Cinematic Era: 1947 Vintage

Let’s get this show on the road. The Ministry of the Information, and its peacetime successor the Central Office of Information, weren’t the first to take film out of the cinema and onto the doorsteps of Brits nationwide, but they certainly raised the bar on how it should be done. Developments in non-flammable “safety” film stocks, and the availability of “substandard” 16mm film prints from the 1920s, made the film show increasingly portable and meant that any room could become a cinema. The need and benefits of an official public information film service was clearly demonstrated in the Second World War, and an investment in distribution was just as important as production - especially when the war effort meant a trip to the local cinema was not always on the cards. With a broad range of non-fiction shorts on offer, the peacetime COI kept the show going in classrooms, village halls and canteens across Britain.

1947 short film that was nominated for an Oscar in the category "Best Documentary, Short Subjects"

A film on mountain-climbing in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo. Glenn Exum, Virginia Garner, and Paul Petzoldt demonstrate mountaineering techniques and equipment. They reach the peak, shake hands, and rappel and glissade to base of mountain.

A short feature illustrating just how medical science deals with the after effects of accidents and injuries.

This Columbia "Thrills of Music" short (production number 6952) headlines the Boyd Raeburn Orchestra, who lead off playing "Temptation." Band vocalist Ginny Powell sings "St. Louis Blues" and Teddy Walters sings the Nat 'King' Cole Hit Parade song "Ballerina." Dancer Nancy Doran provides the ballet background for the last song.

Produced by Paul Hoefler Productions on behalf of Western Air LInes, "Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons" is a classic travelogue film that dates to 1947. It presents views from both an airplane and an automobile of Old Faithful and the Yellowstone River Canyon, the geyser basins, Sulphur Springs, Grand Canyon, fishing spots, dude ranches and roundups.

A film based on Hagibis, which was created in 1947, was one of the longest-running komiks serials in Philippine comics history. Inspired by Kulafu of Francisco Reyes and Tarzan of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

A time lord of Valois must go to war. He learns by a prophecy that his honor risks being affected. He entrusts his wife to Maxime de Falindor who, despite the temptation, will know how to restore her wife and honor intact.

A short subject by Roger Livet.

An adventure in the jungles of Roncador, marking the historic encounter with the fearsome Xavantes.

Bored rich guy takes a job serving as chef to a show-biz couple on a lark... in spite of the fact that he doesn't know how to cook.

French horror comedy short from 1947.

South African Film

Although some of the conclusions are a bit odd - the woman who had been suffering headaches and misery is shown as cured when she rejects with a smile a shoe a clerk tries to sell her - its musings on the origins of what can be crippling issues.

Documentary on Greece and preservation of historical artifacts.

Rouch’s earliest surviving film, which depicts the Sorko of Niger on a hippopotamus hunt. - MoMA

A reporter and tango singer is sent to the war zone in 1916, where he loses his memory.

1947 film by Vijay Bhatt

You're asking for trouble when you play with fire - and this public information film is the stuff of nightmares.

A film by famed director Tit Lee.

Mexican movie

The teacher Clemens is instructed to learn to dance so that he can teach the subject.

A 1947 Bengali Film directed by Premendra Mitra.

Documentary short from the NFB Canada Carries On series on dancing from the different cultures in Canada.

Martin Andersen Nexø talks about his writing, about writing novels and explains the background of the main characters in 'Pelle the Conqueror' and 'Your Child'. The film was shot on December 1, 1947 on the initiative of Johs. Øhlenschlæger.

Roshan, a young man who can't see, falls for a blind beggar girl named Rani. He tries to get the money for an operation that could restore her sight, but his plan goes horribly wrong, landing him in jail. In his absence, a doctor enters Rani's life and gives her the gift of vision. After years apart, their paths cross again, but will they find their way back to each other, or has fate set them on separate courses forever?

Pigmeat's Laugh Hepcats

Lulu tries to keep from getting thrown off of a train by the conductor after she can't find her ticket.

Dramatised documentary on Mussel fishing and oyster breeding: A man is washed ashore and then hospitalised, the police interview him about the pearls he is carrying. His response offers an account of his life in the North Wales coastal town of Conwy - mussel fishing, lobstering, an oyster breeding research centre and his experiences pearl fishing in the south seas and trawling off Iceland.

Eager science students, devout peasants, tough farm workers and hungry families: this film offered a rare chance for viewers to see the human face of Russia in the aftermath of war.

Educational short film in which an innocent young woman goes to a party and is pressured by a sleazy lothario into drinking too much.

Takes students to England to show them the land that inspired many great writers... the London of Chaucer, Dickens and Browning...the countryside which was so meaningful to Shakespeare, Keates, Wordsworth and Kipling...and the sea as Coleridge, Conrad and Masefield wrote of it.

A Soundie with Leona Fredericks and the Irving Fields Trio.

A Soundie featuring Noble Sissle and His Orchestra with Mabel Lee.

The film shows the most diverse branches of industry and public life, but the longest continuous section is from Reykjavík. Other chapters of the film are from all over the country, such as Mývatn, Siglufjörður during the herring fishing season and of the eruption at Hekla.

Short documentary illustrating the buildings and monuments of Piazza San Marco in Venice.

This video is about the four victors of the war in Europe occupying Germany. The video shows a devastated Germany and its clean up. There are Germans how have to help rebuild there own country. There is the small percentage that still prosper though. The four zones of Germany became split between the victors: The United States, France, Great Britain and the USSR. The video gets specific about the United States is doing to help rebuild Germany from shipping food to teaching journalism. But there still are people how are trying to promote "not Germany's fault" to a black market. There is also mention of war crime tribunals as well.

A look into beekeeping.

Sportscaster Bill Stern drops in at the bowling alley---before they went uptown and became bowling lanes--- and exchanges some commentary with bowling pros Ned Day and Joe "The Fabulous" Felcaro. Ned and "Fabulous" then put on an exhibition of the skills that made both tops in their field at the time.

In 1947, a 27-minute, black-and-white short subject entitled Rehearsal: The Telephone Hour, was released to theaters. Originating in NBC's Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the film featured, in addition to Voorhees and the orchestra, operatic bass Ezio Pinza and opera mezzo-soprano Blanche Thebom singing arias. It simulated a rehearsal of the popular program, complete with a commercial announcement, and then, near the end, segued to what was presumably the actual radio broadcast.

A little feature on horse racing.

Salesmanship and psychology instruction for gun dealers.

Hans Albers plays returning war veteran Hans Richter who has trouble finding work. With nowhere else to turn, Richter gets involved with black market activities. This so disgusts Richter's son, blind ex-soldier Edwin (Paul Edwin Roth), that the boy literally disowns his father. Hans eventually mends his ways, but not before several other devastating setbacks.

Life and livelihoods on the fens.

The Father of American Music, Stephen Foster created melodies for all the world to sing, most memorably his folk songs about the joys and sorrows of the people of the South. His achievements seem miraculous in that he had no musical training, and except for one short visit had never been to the South.

he laws governing old age pensions in Denmark have recently been consolidated, and the rates of pensions improved. The film opens with visits to typical old age pensioners living independently. We pay a visit to a typical block of low-rent flats, built specially for old people who can care for themselves. Special places are provided for those who can no longer live alone without attention. We see the famous De Gamles By, which has been criticised on a number of counts, yet which has certain amenities provided by few other such places. We then visit a number of old people's homes, including a small one in a village, one of the most modern homes in Denmark in the prosperous Copenhagen suburb of Gentofte, and a typical average home.