Brother Can You Spare a Dime

I saw this feature doco during its original run in 1977, I think, and for the second time recently in a retrospective of Philippe Mora's work 25 years later. It is an amazing piece of work, with the material itself providing the narrative ... actual speeches, songs and sound on the film ... there is no narration or voice over. The years from Depression up to WW2 come to life with this artful assembly of scenes from musicals, songs, newsreels and speeches. Considering it was produced by an Englishman and directed by an Australian, it has a remarkable sensitivity for its subject. Highly recommended for lovers of documentary or history.

I'm a high school history teacher, and have been using this film to show my students (mostly foreign) how the media portrayed the Great Depression. I also assign term papers about the era, and this movie gives them a good idea of what to choose. So far, I've had students choose to write on dance marathons, the dust storms, hobos,and the building of the Hoover Dam, just to name a few subjects.

At first, they get a kick out of the music and the costumes, but the scenes of homeless people, the breadlines, and the general despair really hit home. Many never realized that America, the land of opportunity, was a land of unemployment, hunger, and fear for nearly a decade.

This movie is a must to all who want to evoke the feel of the Depression and not just have the kids read it out of dry books. It's very hard to get someone in to speak first-hand about the era, this movie speaks for them.

This was labeled as a documentary, so I expected there to be actual interviews or at least a narrative explaining what the references were. Instead, it's just a melange of clips and archival footage without any context. There's no script, no identification of anyone who's speaking, no labeling on the film clips, no explanation of the significance of what's been included.

I'm fairly knowledgeable about this era, and even I didn't recognize half of the archival footage used or the personalities who appeared in it. I certainly didn't learn anything more from it, which is a shame.

Anyone actually wanting to learn about the Depression era should give this a pass. The PBS series on the 1930s was far more interesting and informative.

I recently bought this documentary on DVD and watched it several times in succession. It is the best archival source of Depression-era material I have ever run across. I particulary enjoyed the segment with Huey Long. What a terrific speaker he was! And to see him on stage with Ina Ray Hutton, the woman band leader, was a real treat. I highly recommend this for historians of America in the 20th century.

this is an extraordinary use of both documentary and archive newsreel to tell a story of the depression era in the USA. No naration, the film speaks for itself. The use of Jimmy Cagney as a running character is great. Fascinating and amusing.