Edward Arnold plays the devil here, sitting in a big office, often conversing by phone with Hitler on how to destroy morale on the American home front. The Devil decides the best idea is to ignite inflation and get people grousing about high prices and then working at cross purposes to undermine the war effort.
There are examples shown - A young couple making more money than they ever had before due to steady work in munitions factories and going on spending sprees. A chorus dancer who has a run in her last pair of nylons tempted to go on the black market and buy what she needs. A businessman cashing in his war bonds to buy something he thinks his business really needs.
In each case the short shows how much their focus on the present could be hurting the war effort and causing inflation. I was rather surprised - FDR really did understand how economics worked and how inflation was fueled. In that he's a step above politicians today. He realized that there being more money in circulation due to war spending and less supply due to manufacturing have a war focus would mean inflation. He also understood that his price controls could be circumvented by a black market for goods. His only weapon against it was shaming the public into not turning to that black market, which is what is happening in this short.
It's all very amusing, with Arnold as the Devil laughing maniacally at the idea of American women in bidding wars over luxury items like fur coats and talking to Hitler on the phone like he's a tedious colleague, but it gets its economic message across at the same time. Recommended for students of film history.
There are examples shown - A young couple making more money than they ever had before due to steady work in munitions factories and going on spending sprees. A chorus dancer who has a run in her last pair of nylons tempted to go on the black market and buy what she needs. A businessman cashing in his war bonds to buy something he thinks his business really needs.
In each case the short shows how much their focus on the present could be hurting the war effort and causing inflation. I was rather surprised - FDR really did understand how economics worked and how inflation was fueled. In that he's a step above politicians today. He realized that there being more money in circulation due to war spending and less supply due to manufacturing have a war focus would mean inflation. He also understood that his price controls could be circumvented by a black market for goods. His only weapon against it was shaming the public into not turning to that black market, which is what is happening in this short.
It's all very amusing, with Arnold as the Devil laughing maniacally at the idea of American women in bidding wars over luxury items like fur coats and talking to Hitler on the phone like he's a tedious colleague, but it gets its economic message across at the same time. Recommended for students of film history.