Created for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, this series of short propaganda films produced by the Army Pictorial Service Signal Corps to help boost the sale of American war bonds during World War II. These films were part of the Sixth War Loan Drive which ran from November 2 through December 16, 1944. The drive raised $21.6 billion for the war effort.
(0:10) “The Line is Busy” (1944) – A woman calls her boyfriend Freddie to come over to the bar and celebrate. Freddie says he can’t take time off work. He reads a letter saying an amputation was needed (1:11) Scenes of the war with injured soldiers on stretchers being cared for (2:05) She tries calling Freddie again but the line is busy – interchanges with scenes of manufacturing for the American war effort
(2:38) “Just for Remembrance” (1944) – Various shots of people looking at their souvenirs and photobooks (3:11) Shifts to a remembrance of individuals now away for the war as they walk in a line (3:25) Closeup of a soldier looking at photos in a wallet and thumbprints being taken from those who’ve passed (3:36) Shot of boxes of items from soldiers passed ready to ship to Kansas City. Workers in a warehouse sort through the items as closeups of the items are shown. A woman looks at her lost one’s photo as she holds a pair of baby shoes (5:05) On the battleground as soldiers follow behind a tank (5:20) Shots of workers leaving a factory and airplanes flying above
(6:07) “Hands” – Shots of hands playing the piano, writing a letter, sawing wood, praying, etc. (7:03) Cuts to hands at war with various shots of men attaching bandages on injured soldiers (7:35) Workers in a factory with closeups of their hands at work
(8:35) Workers in a big office floor look on in confusion as they say “This is America” (8:51) Shots of workers in various factory settings working on manufacturing and shoveling coal (9:00) Shots of Japanese soldiers shoving around Chinese civilians and homes burning (9:54) Quick shots of the San Francisco, Chicago, Pittsburg, and New York skylines (10:06) Zoom in of an American bond with interchanging shots of factory work and deceased Japanese soldiers
(11:13) “Silence!” – Shots of damaged, war-torn empty areas, views from an airplane of clouds in the sky and the city below, and an empty beach (12:28) Loud explosions go off with clouds of smoke, tanks launch artillery, and soldiers fire their guns (12:50) Shot of a city skyline along the water (13:02) Quick closeup shots of manufacturing with newly built war equipment such as tanks, trucks, and tires (13:28) Medics move a deceased soldier to a stretcher (13:47) Text “LET’S BUY MORE BONDS!” and “LET’S FINISH THE JOB!”
(14:30) A bell tolls as it transitions to scenes of the battleground and soldiers in action (15:06) Shots of clocks signifying that U.S. soldiers pass or are wounded from combat every 2.5 minutes (15:27) Shots of factory work for the war effort, including the creation of engines, tanks, tires, and planes
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 like: “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 and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
