View source for Moving Image:Truth About Taxes, The

{{Filmjr |title=Truth About Taxes, The |embid=TruthAbo1940 |embsv=archiveorg  |desc=Film on behalf of Wendell Willkie for President.  Diatribe against the New Deal and taxes. For spending money on national defense (the narrator says nobody minds paying taxes for that.) Also interesting section on the National Debt. 
Compares the architects of the New Deal [Roosevelt] and their "lust for power" [a fourth presidential term] to Hitler.

Themes:
military leaders are cited as saying that our national defenses are woefully inadequate.
Discussion of National Debt. Deplores the hiring of many new government workers. 



Film about taxes on the eve of World War II; anti-New Deal film; Wendell Willkie 1940 Republican Presidential campaign film.

13:11:11:19  VS man hammering out steel; low-angle MS man wipes sweat from his face.

13:11:25:25  VS workers, man shoveling coal into furnace; man with large power drill; farm workers pitch forking hay standing on top of pile of hay in bed of cart pulled by  horses. 

13:11:44:28  Camera zooms in on clock that reads 8:04, clock begins to spin, VS workers in offices, mills, factories and plants superimposed over spinning clock.

13:12:06:25  CU elderly woman with head wrapped in black scarf, woman says ï¿½But the rich pay the taxes why should I worry?ï¿½; CU man in thirties smoking a pipe says into camera ï¿½Thatï¿½s where weï¿½re fooling ourselvesï¿½ï¿½ man talks about taxes; CU carpenter holding a hammer says he is willing to pay taxes to pay for national defense. 

13:12:52:21  Great shot barrel of antique cannon lifts into frame and moves right in front of camera so that camera looks straight down barrel of cannon.

13:12:58:22  Great shot hundreds of soldiers marching carrying rifles; soldiers in WWI style uniforms.

13:13:01:12  Two World War I fighter planes; VS old houses in Europe hit by bombs; crumbled houses in aftermath of bombing

13:13:31:28  VS steamship disembarking; man welding; new wings for Army planes in hangar; VS World War I fighter planes in airplane hangar and in air. 

13:14:25:21  World War I US Army soldiers marching through field on dirt road; two World War I tanks driving through river; low flying fighter planes flying over field.

13:14:47:26  Tractor driving through construction site of the Florida Ship Canal, an abandoned project. 

13:15:36:10  CU man smoking pipe reading the Herald-Telegram, newspaper headlines: Budget 9 Billion, Asks $122,000,000 New Taxes, $875,000,000 For WPA At Once.

13:15:44:24  VS graph shows moneybag draw line of increasing national debt, VS superimposed over graph: marching WWI soldiers; smokestacks; freight train, fat businessman, floor of New York City Stock Exchange during trading; closed sign on closing gates.

13:16:47:00  Low-angle workers getting pay checks from window cut out of brick wall, sign above window reads Paymaster.

13:16:51:11  CU disembodied hand counts money in 10 and 5 dollar bills, disembodied hand grabbing bill and crumpling it superimposed over shot. 

13:17:25:15  Pan down Larchmont Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, 1cars parked in front of shops, shops include: Rudolph Studio, Plumbing and Hardware, Albert Balzert; CU butcherï¿½s shop window; VS store windows, pharmacy and soda fountain.

13:17:53:13  1930s woman sorts through basket of fruits and vegetables on kitchen counter; CU woman slices loaf of white bread, hairy werewolf arm superimposed in shot grabs bread from plate. 

13:18:09:12  CU disembodied womanï¿½s hand lifts receiver off phone, pan to CU woman on phone.

13:18:12:23  CU disembodied hands open envelope and remove Postal Telegram. 

13:18:16:15  CU lamp, disembodied arm enters flame and flips on lamp.

13:18:53:09  CU woman takes new stockings out of box; MS woman pulling on stockings.

12:18:58:03  Great shot CU disembodied hand holding soft pack of cigarettes, second hand enters frame and takes cigarette from the pack.

13:19:00:15  CU bartender pouring drink from tap.

13:19:03:08  Pan down from ï¿½Parkï¿½ movie theatre sign, sign advertises film with Claudette Colbert, The Arizona Wildcat, group of men enter the theatre. 

13:19:19:00 CU gas pump in gas tank of car, pan up pump to Sinclair gas station sign advertising gas at 6 cents per gallon with tax of 5 cents; CU Sinclair gas price sign. 

13:19:30:19  VS farmers driving tractor drives toward camera.

13:19:39:28  Pan over huge filed filled with parked 1930s cars, audio track ï¿½All who drive are drafted into an auto army of tax payers.ï¿½

13:19:44:27  Great tilted camera angle shot of clock inside ring of lights with large lever in center of ring, man enters frame and lifts lever, woman follows man and moves lever again, another man enters frame and moves lever.

13:19:55:00 CU angry bosses face, pan down to boss slamming fist onto desk, cuts to hand knocking on door.

13:20:09:00  Marching Nazi army; pan over Nazi rally, Hitler delivering speech superimposed over shot.

13:20:18:19  Huge gun fires, large fiery explosion from barrel of gun; VS Statue of Liberty; the Capital Building; dome of Capital, blimp flies behind dome in background, animated letters superimposed over shot fly out of the dome and spell: WPA, NLRB, PWA, HOLC, ABC, XYZ, ETC.

13:20:47:21  LS Lincoln Memorial 

13:20:57:14  CU Wendell Willkie, 1940 republican presidential nominee. 

13:21:15:29  Low-angle Lincoln Memorial statue; CU American flag waving in the wind.

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