Series I: Ecce Homo, 1938-1942, undated
Ecce Homo was Lorentz's first attempt at a feature-length fiction film. It began as a radio play, first broadcast on the CBS channel in 1938. The narrative centers around four unemployed workers from the four corners of the United States who met at a filling station in Kansas. One by one, each of the men delivers a monologue about conditions in his home state, while regional music plays in the background. The radio play was supposed to be the forerunner of a feature-length film. Lorentz and his staff conducted extensive research for the production. They studied production practices at Ford's River Rouge factory, gathered information on jobless Americans and relief organizations. Filming began in 1939, but was hampered by a lack of funds. By 1941, with much of the industrial images captured, and the name changed to Name, Age and Occupation, production began again. The picture was never completed, but much of the footage proved useful to government propaganda efforts during World War II.
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