All Films

1942, 3 minutes, 16mm, color, silent. A self-portrait.

A film by James Whitney.

Part of BFI boxset Ration Books and Rabbit Pies: Films from the Home Front.

It's laundry day in 1942.

A documentary outlining railroad work and the effects on the lives impacted by the iron horse

Cab Calloway and his Cabaliers sing "Blues in the Night".

The story of Zaccheus as recorded in Luke 19 shows him as an impoverished potter with great ambition who takes advantage of circumstances to gain the exalted position of tax collector in Jericho. Zaccheus uses his wealth and power to further his own selfish ends, but everything changes when Jesus comes to supper. The film was shot by veteran cinematographer John Alton (Elmer Gantry) and is notable for its effective use of light and shadow, most notably when Jesus is strongly back-lit giving a halo effect. Adapted from the story of Zaccheus as told in the Gospel according to St. Luke: Chapter 19: Verses 1-10.

Describes the effects and treatment of gonorrhea. Advises possible victims of the disease to consult qualified physicians for an adequate diagnosis and to avoid self-treatment and the use of "quack" remedies.

Bad health causes sadness and suffering. Learn to protect yourself, your family and your friends from gonorrhea!

Proliferation of outdoor advertising billboards through Chicago and the methods of analyzing potential advertising sites.

Records an expedition by motor truck along the Pan American Highway in South America.

The urge to participate in wars in East Asia. Propaganda aimed at the Indonesian population with text, among others, comes from the national anthem of Indonesia Raya.

This film is about the Penn School, a school for African Americans in the Sea Islands of South Carolina. It discusses the history of slavery on the islands and the school's role in educating African Americans to teach them the skills needed to be self-sufficient and to contribute to society.

This is a half-reel film telling its audience how to use inedible parts of plants from their garden to make compost. It seems pretty basic stuff, but there were a lot of city boys working in what were called Victory Gardens in the United States. Letting them know how easy it was to make compost for a better truck garden meant a lot of fresh food on the home front.

Travelogue sponsored by a railroad company serving New York City. Approaching the metropolis by rail, the film covers major tourist destinations such as Coney Island, Times Square, celebrated nightclubs, and Rockefeller Center, where NBC provides an experimental television demonstration.

A charming and ingenious amateur movie by Ciné Ovaki (Oost-Vlaamse Amateurs Kineasten) member "Em. Fournier" was the cameraman, assisted by "his daughter Monique", for this story about "Union Match" matches, climaxing with a boxing match.

One of H. Lee Water's community portraits in his "Movies of Local People" series.

This is a 1942 United States Navy Training Film, designated as MN-324A-D. Walt Disney Studios provides animation depicting a German gas attack.

Three men (Harry Hilfinger, Robert Davis, and Fred Kautzman) encourage people to follow rules set by the air raid warden in the event of an air raid. It is a parody of the popular song by Tony Pastor and His Orchestra from 1942, and was made as an exercise in DIY sound-on-film filmmaking.

A Soundie with Mary Jane Walsh.

A Soundie with Cindy Walker and Lou Fulton.

A Soundie with Kay Lorraine.

58 "Natives 1," and "St. George, Road Building, P. Manderville[?]," and contains images of men carrying wooden planks, men on shore and near a house, man killing fox [this is sensitive content], a small boat arriving and men pulling the boat ashore, crates on a truck, a boat leaving and arriving, men with a wooden beam, old church being disassembled, bulldozer, men moving rocks, and man climbing cliff. 59 "Natives 2," and contains images of men with ropes climbing over a cliff to retrieve eggs, men hauling water, a white building and woman holding pitcher, men with a boat or umiak, people harvesting blocks of ice, wedding scenes, men in small boats, a religious procession, truck pulling boat, men portaging boat, boat rowing toward another boat, man high up on pole, man snipping fur from fox tail [this is sensitive content], child, and men with wheelbarrows near shore.

5: "Seattle Trip etc." contains images of clouds, many people in a small boat, a shoreline with small white buildings, a sailboat, rigging on a boat, ice coating the boat rigging, sunsets, flag blowing in breeze, Juneau shoreline, Ketchikan Cold Storage building, a woman picking flowers, and more. 6: "St. Paul" contains scenes of (possibly military) ships, a procession led by men carrying a United States flag and religious banners, many people in small boats and standing on shore, small children standing and waving, girl's and women's foot races, men participating in a pie-eating contest and tug-of-war match, baseball game, ship at sea, and more. 7: "St. George misc." contains scenes of a man smoking, boys participating in a gunny sack race and pie-eating contest, people coming out of a church (possibly a wedding party), a procession led by men carrying a United States flag and religious banners, seals, a landscape and hills, reindeer, and birds on a rock.