Acting
Radio announcer and writer.
A documentary meant to show Americans what had been going on in Germany since Hitler's rise, centered on a fact finding trip by Cornelius Vanderbilt, with newsreel footage of book burnings and such.
Significant events from 1934, in the United States and abroad, are covered in newsreel format.
To the accompaniment of pipe organ, Edwin C. Hill narrates the story of one of America's most successful woman composers, Carrie Jacobs-Bond, who is seen in silent film footage. Mrs. Bond is shown, at age 71, playing with her two dogs, walking with friends and practicing the piano at home. Her songs, which were phenomenally popular in the early 20th century, are sung off screen by 34-year-old radio baritone Ralph Kirbery, known in the early 1930s as "The Dream Singer." The songs are "A Perfect Day" (1910), "Just a Wearyin' for You" (1901) and "I Love You Truly" (1906).
Showcases incidents based on the life of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This mostly accurate privately produced biography of FDR is a cinema and political curiosity. Its lavish praise for the new president who had been in office for less than a month indicates how desperate the nation was for hope and change. The projections of FDR's future accomplishments and powerful leadership likewise were based more on hope than prior knowledge. Fortunately many of these projections proved to be accurate. Another oddity is about 1/3 of this biopic is devoted the life of the UK's Labor ex-PM Ramsey MacDonald.
Edwin C. Hill narrates this industrial film about the production and uses of steel. It was made, unsurprisingly, for the U. S. Steel Corporation, then the world's largest manufacturer of steel.
Newsreel story about the California “Bum Blockade”, a scheme which fell apart after 2 months.
