Primary Sources: The 1940s: Film, T.V. and Radio

"An episode of the hugely popular comedy-variety series "Texaco Star Theater". Hosted by Milton Berle, this was one of the first "hit" television series. Please note that short sections of this episode are missing (most notably in the middle of the dance act) "

"During the 1940s and 50s, Hollywood entered a “noir” period, producing riveting films based on hard-boiled fiction."

"The picture pits a United Nations Nazi hunter, played by Hollywood Golden Age legend Edward G. Robinson, against a Third Reich war criminal played by Welles himself."

"A 1949 *live* commercial for a 12-inch Westinghouse television set featuring the "electronic magnifier" gimmick."

"Adventures of Superman is a radio show which aired between 1938 and 1951 on Mutual and ABC with Kelloggs as a sponsor. While being aired on Mutual it was a 15 minute show but was increased to a half hour aftering moving to ABC."

"...the Television Academy Foundation’s Archive of American Television has conducted over 750 oral history interviews (over 3000 hours) with the legends of television. These interviews chronicle the birth and growth of American TV History as it evolves, and make the interviews available worldwide. The Archive continues to produce new interviews every year. The collection covers a variety of professions, genres, and topics in electronic media history."

"This digital collection includes materials from the radio broadcasting collections within the Popular Music and Culture Collection. Items include selected photographs from the WSB Radio Records and documents from the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame Collection – including issues of the Southern Music Survey from 1963 to 1966.

Copyrights to the items in this collection are held by various entities. Rights information, if known, is specified in the item’s description."

"Expressionistic crime dramas of the 40s and 50s: tough cops and private eyes, femme fatales, mean city streets and deserted backroads, bags of loot and dirty double-crossers. "

"Selection of recordings drawn from a larger tangible collection of glass-base, 16-inch broadcast transcriptions held by the UNT Music Library. These examples from the 1940s include speeches from Franklin Delano Roosevelt and other politicians, news reports, and musical programs."

UCLA oral history collection: "Interviews in this series preserve the recollections of selected individuals in Los Angeles who were affected by the Hollywood blacklist during the Joseph R. McCarthy-J. Edgar Hoover era. "

Documents from the late '40s and early '50s related to the Hollywood 10 and the Blacklist.

Transcripts from a USDA Radio Service program

"This episode features many of the aspects which made the show one of early TV's biggest hits, and even contains original NBC Network IDs."

"An episode of "Puppet Playhouse Presents Howdy Doody" from 1948. This series was among the first "hits" of television."

"The Media History Digital Library digitizes collections of classic media periodicals that belong in the public domain for full public access. The project is supported by owners of materials who loan them for scanning, and donors who contribute funds to cover the cost of scanning."

Excerpts form Raymond Swing's radio commentaries on various news events of the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Broadcasts from the World War II years available from the Internet Archives.

Source: Congress, House, Committee on Un-American Activities, Hearings Regarding the Communist Infiltration of the Motion Picture Industry, 80th Congress, 1st Session, October 23–24, 1947 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1947).

National Archives Identifier: 197302
Creator(s): President (1933-1945 : Roosevelt). (1933 - 1945) (Most Recent)
From: File Unit : First Carbon Files, 1933 - 1945
Collection FDR-PPF: Papers as President, President's Personal File, 1933 - 1945

Freedom of the Seas

Following The Declaration Of War On Japan

The Seven Point Economic Stabilization Program

Cost Of Living And The Progress Of The War

Federal Seizure Of Coal Mines

Progress of the War

The Teheran And Cairo Conferences

The Fall Of Rome

Opening The Fifth War Loan Drive

"Washington DC: The President again addresses the nation, expressing optimism and outlining his program to expedite work relief to all sections of the country." sound of FDR speaking Fireside Chat #7. (partial newsreel)

These clips deal with the New Deal. They include six of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside Chats on the economic policy for fighting the Great Depression. All clips are somewhat edited partial Universal Newsreels. In these recordings Roosevelt reads shortened versions of the speeches.

"President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a total of 31 Fireside Chats from the initial days of his first administration to the dark days of World War II. He used these opportunities to explain his hopes and ideas for the country, while inviting the citizenry to “tell me your troubles.” The first broadcast set the pattern for the content and tone of the rest: FDR patiently and calmly explained the complexities of the nation’s banking crisis in a way that was understandable and accessible to the masses. Listeners responded. High school students and state Supreme Court justices told FDR that his empathetic style and reassuring message helped them regain their confidence in the banking system and in government itself. The five letter writers included in this selection listened to this first Fireside Chat with friends and family in their living rooms and offices. Their letters also vividly convey the power of the new medium of radio to reach listeners and actively engage them in politics."