Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1882-1945

This 1945 biographical documentary, likely produced shortly after FDR’s death, offers a poignant tribute to the 32nd U.S. President. Filmed in black-and-white, it opens with somber scenes of his funeral—April 14, 1945, in Hyde Park, New York—mourners lining the route, a flag-draped casket borne by train from Warm Springs, Georgia. The narrative rewinds to 1910, showing a young Roosevelt entering politics as a New York State Senator, then serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under Wilson during WWI. Archival clips highlight his 1920 VP run on the Cox ticket—at 38, the youngest ever—and his 1928 governorship in Albany, addressing New Yorkers with vigor despite polio’s onset. The film crescendos with his 1932 presidential campaign, featuring rousing speech excerpts vowing economic recovery. WWII dominates the latter half: FDR declares war post-Pearl Harbor (December 8, 1941), meets Churchill and Stalin at Tehran and Yalta, demands unconditional surrender at Casablanca (1943), and lays groundwork for the UN at San Francisco via a 1944 Pearl Harbor conference. A reverent recap of a transformative leader, it’s a wartime elegy blending personal grit with global legacy.