All Films

Out of the Night

1941 • 11 min • United Kingdom

A look at the education and vocational training of the visually impaired.

Jack You're Playin' the Game

1941 • 3 min

Shoeshine stand scene w/ the Delta Rhythm Boys singing 'Jack You're Playing The Game'; Black women watch from windows, another dances; Black man measured by tailor watched by girlfriend; rent party w/ jive & jitterbug dancing; men enter 'Harlem Credit Clothing' and pose in new suits w/ 'dames'.

They Wear No Clothes!

1941 • 54 min • United States of America

A unique presentation that attempts to explain why people like to appear naked.

The Elephant and Moska the Dog

1941 • 6 min • Soviet Union

The Door to Heaven

1941 • 9 min • United States of America

Visionary representation of the actual door to heaven, explaining how it is necessary to take Jesus as one's Savior in order to enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Inside Information

1941 • 8 min

How the X-ray works and its use in police work, surgery, industrial engineering and automobile manufacturing.

Ondol

1941 • 11 min

This documentary film was produced by the Japanese Government-General of Joseon to introduce Joseon's ondol (a traditional Korean sub-floor heating system) and winter culture to Japan. The film takes a close look at the heating mechanism of the ondol, the installation process, how Koreans get through the winter in a house equipped with ondol, children's various winter games, and a visit to a kitchen, where 'gourd dippers' (unfamiliar to Japanese people) are shown and Korean names for things, such as ‘food blade' for a kitchen knife, are described. This film’s tone resembles an anthropological report. The ending is also impressive. The film beautifully utilizes the sound of fulling cloth resonating quietly on a winter night. Collected in 2020, and transferred in 4K resolution.

Как Вася Тёркин призываться шёл

1941 • 4 min • Soviet Union

How Vasya Terkin fought the Nazis on his way to the recruitment center.

In the Doll Land

1941 • 34 min • Soviet Union

The girl Zina and the boy Kolya mistreated toys. Offended toys fled to the doll country. The children gave chase. Reduced by the sorceress Mouse, they ended up in a wonderful land of dolls. By the verdict of Santa Claus, the children were turned into dolls and experienced all the troubles of toys that fell into the hands of careless children. Zina and Kolya reconciled with their toys and the Mouse returned them to their former appearance.

The Blacksmith

1941 • 5 min • United Kingdom

Time-honoured craftsmanship at Corfe, near Taunton in Somerset.

At Your Service

1941 • 3 min

Soundie film that takes places at a car-service restaurant.

Blood For Blood

1941 • 16 min • Soviet Union

During the Great Patriotic War, a blacksmith grandfather, and grandson, are repairing a tank when suddenly the enemy attacks.

The Lost Sheep

1941 • 11 min • United States of America

The parable of the lost sheep visualized.

Outpost

1941 • 17 min • Soviet Union

June 22, 1941. The day began as usual at a museum on the western border of the Soviet Union, but in the afternoon a bloodied horseman burst into the museum courtyard. It was the commander of the guard. The museum director, his wife, the gardener, and the commander set up a makeshift barricade. Soon a fascist motorcade appeared. The museum's defenders fought fiercely and held off the enemy until rescue forces arrived.

Object Lesson

1941 • 10 min • United States of America

Christopher Young experiments with objects and their uses.

Adventure in the Bronx

1941 • 12 min

1941 Oscar nominated documentary

Forty Boys and a Song

1941 • 10 min • United States of America

Forty Boys and a Song is a 1941 short documentary film directed by Irving Allen. The film is about the Robert Mitchell Boy Choir, consisting entirely of boys aged 8 to 14. The choir, run by organist Robert Mitchell, appeared in Hollywood productions for over thirty years. Accordingly, the boys were recruited to go to a special school where they would go through regular classroom instruction until 1 PM, after which they'd do choir practice. The kids are also shown performing in a church on Sunday as well as camping, as they are all part of the same Boy Scouts troop. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-Reel.

Cigarette Smoke

1941 • 11 min • Hungary

Modern and exciting short from a series of Hungarian noir films. Rácz Vali, playing the protagonist, was famous and beloved for her propensity to sing sad songs and recite lyrical poetry. She also played in movies, but only before 1945, as the cultural and social climate she represented didn't fit in the program of the post-war regime.

Lovable Trouble

1941 • 17 min • United States of America

Andy invests the money his wife gave him to pay the bills into a sure-fire money-making scheme, a girl's softball team made up of out-of-work chorus girls. Mrs. Clyde is, to say the least, not amused.

Western Daze

1941 • 7 min • United States of America

A Puppetoon by George Pal.

Koeda Sembrani

1941 • 60 min • Indonesia

In a story that takes place in a kingdom in the middle east. A traveler came to present a gift to the royal princess in the form of a flying horse. In the presence of the king and royal nobles, the royal crown prince tried to ride the flying horse. It flew away and never came back. The traveler was imprisoned. Apparently, the crown prince went to another kingdom and met a princess. The two of them fell in love with each other. However, the king of another kingdom kidnapped the princess he proposed to and took her flying horse. The crown prince also came to the kingdom disguised as a shaman, managed to outwit the kidnapping king and save the princess with the help of the flying horse he had captured.

The March of Time: G-Men Combat Saboteurs

1941 • 21 min • United States of America

Communicating simultaneously to all 53 of the FBI’s field offices from his headquarters in the Department of Justice, this issue puts J. Edgar Hoover right at the heart of America’s fight against internal espionage during the war. Featuring footage from the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the film follows the progress of a new officer, dramatically depicting the investigation of a murder case involving the theft of top secret materials from a gas mask factory.

Between Whistles and Flutes

1941 • 5 min • Argentina

Football animation short film in black and white. Found in 2023 by the Cineteca Vida.

The Walls Keep Talking

1941 • 3 min

A couple enters a haunted house and are terrorized by spirits