For more than a decade and a half the single leading newsreel was THE MARCH OF TIME, produced, like the radio show, as a loss-leading advertisement for the news magazine. Over its life, Louis de Rochemont's team produced many important and ground-breaking pieces, like 1938's INSIDE NAZI Germany, an early warning of the threat that Germany posed.
Of course, they couldn't do that every month. That would have simply been exhausting to the audience. So they eked out the production with pieces like this, more human interest pieces in which they covered how people make themselves happy, from Waring blenders to palmistry.
It looks like a lot of fuss over very little, especially with Westbrook Van Voorhies' typical "you must hear this" narration. But recall that this was typically seen in a show that included a cartoon, several short subjects, including a comedy and an educational one and perhaps two feature.... and you'll see that as a part of that, this was a reasonable and important part.
Of course, they couldn't do that every month. That would have simply been exhausting to the audience. So they eked out the production with pieces like this, more human interest pieces in which they covered how people make themselves happy, from Waring blenders to palmistry.
It looks like a lot of fuss over very little, especially with Westbrook Van Voorhies' typical "you must hear this" narration. But recall that this was typically seen in a show that included a cartoon, several short subjects, including a comedy and an educational one and perhaps two feature.... and you'll see that as a part of that, this was a reasonable and important part.
