Inflation (1942)

I'm not usually up at 05:30 but this morning [27aug2011] I am and "Inflation" came on. Took me a while to find where it is documented but once I began looking I wasn't ready to give up. Due to the star and subject matter I was sure that someone would have entered something and, sure enough, I finally found it. I started opening titles in the filmography but it just wasn't there. I was about to give up when I read the biography. Its not high art by any means but Edward Arnold is a favorite actor of mine and I'm so glad I had the chance to see this short. I thoroughly enjoyed it, a very well done short on a very timely subject. No spoilers, just a recommendation.

"Inflation" was Cy Endfield's first film. It's a 16-minute anti-German propaganda short made for MGM with Edward Arnold as Satan, sitting behind his large CEO's desk and chatting amiably on the phone with Herr Hitler (a framed and signed photo of whom he has displayed) about his plans for destroying the U.S. economy through encouraging people to illegally buy or horded as much unnecessary stuff as they can in defiance of wartime government restrictions. Footage of FDR confirms what all of those complaining about our current government's "socialism" should know: we were a lot closer to it in the 40s than we've ever been since. Price caps? Quotas? Higher taxes, especially on the rich? Short propaganda films like these? Yup, all part of daily life in 1942.There's lots of fun stuff under the surface here. Arnold's v-haircut, his cackling maniacal laughter, and the faky lightning-bolt effects that we see periodically behind him might remind one of Ed Wood films; he's got a sexy secretary (mistress? does the Devil have a mistress?) and indeed the film is full of sex: a sexy housewife (Esther Williams, in her first film role) wants nice dresses and a fur and her hubby seems willing to do anything to get them for her; there's a scene of several attractive young ladies rushing to buy nylons as the prices get hiked. The whole film is over-the-top and feverish, as propaganda films were meant to be, but it's a lot of fun and shows some real wit.

Inflation (1942) *** (out of 4)WW2 propaganda short features Ester Williams in a small role in her film debut. The film tells the story of how Adolf Hitler calls the Devil (Edward Arnold) and asks to make American's start spending more money so that their war efforts can be washed down the toilet. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Stephen McNally, Williams) begin a shopping spree not knowing what they're doing to the country and their souls. It's rather amazing to see how far these shorts would go in terms of the war and one can't imagine any actors doing something like this today. Arnold wasn't the biggest star in Hollywood but he did have countless lead roles at MGM and was a fairly well known face. He is quite good in his role of the Devil and you can tell he's having fun. Williams is pretty much centered in a thankless role but she isn't too bad.

This is a must-see film for fans of the Golden Age of Hollywood like myself. Part of it is because of Edward Arnold's wonderful performance as the Devil (second for pure entertainment value, perhaps to Laird Cregar's rendition of Satan in HEAVEN CAN WAIT). Plus, the film is such a wonderful time capsule of WWII and the efforts to enlist the support of the people at home in the war effort.The film starts with Old Scratch receiving a phone call from Adolf Hitler and they thank each other for the support! Then the Devil discusses how greed and hoarding are helping Hitler in his plans for global domination (just think,...buying that EXTRA pound of coffee might just lead to the fall of the Western World!). The performance of Edward Arnold is just hilarious (you don't actually see Adolf on screen).Then the film cuts to Joe Smith, a "typical American" who doesn't think twice about hoarding--reasoning that no one will miss it if he keeps just a few extra odds and ends. Well, Joe finally realizes that he, too, has fallen into the Devil's plans and the only way to defeat Satan AND his #1 sidekick is to stop hoarding and give 100% to the war effort! The film is just a lot of fun and a great piece of American history. Well worth seeing!