Archive Watch

Your Town: A Story of America (1940)

1940 · Ephemeral film · 10 min · dir. Robert R. Snody

  • Short
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Synopsis

This absurdly pro-business film tells the story of a young man who learns a lesson about capitalism and how his town is dependent upon its factories for their way of life. Young Jerry happens upon a labor uprising outside one of the factories in his town and is seduced by the crowd and the fiery speaker. He is about to join in the mob violence when he is plucked from the melee by a policeman who knows his grandfather. The cop takes him home and his grandfather, who remembers the town back when it was "a vacant lot," tells Jerry the story of how the Manson company "built" their town.

Synopsis from TMDb

Details

Director
Robert R. Snody
Composer
Edwin E. Ludig
Released
1940-08-04
Running time
10 minutes
Language
English
Collection
Prelinger Archives

Subjects on the Internet Archive

Cast & crew

Reviews on the Internet Archive

★★★★★ · Worship the factory · Steve Nordby · 2003-11-12

Jerry is picked up by the friendly town cop who recognizes him at some undefined uproar at the big local factory. Jerry's dad explains that because the Manson factory is long established in this town, it is defacto a good thing, so if you criticize it, you are wrong and unpatriotic! The night Jerry was born, he became part of the factory! And because the factory payroll finds its way into the town's economy, nothing they do can ever be bad. It wasn't the people that lived there that built the town, it was the factory! Every family in town depended on the factory to survive. This film is a…

★★★★ · The Mansons will take care of us all. · Spuzz · 2005-10-30

After being deposited by the local policeman in a NIFTY Police CONVERTIBLE (How many police cars were actually like that??) Jerry is given to his Grandpa after the cops picked him up at the Manson plant creating a ruckus, yelling Down With Capitalism! Realizing that Jerry is soon to become a hippy (in 1950?) Gramps sits Jerry down in the obvious fake set and lays him the great American business success story, Namely about why the Mansons are so important to this town. Why, without them, this town would be nothing! Gramps is adamant that Mr. Manson is the hero to the city rather then the root…

★★★★ · Creepy · longfade · 2010-06-15

The old guy was presenting a fairly decent (if unimaginative) argument until the ludicrous statement that little Junior somehow has blood ties to the 'factory' purely by virtue of being born in a little backwater industrial town. I try to always take these films with a grain of salt and not take things too literally, but that kind of slavish devotion to corporate interests is sickening and as problematic now as ever. Great film though.

★★★ · Fair · HappySwordsman · 2018-08-27

Cute little relic from 1940, but way too corny for my taste. But hey, I watched the whole film, and trust me, that's something I cannot say about several other films I've tried to watch....

★★ · Monopoly in your town · ERD · 2006-01-21

It seems dangerous when one business has such control over a town. If the factory goes under, so does the town. Where are the opportunities & creative development for the individual if he/she is satisified and passive with such a system- that is not the American way.

★★ · Your Town: Bankrupt · jazzfan · 2010-08-02

Sure the film glorifies capitalism but look at your town today. The dismantling of America’s manufacturing base began 30 years ago have devastated your towns. Wake up and smell the decay. On a lighter note: Jerry is so adorable. I would have love to have thrown an eighteenth birthday party for him. Thank you and may God bless Corporate Amerika, One Nation ABOVE the law.

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