aura.com/cinemacities The Dirty 30s ⭐ Further Reading, Sources and Movies Street Scene - th-cam.com/video/GifTacP8TqM/w-d-xo.html Virtue - th-cam.com/video/Wa-fZKszdzc/w-d-xo.html also available free to stream on TUBI tubitv.com/movies/100005735/virtue Safe In Hell watch here: (decent quality) ok.ru/video/1742457146036 buy here on DVD or Blu-Ray amzn.to/3VABPKd Faithless ok.ru/video/309172636323 Wild Boys of the Road is available to stream for free on TUBI: tubitv.com/movies/100012700/wild-boys-of-the-road I Am A Fugitive from a Chain Gang is available free to stream on TUBI tubitv.com/movies/100012217/i-am-a-fugitive-from-a-chain-gang Hells Highway th-cam.com/video/elnY5XoV8Pk/w-d-xo.html ⭐ Documentaries ABC News Doc series This Century : Boom to Bust 1920-1929 th-cam.com/video/RN7ftyZigYs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dERfaudfKjjtiKJE Stormy Weather 1929-1936 th-cam.com/video/zSfzFWU5LbY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=AX2QDz2j10RRowyz Riding the Rails: th-cam.com/video/WKHDW7SexlM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=M-LFiPmDjEvTW4dq Stories from The Great Depression th-cam.com/video/TpfY8kh5lUw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dATH_gBK-1ac2wwT American Experience - March of the Bonus Army th-cam.com/video/mSC1lbfXfRQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=O0Es1_t63SFYxadB Bonus Army Routed th-cam.com/video/oNBHTM7hYCY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=AWzDVc1nljyNZLip ⭐ Selected Sources Smedley Butler's Full Bonus March Speech July, 1932 th-cam.com/video/Q_vJH2nrMl8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=GbiJL2V8SYyUFpBU Bernice's Story www.loc.gov/resource/wpalh2.21011104/?sp=1&st=text Statistics www.fdrlibrary.org/great-depression-facts#:~:text=throughout the 1920s.-,At the height of the Depression in 1933%2C 24.9%25 of,economic disaster in American history Richard Brody's New Yorker Review of Street Scene www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/street-scene ⭐Newspaper Clippings Caspar Prison Riot www.newspapers.com/article/casper-star-tribune-prison-riot-casper/149569907/ Auburn Prison Riot www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin-prison-riot/149569702/ Ohio Prison Fire www.newspapers.com/article/telegraph-forum/149749714/ If you love classic films and smart, entertaining deep dive stories about classic Hollywood subscribe to the free cinema cities newsletter 📰screenspectator.substack.com?sd=pf If you're loving these videos consider supporting the channel at: ☕www.buymeacoffee.com/cinemacities ⭐ patreon.com/CinemaCities Members get lots of great extras!
Thanks very much indeed! I only knew of _Chain Gang_ until now. It seems likely that these critical social realist films would be discreetly suppressed by our so-called elites.
@@numbersix8919 Many regard it as one of the most powerful protest movies ever...even 90 years later. Also notice the M.O. of the escape attempts that, "Cool Hand Luke" copied.
Pre-code movies taught us that today's troubles, abortion, drugs, alcohol and homelessness were always with us. There really is nothing new under the sun.
So many today don't realise how bad it was in the 1930's. My Father left school at 14 & took over his older brother's paper route where he had to cycle 20 miles a day. At 16 he left home to work in a hotel kitchen 60 miles away: he cried himself to sleep for 2 months as he missed home & his mother so much. Another older brother of his had emigrated to Western Australia to work on a farm. His right arm was injured in an accident & when the depression hit he was let go. He got a job in a pub as he could serve beer with his left ( good) hand. Meanwhile he had to beg the family for money to pay for his return to England and medical treatment he needed. My Father said that before WW2 you never left a job however bad it was unless you had another to go to: destitution was always waiting for the unemployed. Thanks for the video & the insights 👍
I was 13 in 1983. I got a newspaper route (Newsday and Daily News) straddling Queens & Long Island. Many of my customers were survivors of the Great Depression and WW2 vets. I always loved listening to elders, and boy those customers told me stories that made my hair stand on end. Those stories affected and shaped my life.
Both my parents were born in 1920. My mom lived in a garage with her mom & brother, after her dad left. My dad left the farm and lived in a boxcar, traveling from bridge to bridge painting them for the railroad and sending money home. Oddly, they never called me privileged or lorded it over me, what they went through. They were so grateful for everything, it rubbed off on me. I consider it a great gift.
My dad was born during the depression years. His parents were born in the 19th century. Had to be strong and work hard to make it in those times. Nowadays it's just insane because people don't have the real faith like back in the day
This period, post silent and pre-code films, is my favorite. So many great films, with wonderful actors and actresses, directors and writers and producers, were made during these years. Thank you for focusing on this very special era for film production.
I always look forward to a new post on your channel. I have a master's degree in film studies and I can tell you with assurance that the quality of your content is on a level that could be used as college-level teaching material. Personally I think your channel is the best of its kind on TH-cam.
The greatest era in movies, as densely packed as a neutron star with classics and lesser-known gems. I watched these titles going by as you discussed them and sighed with happy recognition like I was seeing a bunch of old friends. "Safe in Hell" was once virtually unknown but in recent years has seen a great rise in its reputation. I'm glad you included Wild Boys of the Road, a really seminal Depression film about a part of American history not so much talked about. That lad in the newsreel traveling the rails was from my hometown where I still live and I've read old local newspaper accounts of teens hitting the road to find some hope and meaning and to relieve their parents of the burden of feeding another mouth. Heartbreaking. I might have included Three-Cornered Moon (1933) an early screwball comedy but with darker elements of a family's hardships during the era. You crammed a lot into this. Great work.
"I Am A Fugitive from a Chain Gang" is actually a forerunner of more modern movies. According to one article I read, it's one of the first Hollywood sound movies to have a "hyper-present protagonist," a main character/audience surrogate who is in basically every scene of the movie. Now that's so common it's barely even a trope, but that movie was one of the first with lots of amazing POV shots. There's a scene where Paul Muni is in a diner & he's staring hungrily at a hamburger on the grill, but the guy he's with starts robbing the diner & we all see it from his own POV. It was very modern for 1933.
My parents came to the US in 1933, unable to speak English. Together with their family and friends somehow managed to scrape along thru these hard years and then send their children to fight in WW2. Will we ever be as tough as they when the chips are down? Thank you for this wonderful video.
@@boristheamerican2938you’re comparing THAT to the Great Depression? My family’s story is a lot like this one. If you don’t have relatives who can tell you about those times it’s understandable. They’re dying out fast. But perhaps you should read up on it for a more insightful comparison. 🇺🇸
@@boristheamerican2938 Hard to compare the 2 Financial crises. But a better comparison might be what happens when there is a major disaster. Though the Depression lasted years, one can take what happens during a hurricane, or earthquake, where people really come together to help others, even though they may have been in need , themselves.
@@jeffking4176 One thing that mitigated the 2008 financial crisis were the laws that were passed during the depression to help prevent a recurrence. Dems did that! Protect the people and businesses will survive.
General Smedley Butler was a true patriot, not only to his country, but to those who served under him... how great to see this truth-telling firebrand toward the end of this video.
Major General Smedley Butler, USMC, 2x MoH recipient, a veteran who infiltrated and exposed corporate-capitalist discussions and planning for a coup d'état against FDR in 1934-5. When he was posted to a debarkation camp in France during WW1, he made the place livable and decent for the deploying troops where before no one cared. Recklessly brave and committed to principle.
Greatest era of US movies. The brilliant upbeat depression movies were the 1st 3 Warners Busby musicals. Footlight Parade would be my all time fave. To think the pre-code era will be 100 years old before long
Wild Boys on the Road hits surprisingly hard for its time. It's about kids in the Depression who are so poor that they have to ride the rails like hobos and live by their wits. It's closer to foreign movies like Los Olvidados or Pixote in depicting youth in poverty with no adult supervision than Hollywood movies.
I was on my own at 15, not by choice! There were no services for homeless kids in the 70s, only foster care. The kids I met that ran from foster care had the worst horror stories. We all had them, but the foster kids...what a nightmare. I didn't want to be a prostitute so I became a thief. Those were the only options...thank God I found my footing at 17, with a job and a room all my own. Currently writing a book...
@@miapdx503 Congratulations. Though I always had a home, I met many during those times that suffered both in “Foster Care”, or at home where they were regularly beaten, etc. Glad you survived.
@@miapdx503I'm happy for you going through so much and landing on your feet. I hope you do finish writing your book, I would love to read it, but maybe it won't happen. ❤
Wonderful essay on one of the most exciting periods of the art form. And thank you for highlighting the work of Vidor and Wellman, masters of the craft and important American artists who still don’t get their deserved recognition. Thanks again.
It is interesting how the "American Myth" really informed the media of the Depression. Before then, everyone was on their own, but as soon as there was enough civil unrest and misery, the message became "we're all Americans. We'll get through this together." That's generally the approach. When times are bad, we're all in this together. When times are good, everyone is out for themselves. That line about the Mayflower is a good example in the later film. The Mayflower came over with a bunch of religious fanatics who were not suited or ready for life in the wilderness. Accordingly, they started to die in droves until they happened to come across Squanto, a native American that could speak English (likely because he was abducted and forced to work in the English merchant marine) and had no family left (likely due to diseases brought by Europeans). He was able to show them what they needed and negotiate with other tribes for food and goods. But even back as far as the 1930's, we had this mythic idea of the Pilgrims as resourceful, capable and pioneering people that begin the whole American myth. Now, even the Depression is part of that myth seen as a moment when the country pulled together, but the reality was far different. The country almost fell apart.
You just took a college course, didn’t you? Myths? You clearly have no understanding of reality. It sound like you’re parroting something you’ve never experienced. No offense
I'm no film historian, but I do know television production and what you deliver with these videos is well researched, cleverly scripted with well chosen video and audio material... and most of all it's non-formulaic content. The standard you've set for yourself is pretty high, but I believe is is very much appreciated. TCM and PBS should come knocking, but then that might restrict what you have achieved with this channel.
I was lucky enough to catch "Safe in Hell" on Criterion Collection. It is gritty and mostly unsentimental. Dorthy Mackaill is amazing in it. She plays tough and vulnerable so well. I don't think I've seen her in anything else, but I really loved her in this movie.
Found my way to your channel and all I can say is well done! Great research, wonderful narration, informative, and introduced me to some movies that I’m not familiar with. Subscribed and will binge more. Thank you for a thoughtful video on the cinema of the 30’s that didn’t rehash the same old movies.
The force that ruthlessly routed the bonus army was commanded by Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur and included five tanks commanded by Major George S. Patton. Hoover twice ordered MacArthur to stop the attack but those orders were ignored.
Fascinating, excellent video. History lesson based on truth is rare. Love the old classics, but precode 1930s are gems. Hubby and I will enjoy watching these treasures. Thanks!
And this was America! Can we imagine how much worse it was in Europe and how people fell for the vile and false promises of Hitler and Mussolini. It was the poor on both sides who fought the war that the comfortable people in charge caused.
I love this channel! Along with film noir, the precode era is another favorite of mine. The snappy dialogue keeps them always fresh and the characters realistic. Despite the sometimes stilted camera, they “move”. I’ve seen a few of these films, so it looks like it’s time to put a few hours aside to watch the ones I haven’t seen.
You never know when an emergency might arise during which you might have to abandon your home, jic, you know to be safe and save yourself from embarrassment, PUT YOUR BREECHES ON.
My Grandfather was one of those “Hobos” From Cleveland Ohio, he west, looking for work. One year later he met his younger brother at Hollywood and Vine. They tried for at least a year to break into Hollywood movie business as carpenters, electricians or whatever (Both had high school degrees.) Unfortunately he didn’t know anyone in Los Angeles, and the never made it in. They ended back into Cleveland.
Thank you for such an insightful essay. I've watched most of the films referenced but still can't even imagine what it was like trying to get by during those times. A bit off topic, but what I find fascinating is the post-code high society pictures that seemed to reign in the late 30's (often starring Roberts Young and Montgomery). I'm not quite sure I grasp the appeal of those films to general audiences given what I would assume would be a general feeling of resentment towards the moneyed/idle class. A mystery to be sure. I appreciate the links provided... they should keep me busy for a while.
My wife got a tape stuck in her car. Buddy, Can Spare a Dime? Was on it and my kids would sing it with her as loud as the could. I lost my wife but that song brings back fond memories.
My dad was born in 1927. Every day while I lived at home, we had a piece of fried meat, and fried or boiled potatoes. Other stuff in season, but always that. It was good, mom was a good cook, but 5 days a week that was it. I asked about that one time. He said “I’m just tickled to have good food in front of me. It wasn’t always this good, or this much.” Ouch!
My mother was born in 1922. As a child of the depression, the poverty forever altered her mind. She suffered from hallucinations and psychosis her entire life. She told me her only escape (from the depression) was the movie theater. She fantasized being the one rescued by the wealthy, handsome man an on the screen. She spent her life in and out of mental hospitals.
Great video. This also reminds me of the great movie palaces of that era. If you get a chance, go see the art deco Paramount theater in Oakland, California. It’s gorgeous and the women’s bathroom consists of three rooms joined together: a lounge area, a powder room filled with vanity desks and mirrors to fix your make up and then the rest rooms. ❤
You've done it again and I'm not surprised -- a powerful, thought-provoking presentation. Both of my parents lived their youth and young adult years through this time. It makes me ashamed (in a constructive way) when I catch a glimpse of my performance in the literal and figurative mirror as Emilie, the world's smallest package -- all wrapped up in myself.
As both a movie and history lover, I would like to say I thoroughly enjoyed your insightful and thoughtful glimpse into this topic. I am definitely going to check out some more of your work.
Thank you so much for posting this. For years, “Our Daily Bread” was not shown on TV because some people felt that it had communist overtones. (imagine people forming a collective to help others.). But it is a lovely film about kindness and self sacrifice.
great sequence of Smedley Butler, retired general who wrote the book War is a racket. the veterans protest was dismantled (one would say charged) by none other tha the "great" MacArthur himself
This should be shown in high school. It's a much neglected part of our history. I've seen young adults comments on line and in interviews. It's amazing how much they don't know about our more recent history including WWII. How sad and dangerous. I was born after the Great Depression, but it always interested me and leaned much from my family who survived it.
Actually, we were shown I Was a Fugitive From a Chain Gang in high school in the 1960s, a rare occurrence in my small Southern town. And we discussed it afterward in class. It was a valuable teaching tool at a time when so many around us had lived through the Great Depression.
I'm Gen X, raised during the 80s. My grandparents grew up during the Depression & WWII. They were also Mexican, and were discriminated against nastily (this being rural Texas). They had some stories!
My grandfather went into business buying and selling gold during the depression. He went door to door asking people if they had gold earrings or anything with gold in it. He did quite well back then. I think he also sold bibles for extra money. It sure was a terrible time for the country and the world.
Momma was 8 yrs old when the crash happened. Her daddy died when she was five. Raised by a single mother (a tough old bird as they used to say) with her two sisters. Grandma kept a shotgun and a pistol always handy even after she married for the second time. The family rode freight cars to where the work was and when the work dried up, they would move again. I asked her once what it was really like and she said "You do what you have to do to survive. That's all".
Well done! It always seemed strange to me that during the depression, Hollywood was pumping out movies showing rich people having fun. Now I know from your video that Hollywood did take up the cause of those who were suffering. Thanks.
Excellent. Thoughtful, and a very good introduction to the trauma of The Great Depression. These movies, and the historic times from which they originated, are essential background to every subsequent period of US history. Also, please, note, during every period of economic uncertainty, 'the oldest profession' has most often been the only recourse of women. If they were born into the so-called 'higher classes' women were often sold (although there was a superficial gloss of a church marriage) to serve as payment for a grandfather/father/brother/uncle/cousin's debt. I grew up watching 1930s movies on TV in Los Angeles in the 60s. This took me back. Thank you.
Good choices. Also, Dead End. Would also appreciate a look at Hollywood's look at political films most notably Gabriel Over the White House, and Destination Moscow two rarely seen films that were off the wall.
when i was a kid, the local Fox channel used to show these movies at night. i always went to sleep all depressed (no pun intended). but i couldn't look away either. loved the essay, even though it gave me resurgent ptsd... he he!
In case there are some who are unfamiliar with Smedley Butler, who appears at 23:35 U.S. Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler who was, at the time of his death, at that point, the most decorated marine in history. "I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street." A man of integrity, who honestly acknowledged his misguided mistakes, owned up to them; and then spent the rest of his life trying to correct those errors, by challenging the crooked politicians & corporate-interests, who sent him to do their bidding.
I think you were the one that introduced me to King vedor movies. I saw the one were they start a co-op. Where do you live what state? Thank you for your hard investigative work. My parents grew up during the depression.
I always love your videos, but this might be my favorite. Of the films mentioned, I think I've only seen, The Crowd, Street Scene and Chain Gang, but I'd love to dive further into this era of film. If I were you I'd consider expanding this into something full length. But what do I know, I'm just a two-bit taxi dancer from the wrong side of the tracks. Can't you see, I'm trash! A floozey! Just an endless string of men with their hands all over me. Tangos, waltzes, j-j-jitterbugs! No clean man's gonna want me, I'm just good for dancing. I belong in an ashcan!
Excellent video. Eerily prescient. I llive in San Diego, and the feeling in the air for many of us is can be summed up in one word- precarium. We’re all one accident, illness, or job layoff away from utter economic despair. It’s sad, but true. California has become a medieval state of the extremely affluent, the threadbare working poor, and the drug addled destitute. It’s a fucking disgrace.
Most economists agree today that Roosevelt's "New Deal" heavy borrowing from banks, tied up capital that industry needed to bring back workers or to expand. Industry couldn't compete with the interest rates the FDR admin was willing to pay for capital to fund its numerous three letter government projects.
Your well done video and the comments almost say it all. Ironic how the military unconsciously can beat its own at the word from the politicians. Thank you for your work.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, Hollywood has always given us films which make us wish we lived then as life appeared better, but I know it wasn't but as a child I did, I grew up on old black and whites and the coloured musicals ,the old films are the best black and white, the Hollywood films are ok for escapism but I really enjoy these you are portraying with stories reflecting the sign of the times unfortunately you didn't see many around obviously they weren't as popular but I suppose under the current climate of the times people did feel the need to escape.
aura.com/cinemacities
The Dirty 30s
⭐ Further Reading, Sources and Movies
Street Scene - th-cam.com/video/GifTacP8TqM/w-d-xo.html
Virtue - th-cam.com/video/Wa-fZKszdzc/w-d-xo.html
also available free to stream on TUBI tubitv.com/movies/100005735/virtue
Safe In Hell watch here: (decent quality) ok.ru/video/1742457146036
buy here on DVD or Blu-Ray amzn.to/3VABPKd
Faithless ok.ru/video/309172636323
Wild Boys of the Road is available to stream for free on TUBI: tubitv.com/movies/100012700/wild-boys-of-the-road
I Am A Fugitive from a Chain Gang is available free to stream on TUBI tubitv.com/movies/100012217/i-am-a-fugitive-from-a-chain-gang
Hells Highway th-cam.com/video/elnY5XoV8Pk/w-d-xo.html
⭐ Documentaries
ABC News Doc series This Century :
Boom to Bust 1920-1929 th-cam.com/video/RN7ftyZigYs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dERfaudfKjjtiKJE
Stormy Weather 1929-1936 th-cam.com/video/zSfzFWU5LbY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=AX2QDz2j10RRowyz
Riding the Rails: th-cam.com/video/WKHDW7SexlM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=M-LFiPmDjEvTW4dq
Stories from The Great Depression
th-cam.com/video/TpfY8kh5lUw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dATH_gBK-1ac2wwT
American Experience - March of the Bonus Army
th-cam.com/video/mSC1lbfXfRQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=O0Es1_t63SFYxadB
Bonus Army Routed
th-cam.com/video/oNBHTM7hYCY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=AWzDVc1nljyNZLip
⭐ Selected Sources
Smedley Butler's Full Bonus March Speech July, 1932
th-cam.com/video/Q_vJH2nrMl8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=GbiJL2V8SYyUFpBU
Bernice's Story
www.loc.gov/resource/wpalh2.21011104/?sp=1&st=text
Statistics
www.fdrlibrary.org/great-depression-facts#:~:text=throughout the 1920s.-,At the height of the Depression in 1933%2C 24.9%25 of,economic disaster in American history
Richard Brody's New Yorker Review of Street Scene
www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/street-scene
⭐Newspaper Clippings
Caspar Prison Riot
www.newspapers.com/article/casper-star-tribune-prison-riot-casper/149569907/
Auburn Prison Riot
www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin-prison-riot/149569702/
Ohio Prison Fire
www.newspapers.com/article/telegraph-forum/149749714/
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Thank you so much! My absolute favorite film era!
@@MothGirl007 you're welcome! I knew you'd enjoy this one!
Thanks very much indeed! I only knew of _Chain Gang_ until now.
It seems likely that these critical social realist films would be discreetly suppressed by our so-called elites.
@@numbersix8919 Many regard it as one of the most powerful protest movies ever...even 90 years later. Also notice the M.O. of the escape attempts that, "Cool Hand Luke" copied.
@@diego-search Yeah, that's something I hadn't considered. Good ol' Luke...
Pre-code movies taught us that today's troubles, abortion, drugs, alcohol and homelessness were always with us. There really is nothing new under the sun.
Yup, just repackaged to match whatever time frame it is in.
You nailed it.
Exactly. Post code media and advertisements was all fantasy.
So true.
So many today don't realise how bad it was in the 1930's.
My Father left school at 14 & took over his older brother's paper route where he had to cycle 20 miles a day. At 16 he left home to work in a hotel kitchen 60 miles away: he cried himself to sleep for 2 months as he missed home & his mother so much.
Another older brother of his had emigrated to Western Australia to work on a farm. His right arm was injured in an accident & when the depression hit he was let go. He got a job in a pub as he could serve beer with his left ( good) hand. Meanwhile he had to beg the family for money to pay for his return to England and medical treatment he needed.
My Father said that before WW2 you never left a job however bad it was unless you had another to go to: destitution was always waiting for the unemployed.
Thanks for the video & the insights 👍
I was 13 in 1983. I got a newspaper route (Newsday and Daily News) straddling Queens & Long Island. Many of my customers were survivors of the Great Depression and WW2 vets. I always loved listening to elders, and boy those customers told me stories that made my hair stand on end. Those stories affected and shaped my life.
We had one elderly family member who liked to say that "he never missed a meal during the Great Depression...but he sure did postpone quite a few."
Both my parents were born in 1920. My mom lived in a garage with her mom & brother, after her dad left. My dad left the farm and lived in a boxcar, traveling from bridge to bridge painting them for the railroad and sending money home. Oddly, they never called me privileged or lorded it over me, what they went through. They were so grateful for everything, it rubbed off on me. I consider it a great gift.
My grandpa was a child of the depression born 1929 his favorite thing to do was listen to the Lone Ranger on the radio after doing the farm chores.
My dad was born during the depression years. His parents were born in the 19th century. Had to be strong and work hard to make it in those times. Nowadays it's just insane because people don't have the real faith like back in the day
This period, post silent and pre-code films, is my favorite. So many great films, with wonderful actors and actresses, directors and writers and producers, were made during these years. Thank you for focusing on this very special era for film production.
I always look forward to a new post on your channel. I have a master's degree in film studies and I can tell you with assurance that the quality of your content is on a level that could be used as college-level teaching material. Personally I think your channel is the best of its kind on TH-cam.
The greatest era in movies, as densely packed as a neutron star with classics and lesser-known gems. I watched these titles going by as you discussed them and sighed with happy recognition like I was seeing a bunch of old friends. "Safe in Hell" was once virtually unknown but in recent years has seen a great rise in its reputation. I'm glad you included Wild Boys of the Road, a really seminal Depression film about a part of American history not so much talked about. That lad in the newsreel traveling the rails was from my hometown where I still live and I've read old local newspaper accounts of teens hitting the road to find some hope and meaning and to relieve their parents of the burden of feeding another mouth. Heartbreaking. I might have included Three-Cornered Moon (1933) an early screwball comedy but with darker elements of a family's hardships during the era. You crammed a lot into this. Great work.
ahhh Three Cornered Moon. . . I could actually do a part two bc there were so many films on my initial list that I didn't use.
"I Am A Fugitive from a Chain Gang" is actually a forerunner of more modern movies. According to one article I read, it's one of the first Hollywood sound movies to have a "hyper-present protagonist," a main character/audience surrogate who is in basically every scene of the movie. Now that's so common it's barely even a trope, but that movie was one of the first with lots of amazing POV shots. There's a scene where Paul Muni is in a diner & he's staring hungrily at a hamburger on the grill, but the guy he's with starts robbing the diner & we all see it from his own POV. It was very modern for 1933.
It's one of my favorite movies. The story and the message never get old.
The ending is so iconic, too.
@@MothGirl007”I Steal!”
Yes! That forever stays with you!@@marymitchell6257
My parents came to the US in 1933, unable to speak English. Together with their family and friends somehow managed to scrape along thru these hard years and then send their children to fight in WW2. Will we ever be as tough as they when the chips are down? Thank you for this wonderful video.
We were during 2009-2012 during the republican banking crisis.
@@boristheamerican2938you’re comparing THAT to the Great Depression? My family’s story is a lot like this one. If you don’t have relatives who can tell you about those times it’s understandable. They’re dying out fast. But perhaps you should read up on it for a more insightful comparison. 🇺🇸
@@MidMo4020 Yes the republican caused financial crisis of 2008 is the closest we have come since the dark days of Hoover.
@@boristheamerican2938
Hard to compare the 2 Financial crises. But a better comparison might be what happens when there is a major disaster. Though the Depression lasted years, one can take what happens during a hurricane, or earthquake, where people really come together to help others, even though they may have been in need , themselves.
@@jeffking4176 One thing that mitigated the 2008 financial crisis were the laws that were passed during the depression to help prevent a recurrence. Dems did that! Protect the people and businesses will survive.
General Smedley Butler was a true patriot, not only to his country, but to those who served under him... how great to see this truth-telling firebrand toward the end of this video.
Major General Smedley Butler, USMC, 2x MoH recipient, a veteran who infiltrated and exposed corporate-capitalist discussions and planning for a coup d'état against FDR in 1934-5. When he was posted to a debarkation camp in France during WW1, he made the place livable and decent for the deploying troops where before no one cared. Recklessly brave and committed to principle.
23:50 ... Smedley Butler marine corps general, author of, "War is a Racket." a must read. your videos are SOOOOOOO great!
Another excellent video. I'm 79 and you continue to expose me to great films that I was not aware of . Thanks.
Greatest era of US movies. The brilliant upbeat depression movies were the 1st 3 Warners Busby musicals. Footlight Parade would be my all time fave. To think the pre-code era will be 100 years old before long
Wild Boys on the Road hits surprisingly hard for its time. It's about kids in the Depression who are so poor that they have to ride the rails like hobos and live by their wits. It's closer to foreign movies like Los Olvidados or Pixote in depicting youth in poverty with no adult supervision than Hollywood movies.
I was on my own at 15, not by choice! There were no services for homeless kids in the 70s, only foster care. The kids I met that ran from foster care had the worst horror stories. We all had them, but the foster kids...what a nightmare. I didn't want to be a prostitute so I became a thief. Those were the only options...thank God I found my footing at 17, with a job and a room all my own. Currently writing a book...
@@miapdx503
Congratulations.
Though I always had a home, I met many during those times that suffered both in “Foster Care”, or at home where they were regularly beaten, etc.
Glad you survived.
Frankie Darro was an incredible Actor, and so underrated [ when remembered at all.].
I have a number of his movies.
I had to reach out to someone who knows of the Pixote. Not too many of us who know of this film.
@@miapdx503I'm happy for you going through so much and landing on your feet. I hope you do finish writing your book, I would love to read it, but maybe it won't happen. ❤
Everyone needs to be educated by this brilliant channel
Most definitely!!! 💜🌟💜
Bulls***.
speak for yourself not everyone is as clueless as you
Too many commercials
Wonderful essay on one of the most exciting periods of the art form. And thank you for highlighting the work of Vidor and Wellman, masters of the craft and important American artists who still don’t get their deserved recognition. Thanks again.
I Am A Fugitive from a Chain Gang is soo underseen. This & Scarface are Muni’s best roles
Find me some new movies to watch... You have a bundle of suggestions that have filled up my playlist. Great channel
Carole Lombard never forgot and was kind and generous to the end. 💕💜💕💜
It is interesting how the "American Myth" really informed the media of the Depression. Before then, everyone was on their own, but as soon as there was enough civil unrest and misery, the message became "we're all Americans. We'll get through this together."
That's generally the approach. When times are bad, we're all in this together. When times are good, everyone is out for themselves.
That line about the Mayflower is a good example in the later film. The Mayflower came over with a bunch of religious fanatics who were not suited or ready for life in the wilderness. Accordingly, they started to die in droves until they happened to come across Squanto, a native American that could speak English (likely because he was abducted and forced to work in the English merchant marine) and had no family left (likely due to diseases brought by Europeans). He was able to show them what they needed and negotiate with other tribes for food and goods.
But even back as far as the 1930's, we had this mythic idea of the Pilgrims as resourceful, capable and pioneering people that begin the whole American myth. Now, even the Depression is part of that myth seen as a moment when the country pulled together, but the reality was far different. The country almost fell apart.
You just took a college course, didn’t you? Myths? You clearly have no understanding of reality. It sound like you’re parroting something you’ve never experienced. No offense
You have provided me with a weekend binge. Thanks for this!
Your production values are excellent as is the writing and narration. Well done! (IMHO)
thank you so much! 😊
You are divine. Thank you so much for your hard work.
Nice job. You’ve created a good piece here. It’s important to remember. And to think that generation were about to have to fight WWII.
Yes, they went through WWI, the "Spanish" Flu Pandemic, the Depression, and WWII in rapid succession.
I'm no film historian, but I do know television production and what you deliver with these videos is well researched, cleverly scripted with well chosen video and audio material... and most of all it's non-formulaic content. The standard you've set for yourself is pretty high, but I believe is is very much appreciated. TCM and PBS should come knocking, but then that might restrict what you have achieved with this channel.
This is my grandmother’s time. She and her sisters used to tell me how things were back then.
The pre-code films are my favorite to watch.
I was lucky enough to catch "Safe in Hell" on Criterion Collection. It is gritty and mostly unsentimental. Dorthy Mackaill is amazing in it. She plays tough and vulnerable so well. I don't think I've seen her in anything else, but I really loved her in this movie.
Found my way to your channel and all I can say is well done! Great research, wonderful narration, informative, and introduced me to some movies that I’m not familiar with. Subscribed and will binge more. Thank you for a thoughtful video on the cinema of the 30’s that didn’t rehash the same old movies.
Watched on Patreon but felt this was so good watched again here
wow! thank you! 🙏
When Roosevelt heard about what Hoover had had done to The Bonus Marchers, he said to someone, "We just won the election."
The force that ruthlessly routed the bonus army was commanded by Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur and included five tanks commanded by Major George S. Patton. Hoover twice ordered MacArthur to stop the attack but those orders were ignored.
all upper crust blue blood professional soldiers from the west point mafia who only a few years earlier faught and lead many of these same men
And Dwight D. Eisenhower, although later he regretted the mishandling of the Bonus Army marchers.
@@JPSE57 I think I have read that elsewhere. I'm pretty sure you're correct.
@@briangriffin4937 Ike was only an aide at the time and didn't have the influence MacArthur or Patton could wield.
Fascinating, excellent video. History lesson based on truth is rare. Love the old classics, but precode 1930s are gems. Hubby and I will enjoy watching these treasures. Thanks!
you're welcome ☺
And this was America! Can we imagine how much worse it was in Europe and how people fell for the vile and false promises of Hitler and Mussolini. It was the poor on both sides who fought the war that the comfortable people in charge caused.
Thanks!
thank you!!!!!!
I love this channel! Along with film noir, the precode era is another favorite of mine. The snappy dialogue keeps them always fresh and the characters realistic. Despite the sometimes stilted camera, they “move”. I’ve seen a few of these films, so it looks like it’s time to put a few hours aside to watch the ones I haven’t seen.
My grandparents owned farms in the 19teens through the 20s and 30's so my parents were luckly.
There are 8 million stories in this city and here I am naked.
😂
You never know when an emergency might arise during which you might have to abandon your home, jic, you know to be safe and save yourself from embarrassment, PUT YOUR BREECHES ON.
My Grandfather was one of those “Hobos” From Cleveland Ohio, he west, looking for work. One year later he met his younger brother at Hollywood and Vine.
They tried for at least a year to break into Hollywood movie business as carpenters, electricians or whatever (Both had high school degrees.) Unfortunately he didn’t know anyone in Los Angeles, and the never made it in.
They ended back into Cleveland.
😢Sad
Thank you for such an insightful essay. I've watched most of the films referenced but still can't even imagine what it was like trying to get by during those times.
A bit off topic, but what I find fascinating is the post-code high society pictures that seemed to reign in the late 30's (often starring Roberts Young and Montgomery). I'm not quite sure I grasp the appeal of those films to general audiences given what I would assume would be a general feeling of resentment towards the moneyed/idle class. A mystery to be sure.
I appreciate the links provided... they should keep me busy for a while.
My wife got a tape stuck in her car. Buddy, Can Spare a Dime? Was on it and my kids would sing it with her as loud as the could. I lost my wife but that song brings back fond memories.
“Hoover sent the army, Roosevelt sent his wife” said a WW1 veteran.
Commenting because I’ve missed your videos, but I haven’t seen them so apparently the algorithm is algorithming again
My dad was born in 1927. Every day while I lived at home, we had a piece of fried meat, and fried or boiled potatoes. Other stuff in season, but always that. It was good, mom was a good cook, but 5 days a week that was it. I asked about that one time. He said “I’m just tickled to have good food in front of me. It wasn’t always this good, or this much.” Ouch!
My mother was born in 1922. As a child of the depression, the poverty forever altered her mind. She suffered from hallucinations and psychosis her entire life. She told me her only escape (from the depression) was the movie theater. She fantasized being the one rescued by the wealthy, handsome man an on the screen. She spent her life in and out of mental hospitals.
I’m so sorry 😔
Great video. This also reminds me of the great movie palaces of that era. If you get a chance, go see the art deco Paramount theater in Oakland, California. It’s gorgeous and the women’s bathroom consists of three rooms joined together: a lounge area, a powder room filled with vanity desks and mirrors to fix your make up and then the rest rooms. ❤
You've done it again and I'm not surprised -- a powerful, thought-provoking presentation. Both of my parents lived their youth and young adult years through this time. It makes me ashamed (in a constructive way) when I catch a glimpse of my performance in the literal and figurative mirror as Emilie, the world's smallest package -- all wrapped up in myself.
Excellent, I am nice and early for this one!
I just love your documentaries. You have a perfect narrative voice for it too.❤
@18:09 from Wild Boys on the Road, I recognized Grant Mitchell. He had a small but memorable part in Grapes of Wrath.
Sorry, Wild Boys Of The Road.
Excellent. Thank you so much.
This was a great video, not only interesting but also surprisingly moving.
Very well done, thank you
Sorry to hear about your troubles; one of many, I'm afraid. As always, however, exceptional and intriguing material. Well done!
As both a movie and history lover, I would like to say I thoroughly enjoyed your insightful and thoughtful glimpse into this topic. I am definitely going to check out some more of your work.
Thank you so much for posting this. For years, “Our Daily Bread” was not shown on TV because some people felt that it had communist overtones. (imagine people forming a collective to help others.). But it is a lovely film about kindness and self sacrifice.
great sequence of Smedley Butler, retired general who wrote the book War is a racket. the veterans protest was dismantled (one would say charged) by none other tha the "great" MacArthur himself
Another excellent video and several new movies to add to the list.
General Douglas MacArthur accompanied the troops that cleared the Bonus Army camp with fixed bayonets and sabers.
TRUTH!😢
AND DO NOT FORGET THE YOUNG DWIGHT DAVID EISENHOWER.
I'm glad you gave King Vidor a nice shoutout. He is sorely neglected today, and he had some great visual artistry in his movies.
This should be shown in high school. It's a much neglected part of our history. I've seen young adults comments on line and in interviews. It's amazing how much they don't know about our more recent history including WWII. How sad and dangerous.
I was born after the Great Depression, but it always interested me and leaned much from my family who survived it.
Actually, we were shown I Was a Fugitive From a Chain Gang in high school in the 1960s, a rare occurrence in my small Southern town. And we discussed it afterward in class. It was a valuable teaching tool at a time when so many around us had lived through the Great Depression.
I'm Gen X, raised during the 80s. My grandparents grew up during the Depression & WWII. They were also Mexican, and were discriminated against nastily (this being rural Texas). They had some stories!
My grandfather went into business buying and selling gold during the depression. He went door to door asking people if they had gold earrings or anything with gold in it. He did quite well back then. I think he also sold bibles for extra money. It sure was a terrible time for the country and the world.
Love your stuff - always fascinating, always so well done..
Thanks for posting links to see these movies. This fascinating.
The movies of this era feel very relevant to me right now.
Momma was 8 yrs old when the crash happened. Her daddy died when she was five. Raised by a single mother (a tough old bird as they used to say) with her two sisters. Grandma kept a shotgun and a pistol always handy even after she married for the second time. The family rode freight cars to where the work was and when the work dried up, they would move again. I asked her once what it was really like and she said "You do what you have to do to survive. That's all".
Really fantastic presentation. Thank you.
Excellent! Thank you for this
We don't know what real hardship is.
Yes, even though grocery prices have gone up, at least we can GET groceries.
Well done! It always seemed strange to me that during the depression, Hollywood was pumping out movies showing rich people having fun. Now I know from your video that Hollywood did take up the cause of those who were suffering. Thanks.
Great video,Bravo. Kudos to you - great work.
Pre-code films were wild and raunchy and didn't sugarcoat anything. If you see a retrospective anywhere, it's worth your time.
Excellent. Thoughtful, and a very good introduction to the trauma of The Great Depression. These movies, and the historic times from which they originated, are essential background to every subsequent period of US history. Also, please, note, during every period of economic uncertainty, 'the oldest profession' has most often been the only recourse of women. If they were born into the so-called 'higher classes' women were often sold (although there was a superficial gloss of a church marriage) to serve as payment for a grandfather/father/brother/uncle/cousin's debt. I grew up watching 1930s movies on TV in Los Angeles in the 60s. This took me back. Thank you.
My favorite era! You picked some of the best, have you seen HEROES FOR SALE (1933)? A great gritty social commentary film.
Im going to send this to my grandma, I grew up watching Turner Classic Movies with my grandparents.
Can always trust Cinema Cities for more film recommendations! Great video
A great little documentary!
Good choices. Also, Dead End. Would also appreciate a look at Hollywood's look at political films most notably Gabriel Over the White House, and Destination Moscow two rarely seen films that were off the wall.
when i was a kid, the local Fox channel used to show these movies at night. i always went to sleep all depressed (no pun intended). but i couldn't look away either. loved the essay, even though it gave me resurgent ptsd... he he!
In case there are some who are unfamiliar with Smedley Butler, who appears at 23:35
U.S. Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler who was, at the time of his death, at that point, the most decorated marine in history.
"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers.
In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914.
I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in.
I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street."
A man of integrity, who honestly acknowledged his misguided mistakes, owned up to them; and then spent the rest of his life trying to correct those errors,
by challenging the crooked politicians & corporate-interests, who sent him to do their bidding.
He later foiled the Wall Street plot to overthrow FDR and the United States government.
That was great, thanks. Very similar to now but we don't have the great films to show the time.
I think you were the one that introduced me to King vedor movies. I saw the one were they start a co-op. Where do you live what state? Thank you for your hard investigative work. My parents grew up during the depression.
Soooo interesting! Thank you for doing such a great job with this - I want to watch Street Scene! ❤
I always love your videos, but this might be my favorite. Of the films mentioned, I think I've only seen, The Crowd, Street Scene and Chain Gang, but I'd love to dive further into this era of film. If I were you I'd consider expanding this into something full length. But what do I know, I'm just a two-bit taxi dancer from the wrong side of the tracks. Can't you see, I'm trash! A floozey! Just an endless string of men with their hands all over me. Tangos, waltzes, j-j-jitterbugs! No clean man's gonna want me, I'm just good for dancing. I belong in an ashcan!
Fantastic episode. Even by Cinema Cities standards, which is astronomically high.
Dorothy McHale: what a queen 🎉
I love pre-codes films street scene is one of my favorites and reminds me a lot of spike lee’s do the right thing
Extremely well done. Impressive‼️
[ and it takes a LOT to impress me.
📻🙂
In all ways, very well done here!
Classy presentation style. 👍
Thanks for this information.
Great overview - the outro music is very LA Noire
The irony is thought Happy Days would be here again in 1933. Four years later the unemployment rate was still 25%.
Excellent video. Eerily prescient. I llive in San Diego, and the feeling in the air for many of us is can be summed up in one word- precarium. We’re all one accident, illness, or job layoff away from utter economic despair. It’s sad, but true. California has become a medieval state of the extremely affluent, the threadbare working poor, and the drug addled destitute. It’s a fucking disgrace.
The whole country is like that, Kenneth. And it's not Socialism that puts us here, it's Capitalism.
Thank you. Amazing Doc
Most economists agree today that Roosevelt's "New Deal" heavy borrowing from banks, tied up capital that industry needed to bring back workers or to expand. Industry couldn't compete with the interest rates the FDR admin was willing to pay for capital to fund its numerous three letter government projects.
Another excellent documentary from you, thanks!
Beautiful and well done! The greatest generation earned that moniker the hard way…
Thanks so much. This new video was worth wait.
Your well done video and the comments almost say it all. Ironic how the military unconsciously can beat its own at the word from the politicians. Thank you for your work.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, Hollywood has always given us films which make us wish we lived then as life appeared better, but I know it wasn't but as a child I did, I grew up on old black and whites and the coloured musicals ,the old films are the best black and white, the Hollywood films are ok for escapism but I really enjoy these you are portraying with stories reflecting the sign of the times unfortunately you didn't see many around obviously they weren't as popular but I suppose under the current climate of the times people did feel the need to escape.