Author Archive: Retro

A film about American capitalism.

Joe, who paints doll faces at the Dilly Dolly doll factory, is down in the mouth. He can’t make ends meet. An unexpected wage raise brightens his spirits. Now he can buy his young daughter a birthday present. He decides upon, not surprisingly, a doll. At the toy shop, he flies into a rage. The doll costs two dollars. He knows there is only ten cents worth of material in the thing. The store manager tries to explain that because Joe’s company increased the cost of its latest shipment, his store had to increase the price of the doll. Joe will have none of it. It’s up to the narrator to talk some sense into Joe and give him an economics lesson. Soon Joe understands such things as labor costs and profits. Suddenly he hits upon an idea that improves productivity at his company, drives down costs, and thus improves the economy. Now, a Dilly [...]

The devil poses as a business tycoon to try and raise the price on home living to start another war and it’s up to John Q to stop him.

The American Petroleum Institute presents “Destination Earth”… The cartoon begins by establishing the planet Mars, ruled by a dictator named Ogg. The Martians are small green guys with big noses and space helmets. The poor guys are herded by soldiers into a space-age coliseum where Ogg forces them to applaud as they hear his criticisms of problems with martian ground transportation – no good fuel and too much friction. A single Martian is sent to Earth to find a solution. The intrepid Martian crashes his saucer into a farm, sets forth into the city, learns about the glorious benefits of petroleum AND capitalist competition, steals a few library books, and heads back to Mars. He excitedly reveals the truths he’s learned to the crowd in the coliseum. The crowd is fueled by the spirit of capitalism and the dictatorship breaks down instantly, to be replaced by the Oil Pioneers, the Oil Explorers, and new management. [...]

Cold War-era cartoon aimed at convincing workers that increased productivity brings about greater purchasing power.

Awkward nebbish scholar Buster Keaton fails to make the grade at school with the jocks and the ladies — until circumstances climactically push him to prove his athletic prowess and win the girl of his dreams. One of Buster’s lesser — but still classic — silent features.

An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi.

The misadventures of Buster in three separate historical periods.