Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

August. 06,1975      PG
Rating:
7.1
Trailer Synopsis Cast

Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.

Laverne Andrews as  Self (archive footage)
Maxene Andrews as  Self (archive footage)
Patty Andrews as  Self (archive footage)
Fred Astaire as  Self (archive footage)
Warner Baxter as  Self (archive footage)
Wallace Beery as  Self (archive footage)
Brooks Benedict as  Self (archive footage)
Constance Bennett as  Self (archive footage)
Jack Benny as  Self (archive footage)
Busby Berkeley as  Self (archive footage)

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Reviews

GamerTab
1975/08/06

That was an excellent one.

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SincereFinest
1975/08/07

disgusting, overrated, pointless

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RipDelight
1975/08/08

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

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Brendon Jones
1975/08/09

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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llindith
1975/08/10

This was labeled as a documentary, so I expected there to be actual interviews or at least a narrative explaining what the references were. Instead, it's just a melange of clips and archival footage without any context. There's no script, no identification of anyone who's speaking, no labeling on the film clips, no explanation of the significance of what's been included.I'm fairly knowledgeable about this era, and even I didn't recognize half of the archival footage used or the personalities who appeared in it. I certainly didn't learn anything more from it, which is a shame. Anyone actually wanting to learn about the Depression era should give this a pass. The PBS series on the 1930s was far more interesting and informative.

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Ed in St. Louis
1975/08/11

I recently bought this documentary on DVD and watched it several times in succession. It is the best archival source of Depression-era material I have ever run across. I particulary enjoyed the segment with Huey Long. What a terrific speaker he was! And to see him on stage with Ina Ray Hutton, the woman band leader, was a real treat. I highly recommend this for historians of America in the 20th century.

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sandy-123
1975/08/12

this is an extraordinary use of both documentary and archive newsreel to tell a story of the depression era in the USA. No naration, the film speaks for itself. The use of Jimmy Cagney as a running character is great. Fascinating and amusing.

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goya-4
1975/08/13

Documentary on the depression era that begins at the crash and documents the horrible results on the country. Uses newsreel footage along with some hollywood film footage as well - it can be a little confusing since there are sometimes interspersed together. All in all a very well put together showing of that time in american history with some rare footage and songs of the time. on a scale of one to ten... 8

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