The Human Harvest (1949)

Duration: 11:20

Year Published: 1949

Sound: sound

Description: Produced by Texas News Trailers, this 1940s promotional film solicits support for Houston public housing. Narrator Richard Hetrick guides viewers on a tour of several local “slums,” highlighting the poor living conditions. In 1949, Congress agreed to appropriate as much as $308 million annually for up to 40 years to help fund public housing projects. Opponents argued that the legislation would socialize the construction industry, which perhaps explains why this film rebuts such claims by repeatedly connecting inadequate housing to communism. Shad E. Graham, who directed and photographed the film, was the owner of Texas News Trailers as well as the Houston representative for Fox Movietone.