The Devil and John Q (1952)

Sponsor: Harding College
Production: John Sutherland Productions
Characters: John Q. Public, The Devil.
Voice actors: Frank Nelson, Harry Morgan, Bud Hiestand, Herb Vigran.
Directed by: Carl Urbano.
Producers: John Sutherland, George Gordon.
Animation: Arnold Gillespie, Emery Hawkins, Bill Higgins, Russ Van Neida.
Music: Les Baxter.
Released: 1952 (estimate).
Time: 9:42 minutes.
Technicolor

Cartoon produced at the request of Harding College addressing the Cold War with the Soviets and the risks of the impacts of inflation on the economy due to the Cold War scenario.

First, the Devil himself confers with the War demon about his failure to lead the United States into global conflict and an escalating arms race. He asks the devil to continue to heighten the climate of conflict in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, with the help of his "communist" friends.

Meanwhile, the Devil begins to study a plan to destroy the United States from the inside, by increasing inflation and destroying the American economy from the inside.

He puts this into practice during a conversation between Joe Farmer and John Q. Public about the impact of inflation on agricultural products.

Then he does the same during a conversation between John Citizen and a businessman at a dinner, and then in line at the bank in a conversation between John Q. Public and a factory worker.

We then see John Q. Public reading a newspaper with terrible news about inflation on agricultural products, rising business costs, strikes for increases in workers' wages and increased investment in arms production.

Alarmed by this, he still watches a call for a live interview that night with a politician (Senator Brimstone, who is none other than the Devil himself), whom he recognizes as the disseminator of intrigues about "there are no risks to be considered with rising inflation" and that the people should not be concerned.

John Q. Public decides to intervene in the farce and publicly confront the "senator" representative of the city of "Hell Dorado" (literally a pun between ElDorado and Inferno in English), unmasking him live. An excellent class on economic principles and political manipulation of the economy, a very common practice on the diabolical left.

© John Sutherland Productions