Industrial Strength America: Six Historic Energy Propaganda Films

From the perspective of 21st-century alarm over both the continuing use of fossil fuels as energy sources and the lingering environmental damage caused by dams, this sextet of short films extolling the virtues of refined oil and hydroelectric power seems woefully misjudged, but also highly entertaining. “Born In Freedom: The Story of Colonel Drake” (1954) stars a slightly out of his element Vincent Price as the titular engineer who would not give up on finding a way to extract oil from the ground through drilling. “Fill ‘Er Up” (1959), one of two short cartoons by Carl Urbano, explores the history of oil use from the aforementioned work of Drake to the ease with which car owners can roll their thirsty vehicles into service stations for prompt attention. The other Urbano short is “Destination Earth” (1956), in which a Martian discovers that the Earth is powered by oil. “Asphalt Through the Ages” (1957) celebrates the sticky, oil-based stuff that was naturally refined over eons but during the 20th-century was combined with chemical additives for paving highways. The real gem in this anthology is the Bonneville Power Administration's “The Columbia” (1942)—which went unreleased for seven years and was finally ordered destroyed by the federal government (fortunately, a few prints were saved)—a history of the creation of the Grand Coulee dam that was built in response to a Washington state drought, featuring original songs by Woody Guthrie. Also including “Unfinished Rainbows” (1940), starring Alan Ladd as Charles Martin Hall, the man who invented the process for producing inexpensive aluminum, this set is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)