M - 42a/The Depression Years

SEGMENT A

Fade up on A :00 D SOUND FULL: Music Montage of shots of 1930s

Dis. to B :07

:08 C SOUND FULL: Miller/D SOUND UNDER

Dis. to A

SAM MILLER:

Almost half the population today inthe U.S. was not alive

during the depression, or if so were at such an age that

they couldn't remember it, therefore it is typeical of

:20 that type of individual to say that/we must be in a depres­

sion at the present time, well that's not the case. The

difficulty is almost half the population today, has heard

of the depression, has read of the depression, but never

tasted a depression.

:33 C SOUND OUT/D CONT'S. UNDER

Dis. to B :37

:38 C SOUND FULL: Geo. Condon/D CONT'S. UNDER

CONDON:

It was not the time you'd want to return to except in your

mind, because the negative side certainly met great

poverty and privatiot;l with suffering•......... for huma­

nity. And it was a crippling thing for the nation. But

perhaps it was a crucible that made the nation stronger

M - 428/Sego A Page 2.

in the long run I don't lmow•

Dis. to A Bread lines

1:00 C SOUND OUT/D SOUND UNDER (Cont's.)

1:03 C SOUND CONT'S. FULL: Osbourne/D CONT'S. UIDER

OSBOURNE:

The Decade of the 30's--the decade that flattened hope

and crushed the American dream•••.A time that stands

as the great American trauma. The Great Depression

of the 1930's fa s had a most profound impact on Ameri­

can thought. It lasted, in effect, for eleven long years

ending only wi th the mobilization for World War Two.

Perhaps its shock value was meant to serve as a shrine

to future generations--a warning. As economist John

Kenneth Galbraith once wrote: "A Good knowledge of

what happened in 1929 remains our best safeguard against

the recurrence of the more unhappy events of those days. "

1:41 X-FADE FROM D SOUND TO B UNDER

Today, as unemployment heads toward some unlmown

double digit figure; production and sales alike continue on

a steady decline; and as the consumer tightens his purse

strings the nagging thoughts of many Americans are,

either consciously or subconsciously, returning to the

Clo.,.,.HiI O'hORt_Hkp. ;maQ'@s of the Great Denression. The

M - 428/Seg.A Page 3.

question haunting so many people today is --What ire the

odds it will happen again? The answer can be found, in

Vertical Wipe to A (left to right) 2 :13 X-FADE FROM B TO D SOUND UNDER Depression lines

part, by examining those economically depressed days of

the 1930s •••. What caused the worst depressicn in world

history?••• and, as a nation, who somehow muddled

thIWgh it, what DR de us hugh and what made us cry?

_M_a_tte_:_M_o_n_ta......g"-e_____2_:_25___M_o_n_ta-""-ge/ will look back on those turbulent days and inves-

Matte: title 2 :31 tigate the possibilities of a recurrence off 'the depres­

sion years. '

2:33 C SOUND OUT/D SOUND FULL: Music

Fade to Black 2:38 FADE OUT D SOUND

END SEGMENT A

M - 428Jt'he Depression Years Page 4.

SEGMENT B

Fade in A :00 D SOUND FULL: Music Stills of depression

:05 C SOUND FULL: Osbour ne /D SOUND UNDER

OSBOURNE:

The depresion today is remembered as a time of bitter­

sweet existence. For those who recalled the 30s, their

stories are comprised mostly of thebitter and very little

of the sweet. For many, the Great Depression of the

1930s was a lost decade, something that you put out of

your mind forever, and hoped that it didn't come back to

haunt you.

:26 D SOUND OUT/C CONT'S. FULL: Music

:31 ,C SOUND UNDER: Music/D SOUND FULL: Osbourne

Informed sources say that he depression was moot likely

cut to 1920s footage rooted in the wUd speculative years of the 1920s, but no

one knows for sure. A 'speculative modd' had pervaded

the 20s with the philosophy that all people had the right

to become rich, very quickly, with a minimum of physi­

cal effort--and, one speculated by investing in the stock

market.

M - 428/Seg. B Page 5.

:51 D SOUND OUT

:53 C SOUND OUT: With Heavy Re -verb

:54 FADE IN C SOUND: W lReverb-Tickertape

:56 D SOUND FULL: Osbourne/C SOUND UNDER

But, on Thursday, Oct. 24, 1929 the bottom fell out of an

overexte.nded Wallstreet.

1:03 D SOUND our/c FULL: Tickertape (WIreberb)

DiS. to B 1:09 X-FADE FROM C FULL TOD SOUND FULL: Music st6cks as wallpaper

1:15 D UNDER IC SOUND FULL: Osbourne

The real value of stocks reflected nothing more than

hunches and guesses. For some who handn't lost every­

thing, most of all their sense of hum ore , the worthless

stock issues could find other uses like wallpapering your

house, if indeed, you still had one.

1:33 C SOUND OUT

Dis. to A 1:35 X-FADE FROM D TO C SOUND UNDER: Music still pix/run on the banks

M- 428/Seg. B

Cut to:

Page 6.

1:38 D SOUND FULL: Bums/C SOUND CONT'S. UNDER

BURNS:

I was about 4 years married and uh, depression came

along. I paid $3,000 on a 2 family house, and then I

couldn't meet the payments anymore. ThEf said well uh,

"we're sorry, we sold your mortgage to somebody else. "

This was terrible thing, man worked hard and saved a

few dollars to buy a home for himself am then he was in

thi. s kind of a s itua tion.

EFFECTS 2:03 D SOUND OUT/FADE C SOUND OUT/ADD CROWD .

W.S. -overhead (Horse -clopping, trolley) FULL W. S. -line in street M.S. -cops ushering

men thru door 2:05 D SOUND FULL: Osboume.EF,FECTS UNDER

OSBOURNE:

Now that "paper" fortunes had turned to dust, the Ameri­

can people still were not willing to believe what had hap­

p ened. Disbelief turned into panic, and in panic, mobs

besieged the banks demanding their life savings•.....

2:19 D CCJlJT'S. FULL: Selkowitz/LOSE '·EFFECTS

SELKOWITZ:

Matte: L-l/3: Selkowitz 2 :21 My wife said that a lot of people were drawing in their

money out of the bank. Society for Savings had a branch

out there and I said aw that'll never go broke. its a big

Page 7.

bank, they got plenty of money, so we didn't do anything

that day, so when I arne home the next day, she told me

they were still, people were drawin' their money out, she

said, there's trouble, so we went to the bank, we drew

our money out about 2 days later, the president closed all

the banks and we were pretty fortunate that way, I guess

we's just lucky.

Cut to : D SOOND OUT/C SOUND UNDER: Music apple sellers

3:01 D SOUND FULL: Osboume/C CaNT'S. UNDER

OSBOURNE:

The depression rapidly began to snowball. With savings

cut to: empty, idle factories

lost, people immediately began cutting purchases. All

production in the country began to decline, and some came

to a grinding halt. As rrassive deflation picked up steam,

the inevitable happened: men began to lose thei r jobs -­

layoffs were swift and heavy.

Fast Dis. to B 3:23 D SOUND OUT/C CaNT'S. UNDER 1930-Auto poster

3:24 D SOUND FULL: Condon/C CaNT'S. UNDER

CONDON:

It was a most distreSSing time of course for the bread­

winners, the conscientious ones who had a family and

M - 428/Seg. B Page 8.

suddenly found themselves deprived of an ireome.

Dis to A 3:38 FADE C SOUND our Condon on Cam.

It was a time that did bring humanity closer together in

Matte: L-I/3, Condon 3:40 many ways. And it did something else I think it height­

ened this need for survival.

Horizontal Wipe to B 3:50 C SOUND IN UNDER: Music from bottom to top

Uh heightened the senses. The adversity of the times did

make the adrenalin flow. Those who could not endure

the deprivations, the rejections, the breadlines, the

job lines, uh were in very bad shape psychologically, and

physically and every other way.

4:08 D SOUND OUT/C FULL: Music

4:14 D SOUND FULL: Osbourne/C SOUND UNDER

OSBOURNE:

Amidst this all, there were stUI cries from American

business men, industrialists, and the Hoover Administra­

tion that "prosperity was just around the corner". But

to the 13 mUlion people out of work, a staggering 25% of

the entire work force, empty phrases did little to put

bread on the table. Men out of work, hungry, with spirits

M - 428/Seg. B Page 9.

broken, stood in line for free nourshment.

4:40 CHANGE IN D SOUND FULL: "Brother Can You Spare A Dime"

Brother can you spare a dime. They used to tell me I

was building a dream, and so I followed the mob, when

the re was earth to plow or guns to bear, I was alway s

there right on the job. They used to tell me I was build­

ing a dream, with peace and glory ahead. Why should

I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

MUSIC REFRAIN:

Once I buUt a railroad, made it rWl, made it race against

time, once I bunt a rairoad, now its done, brother at n

you spare a dime.

5 :38 C SOUND UNDER: Music

5 :39 D SOUND FULL: Osbourne /C C ONT'S. UNDER

Men at- ­employment agencies 1

OSBOURNE:

A man, reduced now to another hungry statistic, would

realize all too soon the pain and frustration of regaining

employment. In desperation he turned to the employment

agencies--wUling to lose a weEk, or a months pay for a

job that might rebuild his deflated ego. Butas many soon

found out, the longlines of hopeless men at the employ­

M - 428/Seg.B Page 10.

Dis. to B 6:07 Ladies at employment bureau

Dis. to A 6:24

ment agencies came upon collective, wholesale rejections.

C SOUND CHANGES, UNDER (Mat Need Fade Out-Fade In)C ONTfS. FULL

ELDERLY LADY:

Iuh,got 'So discouraged and so frustrated that I became'

depressed myself during the depression and couldn't snap

. out of it because I couldn't do what I wanted to do. I

wasn't doing the things that I cruld do, that I wasn't able

to do.

C CONT'S. UNDER: Music Factory Worke rs

6:25 D SOUND CONT'S.: Osbourne/C CONT'S UNDER

OSBOURNE:

By 1932 wages and prices sank to an aU time low .. The

national income had declined by 50%. For those who

were stUl employed, most sweatshop, factory work only

brought home between 75 cents to $2.00 a week.

6:41 D SOUND CONT'S FULL: Condon.

CONDON:

If money was hard to come by goods were cheap so a

little bit of money went a long way. We would spend 5¢

M - 428/Seg.B Page 11.

Dis. to B 6:47 FADE C SOUND OUT ON: ''Went A Long Way" Condon on Cam.

Cut to: 7:23 Vets descending on Cleve. Freight train yard (mob scene)

7:27

Vertical Wipe to A (left to right) 7:48

for a bag of potato chips and you could have a feast - three

or four of you could dip into that bag of potato chips for ­

that cost you a nickel. You bought broken cookies at the

cookie factory, pop was ridiculously cheap and you found

ways to make a little bit of money. In those days you

could get a job perhaps delivering groceries for the cor­

ner grocery store.

~FFECTS FULL: Add locomotive Whistle & Gen'!. Crowd

Noise

EFFECTS C SOUND FULL: Osbourne/CROWD UNDER: W /idle

Steam Engine in B. G .

OSBOURNE:

From every comer of the country, jobless World War One

Veterans, calling themselves Bonus Marchers, boarded

any type of transportation they could find that was bound

for Washington. Here in Cleveland the Vets overtook

freight trains to begin their long trip to protest what they

felt was rightfully theirs--a bonus worth about $500. In

EFFECTS CHANGE UNDER: Add Men Marching in Streets

Vets March down Pa. Ave.

Washington the men, in tattered clothes, marched down

Pennsylvania Avenue to take their dellR nds to Congress,

and they set lp camp on the Anacostia Flats. Their argu­

M - 428/Seg. B Page 12.

ment was that the m;oney was needed now ,not upon

maturity in 1945. In the end, their demands were met

only with tear gas and bayonets.

EFFECTS Cut to: 8:09 C SOUND OUT/LOSE . /D SOUND FULL: Music "Bro-Bonus March there Can You Spare A Dime

LYRICS:

Once I buUt a tower to the sun bricks and rivets and lime,

once I built a tower, now its done, brother can you spare

a dime. Once in cacky suits gee we looked swell, full of

that Yankee Dood'le Dance, half a million boots, went

slogging thru hell, and I was the kid with the drum. Say

don't you remember they call me AI, it was al all the tim

say do't you remember I'm your pal, buddy can you spare

a dime."

8:59 D SOUND UNDER/C SOUND FULL: Lady

ELDERLY LADY: I

I do want you all to know something about Hoover puttin'

these chickens in the pot. You mow he, he ••. he was

gonna put 2 chickens in every pot, but I think what hap­

pened to the chickens, they went in his pot, because we

didn't see any of it, or get any of it, that was the worse

depression during the time that he was preSident, and

the time that uh, PreSident Roosevelt took over and came

in there and kept us from starving.

M - 428!Seg. B Page 13.

Shots of FDR

9:23 D SOUND OUT/C CONT'S FULL: FDR (Needs Boost)

FDR: (Inaugural)

This is••. pre-eminently the time to speak the truth, the

whole truth frankly and boldly. This great nation will

endure, as it las endured, will revive and will prospe r.

9:39 C SOUND UNDER: Music/D SOUND FULL: Osbrurne

OSBOURNE:

In March, 1933 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was

inaugurated Presidnet, unemployment had reached its

peak, about 15 million. To the common man, working or

unemployed, FDR, that cold year of the depression, was

.the MeSSiah.

9:55 D SOUND OUT/C SOUND FULL: WPA fUm

WPA FILM NARRATION:

As Uncle Sam ••• ventured to the challenge of the depressiOl

the names of Boulder, Grand Coulee, Woodpeck and

Bonneville stand without equal in the annals of engineering,

achievements of all time. Together they will reclaim

areas of land greater than the territory of whole nations,

they're combined electric power output will rival the great·

est fortunes known to man, they're benefits will be the

inheritance of future gneerations. They stand as enduring

M - 428/Seg.B Page 14.

monuments, to the valiant battle of a great people against

the combined forces of a world wide depression.

10:30 D SOUND FULL: Osboume/C SOUND UNDER

OSBOURNE:

The construction of great projects like the Botler or

Grand Coulee dams were undertaken by FDR's New Deal

through the public works programs. Under the WPA, the

PWA, and the CCC to name only a few, men were put

;";'F;:;a=-st.--:D:-;is=.:-r-to~B_____ ___ ___ In Cleveland, the parks system,I_O_:4_4 b_a_ck_t_0_w_0_r_k_a-"gai_n",-,./ WPA-PWA in Cleveland-stills the memorial shoreway, and playgrounds by the dozens

were improved or constructed from scratch by the so­

called "alphabet soup" agencies. (Watch Change In Music;

Dis. to A 10:54 D CaNT'S. FULL: Condon/C CaNT'S. UNDER: Music WPA -Stills

CONDON:

The WPA came to be a, the standing joke with the radio

comedians. The whole point of the joke being that there

were thousands or millions of men leaning on shovels

everywhere you looked. Well, cause those comedians

never used a shovel---or they would know that if you dig

--especially if you're not used to digging or wheeling a

pick you got to stop once in awhile and take a long rest

because its uh arduous. There are a lot of buildings a:tanc

as monuments to those agencies which put people to work,

M - 428/Seg. B Page 15.

And work was a precious thing. It was a precious psy­

chologica11y, as it was economically.

11:42 X-FADE FROM C SOUND: To added Effects-UNDER: WI' -Protest in streets Angry Crowds & Derr.

11:44 D SOUND FULL: Osbourne/CROWD EFFECTS UNDER

OSBOURNE:

In 1936 the WPA, like many of the New Deals relief agen­

cies began experiencing trouble--the government began

massive WPA layoffs. The worker immediately took to

the streets in protest.

11:56 D SOUND OUT/EFFECTS FULL

12:02 D SOUND FULL: Osbourne/EFFECTS UNDER

OSBOURNE:

WPA workers were not the ooly ones to express discon­

tent. For more than 10 years labor unions had lost their

voice and were in steady decline. By themid 30s labor

Cut to: was coming into it's own, and the people were beginning union strikes

to feel their strength. Strikes against powerful manage­

ment empires spontaneously unfolded one-by-one------­

In the mid-west dairy workers protested by spilling milk

into the streets. Taxi drivers went on strike in New Yor~

and in Cleveland protesting low wages. Automotive wor­

M - 428/Seg. B Page 16.

kers stopped production by a sit-down strike at Chevrolet

12 ~.f) ADD VIOLENT CROWD NOISE

Cut to: While others hoping for peaceful demonstrations, ran into Crowd Throwing Briks, etc. violence .•••.......

12:42 D SOUND OUTLEFFEQ.r=S-=F:-:U=L=L=--_______

Fade B to Black 12:52 FADE OUT ALL SOUND f

Fade in BRoIl 1930s comic books etc.

12:54 D SOUND FULL: Music

13 :10 C SOUND FULL: Condon/D SOUND UNDER

CONDON:

Adversity has its own uses and - well its the saying

Itsweet a:rethe uses of adversity" and they are, because

=D,..:..is-:-:.:..-..::to""""A-:-::-~,.......-:~_---13-:-18---0-n-t-h-e.,J"p~0-s,.;..it"""'"'iv,;,...e_sl~'de/ of the depressIon we enjoyed life ­Babe Ruth hits In me run we enjoyed it tremendously as kids and I think a lot of

Dis. to B People on beaches

13 :30; adults - it has to be by nature a Simpler time. 1 You have

tobrego luxuries which when you have lost them tend to

Dis. to A 13:41 not be as valuable as you thought they were .1 Cleveland

got its biggest psychological boost in the middle of the

depressiDn when the Gl8lt Lakes Exposition was staged

on the lakefront. While it dIdn't fake the city out of the

depression, it helped the city to forget the depression. It

M - 428/Seg. B Page 17.

was a rollicking affa ir, really beautfu1.

14:00 C SOUND OUT/D SOUND FULL: Music

Dis. to B 14:05

14 :06 C SOUND FULL: Condon/D SOJ ND UNDER

For two years Cleveland laughed and danced and had a

good time downtownduring the worst depression in history.

14 :15 C SOUND OUT/D SOUND FULL: Music

Fad~ to Black 14:48 C SOUND OUT: Add Re-verb to Last Note

Fade in Bumpe r 14 :49

Fade to Black 14:52

END SEGMENT B

M- 428/The Depression Years Page 18.

Fade in A :00 D SOUND FULL: Ford/ADD RE-VERB 1930s (full-screen)

PRES. FORD:

"We are in trouble. But we are not on the brink of Start very slow vertical _W-...::ixp..:..e_t_o_B--!(_rig..,!::·:.::h:..;..t..:..to.::.-.:.le_f_t~)__:_07____a_n_o_th_e_r_G_r_ea~t_De_..£.p_re~s-s-i-on.-:;. / Our political and econom ic

Hold -split screen system today is many times stronger than it was in the

1930s. We have income safeguards and unemployment

cushions built into our economy. I have taken, and will

continue to take whatever steps are needed to prevent

massive dislocations and personal hardships, and, in

particular, the tragedy of rising unemployment. "

:42 D SOUND OUT/e SOUND FULL: Osbourne /B SOUND UNDER

OSBOURNE:

'Depression', of course, is all a matter of definition.

Today, what is in fact depression to the poor am middle

irebme groups, is mild recession to the affluent. How­

ever, its probably safe to say that depression or reces­

sion will never be what it was in the 1930s.

Dis. to A :58 C SOUND OUT/X-FADE FROM B UNDER TO A FULL Fed. Reserve money counting

1:05 e SOUND FULL: Osbourne / A SOUND UNDER

We have been, and will always remain on an everchang

ing business cycle. By classic definition, the cycle is

M - 428/Seg. C Page 19.

made up of 'Boom' periods or inflations, which is always

followed by periods of recession or depression. Stated

quite simploy, the 'boom', or inflationary period, is the

increase in the quantity of money in the economy where

excesses b\lUd up in wages and prices; cCllversely,

'recession' or 'depression' is the fall in the money

supply where liquidation of wasteful misinvestment of

the 'boom' occurs. The stability of that system rests

with the safeguards that are built into it. One such

safeguard is our federal reserve system who tightens

or loosens that money supply depending upon prevailing

economic conditions.

By definition of economics, the whole system appears

very sound---but is it really sound enough to prevent a

return of 'the depression years?'

1:58 C CaNT'S. FULL: Rothwell/A CaNT'S. UNDER

RGrHWELL:

The economy, the political institutions that we have

today, are a lot different than those of the 1930s. 'Know

Dis. to B 2:09 there's the economists call automatic stabilizers, / we

2 :09 FADE A SOUND OUT

have unemployment insurance, we didn't lave that in the

- - •• or , I" I'J .11 1 Q~nQ lTnpmnlovment insurance maintains purchasing

M - 428/Seg. C Page 20.

power. Uh we have bank deposit insurance, in the 1930s

we didn't have anything like this if a bank failed uh, a

little guy could lose all of his money today an agency of

the federal government uh, insures deposits up to

Dis. to A 2:33 A SOUND IN UNDER Fed. Reserve money handling

Dis. to B

$40,000. We have the tax structure that the tax rate goes

down as incomes decline, so if our incomes do fall, at

least we pay less to the federal government. Now when

you think about it, Congress thru its instrumentality of

the Federal Reserve System has the power to create

money, it also has the power to uh, put people to work,

so if we did begin sUding into a very very deep recession

government would be the employer of last erscrt, when

you can print money, and employ peop,e, you can pre­

vent a debacle like the 1930s.

MC CARTHY:

The plain truth of the matter is we don't know that much

3:21 FADE OUT A SOUND

about the structure of the U.S. economy or the world

Matte: LrI/3, McCarthy 3:23 economy to be able to make very confident uh, state­

ments about the effect, particularly the long run effect,

the policies that we undertake in any" given point in time.

M - 428/Seg. C 1 Page 21.

The more the economy is subjected to shocks that cannot

be anticipated, the more vulnerable it is to uh, to depres­

sion. In fact our economic policy controls uh, are going

to have somewhat less reliability in the future as, as our

Dis. to A 3:57 A SOUND UNDER Idle auto prod. lines

Dis. to B

vulnerability to 00, 00 to developments in the rest of the

world increases uh, we're gonna find that uh our econo­

mic policy measures uh, may not have quite the effect­

iveness that we anita pated.

4 :11 A SOUND OUT: After: "I thinkt that uh, .... ") Condon on Cam.

CONDON:

I think that it would be a challenge to nature to say that

there will be no depression in the future. I think that it

is the natural scheme of things that we go in cycles, that·

the pendulum swing back. We have been in an upswing

for many and many years. It would be illogical to sup­

pose that nature doesn't require an adjustment from

time to time and that there would not be a natural law

which would provide a natural reaction to eve ry action.

Well, we have been going in one direction for a long

time and I think that we have to go in another direction

and it may be that such adjustments are not only essen­

tial but intrinSically helpful as distasteful as an economic

M - 428/Seb. C Page 22.

dip is to most experts in economic matters and politi­

cians especially.

5:23 START SLOW FADE IN ON D SOUND: Music

I think it probably something that will not be able to

Start Matte Credits 5 :27 C SOUND OUTjD SOUND FULL: Music, Helen O'Cowell: "Are You Having Any Fun?"

1. Title 2. Narrator: Osbourne 3. Writer-Prod.: H. Schwartz 4. A. Prod.: Mrzena/Siegler 5. Cine. /Ed.: Goulden/Mrzena 6. T .D. /Audio 7. Montage Ackn. 8. Co-op #1 9. Co-op #2

10. MRA/Pub. Af.

Fade to Black 6:38 ADD RE-VERB, LAST NOI'E ON D SOUND & RING OFF

END SEGMENT C

END SHON