Podcast: Gabriel Over the White House (1933)

Journey with us, gentle listener, as we go back to a simpler time. A more wholesome time. A time before Hollywood had put the Hays Code into force. A time when America looked for a hero to create jobs, put an end to gangsterism, and finally shut down Congress once and for all! In 1933 MGM gave us such a hero in Gabriel Over the White House, the stirring story of a man getting hit on the head and hearing angelic voices that tell him to heroically bully his way into becoming a benevolent dictator.

Join Nick and I as we go back to the halcyon days when the president literally goes mad and then gets a lot of power, and is seen as a beneficent hero by almost all non-gangsters.

The advantage of a movie so old is you can watch the whole damn thing on YouTube! The full version is here:


Notes:

• Nick apologizes for his slightly offensive 1930s style African American gentleman's voice, but the movie started it! It's a commentary on the limited movie roles for African American actors in the first half of the 20th century.
• While President Hammond does talk of annihilating death rays, there is no mention of giant mecha robots, a la Metal Wolf Chaos.
• Some information on Pre-Code Hollywood i.e. the FUN Hollywood before couples slept in separate beds and people could flush toilets in movies (I presume).