The Panic Is On: The Great Depression as Seen by the Common Man

The subtitle—”The Great Depression as Seen by the Common Man”—of this DVD/CD set is perhaps misleading, since both discs examine the economic misfortune from the point of view of journalists and musicians from the 1930s, not ordinary citizens (although an accompanying booklet does include selections from poignant letters to government officials, including Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt). What The Panic Is On does provide, however, is a remarkable collection of archival material from a turbulent era in American history, such as government propaganda (or, if you prefer, public service featurettes) with personalities including Jimmy Durante and Fanny Brice; snippets from newsreels and well-known documentaries like The Plow That Broke the Plains; and oddities such as a rambling speech by a Zuni Indian chief, who extols his tribe's simple mode of life and encourages easterners to join them in the wide open spaces of New Mexico. The CD compiles 20 Depression-era songs—some famous, like “Brother Can You Spare A Dime?” and “We're In the Money,” but most forgotten—sung by such artists as Woody Guthrie, Bessie Smith, and Eddie Cantor, along with a host of lesser-known artists. Given the nation's current financial meltdown, The Panic Is On (which is also the title of one of the featured songs) offers an instructive and timely glimpse of an age that has assumed renewed relevance. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)