A panoramic view of American history from the Pilgrims to 1950 utilizing archival footage.A panoramic view of American history from the Pilgrims to 1950 utilizing archival footage.A panoramic view of American history from the Pilgrims to 1950 utilizing archival footage.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
Photos
Marvin Miller
- Narrator
- (voice)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Franklin Delano Roosevelt)
Chester W. Nimitz
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Admiral Nimitz)
George S. Patton
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as General Patton)
George C. Marshall
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as General George Marshall)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as General Eisenhower)
Henry H. Arnold
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as General 'Hap' Arnold)
Douglas MacArthur
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as General Douglas MacArthur)
Harry S. Truman
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as President Truman)
Erville Alderson
- William Seward
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Sidney Blackmer
- Theodore Roosevelt
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Truman Bradley
- Voice Announcing D-Day Invasion
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Douglas Kennedy
- Paratrooper
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
John Litel
- Patrick Henry
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Frank McGlynn Sr.
- Abraham Lincoln
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Grant Mitchell
- John Quincy Adams
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Addison Richards
- Thomas Jefferson
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Ferris Taylor
- John Adams
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe DVD version apologizes for any ethnic stereotypes that may appear in the film.
- GoofsThe narration claims that the plane carrying the first atomic bomb took off from Okinawa. This statement is incorrect - it took off from Tinian in the Marianas.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Abraham Lincoln: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Narrator: Upon that proposition, this great land of liberty was founded. And to this day the persecuted, the oppressed, the weary look upon our shores with eyes of hope.
- Crazy creditsCredited narrator Marvin Miller identifies the remaining credited cast members as they appear on screen.
- ConnectionsEdited from Give Me Liberty (1936)
Featured review
Very Brief History of the USA
This short, composed of stock footage in Technicolor, is a very brief narrative of the history of the USA from the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock in 1620 (note the Pilgrims stepping on the rock!) to the formal Japanese surrender at the end of World war II on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay (2 September 1945). Its obvious purpose is patriotism: both to review what made America great and to note her victories in six wars. Actually what made the USA superior was abundant resources, hard work, geographic location, and immigration. This nationalistic film will come to no surprise to anyone who has watched Hollywood shorts and newsreels from the 1920s through the 1940s. The USA was flush with a victory in the most damaging war in history; thus the movie's ending message is that our land, sea, and air defenses stand ready to defend the nation against the latest threat (the USSR and China).
Famous historical American personages are duly mentioned, like George Washington, John Hancock, Betsy Ross, Abe Lincoln, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and especially the winning generals of the Second World War. It should be noted that the intention of the film is NOT to list negatives, viz., that not all Americans were then getting all of society's benefits. Even so, one might add that, this being America, the situation has long since changed. Although haters of most things American will despise the film, it is nevertheless of historical significance.
Famous historical American personages are duly mentioned, like George Washington, John Hancock, Betsy Ross, Abe Lincoln, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and especially the winning generals of the Second World War. It should be noted that the intention of the film is NOT to list negatives, viz., that not all Americans were then getting all of society's benefits. Even so, one might add that, this being America, the situation has long since changed. Although haters of most things American will despise the film, it is nevertheless of historical significance.
- romanorum1
- Sep 2, 2014
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime19 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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