This film is part of Free
Salt Lake City; Amateur Sleuths; The Land of Cotton
Idle Mormons, angry cotton pickers and a boom in detective fiction: a mix of intriguing and provocative stories set against a turbulent background of unemployment and recession.
Overview
A scheme to prevent idleness among unemployed Mormons; striking sharecroppers fighting for their rights and a ‘crime club’ of amateur sleuths helping to solve real-life felonies: this compelling issue from 1937 shows The March of Time at the height of its powers and includes one of the most dramatic ‘re-enactments’ in the entire series: the recreation of the murder of a black sharecropper and the brutal flogging of a pastor and social worker by angry plantation owners.
The stories in this issue take place against a background of rising unemployment and reflect the March of Time’s commitment to producing stories which reflected social reality. The ‘Land of Cotton’ story, which champions the striking sharecroppers and their angry demands for better pay and the right to organise, is ultimately compromised by a refusal to attribute blame. Nonetheless, the story (emphatically called ‘King Cotton’s Slaves’ in the US edition) was deemed to be so provocative in its criticism of the planters that the March of Time’s business manager took out an extra $10,000 life insurance policy on director Jack Glenn, while he was filming near Memphis, Tennessee.
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?
Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan on working with David Lynch - Q&A Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan on working with David Lynch - Q&A
Inside Film 2025 38 mins
Kyle MacLachlan talks to BFI CEO Ben Roberts about working with David Lynch on the legendary series Twin Peaks.
On Falling - Exclusive Q&A On Falling - Exclusive Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
Writer-director Laura Carreira talks to Nia Childs about her debut feature, On Falling.
Layla - Exclusive Q&A Layla - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 27 mins
Writer, director and performer Amrou Al-Kadhi talks to Rico Johnson-Sinclair about their debut feature.
All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 28 mins
Payal Kapadia discusses her Cannes prize-winning and Bafta-nominated drama with Ashanti Omkar.
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
Documentary 2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.