Synopsis
This 1943 black and white propaganda film about “one government’s plan to provide better homes”, was produced by the U.S. Office of Interamerican Affairs to depict improvements in housing in Chile during World War II. Julien Bryan contributed to the photography. Santiago is shown. Several old government buildings have elaborate architecture in contrast to new ones. A policeman directs cars, busses, and pedestrians (:26- 1:13 ). The Firestone building is shown ( 1:14 ), followed by a new hospital ( 1:23 ), and multi-story concrete housing units ( 1:27 - 1:45 ). Two women stand and talk outside a one-story house; one holds a baby, and two children play on the sidewalk ( 1:47 ). The slums are shown. Children stand in a doorway of an adobe tenement house. A woman wipes a child’s face, another uses a makeshift stove, and another carries buckets of water. A man stirs a pot ( 2:05 - 2:51 ). A tuberculosis patient lies in a hospital bed. The doctors look at his x-rays. A clinic has a long line ( 2:52 - 3:28 ). A bustling street is shown. A barber is at work. His customer flips through a magazine; the face of General Eisenhower fills a page. The barber is paid and leaves ( 3:29 - 4:14 ). The barber takes a bus to the slum tenement house he and his family live in. His wife, wearing a full apron, cooks over a fire, the smoke rising through a narrow hole in the ceiling. His two twin girls, holding dolls, leave their bedroom to greet him. He sits on the edge of a bed with his son ( 4:15…
Uploader's description on archive.org
Details
- Running time
- 17 minutes
- Collection
- Ephemeral Films
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- Stock Footage