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The City (1939)

44m

Running Time

May 26, 1939
Release Date

5.9

The City (1939)

Name: The City
Genre: Documentary
Released: 1939-05-26

44m

Running Time

May 26, 1939
Release Date

External Links & Social Media

Plot.

A prescient documentary about city planning, which presents idyllic suburbs and nuclear families as a solution to the chaos, poverty and social decay of industrialized inner cities.

Where to Watch.

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Cast & Crew.

Morris Carnovsky

Narrator (voice)

Willard Van Dyke

Director / Director of Photography

Ralph Steiner

Director / Director of Photography

Roger Barlow

Camera Operator

Pare Lorentz

Writer

Henwar Rodakiewicz

Writer / Associate Producer

Aaron Copland

Original Music Composer

Edward Anhalt

Camera Operator

Rudolph Bretz

Camera Operator

Oscar Serlin

Production Supervisor

Lewis Mumford

Writer

Theodore Lawrence

Editor

Max Goberman

Conductor

John Flory

Production Manager

Media.

Details.

Release Date
May 26, 1939

Status
Released

Running Time
44m

Genres
Documentary

Last updated: 2025-02-11

This Movie Is About.

urban planning

social commentary

Wiki.

The City is a pioneering short documentary film from 1939 that contrasts the problems of the contemporary urban environment with the superior social and physical conditions that can be provided in a planned community. It was directed and photographed by Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke based on a treatment by Lewis Mumford, which was in turn based on an outline by Pare Lorentz. Aaron Copland wrote the musical score, and Morris Carnovsky provided the narration.