Poland at War; Girls Who Work; Dust Bowl U.S.A

A trio of stories from America and Europe. The first report predicts worrying times for Poland as Josef Goebbels enters the supposedly free city of Danzig, greeted by cheering crowds and Nazi banners. In the second item, young women seeking work in New York are warned to stay away by the city’s authorities. Finally, a Texan publisher proposes a scheme to restore the farmland left devastated by the dust storms and soil erosion of the ‘dirty thirties’.

The second story in this issue is characterised by a mixture of the progressive and the sensational that is typical of the March of Time in its early days. Beginning as an investigation into the difficulties facing young women looking for work in the city and featuring some evocative contemporary footage of crowded Manhattan streets, busy employment agencies, and crowded YWCAs, the film is an insightful and sympathetic investigation into the resourcefulness of young independent women and the obstacles facing them. The effect is somewhat undermined by the ending which takes a turn to the sensational with a warning about the perils of working in clip joints.