Animated 1944 FDR re-election film, directed by Chuck Jones

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Early work from the legendary Looney Tunes director.

Music by the "Wizard of Oz" songwriting team of Earl Robinson and E.Y. Harburg.

Hell-Bent For Election is a 1944 two-reel (thirteen minute) animated cartoon short subject now in the public domain. The short was one of the first major films from United Productions of America (then known as "Industrial Films&quot , which would go on to become the most influential animation studio of the 1950s. As UPA did not have a full staff or a studio location until the late-1940s, this film was made in animator Zack Schwartz's apartment with the help of moonlighters from various local Hollywood animation studios. Among the moonlighters was Chuck Jones, who directed the film.

The film is an allegorical campaign film, designed to inspire viewers to register and to vote for Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The Democratic Party candidate, Roosevelt, is depicted as a then-modern streamlined steam locomotive, the Win the War Special, pulling a high-speed freight train of war materiel, whereas his Republican opponent Thomas E. Dewey is depicted as an old creaky steam locomotive, the Defeatist Limited (numbered 1929 as a nod to the 1929 stock market crash) pulling cars variously representing hot air, high prices, taxes, business as usual ( a sleeper car), poor housing for war workers, and finally a caboose named "Jim Crow." The conflict in the film centers on Joe, a railroad switch operator who represents the American voting public. He is warned by the station master, Sam (a representation of Uncle Sam), not to fall asleep at the switch as he did in November 1942. Joe must then decide whether to listen to the influence of a cigar smoking gnome-like Dewey supporter and wrecker who tries to make him fall asleep at the switch, or to fight his influence and make sure that the FDR "Win the War Special" stays on the track. (At one point, the phantasmagoric saboteur briefly metamorphosizes into Adolf Hitler whilst trying to beguile Sam into neglecting his duties.) After a notable nightmare sequence, in which he fights his way through sales taxes (tacks), big money and 'frozen' wages, Joe pulls the switch, sidelining the Defeatist Limited. The film ends with a paean to the bountiful post-war world to come; the Win the War Special's caboose is the Post War Observation Car, and constituencies such as Joe Soldier, Joe Farmer, J. Industrialist, Joe Industrialist, Jr., and Joe Worker are shown examining fold-out brochures depicting the benefits of the American post-war world, including the benefits of the GI Bill and Social Security.

Hell-Bent for Election is a far more literal film than later UPA entries such as Gerald McBoing Boing and the Mr. Magoo shorts. Nevertheless, its strong symbolism, non-literal design styles, and unusual camera angles made the short stand out among its peers.

The film was sponsored by United Auto Workers, and features a song, "We're Going to Win the War", written by Earl Robinson and E.Y. Harburg, famous for writing the music for The Wizard of Oz. Hell-Bent for Election was UPA's first major success, and paved the way for its later achievements, including nine nominations and three wins Academy Awards for Animated Short Film.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell-Bent_for_Election

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Thank you for this.

fantastic animation work was produced back then.

[madrchsod]

2. thanks for posting!

[panfluteman]

3. Times Change, But...

This is truly an extraordinary piece of political PR - or, as the Republicans would put it, "political propaganda". What struck me is how similar the overall tactics and disposition of the Republicans back then were to the Republicans of today. The main difference, it seems from this video, is that Republican defeatism and obstructionism, which is always looking for a good train wreck in government, is much more successful today, and the Democratic "can do" spirit has wimped out and withered away into a de facto acquiescence to the Republicans' dirty tricks, whatever the rhetoric says. The Democrats of today bear too strong of a resemblance to the "smoked out" Joe of the cartoon, and we have lost the extraordinary progressive vision and ambition of FDR's day. Let's see - back then, what we had to do was to win the war, which was, no doubt, a very important and challenging task, but the challenges we face today are probably even more vital and important - nothing less than saving our democracy and our economy, and saving the planet from the likes of the Koch brothers and the Keystone Pipeline.

[kenfrequed]

4. Great videos

I also like the choice of handles 'Adenoid.'

A lot of this is still very relevent.