Inflation

Does anyone know if "Inflation" is available as a DVD supplement? I watched this short anti-Nazi propaganda newsreel piece at the 1940s movie music movie group I attend several years ago, and thought the idea of the devil encouraging people to make goods and thus raise the inflation level of the USA quite ingenious. I believe the music was quite interesting used within it, and it was quite novel to see how greedy people were after the devil encouraged them through his own style of propaganda to buy to excess with his cunning plan to send the world into Depression and obtain enjoyment out of people's misfortune and personal misery. From memory the cinematography of this piece was quite interesting coupled with the devil's overacting entrenched this piece in my brain, even though it is really quite minor when you consider it in the aspect of short newsreel history. It is my belief that people remember the comic overacting devil, and this is why "Inflation" has found a warm place in most people's minds from the older generation. I am 35, so younger people might have also found this interesting short newsreel as well. I give this 7/10 for the novelty factor although it's possibly only worth a 5-6/10 at most for it's overall content.

WW2 short from MGM about the Devil (Edward Arnold) conspiring with Hitler to wreck the U.S. economy. He plans to do this by making Americans buy things on credit, ignore rationing laws, and cash in their war bonds. That Devil sure is a stinker! The point of this short was to make American at home think about how they could help the war effort by keeping the economy strong.

I love patriotic WW2 shorts like these. It avoids being too preachy and delivers its message in a clear and entertaining way. Edward Arnold is terrific. Just the year before he was fighting Satan in The Devil and Daniel Webster, now here he is playing him and doing a wickedly delightful job. It's a great short that anybody who enjoys WW2-era material should love. Also features Esther Williams in one of her earliest roles.

An MGM Short Subject.

In a phone conversation with Hitler five months after Pearl Harbor, a delighted Devil describes how INFLATION can win the War for the Axis as easily as bullets & bombs.

This is an imaginative little film which effectively alerted the American public to the 5 ways in which inflation could be unleashed on the economy:

••••• Impulse or overbuying ••••• Buying on the Black Market ••••• Hoarding food & supplies ••••• Breaking the price ceilings ••••• Cashing in War Bonds

Edward Arnold is at his most sardonic as The Devil; playing his role as if Lucifer were a corrupt businessman, Arnold gets to ham it up most deliciously. In her first film role, Esther Williams plays a typical young housewife who learns about the evils of inflation from an FDR radio broadcast.

After Pearl Harbor, Hollywood went to war totally against the Axis. Not only did many of the stars join up or do home front service, but the output of the Studios was largely turned to the war effort. The newsreels, of course, brought the latest war news into the neighbor theater every week. The features showcased battle stories or war related themes. Even the short subjects & cartoons were used as a quick means of spreading Allied propaganda, the boosting of morale or information dissemination. Together, Uncle Sam, the American People & Hollywood proved to be an unbeatable combination.

This is really first-rate World War II propaganda. Edward Arnold, an under-rated supporting actor who played the cold-hearted villain very well in some of Hollywood's greatest 1930s movies, like *You Can't Take it With You*, *Meet John Doe*, and *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington*, is perfect here as the Devil, who is in league with Adolph Hitler to destroy American arms production. He explains how selfish buying, especially on credit, of things we do not need leads to inflation, which in turn can lead to social unrest. The last part of this short movie, when he addresses the audience directly, is blood-chilling.

It also reminded me, in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, how our government once played to a sense of our obligation to our fellow Americans, a time when paying one's taxes was an act of patriotism and not an indication of stupidity, etc.

If the federal government made similar shorts today to urge Americans to join together to fight a virus that is threatening us, would movie goers break into laughter? Or would we be so surprised that we'd sit there in a state of shock?

Watch this film. It's only 17 minutes long. And while you watch it, ask yourself why we couldn't make such a film today.

The Devil (a chortling Edward Arnold) und der Führer (or at least the phone-voice of der Führer) plot to use inflation to weaken 'the arsenal of democracy' by encouraging Americans to horde, cheat on rationing, cash in war-bonds, extravagantly spend on credit, and in general ignore the pleading of F.D.R. to show fiscal restraint and responsibility. Stephen McNally and an unusually dry Esther Williams are Mr. and Mrs. Smith, stand-ins for 'typical American' consumers who finally 'get it' when they hear a radio address from the President explaining the strategic necessity of financial self-control. The film's message is not subtle and after 15 minutes, becomes a bit repetitious but, as economics lessons go, the old home-front propaganda-short is imaginative and entertaining. The best parts are Satan's art-deco office, his insincere commiseration with Hitler about the large 'consignment' of German soldiers who just arrived in hell from the Russian front (and who appreciate the warmth), and his devilishly seductive assistant (Vicky Lane) with her self-lighting cigarettes and infernal hairdo. Vintage fun.