agriculture and people of Patagonia.

15419. 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)

15421. Testing the I.Q. (16:18)

Date:
1942
Summary:
Demonstrates the administration of the revised Stanford-Binet intelligence test and the calculation of the I.Q. Gives a brief explanation of principles, and shows the administration of form L to a 5-year old child. Close-ups show the actual use of the testing material. Explains scoring standards and calculation of the I.Q.

15422. Thanks for the boogie ride (03:07)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Minoco Productions, Inc., Gene Krupa and His Orchestra, Walter O. Gutlohn, Inc.
Summary:
Gene Krupa and His Orchestra perform "Thanks for the Boogie Ride."

15423. The Airplane Changes Our World Map (10:48)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
ERPI Classroom Films, Inc., Encyclopaedia Britannica
Summary:
Traces the history of mapmaking and representation of the globe on two-dimensional surfaces. Considers early problems of distortion in map projection, and reviews the projections of Mercator, Mollweide, and Goode. Uses animation to emphasize the concept of present-day map-making as influenced by the development of modern air transportation and the subsequent shrinkage in time-distance values. Narrator states "the airplane forces us to think of world travel and transportation in terms of great circle routes." These routes run independently of land and water and mark the shortest distance between points on the surface of the earth. The film shows that advances in human culture and technology transform our mapmaking and conception of space and distance.

15424. The development of communication (10:54)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Erpi Classroom Films Inc.
Summary:
Traces the development of modern methods of communication, including the telegraph, telephone, wireless, and radio. Depicts Morse developing the telegraph by combining the earlier inventions of Volta, Watson, and Henry. Recalls Bell's work on the telephone, and shows Marconi discovering the possibilities of the wireless and DeForest, those of radio. Portrays modern communications instantaneously connecting the remotest parts of the world.

15425. The eyes and their care (11:05)

Date:
1942
Summary:
Examines the eye in terms of structure, functions, disorders, and hygiene. Reveals, with animated drawings, the various parts of the eye and explains the physiology of sight. Illustrates such eye defects as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, and describes their correction with proper glasses. Calls attention to eye infections, the removal of foreign bodies, and damage by radiation.

15426. The Farmer's Wife (09:51)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Department of Agriculture, Wilding Picture Productions, Inc. : produced by
Summary:
"A documentary tribute to the farm women of America and an explanation of their part in winning the war. Exemplified by 'Mom,' the farm woman is shown to be a potent force in lining up the farm family behind the agricultural war production program. It is "Mom" who helps the child out of difficulty. She looks after the chickens, the pigs, the young calf. If she's not in the garden or in the orchard, she is in the kitchen canning vegetables, picking a chicken, cooking, so that all will have enough and the right kind of food to eat. Everything and everybody on the farm depends on 'Mom.' She lends cheer and encouragement when morale is low. She is the moving spirit in community affairs. The things she does every day on the farm are war work. The attitude of farm women in general is summed up in 'Mom's' closing speech, 'If our farm can help—I guess it's little enough. It's kind of up to you and me to see it through' " (Motion Pictures of the United States Department of Agriculture, 1945, 22).

15427. The Great Lakes (21:34)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
National Film Board of Canada, Crawley Films Limited
Summary:
A Canadian film production addressed to U.S. audiences, showing the industrial and commercial cooperation between the two nations as it occurs throughout the Great Lakes. "The Great Lakes are shown as a great industrial region with an immense amount of diversified cargo flowing along the shipping routes that lie between Canada and the United States. It is the shipping theme that links together short sequences on the industrial life of the Great Lakes: steel production, pulp manufacture, ship-building, grain storage, and the workings of the huge locks of one of the most vital canal systems in the world" (National Film Board of Canada catalog record http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=17015)

15428. 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.

15429. The middle states (10:57)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Erpi Classroom Films, Inc., Howard W. Odum
Summary:
Presents an overview of man's use of resources in the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Domestic and European migration and population trends of the region are indicated by animated drawings. Agricultural and industrial projects in each section are portrayed and relationships are noted with particular reference to other regions of America. An instructional sound film.

15430. The price of freedom (14:52)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Keech, Kelvin, 1895-1977
Summary:
This film "outlines the role that industry is playing in our war effort. Production of munitions and the operation of the payroll withdrawal plan for War Bonds are among the subjects treated." (Free Film Reviews, Movie Makers, January, 1943, 34.) Includes footage from a number of International Harvester factories and how the company's workers save money from their paycheck to help the war effort through a company-wide payroll savings plan.

15431. The price of victory (14:20)

Date:
1942
Summary:
Vice-President Henry A. Wallace narrates a patriotic, propaganda short designed to boost morale in the the early days of World War II. This film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1943.

15432. The southwestern states (11:01)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
Shows life in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona, and the topography, rainfall, and other characteristic features, including the imprint of Spanish and Indian cultures. Irrigation, stock raising, mining, agriculture, and oil extracting and refining are among the occupational activities shown. The exchange of goods and services with other sections of the country is depicted by animation.

15433. The Soviet School Child (24:07)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
British Ministry of Information, Soviet War News Film Agency, Central News Reel Studios, Moscow
Summary:
A Soviet-British co-production reporting to the Allied nations on the lives of children in the Soviet Union, providing "a glimpse of the Soviet child from infancy to high school." Portrays an idyllic and well organized system for educating and caring for the 35 million Soviet children of the day. The scholastic, athletic, and creative accomplishments of Soviet youth are shown.

15434. The Trimbles of Maple Street (15:10)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Dick, Sheldon
Summary:
Dramatizes the conservation of war materials by residents of a typical town. Explains how the war effort is helped by sharing rides and collecting tin cans and other salvage. Explains the organization of civilian defense units and shows a neighborhood meeting.

15435. 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.

15436. 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..."

15438. 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.

15439. 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.

15440. 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.

15441. US '42 Alumni Day (16:27)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Edward R. Feil, Mary Feil Hellerstein, George Feil
Summary:
University School Alumni Day

15443. View of the Soviet World (12:45)

Date:
1942
Summary:
Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and reporter, interviewed before leaving Moscow, briefly tells of the civilian defense work he witnessed. Scenes showing how the Russians are carrying out their pledge of "All for Victory!" including efforts in huge metallurgical plants, the oil industry, the rapid harvest, nurses drilling, and Red Cross work.

15444. View of the Soviet world. (11:59)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Caldwell, Erskine, 1903-1987
Summary:
Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and reporter, interviewed before leaving Moscow, briefly tells of the civilian defense work he witnessed. Scenes showing how the Russians are carrying out their pledge of "All for Victory!" including efforts in huge metallurgical plants, the oil industry, the rapid harvest, nurses drilling, and Red Cross work.

15445. Washington in war time (09:46)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Castle, Eugene W.
Summary:
A review of life in our nation's capital operating under the stress of war. Reports on the sudden increase in the city's population during wartime. Shows President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull receiving visiting dignitaries, including Winston Churchill and Vyacheslav Molotov. Brief appearances and addresses by the following: Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr., War Production Board Chairman Donald M. Nelson, War Conservation Board Chairman Paul V. McNutt, General George C. Marshall, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox , Admiral Ernest Joseph King, Commissioner of Education Dr. J.W. Studebaker, California Congressman Thomas Rolph, and General James Doolittle. Concludes with an address by President Roosevelt to the 28 Allied nations.

15446. Western front (20:22)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Wilding Picture Productions
Summary:
Begins with a short summary of American attitudes to the War in Europe and how the U.S. underestimated the militaristic tendencies of the Japanese. Argues that the Chinese have been fighting World War II longer than any other allied nation and should be considered one of America's chief allies. Describes America's effort to supply allied nations in the Pacific with war materials. The desperate need of the Chinese people is stressed. Scenes include the carrying of supplies over the Burma Road and the bombing of Chinese cities.

15447. Winning your wings (18:32)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Stewart, James, 1908-1997
Summary:
Starring Lt. James Stewart, this WWII recruitment film shows jobs, training and education provided to men between the ages of 18 and 26 who enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

15448. Wooden face of Totonicapan (09:50)

Date:
1942
Summary:
Shows a workman producing one of the wooden masks used in religious festivals in Guatemala. Then pictures a religious procession at Solosa, with its effigies of Christ, and a special worship service at the church.

15449. World of plenty (44:42)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Rotha, Paul, 1907-1984.
Summary:
Uses found footage and animated diagrams to discuss the production, distribution, and consumption of food; the pre-war problems of overproduction and the anomaly of glutted markets and hungry people; the control exercised over production and distribution during World War II, with special attention to the food supply in Britain and America; and to offer a picture of what might be done in the post-war period.

15450. Yale Winter 1942 (04:56)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Edward R. Feil
Summary:
Home movie shot by Ed Feil during his time as a student at Yale. Primarily shows 2 football games from Fall 1942: Yale vs. Dartmouth and Yale vs. Brown. Also shows the Yale campus with focus on Nathan Hale's statue and former residence. Ends with footage of Ed shoveling snow.