This was released during the height of the Red Scare of the early 1950s, and I suppose its purpose is for MGM to prove its patriotism to the powers that be. At the time numerous Hollywood figures both in front of and behind the camera were being hauled before Congress to testify pertaining their loyalty to the United States.
Directed by seven different directors and featuring an ensemble cast of both MGM contract actors and non contract players, this film portrays various stories and characters, each representing different aspects of American life as it existed in the 1950s. I won't go over every segment, but I will mention some that stood out and why.
In the segment concerning the Hungarian immigrant (S. Z. Sakall) who does not want his daughter to marry a Greek because Hungarians hate Greeks - Is that even true?
The third segment is different from the rest as it is a mini documentary concerning successful and prominent Black Americans. This is actually the best part of the film as it was very informative and progressive for its time.
The fifth segment about a Jewish soldier who has been to Korea visiting the mother of a dead comrade in arms seems like it might have originally been written concerning WWII soldiers.
The sixth segment has Gary Cooper as a Texan disputing Texas stereotypes by dispensing even more Texas stereotypes. Qualifications for this judgment - I am a Texan.
The seventh segment also seems like it might have been written for WWII. Van Johnson plays the minister in a church that the president attends when in Washington, and as a result he writes a bunch of dull wonky sermons about public policy that only the president could appreciate. The reason that I think that it was written for WWII is that Lewis Stone talks about how the president was missing if traveling or relaxing at Hyde Park, which is where Roosevelt lived. Also, at the end, when the president is going to come see Johnson's character, there is the distinct sound of crutches.
I liked the introductory segment the best because it had William Powell in it AND it had Powell, as a passenger on a train who puts an annoying know it all in his place. Powell is actually the reason I decided to watch this in the first place.
I would say the film as a whole is a tough slog unless you look at it in its historical context.
