Our America is a short 1940s propaganda film from the Dodge Division Chrysler Corporation, narrated by Vincent Pelletier and produced by Wilding Picture Productions, Inc., that looks at what makes America great. The film opens with shots of kids at a park playing baseball, riding a merry-go-round, and swinging. The film then takes viewers to the office of The Argus. Inside, the editor talks to the paper’s printer about what makes America great. The film shows a montage of shots of America’s scenic nature attractions framed within an outline of the U.S. The montage also includes scenes of Americans gathering at rallies, a maharaja riding atop an elephant (05:40), Hitler inciting Nazi supporters, and a man watching a printing press produce papers (06:23). The film shows a pile of magazine publications, followed by a man speaking into a microphone at a radio broadcasting studio. There are shots of several different churches (07:47), then footage of a reenactment of the pilgrims arriving at Plymouth Rock. Young children sit around a table drinking milk (09:11). A doctor gets out of his car (09:38) and then is shown bedside tending to a sick girl. Kids play outside during recess (10:55). Inside a classroom, a teacher calls her students up to the front of the classroom and helps them recite the final words of the Declaration of Independence. The film shows several statues (12:20), the Washington and Lincoln monuments, Rockefeller Plaza, the Empire State Building, and the Dodge Chicago Plant (13:05). Aerial footage shows a football stadium. This is followed by several bridges, the Boulder Dam (13:36), the Santa Fe Dam, and the Hansen Dam. Viewers see a variety of rural and urban American homes, ranging from farm houses to suburban neighborhood homes to large apartment buildings. A plane crop-dusts a field (14:44). Inside a hen house, chickens lay eggs (15:34). Viewers see early models of a train and an automobile (17:19), then the film shows contemporary footage of cars on highways outside of cities, the inside of a car production plant, and tanks and trucks coming off the production line. Iron-ore is melted down at a steel mill (20:00). Next, the film shows a number of key inventions (21:27), including the telegraph, sewing machine, rotary press, elevator, typewriter, lawn mower, barbed wire, telephone, talking machine, electric welding, cash register, fountain pen, submarine, automobile, radio, airplane, and the New York subway. An army jeep drives down a dirt road during WWII in what appears to be Greece or an eastern European country (24:00). Two American soldiers get out of the jeep and take a break to eat grapes and talk about how great the U.S. is. A dad tosses a baseball with his young son in their front yard (25:48). U.S. soldiers march down a large avenue (likely in New York City). There is footage from the fighting in World War II (27:44): troops storm Normandy from their landing craft and tanks travel across the desert of North Africa. The editor of The Argus looks out the window at the children playing in the park across the street. There, boys divide themselves into two teams to play baseball (28:56). The editor sits at his desk writing. The film concludes with shots of a teacher reading to a group of girls sitting in a circle outside, the U.S. Capitol Building, the White House, boys playing football, and the editor looking at an American flag flapping in the wind. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference." This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
