Hell-Bent for Election

Directed by Chuck Jones and produced by Steven Bosustow for what would later become known as UPA, Hell-Bent for Election was an attempt to convince certain workers not quite sure who to vote for president in 1944 to cast it for Franklin D. Roosevelt for a fourth term in order to help "win the war" (according to song lyrics written by E. Y. Harburg). Roosevelt is portrayed as a streamlined train that's running parallel to another train called "Defeatest Limited" that has every negative connotation associated with it as connecting cars. This was, I'm sure, effective propaganda for the time and probably ensured Roosevelt got even more votes even though he probably would have been reelected anyway since he did so well before during the previous Depression and the still-active World War II during this time. Well worth a look now for the fluid and stylized animation that would help define UPA during the late '40s and much of the '50s.