Five 1930s Documentaries to Check Out

The 1930s saw significant changes in documentary production practices and purposes. During this decade, the development of sound brought both voiceover narration and talking heads. John Grierson’s visions for documentary and their purposes flourished in the United Kingdom, while propaganda flourished in other parts of the world. And just as new conventions were being established,…

‘Housing Problems’ a Landmark in Documentary Sound

Housing Problems (Arthur Elton and E.H. Anstey, 1935) is one of those classic documentaries that is important to the development of the documentary form but is more interesting to read about than it is to see. Housing Problems is one of the first documentaries to use synchronized sound of people speaking on camera. We hear…