Another Review
A thumbnail review of It’s a Wonderful Life written in the form of a favorable plot synopsis. Oddly, the film […]
1947
Articles from 1947
The Great Depression and the Sexes
(Coronet Magazine, 1947)
Unemployment permitted a great deal more companionship between young men and young women, which ordinarily would have led to marriage. The only thing lacking was money. The arrangements called, simply, ‘living together’ became common. Often the man or woman was married, and couldn’t get , couldn’t afford, or didn’t want a divorce. Sometimes the man simply refused to marry, and the woman took him into her home or moved into his as the next best thing…
You Might Also Care to Know About The Sex Manners of the Twenties or Men & Women During W.W. II
The Great Depression and the Sexes
(Coronet Magazine, 1947)
Unemployment permitted a great deal more companionship between young men and young women, which ordinarily would have led to marriage. The only thing lacking was money. The arrangements called, simply, ‘living together’ became common. Often the man or woman was married, and couldn’t get , couldn’t afford, or didn’t want a divorce. Sometimes the man simply refused to marry, and the woman took him into her home or moved into his as the next best thing…
You Might Also Care to Know About The Sex Manners of the Twenties or Men & Women During W.W. II
The Marshall Plan: Rebuilding Europe
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)
The Marshall Plan was a U.S. Government aid program that was instrumental in the reconstruction and economic resurrection of 16 Western European nations following the devastation caused by the Second World War. It is named for Secretary of State George C. Marshall, who co-authored the initiative with the help of the prominent business leader William Clayton, and the American diplomat George F. Kennan.
The attached article concerns the first draft of the scheme that was drawn-up by Marshall and the representatives of these 16 nations during the Summer/Fall of 1947. The amount of cash to be distributed (and paid back over a period of 30 years) was $22.44 billion.
Marshall knew that such an economic stimulant (and the liberties that would follow) would serve to guarantee that Western Europe would not fall into clutches of the Soviet Union.
To read about the Soviet reaction to the Marshall Plan, Click here
The Soviet Reaction to the Marshall Plan
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)
To paraphrase Second Corinthians: Europe’s despair was Stalin’s opportunity – he delighted in the post-war unemployment, the inflation and the general lack of confidence in their governmental institutions. When the Marshall Plane came to the rescue in rebuilding Europe, the Soviets knew they were licked. This article reveals how totally bummed the Soviets were over the broad European acceptance of the Marshall plan. They hated it.
America’s Favorite Illustrator
(Pageant Magazine, 1947)
Norman Rockwell (1894 – 1978) once remarked in an interview:
“The view of life I communicate in my pictures excludes the sordid and the ugly. I paint life as I would like it to be.”
– and his vision was shared with millions of Americans. He had a fondness for depicting everyday life in small town America, childhood friendships, family life, middle school sporting events and (as discussed in the attached article) the Boy Scouts. He knew who he was; he never referred to himself as an artist, he called himself an illustrator.
Thoughts on Blouses
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)
By the time 1947 was coming to a close, an enormous shift in the fashion winds had taken place that altered the silhouette of the fashionable woman. Waists were narrow, hips were padded – and the hemline had dropped as much as twelve inches. The New Look out of Paris dictated the appearances of suits and evening wear, but blouses were left out of the revolution – everyone had to figure it out for themselves and hope that the couturiers from across the sea would come to the rescue the following season.
Modular Housing
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)
After eight years of research, the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association and the Producers’ Council, an organization of building materials manufacturers, have polished up all the known short-cut, dollar-saving methods in building, packaged them into an industry-wide program, and labeled them the ‘four-inch module plan.’… The house is built on of three sections, each 16 x 24 feet, and bolted at floor, walls and roof. Wall joints are hidden by cabinets; by simply removing top and side cabinets, bolts can be loosened and the house readied for moving on trailers.
Korean Unification Commission Breaks Up
(America Magazine, 1947)
The Truman Doctrine for Greece and Turkey may soon have to be applied to South Korea, if the Soviets continue to sabotage the Moscow Agreement as they have done in the past.
The Soviet Army moved into northern Korea during the August of 1945, click here to read about it…
The 1948 Tucker
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)
[The] First models of the Tucker ’48, [the] only really revolutionary postwar car so far, should be ready for public showing in New York, Chicago, and on the West Coast within 60 days…
The Tired Russians
(Collier’s Magazine, 1947)
This article goes into greater length to confirm what U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan (1904 – 2005) observed in his famous 1947 article Sources of Soviet Conduct (FOREIGN AFFAIRS, July 1947) – that the Russian people were physically and spiritually exhausted. After the terrible strain and sacrifice of the Second World War they were gleefully anticipating some much needed rest; they didn’t get it and they weren’t very happy about it.
The standard of living in Russia has never been very high, but even despite his natural stoicism, the average citizen feels he has a good reason to be disgruntled with his life… Like any other totalitarian state, the Soviet state has done its best to paint a larger than life-size picture of its citizens. It likes to describe them as steel-hard heroes with an inflexible will, living for nothing but the great ideal of a Communist future, laughing at difficulties, gaily grasping with hard ship – a continent of Douglas Fairbankses. This is just a bit too good to be true, and the last one to be taken in by it is the average Russian.
Irony at the Command and General Staff School
(’47 Magazine, 1947)
This is a humorous World War II story about the heroics of Captain Charles W. Davis (1917 – 1991), former resident of Guadalcanal, and his experiences with the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Henri Landru, Monsieur Verdux and Charlie Chaplin
(Rob Wagner’s Script, 1947)
Attached is an article about the Charlie Chaplin film, Monsieur Verdux (1947) and the monstrous beast Henri Landru -the French murderer on whom the story is loosely based. This article was written by Gordon Kahn, remembered chiefly in our own time as one of the blacklisted Hollywood screenwriters of the post-World War II period. Not too long after this article was written he went into self-exile in Mexico.
Otto Klemperer Conducts Stravinsky
(Rob Wagner’s Script, 1947)
A printable music review by Lawrence Morton (1904 – 1987), long time advocate of modern music and habitual contributor to MUSICAL QUARTERLY and MODERN MUSIC. One of Morton’s greatest interests was the music of Stravinsky, and it is Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements that was discussed in this 1947 review:
The symphony opens in full orchestra with a mighty affirmation of confidence and resolution. Then the horns state the main problem with which the composer would confront us: other instruments reiterate it, as if to show it to us from new angles and with new perspectives…
This particular performance was conducted in Los Angeles by Otto Klemperer (1885 – 1973), who was singled out for high praise in this article.
Is Hollywood Red?
(Photoplay Magazine, 1947)
Despite the catchy title, Novelist James M. Cain, did not even attempt to answer the question as to how lousy Hollywood was with dirty Reds, however he did spell out that there were enough of them in the industry to bring production to a halt, if they ever cared to do so. Cain’s article encourages both the executive class and the pinko-wordsmiths to walk the middle path and keep the cameras rolling.
Click here to read a review of James M. Cain’s novel, The Butterfly.
Frank Lloyd Wright Hated the U.N. Building
(Rob Wagner’s Script Magazine, 1947)
When architects and builders howled in protest when the firm of Wallace Harrison (1895 – 1981)was commissioned in 1947 to design the United Nations Center in New York City, the editors of SCRIPT MAGAZINE dashed off asking Frank Lloyd Wright to pick up his quill and ink-up his arguments against the project – and here it is.
Her Life Since Leaving the White House
(’47 Magazine, 1947)
Attached is a 1947 article that reported on the post-FDR life of The Widow Roosevelt since assuming the position of the United States delegate to the newly established United Nations:
Mrs Roosevelt’s performance during the first session of the U.N. General Assembly in London during the winter of 1946 surprised and pleased even those who had once been her husband’s most bitter foes.
Suffering A W.W. II Head Wound
(’47 Magazine, 1947)
When Joe Martin received a shrapnel wound to the head it affected that region of his brain that processes language. He spent a good deal of time in military hospitals trying to regain his lost ability to communicate, as he articulated clearly in the attached article:
He then held up a pencil in front of me and asked, ‘Joe, what is this?’
I heard myself reply, ‘A paddle’.