This film is part of Free
Is Everybody Listening?
Enjoy the sounds - and sights - of American public radio in 1948. From soap operas and game shows to political debates and classical music concerts, all human life is here.
Overview
Sometimes sublime, often moronic, but always - in this film at least - entertaining, the output of the US commercial radio network in 1948 was largely controlled by the sponsors who spent 100 million dollars a year on promoting their products via the airwaves. Openly critical of the Federal Communications Commission for not clamping down on violations of good taste and programme balance, this issue nonetheless delights in showing us American radio in all its gaudy glory.
One of the most entertaining entries in the March of Time roster, this selection of highlights (and enjoyably awful lowlights) from the golden age of American radio sums up an era, when, according to the C.E.Hooper survey quoted in the issue, 82 per cent of all Americans listened to the radio. From the paradoxical delights of ventriloquism on the radio, in the form of Ed Bergen and his puppet Charlie McCarthy, to Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra, the film gives a real sense of the reach and power of the medium. The report concludes with a rare on-screen appearance by Westbrook Van Voorhis who delivers his trademark ‘Time Marches On!’ sign-off direct to camera: a witty way to end a lively film.
Related
Inside Nazi Germany Inside Nazi Germany
Documentary 1938 16 mins
A genuinely historic film, which caused much controversy at the time: the first commercially -released American motion picture to explicitly attack Hitler and Nazism.
Presidential Year Presidential Year
Documentary 1948 15 mins
‘Crisp and sincere’,‘carefully trained’ or ’resonant and vibrant’? Which voice would appeal to you if you had to pick the Republican candidate for the 1948 Presidential Election?
Great Britain Coronation Great Britain Coronation
Anthology 1937 24 mins
Weatherproof bunting, fog, clockwork dolls and a Hollywood exodus to London: this sideways look at preparations for the Coronation of George VI provides a wry American take on a very British ceremony.
Metropolis Metropolis
Documentary 1939 18 mins
This ode to New York from March of Time shows us how seven and half million people from every race and nationality in the world, live, work and play together in ‘the greatest metropolis of the New World’.
Irish Free State Irish Free State
Anthology 1936 23 mins
How Ireland turned herself into a self-sufficient powerhouse - plus a study of the "lunatic fringe" in US politics.
America Thinks It Over America Thinks It Over
Documentary 1939 17 mins
In a world on the verge of war, will America support the democracies of Europe, or turn inwards and embrace isolationism?
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.