Rezension von Doylenf

What were they thinking? That's what I thought when I watched this dismal short subject called NEW ROADWAYS ('39). The roadways refer to new lab experiments aimed at helping mankind.

For starters, as an illustration of how effective plastic surgery can be in changing lives, we see an "ugly" man whose face would make success in any job near impossible. So says the narrator. The only catch is, the man is far from ugly--merely sullen and nondescript in appearance--and we're told this kind of man becomes a criminal because he can't find work in a respectable job! Please. Doesn't anyone know what "ugly" really is?? This sequence is laughable.

There's a strain on credibility too when the narrator informs us that the chemistry of white mice is so similar to man's that all kinds of lab tests can be done on memory and behavior, as well as finding cures for infantile paralysis and cancer. That might be overstating the case just a little, although I'm sure whatever lab experiments are done with white mice do deserve some mention.

A better illustration of plastic surgery could have included men disfigured during war with facial scars that have to be healed.

Definitely one of the less distinguished entries in MGM's "Passing Parade" series.