Robert Youngson, who produced this Oscar nominee, seems to have gone through the archives of the Warner-Pathe newsreels to produce this short. It's a newsreel for the 1920s, starting with the 1920 presidential conventions and ending with the 1928 Democratic convention, with Al Smith leading the faithful in singing "The Bowery".
It's a nostalgic short subject, typical for Youngson, who is still remembered for his compilations of silent comedies that spearheaded their revival. Newsreels were dying, killed off by television news. Why wait for the weekend show at the theater when you could watch three times as much five nights a week? Sixty years later, we watch stuff on the Internet or cable, special dedicated channels -- assuming we look at all. This short's nomination was an act of nostalgia even then. Now it is poignant.
It's a nostalgic short subject, typical for Youngson, who is still remembered for his compilations of silent comedies that spearheaded their revival. Newsreels were dying, killed off by television news. Why wait for the weekend show at the theater when you could watch three times as much five nights a week? Sixty years later, we watch stuff on the Internet or cable, special dedicated channels -- assuming we look at all. This short's nomination was an act of nostalgia even then. Now it is poignant.