Beginning in the 1910s, the American Red Cross offered a high volume of fundraising films that highlighted its work. These films were mostly seen in nontheatrical settings \u2013 churches, schools, social clubs \u2013 and they offered a straightforward presentation of Red Cross workers helping those in physical and economic distress.
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The 1934 short \u201cThe Greatest Mother\u201d is one of the few Red Cross films that is easily accessible today, via a YouTube posting that can be seen below. It was produced for the organization by the William J. Ganz Company, that specialized in documentary and industrial films.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Greatest Mother\u201d offers a grim view of an America in the midst of the Great Depression, with Red Cross nurses and volunteers often being the only individuals providing aid to the nation\u2019s poorest. The most jolting scenes involve the Red Cross workers providing food and clothing to the rural poor whose lives were upended by a flood \u2013 the women of the Red Cross nursing corps were pillars of strength and compassion during an unfathomable time.<\/p>\n
Other sequences show Red Cross nurses leading courses for new mothers on how to care for an infant, treating injured veterans in military hospitals, and preparing garments for distribution the needy.<\/p>\n
From a contemporary perspective, it is curious that \u201cThe Greatest Mother\u201d was produced as a silent film, with a soundtrack clipped together from gramophone recordings of classical music. After all, Hollywood officially bade farewell to the silent movies three years before this film came out. Still, it wasn\u2019t that far away from the silent movie era that audiences would express discomfort with a lack of spoken words. And, truth be told, a narration wasn\u2019t needed \u2013 the power of the imagery within this film is better served with an unobtrusive score.<\/p>\n