Wanted More Homes

From Buckminster Fuller’s futuristic dwellings to Quonset huts and pre-fabricated houses, this March of Time issue looks at the most inventive and the most practical solutions to America’s post-war housing crisis. With housing scarce and landlords able to charge extortionate rents, married war veterans were among the hardest hit. This film provides a dramatic account of President Harry S. Truman’s ambitious scheme to build millions of new houses by the end of 1947.

The causes of America’s housing shortage went back to the depression years. This film explores the gap between people’s expectations of life after the war and the reality of a situation where four million families were seeking new homes. A deftly edited montage of recreated scenes shows unfortunate young couples being forced to resort to bribery to secure a letting, while the dream house of the future, with washing machine and electric oven, was still out of reach for most people. The pragmatic and radical approach implemented by Wilson Wyatt’s national housing programme meant government and business co-operating to provide low-cost housing to as many people as possible.