The film starts with Jimmy Durante singing “Give a Man a Job”. The film gives a narration of The Great Depression thru film clips of that time period, from the roarin twenties, the stock market crash, the Union Textile Strike, Concord, NC in 1934 and onward. There were soup kitchens galore run thru charities, churches and even private individuals in basements, bet that won’t happen next time, too many government regulations.
The people of the great depression were amazing people, men were carrying signs saying “Unemployed will work any job”, bet you wouldn’t see that now, that was a time when Americans did jobs Americans won’t do now. There was a welfare system but those who had to take advantage of it didn’t stay on it when things got better, not like today when welfare is a career.
The Farmers Holiday Association blocked product getting to the market to increase prices, much like the government paying dairy farmers to sell their cows to increase the price of milk. While the practice of blocking product from getting to market was illegal, as one farmer put it, “seems to me there was a Tea Party in Boston, that was illegal too”.
15000 unemployed veterans of WW I march on Washington for cash bonus promised, the Senate votes no on giving them their promised bonuses. Troops were dispersed to disband the veterans and burn down their shanty settlements.
A short included in this film was an interview with a Zuni Indian on the Cochita Reservation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who stated the White Man was just too greedy and this was the result, truer words were never spoken. The Great Depression will be a cakewalk compared to the coming “Greatest” Depression.
“Economic depression can not be alleviated by govt action,” says Hoover, maybe someone should tell Obama.
http://movies.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70119888&trkid=496624
Only available until august 15
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