Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1947-10-31

What is more vital to our
times, more urgent to the future
of the world, than to keep alive
and ever.present in mems think
ing the magnificent vision and
promise of the Roosevelt Era?
Or, conversely, what else but
Z utter destruction of the
WORKS of Pres. Roosevelt as we'll
as his good name and his pur-
poses seems to be the chief OBJ
jective of reactionary forces
which have overwhelmed both
our government an press since
his death on that mournful April
day two years ago?
The film The Roosevelt Story
seeks to refresh our memory OF
this era-not with dramatiZed
heroics but, start to finish, with
genuine film Recommendation of a
career perhaps as meaningful to
world history and to the develop
ment of American democracy as
any in our nations past.
1t is necessarily less thorough
going than most of us would
have preferred, since it seeks
within the Commute span al
loled to most feature films to
cover 40 years of a colossal
mans public and private life.
Yet as a reminder, even as a
spur to renewed public determi
nation to see the Roosevelt vision
lrealized, it is an incompatible
job.
1t Is difficult indeed to
swallow back the lump in the
throat as the cortege of Frank
lin Roosevelt winds solemnly
through sidewalks ranked with
people weeping unashamed. 1t
Is impossible not to double the
fists i'm anger, perhaps even in
Illustration, as one compares
what Is going on in America
and the world today with the
great social messages of Frank.
lin Roosevelt, his life-giving eff.
fort to unite this nation and
pte its endless resources to
fffe accomplishment of peace
and abundance for all people
O all races and kinds in the
world.
And yet there are smiles also,
In this thoughtful tender, search
ing reminiscence over the life
time of an immortal leader and
planner. There is in full, for ex-
ample, the delightful, richly
humorous scene in which FDR
twitted the Republicans of 1914
for venturing to drag his famous
little dog Fala into the cam
paign. And there are scenes, too,
of the President at w m
Springs, romping joyously in
tire health giving pool with Grip
pied charges to whom the Roose-
velt memory will ever mean a
chance to fight and survive
against the ravages of infantile
paralysis.
One cannot detail the contents
of The Roosevelt Story since it is
really less a story than a reverie
over an album of great mem
cries. His fine, uplifting talks
to Congress an the American
people are there-There is moth
ing to fear but fear itself" +.
"One-thir of a nation the
sorrowing day when our efforts
to stay at peace failed, the jour
neys and meetings far over the
seas for the construction of the
Atlantic Charter, for the victory
planning at Casablanca, the peace
planning at Teheran and Yalta.
These are all woven skillfully
into a single, compelling pattern
the voices of common America:
tho xxi driver, the Negro to
me- so much, the boy and girl
whose future in our society FDR
looking to the future; SYM
phonic background theme, To.
ward the Sun, the work of Earl
Robinson, Lewis Allen and Jack
Shaindlin; and flashes of the
apple.sellign era out of which
Roosevelt led the nation toward
new, hopeful horizons.
The unspoken question of the
film is this:
Shall these horizons be dim
med and vanish from our vision,
now that Franklin Roosevelt is
gone and the peoples enemies in
the ascendant?
The answer lies, obviously,
In recapturing the determine
ton, rebuilding the strength
and conviction of the American
people in behalf of the Objec.
tiv~for which they four times
inundated Frankli nRoOsevelt
to the leadership of our cOun-
try. The Roosevelt Story,
above all other preesntly-avail-
able means, seems best suited
to start the American people
as q whole back toward the
path of peace and progress.
The challenge lies with organ.
lied labor to see to it that this
film is shown in every commun-
ity of the nation. Never was a
more timely and more
need-filling to our future.
ODDS AND ENDS - Billie
Burke has been signed by CO.
lunohia Tn star in a series Of