All language subtitles for america in color the 1930s

this is the story of America

seen in color for the first time

The 1930s are the years of the Great Depression

in the aftermath of the stock market crash

violence and anarchy

threatened to tear the country apart

one president founders be patient be helpful

another offers a new deal

this patient is asking for action and action now

bold projects inspire Americans

hoovers G men go after the gangsters

should all be concerned but one vote

the eradication of crime

it's a decade of grand visions and lofty achievements

but powerful forces

threaten to leave the American dream in the dust

this is the story of a nation's fight for survival

as you've never seen it before

I want us to recapture that

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 1929

Americans put on a happy face

in Washington on Christmas Eve

First Lady Lou Hoover

traditionally distributes toys to local children

but this year the bags contain food not toys

the country is in the throes of an economic meltdown

that same night disaster strikes

faulty wiring

sparks ablaze in the White House

leaving President Herbert Hoover

scrambling to save what he can

as Christmas Day dawns the damage is clear

The West Wing including the Oval Office

is a burnt out shell

the charred

smoldering ruins of the White House

seem to reflect the national mood

just two months earlier

$25 billion

nearly half a trillion today

disappears as the stock market plummets

banks demand that brokers repay what they borrowed

but many cannot

and on Main Street

Americans lose confidence in banks

and try to pull their money out

thousands make runs on the banks

and as the new decade starts more than 650 fail

Almost $80 million of personal savings are lost forever

men across the country are losing their jobs and droves

Chicago is one of the place's hardest hit in 1930

nearly 450,000 people in this city alone are unemployed

an increase of 170%

they're unable to feed their families

the needs of the poor overwhelm local governments

churches and private charities step into help

even mob boss Al Capone

sets up one of the first soup kitchens

across the country 4.3 million people are out of work

many of the homeless and destitute

tough it out in shanty towns

they're dubbed Hoovervilles

scathing commentary on the president

I don't know

this rare home movie of Hoover

teaching his grandchildren to fish was shot by his wife

Lou in 1930

Hoover is a self made man

he believes America can end the depression

through the efforts of individuals

in private enterprise

not the government handouts

and therefore I would say to the American public

be patient be helpful

recognize the complexity and the difficulty

as a problem

before the servants of your combined publication

Hoover appeals to

one of the richest men in America Henry Ford

hoping to stimulate sales and the economy

Ford raises wages and cuts car prices

but by 1932 sales are at rock bottom

and Ford has lost $75 million

he lays off two thirds of his workforce

in response

the laid off workers demand that Ford rehire them

on March 7th

5,000 gather in Detroit

and make their way to the Ford plant in Dearborn

the only surviving footage of that fateful day

filmed by the Detroit Unemployed Council

at the city limits violence erupts

you got a boyfriend I

airborne police spray tear gas

and attack the men with clubs

the protesters fight back with anything they can

then forwards

private security gets the nod and opens fire

four laid off workers died that day

80,000 mourners join the funeral procession

the relationship between labor and management

will remain contentious

for the lucky few who have even a little money

life is much different

nineteen year old Wallace Kelly

was drawn to New York by his dreams

he saved for a movie camera

by skipping lunch in college

he aims to find work as an illustrator

while job hunting

he captures city life during the depression

he tells his family

he sees more suicides than paychecks

but he has enough spare cash

to visit New York's playground

Coney Island

for others savings are gone

they have nothing

from all parts of the country

and this contingent from California

are heading for Washington to join the bonus fight

in 1932 some 20,000 World War one veterans

called the Bonus Army marched to a new battlefront

Congress has promised them a bonus of $1 25 for

each day served overseas

not to be paid

though until 1945

with so many veterans broken jobless

they are demanding the money now

Congress refuses $2 billion it's just not possible

but the veterans refused to leave

they camp out in the sweltering summer heat

five long weeks pass

finally President Hoover

convinced the Bonus Army

as a front for a communist revolution

orders the police to clear the men out

but the veterans aren't going without a fight

Hoover calls in the army

his chief of staff

general Douglas MacArthur

orders the 12th Infantry

and 3rd Cavalry Regiments to assemble

for the first time in American history

tanks roll down Pennsylvania Avenue

mobilized against American citizens

ignoring Hoover's orders to evacuate the men peacefully

the infantry closes in on the veterans

the soldiers advance with teargas and fix bayonets

and burn the camp to the ground

when it's all over

54 veterans are injured and 135 arrested

the Bonus Army disbands

by 1932 Americans are increasingly desperate

and it's an election year

the Democrats choose as their candidate

New York governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt

I am so sorry to you

that the deep question in this campaign

is one of confidence in leadership

confidence in leader

FDR offers a plan

the government will provide work for Americans

he calls it the New Deal

it's a stark contrast to Hoover's hands off policy

campaign is more than a contest between two men

it is more than a contest between two parts

it is a contest between two philosophy dot com

presidential campaigns are now featured on newsreels

a national leader's

image is more important than ever before

Roosevelt appears to be an energetic candidate

actually he has something to hide

eleven years earlier at the age of 39

Roosevelt contracted polio

which left his legs partially paralyzed

he fears people won't vote for him

if they know the truth about his condition

at Griffith Stadium in Washington DC

Senators pitcher Jimmy Deshawn

captures this very rare footage

of FDR walking with his leg braces

ultimately FTR comes to an agreement with the press

no photos of him walking or getting in and out of cars

this footage shows the security detail

signaling for the cameras to cut

as FDR prepares to leave his car

on November 8th, 1932

Roosevelt triumphs

and look my friend

I gave real land

by this time

he wins with nearly 90% of the electoral vote

the highest margin to date for democratic candidate

but before he can even start

he's almost stopped dead in his tracks

it's February 1933

President elect Roosevelt is in Florida

this is another partial reunion of the Roosevelt family

before we men go off on a cruise up the coast

starting tomorrow

he's on a brief vacation before his March inauguration

he stops at Bayfront Park Miami

to make an impromptu speech from the back of his car

my friends of Miami

I haven't been here for seven years

but on my coming back

I have firmly resolved not to make it the last time

suddenly a man steps forward pointing a gun

next to Roosevelt is Chicago Mayor Anton Cermat

he takes a bullet mend for FDR and later dies

four others are injured

they've got them

Secret Service man load them on the rear of the car

and hust them away to jail

Roosevelt escapes unscathed thanks to an unlikely hero

housewife Lillian Cross was standing next to the gunman

she swatted his firing arm with her handbag

I knew he was shooting at the president

so my first thought was to get the system up in the air

so he wouldn't fight into the Boston

the gunman Giuseppe Zangara

had vowed to kill all capitalists

he's convicted

sentenced and five weeks later

he's executed in Old Sparky Florida's electric chair

March 4th, 1933

Hoover joins Roosevelt

and they travel together to the inauguration

for a crowd of 250,000 gather

radio announcer Norman Sweetzer has a ringside seat

with his home movie camera

he captures

one of the most iconic speeches in American history

let me assert my family that the only thing we have

fear itself

this nation is asking for action and action now

the president's first action is to shore up the banks

some 9,000 already failed the rest are under strain

FDR orders every bank in the nation to close

for four days

4,000 and solvent ones never reopen

in an unprecedented move

he restocks the rest with newly minted money

the government is intervening in the economy

like never before

$2 billion is printed and shipped out to the banks

the confidence restored

the banks reopen and people redeposite their savings

the bank runs are over

but solving the banking crisis is only a first step

in reviving the economy

12 million Americans are still out of a job

Illustrator Wallace Kelly

has been badly hurt by the depression

he loses job after job as companies go bust

finally he leaves New York City

and goes back home to Lebanon Kentucky

Wallace puts his dreams on hold to help his brother

Oliver run the family owned newspaper

The Lebanon Enterprise

this small town weekly binds the community together

and is still published today

Wallace captures this intimate look

at life inside the paper in the 1930s

despite hard times

people can still find 5 cents for the paper

and FDR wants to ensure they have something

else to enjoy liquor

in December 1933

he announces the repeal of the 18th Amendment

prohibition

this is the first legally imported shipment of alcohol

in over 10 years

arriving at the New York docks

and if ever the country needed a drink it is now

prohibition

which began in 1920 was intended to purify society

instead it spawned corruption

violence and organized crime

by the time Roosevelt becomes president

homicide rates are at an all time high

the public has little faith in the police

armed vigilantes patrol the streets of New York

FDR needs a solution

and he looks to a small outpost of the department

of justice the FBI and its director J Edgar Hoover

with limited powers

the bureau's agents had long labored an obscurity

Hoover transforms them into

the nation's top crime fighters

to bring in the gangsters

dead or alive

we should all be concerned

but one goal

the eradication of Prime Federal Bureau investigation

is as close to you as your nearest telephone

it seeks to be your protector

in all matters within his jurisdiction

Hoover and his government man the Gmail

take on the bank robbers and killers

whom he dubs public enemies

and public enemy number one is John Dillinger

he has a ten thousand dollar bounty on his head

for robbing 24 banks and four police stations

is filmed here in February 1934

after his arrest for the murder of police officer

William O'malley

One month later in Crown Point Indiana

Dillinger breaks out of jail

finally on July 22nd, 1934 the FBI acts on a tip

after watching a movie at Chicago's Biograd Theater

Dillinger emerges and the G Men shoot him dead

Machine Gun Kelly from Memphis

Tennessee is renowned for his favorite weapon

the Thompson submachine gun

but by using

the cutting edge signs of fingerprint analysis

the FBI nails it

Kelly's trial marks

the first time cameras are permitted in the courtroom

sentence to life behind bars

he becomes an inmate at a new prison

perched on a rocky island

surrounded by the dangerous

currents of the San Francisco Bay

Alcatraz opens in 1934

it claims to be escape proof

and houses the very worst of America's criminals

FDR's tough stand on crime is getting results

by the end of the decade

homicide rates will drop by a third

I love you

Roosevelt tries everything he can

to make good on his campaign promise

of work for those who need it

he forms the Civilian Conservation Corps

the CCC and offers jobs to 250,000 young men

they earn 30 bucks a month

25 of which is sent back home

they reshape the American landscape with new roads

800 parks and 3 billion trees

Illustrator Wallace Kelly is now married

and still making movies

he and his wife Mabel take a road trip

they passed through America's first national park

Yellowstone

its roads and campsites all built by the CCC

in South Dakota

the Kellys visit the unfinished Mount Rushmore

12 years into its construction

in 1935 another New Deal project

the Grand Coulee Dam

is the biggest building site in the world

employing 11,000 men

in Washington state

they excavate nearly 63 million tons of earth and rock

conveyor belt two miles long transports the debris

and some 24 million tons of concrete

pour into the Columbia Basin to dam the river

Gran Cooley is Roosevelt's pet project

he tours the site in an open top yellow Lincoln

by 1935 the New Deal is delivering

America is getting back to work

unemployment has dropped by nearly 20%

FDR takes to the radio to assure Americans

the recovery will continue

economic calamity

we have in the darkest moments of our national trials

retained our faith

in our own ability to master our own destiny

fear is vanishing

confidence is growing on every side

but in the great plains of the American heartland

pioneer dreams are turning to dust

here I go

the sky over Oklahoma is a dark swirl of grit

a curtain of black tears through the Great Plains

events filmed in black and white

are now seen for the first time in color

following a devastating black blizzard

on April 14th, 1935

Kansas News editor Edward Stanley says

the Great Plains are now the dustbowl

a perfect storm of falling grain prices

over planting and drop

have turned the fields of mid America into dead land

the top soil has no moisture left to hold it together

by 1935 50 million acres of farmland are barren

tumbleweed rolls into fences and the dust piles on

creating huge drifts

that look more like the Sahara than Oklahoma

over the decade

three and a half million Americans

are forced to leave their homes

in an exodus that will inspire Steinbeck's novel

The Grapes of wrath

it is the largest migration in American history

almost a quarter of a million head off to California

America's new land of opportunity

California is the Golden State

and with 800 miles of coastline

the action is at the beach

sunbathing is a new trend in the 1930s

gone is the quest for pale skin

now it's all about the tan

inventive skin tone products include spray tans

and tanning drinks

out on the water

Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku is riding his surfboard

the Duke is the father of modern surfing

enticing young Americans to brave the waves

West Oakland California

is a predominantly African American neighborhood

this is the home movie footage of one resident

Ernest Bean

the beans are unusual for the time

the family moving up to the middle class

Ernest is fortunate he has a steady job

during the depression unemployment for blacks is at 50%

twice the rate of lights

Jim Crow laws means segregation is still widespread

even the New Deal

discriminates against African Americans

whites get the pick of the jobs and a higher wage

one place black men are welcome to work

is on the Pullman sleeper trains

each luxury car is staffed by uniform porters

the majority are African American

Ernest Bean is one of these porters

his job provides a stable income through the depression

but it comes at a price

black journalist Thomas Fleming observed

a porter had the best job in his community

and the worst on the train

Ernest and his colleagues

form the first African American labor unit

the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

The American Federation of labor recognizes it in 1935

the Brotherhood gains better pay and working conditions

for 12,000 porters across the country

in the coming decades

the union will play a pivotal role

in the civil rights movement

across San Francisco Bay from open

an ambitious New Deal project is underway

The Golden Gate Bridge

is soon to be one of the wonders of the modern world

work begins in 1933 and by 1936 is nearing completion

the project offers good pay and a steady job

but not without risk

as a rule of thumb

construction companies expect one death

for every million dollars spent

the bridge cost 35 million

during construction 30 workers fall

but 19 are saved by a safety net strung underneath

Architect Irving Morrow chooses the bridge's rich color

International Orange

which he feels blends perfectly with the landscape

the first vehicles cross on May 28th, 1937

at the time it's the world's longest suspension bridge

a Golden Gate to a bright American future

a new feeling of optimism is beginning to gain momentum

in November of 1936 FDR is elected to a second term

the New Deal has produced results

people of the United States have made it clear

they expect us to continue our active efforts

in behalf of their peaceful advancement

the Roosevelt is about to threaten his own success

in January 1937 FDR begins his second term

the nation's production

profits and wages are rising back to pre crash levels

unemployment is at its lowest since he took office

the country is coming back to life

but FTR can't take all the credit

they say behind every great man

is an even greater woman

Roosevelt is no different

in 19 o five he married Eleanor Roosevelt

a distant cousin

now 32 years later

they have five children and seven grandchildren

Eleanor is vital to FDR's vision for America

she is his eyes ears and legs on the ground

transforming the role of first lady

from hostess to stateswoman

I'm very fancy back

and we've had a perfectly delightful trip

but enjoyed every minute

she fights for the oppressed and forgotten

after extensive lobbying by Eleanor

FDR sets up the National Youth Administration

those who are not employed

will need more than they have needed before

this show has complete take off

the new agency helps

American boys and girls stay in school

and get vocational training

and thanks to Eleanor

it includes African Americans

who have been failed by the New Deal

her activism doesn't stop there

an Arden supporter of women's rights

she champions pilot Amelia Earhart

who in 1932

became the first female pilot

to fly solo across the Atlantic

it's much easier to find Atlantic Ocean now

than it was few years ago

I expect to be able to do it in my lifetime again

now in 1937

she's planning to circumnavigate the globe

in her Lockheed Model 10 Electra

Al Breznik is there to capture the moment

in a photo shoot at Burbank Airport in California

Breznik has been Earhart photographer for five years

his brother John

filmed this recently discovered home movie footage

here we see a carefree 39 year old Earhart

just before her June 1st departure

but on July 2nd it's headline news around the world

Amelia Earhart's plane has disappeared

the plane is never found

it's fate a mystery debated to this day

but America's love affair with planes

and record breaking doesn't stop

a year after Earhart disappears

millionaire playboy Howard Hughes

is about to attempt the feat that killed her

around the world flight

a silver twin engine plane cost him $200,000 to build

on board at Floyd Bennett Field in New York

a trustee crew of four

I've got enough rush to get away from here

I hope you'll forgive me

he lands in Paris after 16 hours 38 minutes

a record breaking time

but he hasn't finished Moscow Siberia

all the way around the globe

to land back in New York in just three days

19 hours 8 minutes and 10 seconds

slashing the previous record in half

Howard uses success is just the news the nation needs

in 1937 America's recovery is Delta Blow

FTR believing that his bold government programs

have now achieved what was needed

changes course

he cuts back federal spending

the economy soon falters

and the country begins to struggle

the year becomes known as Roosevelt's recession

hello workers

we won't eat this horse baggy in this country here

that's what we fight for that's what we wanna have

4 million people lose their jobs

strikes break out all over the country

FDR quickly takes action

he boosts government spending

and delivers a landmark labor loan

in June 1938 the minimum hourly wage is set at 25 cents

the working week a maximum of 44 hours

and soon both employment and production have recovered

after almost a decade of life on the brink

people start to breathe easier

but the nation's fear of another calamity

is never far away

on October 30th, 1938

radio listeners tuning into the CBS network

are in for a shock

ladies and gentlemen

we interrupt our program of dance music to bring you

a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News

it is reported that at eight fifty PM

a huge flaming object

believed to be a meteorite

fell on a farm in the neighborhood of Grovers Mill

New Jersey 22 miles from France

listening intently

the audience is transfixed by a terrifying report

from the scene

I can see the object itself

doesn't look very much like a meteor office

beginning to rotate like a screw in this thing

must be hollow

it sounds like America is under attack

we are bringing you an eye witness account

of what's happening on the Wellness Farm

Groversville

New Jersey in October 1938

an estimated 6 million Americans

are tuned into CBS Radio

something happening

the constant news flashes are alarming

eyes are black and they clean

like a serpent in the mountains

that kind of B shape

with saliva dripping from its rimless lips

and seeing the river and pulsatement

the audience is terrified

he's weighed down by Peter

flame springs in the mirror

at least right at the magic men

strike them head on

listeners phone the police and radio stations

they bombard the CBS switchboard

they have no idea that this is actually a play

directed by 23 year old Orson Wells

with his Mercury Theater

the play is The War of the world

a SCI fi classic that sounds frighteningly real

the press picks up the story and the following morning

Wells faces questions from reporters

many succeeding novels

adventure stories

she had such a media effect from radio listeners

while Orson Wells terrifies listeners

through the power of words

in Los Angeles

filmmakers are preparing to use images

to create an enchanting new world

in October 1938

at the MGM Studios

shooting starts

on a project that will revolutionize the movies

it's one of the first mainstream Hollywood movies

shot in Technicolor

it's titled The Wizard of Oz

the costly technology has been available

for over a decade

but due to the Great Depression

it is only commercially viable now

this rare behind the scenes home movie footage

shot by composer Harold Arlen

shows the stars on the set

playing the main character Dorothy Gale

the legendary Judy Garland

portraying a 12 year old

she is in fact 16 at the time of filming

originally said to wear a blonde wig

Garland's more natural look is decided upon

once filming starts

her co star Bird Lark

wears a costume made of real lion fur

weighing over 100 pounds

he later says after The Wizard of Oz

I was typecast as a lion

and there aren't all that many parts for lions

at the New York premiere on August 17th, 1939

Judy Garland is accompanied by boyfriend Mickey Rooney

15,000 strained to get a glimpse of the Hollywood stars

audiences pack the theaters

but the high cost of Technicolor leaves MGM

just breaking even

this story of a girl's triumph over adversity

is reminiscent of America at the end of the decade

President Roosevelt

by marshaling the untapped powers of government

has pulled America out of the Great Depression

the country pushed to its economic and physical limit

has suffered and survived

The 1930s is part of our American story

economy the land and the people

overcoming adversity to make a better life