H.V. Kaltenborn Movies

After losing both her sight and her hearing as a young child, Helen Keller refused to accept her fate. Her story has been an inspiration to the deaf and blind, as well as to millions who find strength in her ability to transcend daunting obstacles. Keller attended Radcliffe, and, with the help of Anne Sullivan Macy and Polly Thompson, became a spokesperson for the handicapped and women. Her support of Braille helped to make it the standard for a system of printed text for the blind. Famous Americans of the 20th Century: Story of Helen Keller provides information on other achievements of this remarkable woman. ~ Alice Day, Rovi

Fifty Years Before Your Eyes was the first feature-length endeavor from compilation producer Robert Youngson. Just as he'd been doing in such short subjects as Magic Movie Moments and World of Kids, Youngson assembles rare vintage film clips into a cohesive narrative. Covering the years 1900 to 1950, the film's highlights includes the inauguration of President McKinley, the funeral of Queen Victoria, Teddy Roosevelt's presidential campaign, and thrilling combat footage culled from both World Wars. The rest of the film is comprised of the famous, the infamous, and disasters both natural and man-made. The various sequences are narrated by radio favorites Arthur Godfrey, Quentin Reynolds, H. V. Kaltenborn, Clem McCarthy, Andre Baruch, Norman Brokenshire, Milton Cross, Dwight Weist and Dan Donaldson. While 50 Years Before Your Eyes was a success, Robert Youngson was dissatisfied, feeling that he hadn't maintained complete control over the project. He was far prouder of his much-later silent-movie compilations Golden Age of Comedy, When Comedy Was King and Laurel & Hardy's Laughing 20s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Frank Capra's classic comedy-drama established James Stewart as a lead actor in one of his finest (and most archetypal) roles. The film opens as a succession of reporters shout into telephones announcing the death of Senator Samuel Foley. Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), the state's senior senator, puts in a call to Governor Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee) reporting the news. Hopper then calls powerful media magnate Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), who controls the state -- along with the lawmakers. Taylor orders Hopper to appoint an interim senator to fill out Foley's term; Taylor has proposed a pork barrel bill to finance an unneeded dam at Willet Creek, so he warns Hopper he wants a senator who "can't ask any questions or talk out of turn." After having a number of his appointees rejected, at the suggestion of his children Hopper nominates local hero Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), leader of the state's Boy Rangers group. Smith is an innocent, wide-eyed idealist who quotes Jefferson and Lincoln and idolizes Paine, who had known his crusading editor father. In Washington, after a humiliating introduction to the press corps, Smith threatens to resign, but Paine encourages him to stay and work on a bill for a national boy's camp. With the help of his cynical secretary Clarissa Sanders (Jean Arthur), Smith prepares to introduce his boy's camp bill to the Senate. But when he proposes to build the camp on the Willets Creek site, Taylor and Paine force him to drop the measure. Smith discovers Taylor and Paine want the Willets Creek site for graft and he attempts to expose them, but Paine deflects Smith's charges by accusing Smith of stealing money from the boy rangers. Defeated, Smith is ready to depart Washington, but Saunders, whose patriotic zeal has been renewed by Smith, exhorts him to stay and fight. Smith returns to the Senate chamber and, while Taylor musters the media forces in his state to destroy him, Smith engages in a climactic filibuster to speak his piece: "I've got a few things I want to say to this body. I tried to say them once before and I got stopped colder than a mackerel. Well, I'd like to get them said this time, sir. And as a matter of fact, I'm not gonna leave this body until I do get them said." ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi