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UnknownTruth About Taxes, The (1940)

Republican party campaign film on behalf of Wendell Willkie for U.S. president in the 1940 elections.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Unknown
Sponsor: Republican National Committee
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Political campaigns and elections; Economics; Willkie, Wendell A.

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: The_Emperor_Of_Television - - May 8, 2010
Subject: Bad film, yes, but....
...no worse than the Democrat films from the same period (I once saw one of them, ands wow, did it suck and offend. Both films suck, but then, this is how most of today's political films will look 60 years from now).

Thank Lord that this party's early 1950s campaign was more intelligent (and catchier thanks to a classic song written by Irving Berlin)

Reviewer: donwert - - May 8, 2010
Subject: Republican Propaganda
A truly silly Republican ad for the 1940 election
campaign. TAXES, TAXES, TAXES!!!! Some right-wing crap never changes! The last poster is a good example, repeating the lie that FDR knew about Pearl Harbor in advance....The dopes we shall always have with us. Fortunately, the people re-elected FDR. I shudder to think what might have happened had we not had his leadership in the WWII...

Reviewer: Ron Raygun - - November 27, 2008
Subject: These principles should be taught in todays schools
In 1940, after 7 years of the New Deal, the nations economy was still in the tank. All of the huge hiring of guvmint workers produced a huge debt, but did NOT do anything to end the Depression. It was getting into WWII that changed the economy drastically by putting citizens to work in the private sector. FDR knew about the planned Pearl Harbor strike, but did nothing and let the sheeple demand retaliation, which plunged us into the war. After the war ended, the economy boomed and FDR took all the credit. Today, taxation is out of control to pay for BIG GUVMINT and all of the useless bureaucrats drawing salaries and benefits higher than private sector workers. Along with this are the so called "entitlements". Hopefully, a Libertarian will eventually be elected after the large corporations (and Israel) stop bribing the politicians.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - August 13, 2005
Subject: Give em Hell, Wendell!
Awkwardly made film that states that wed have more money for weapons if, dammit, wed stop spending money on everything else! This is a bit of an interesting film for the purpose that this was a very early attempt at a polical smear film. Its not that controversial, so its a tad boring.

Reviewer: trafalgar - - March 12, 2004
Subject: Negative campaigning, 1940 style
This starts out as a long-winded discourse on taxes, but ends up with a vicious attack on Roosevelt (who is strangely never mentioned by name). Using images of Hitler, Stalin, and marching German troops, it equates a fourth term for FDR with home-grown fascism..."we can't let it happen here!"
Other than that, things haven't changed much. Democrats are criticized as big-spending bureaucrats who are soft on defense. And there's a very defensive argument against raising taxes on the rich.
Some people never learn...

Reviewer: Steve Nordby - - September 11, 2003
Subject: Have Republicans always been idiots?
Republican Party film shows workers and declares that taxes and the New Deal take their money and waste it instead of spending it on the military. As usual for Republicans, insults France and England, and is an overall bizarre arguement given what is known historically about the economics of the era, FDR's administration, and WWII.

Shotlist

Film on behalf of Wendell Wilkie for President. Diatribe against the New Deal and taxes. For spending money on national defense (the narrator says nobody minds paying taxes for that.) Also interesting section on the National Debt.
Compares the architects of the New Deal [Roosevelt] and their "lust for power" [a fourth presidential term] to Hitler.

Themes:
military leaders are cited as saying that our national defenses are woefully inadequate.
Discussion of National Debt. deplores the hiring of many new government workers.



Stock shots:
Working; blacksmith; fatigues; montage of industrial labor; special clock with hands going around;
CU into the mouth of a cannon; troops marching; welding; military airplanes; aircraft hangar;
assembly of Congress applauding; Florida Ship Canal; Passamaquoddy (sp?) Project [harnessing of tides]; Civil Service workers leaving work; graph of National Debt. Paymaster window
small town main street; turning on a lamp; putting on nylons; pulling a cigarette from the pack; beer being poured from the tap; pumping gas; farm tractors; parking lot;
Hitler; German troops; artillery being fired; statue of Liberty; Capitol building; Lincoln Memorial;

TAXATION POLITICS REPUBLICAN PARTY WILLKIE, WENDELL ELECTIONS PROPAGANDA ANIMATION MONEY POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS ADVERTISING ECONOMICS PARTIES ROOSEVELT, FRANKLIN DELANO Willkie, Wendell L. Presidential campaigns Political campaigns Republican party (U.S.) Taxation Taxes Money Animation Economics New Deal
Voiceover:
"Every American agrees that our country's defenses must be so strong that no nation would dare attack us. We don't want what has happened in Europe to happen here. . . . We all know that England and France tried the easy way, that France under Premier Leon Blume had a New Deal similar to our New Deal and that today the French people have paid in blood and sorrow the price for that fatal experiment "
"The Florida Ship Canal another wasteful boondoggling failure into which the New Deal has squandered more millions instead of spending money for necessary additions to our national defense."
"Billions scattered in all directions, except to improve our Army, Navy and Air Force. New agencies, new departments, new bureaus, more and more job holders to run these agencies."
"You are taxed to pay the salaries of men like this bureaucrat, symbolic of the mailed fist of centralized bureaucracy that knocks at democracy's door demanding a third term here. rampant in the totalitarian nations of the Old World,plunging Europe into war. Subjugation of the courts, purges of independent legislators, perpetuation of the executive in office, regimentation, war. It must not happen here."
Pictures of Hitler and his army run under this narration:
"All Americans must fight to stop the New Deal. With its lust for power to perpetuate itself in office for another four years."
"We must dismiss incompetents and radicals from high places of government, we must elect Wendell Wilkie President and speedily become so strong that no foe would dare attack us. To that end let us now dedicate ourself in a holy crusade that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth."
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