7493 A xenophobic hick tells all the ol' boys around the pot-bellied stove at the general store that America don't need nothin' from the rest of the world. A "magician" appears to prove him wrong. The magician's powers, it seems, extend only to making anything with foreign ingredients disappear. So we see everything from the bananas in the picnic basket to the paint on someone's car vanish, showing us how America really does need the rest of the world. Simple but fun. globalism, in the 1930's Christopher 2003-11-18 12:39:53 2003-11-18 12:39:53 4 7651 A husband and wife go to town and interrupt a mild arguement at the corner store. Gramps has the arguement that we don't need anything imported, that we have all we need in the USA, why look at our automobiles! A magician who will be performing later in the evening, does a magic trick with a brazil nut and makes it dissapear (clever foreshadowing there). Husband has a dream, where the magician has joined the husband and wife on a car ride. The Magician has powers to make car parts dissapear from foreign countries. Eventually all the car parts have dissapeared, leaving a heap of metal. The Moral: Be careful what you wish for. Sorta worse then it sounds, but oh well lol No more nuts! Spuzz 2003-11-25 19:14:23 2003-11-25 19:14:23 3 While the film is obviously dated, it is creative and well done. It bring across the point of interdependence among countries in an entertaining way. Dated but well done 4 ERD 2005-10-18 09:48:16 2005-10-18 09:48:16 This 30s film was designed to teach American citizens that foreign trade is vital to the American way of life. The film does this by telling a goofy story about a guy who goes to a general store and hears a cracker barrel philosopher spout off about how we donât need to get anything from them there foreigners, âcause we can get everything worth having right here in the good olâ U.S. of A. At this point, a traveling magician pitches his show by making some Brazil nuts disappear. The main character, though, has narcolepsy, and so he promptly falls asleep and has a weird dream where he and his wife are driving home with the magician, who makes everything imported from a foreign country disappear when he says the countryâs name. Naturally, this makes the car fall apart, as well as getting rid of most of the groceries the wife bought. After waking up from the dream, the guy now sees the light about foreign trade, and can talk back to the local xenophobe, though it doesnât do any good. I love this sort of supernatural visitor plot, though itâs unusual to find it in a government film. Thereâs also something charmingly old fashioned about the film, with its general store, cracker barrel philosopher, and confidence in American manufacturing. Not even a rube like the xenophobic guy would ever think to insist that everything good is made in America, considering how little is made here nowadays. I also love the old grocery products and the scenes of the car falling apart. Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****. Xenophobia Cured by Magic! 4 Christine Hennig 2006-06-23 21:38:45 2006-06-23 21:38:45 Made in 1939 - please add http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0232980/ Good film :) I Am Gen X 2012-02-24 21:08:53 2012-02-24 21:08:53 4 They had no clue what would be involved in getting that rubber fom Malyasia and the kapok from Europe. Well, given that this was made in 1939, they might have. Perhaps a film made to prepare Americans for what was soon to come and that isolationism may not be in our best interest. And, it wasn't. And heck....it seemed like they just went through a world war a deadly influenza epidemic and a depression. Would it ever end? Cute Scottish Terrier....which was the popular dog before the war to be replaced after the war by the Cocker Spaniel. Ok film...I've seen more entertaining ones but compared to that moronic junk on cable TV? Way better. Depressing JayKay49 2012-03-08 04:18:49 2012-03-08 04:18:49 3 6 3.67