All Films

Juliet

1940 • 3 min • France

A late period home movie with Man Ray and his lovely friend Juliet Browner lounging together in the US. Man Ray had returned to America when the Germans occupied France.

German Tanks

1940 • 13 min

Documentary about the process of building tanks in Germany during the early days of World War II.

Old New Mexico

1940 • 9 min • United States of America

This Traveltalk series short takes viewers on a tour of old New Mexico. Starting in Santa Fe, the oldest state capitol in the USA, the city existed long before European migration. It's unique architecture is its most prominent feature. There are several archaeological sites trying to date when Indians first settled in the area. Seven percent of the population are of Indian origin. Near Taos is the onetime home of Kit Carson whose grave is one of the sacred shrines of New Mexico. The Navajo live on their 14 million acre reservation and continue their traditional way of life.

Technicolor for Industrial Films

1940 • 8 min • United States of America

Short designed to encourage the use of Technicolor for instructional and advertising films. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1995.

The Bride Wore Crutches

1940 • 55 min • United States of America

A cub reporter goes after his story in a big way when he single-handedly exposes a crime ring.

Film n. 4

1940 • 5 min • Italy

Abandoning any figurative reference, Veronesi realizes a true "abstract" film, constructed through the rhythmic succession of splashes of color, circles, lines, scribbles, large and small dots. Once the camera is finally put down, the artist works directly on the film, painting it by hand with tiny brushes. The starting point is the rhythm of Stravinskij's Histoire du soldat ; the arithmetic progression of the sequences, ordered according to Leonardo Fibonacci's scale of numbers, is no longer appreciable today due to the loss of some frames.

National Defence

1940 • 11 min • Egypt

The second Egyptian cartoon starring Mish-Mish. While Mish-Mish Effendi is doing a cabaret number with his bride-to-be, there's an announcement over the radio saying that Egypt has gone to war. Mish-Mish wins fame on the front by throwing electric rays at the enemy. Therefore, the latter is forced to surrender.

Our Boys

1940 • 19 min

The life of students at the National Political Education Institute (Napola).

The Pooch Parade

1940 • 6 min • United States of America

Scrappy and his mongrel try to attend a for purebreds only dog show- but are thwarted by a security guard.

Town of Viljandi and Its Vicinity

1940 • 2 min • Soviet Union

View to Lake Viljandi. A family strolling by the lake. People with rowboats on the lake. Swimming competition in the lake pool. Boat harbour. A man with oars. Landscape of Viljandi county, a horse carriage moving along the road. Ruins of the Viljandi fortress. Farm yard and a mare with a foal in Viljandi county. The main building of the University of Tartu at the end of summer 1940 when the building already bears the Soviet symbols.

Boy in Court

1940 • 10 min

Johnny is a troubled 15-year-old who falls in with a bad crowd, steals a car and gets caught by the police. However, instead of sending Johnny to reform school, the judge takes an interest in him and assigns a probation officer to try to steer Johnny away from a life of crime.

XXX Medico

1940 • 10 min • United States of America

Highlights a new system that will enable doctors to operate over long distances.

Religion and the People

1940 • 14 min • United Kingdom

Documentary by Andrew Buchanan illustrating a time when faith lay at the heart of the British Experience.

Behind the Guns

1940 • 20 min

A government-sponsored short documentary commissioned by the Ministry of Information during WWII.

Shakespeare's Country

1940 • 10 min • United Kingdom

A tour of Stratford-upon-Avon's houses and hamlets, stomping ground of a young William Shakespeare.

The Early Worm Gets the Bird

1940 • 8 min • United States of America

A determined bird goes out early to hunt for a worm and the bird gets into trouble.

A Kick in Time

1940 • 8 min • United States of America

Spunky is kidnapped and sold at an auction to a cruel Italian peddler. It's up to Hunky to save him.

Thrills for You

1940 • 8 min • United States of America

Pioneering 3D promotional film about the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Tomorrow Is Theirs

1940 • 10 min • United Kingdom

Tomorrow is Theirs examines provisions for secondary school education during the war, arguing for the importance of maintaining excellent, thorough schooling in spite of wartime obstacles.

Choose Cheese

1940 • 5 min • United Kingdom

Wartime public information film.

Glimpses of Washington State

1940 • 9 min • United States of America

This Traveltalk series short begins in the Wenatchee River valley, where apples are the chief commercial crop. In Spokane, we see the Sunken Gardens (later called the John W. Duncan Gardens) in Manito Park. In Olympia, the campus of the state capitol is surrounded by flowers. At Long Beach is the beginning of a sand roadbed that stretches for 27 miles. After a glimpse of canoeing on the Quinault River, we get a view of the San Juan Islands. Finally, we are shown some sights on the Columbia River, including the Rock Island Dam and the not-yet-finished Grand Coulee Dam, largest concrete structure in the United States.

Stage Fright

1940 • 7 min • United States of America

The Two Curious Puppies wander into a theater and run afoul of a trickster magician's rabbit, a playful seal and an intimidating little bird.

Transfer of Skill

1940 • 10 min • United Kingdom

Short World War II documentary showing examples of how skilled craftsmen of peacetime apply their skills to essential wartime production.

Fireman, Save My Choo-Choo

1940 • 20 min • United States of America

Andy races his train against a modern bus; the winner receives a government franchise.