Reels 1 & 2 are missing. Reels 3 & 4 (spliced).

Graphic map of North America. Hand knocking on a door appears inside the shape, man looks through a peephole, unlocks door and lets another man inside. 1932 - American voice over about unemployment. Money changing hands, crops on fire, milk being wasted. A couple walk along by the side of a river and look out into the distance. Sad music on the soundtrack. Man flicks cigarette butt into the water. Funeral (Roosevelt's?) with large crowds of people. A man is "picked out of the crowd" to tell his story. View of San Francisco including Golden Gate Bridge. Shanty towns. Man looking through rubbish bins. Employment Agency. Many unemployed men. Men looking at a board with jobs advertised on cards. Signs reading: "Jobless Men Keep Going - We Can't Take Care of Our Own - Chamber of Commerce" and "No Men Wanted". Factories for sale or closed. Men sitting and lying on benches in a town square. This is described as their "club".

Man reads a newspaper. C/U of walking feet. Men pass by camera. Men line up for soup kitchen. They are given a plate of food each - mashed potato, sandwich etc. The Bank of the United States entrance. Men stand around outside. Skyscapes. Voice over talks of uncle who worked on a farm. Rain beating down on crops. Agriculture. Family pack possessions into back of truck. Transient workers. Rows of cars. Several children sleeping outside together on one bed. People with their possessions. Man begging for money. Shanty towns. Politicians speak at an outdoor rally. Man eating soup. Politician states: "There is no depression". Men in despair. Franklin D. Roosevelt on election campaign. Shots of the crowds cheering and waving.

1933 - Roosevelt in Miami - assassination attempt (very dark images). Anton Cermak - Mayor of Chicago is fatally wounded. Inauguration speech. Roosevelt in open topped car (with Herbert Hoover). Eleanor Roosevelt and Lou Henry Hoover follow on in car behind. Crowds cheer. Hitler - short shot of him making a speech. Montage illustrating changes to policy made by Roosevelt. Session of Congress, men at work - majestic shots of men digging, smiling people emerging from Employment Agency, typing pool, coins, beer bottling, barrels being rolled, pretzels being made, cocktail waiters, crowd of people lift beer steins, prohibition ends, glass of beer being poured.

NRA sign, Works Project Administration, Public Works Administration. Montage of men at work: construction, industry, agriculture. Monkeys. Man speaks of his new job and new home. Agricultural Adjustment Administration - shots of agricultural production, sheep, crowds of men. Voice over about subsidies. Farmhouse. Home Owners Loan Corporation. Civilian Conservation Corps. Men stand in the shape of three Cs and wave at the camera then disperse. Men working on the land. Young man lies on the grass daydreaming - voice over about hanging around street corners with no money. He joins the C.C.C. Works in a lumber camp. Lumberjacks - chopping trees etc. Sitting around a campfire. Tennessee Valley Authority.

Men work on a dam. Electricity substation. Sign reading: "Co-operation Produces Results". Dam is filled - aerial shots. Political rally - Roosevelt criticised for being a Communist. Our narrator suggests that this criticism comes from a wealthy man, not a "forgotten man". Children leave school. Social Security Act. An elderly man looks at his Social Security slip.

Children receiving medical treatment in a caravan. Child's arm is prepared for an injection. Montage of Roosevelt smiling and making speeches. He tells a story from an open topped car about a man "thumbing his nose" at him after his car had passed. Shot of man doing just that is inter cut. Roosevelt shakes hands with nurses. "Fireside chats" - montage of families listening to Roosevelt make speeches on the radio. Election montage. Eleanor and Sarah Roosevelt. Family shots.

Note: images from the 1930s but voice over from 1940s. Safety print of reel 4 exists. See other reels.