All language subtitles for America in Color S02E04 Playtime

Narrator: This is
the story of america

Seen in color
for the first time.

Early in the 20th century

Americans start to work less
and to play more.

And time off makes
a new way of life possible.

Man: And don't forget, men,

Today is the day
we're gonna win!

Narrator: Kids start going
to summer camps,

And any girl can be
miss america.

Woman: I'm so excited,
I don't know what to say.

Narrator: Free time
becomes big business.

Everyone's taking part.

[gunshots]

[laughing]

Man: My name's macbeth!

Narrator: Spending millions
just to have fun.

This is the story
of america at play

As you've never seen it before.

♪

John f. Kennedy:
I want us to recapture that...

♪

♪

Narrator: 1905, new york city.

An early film by thomas edison
follows a group of schoolgirls

To the real-life
hottest ticket in town.

Brooklyn's coney island,

Home of america's earliest
amusement parks...

And some of the first places
where big profits are earned

From fun and entertainment.

Thousands pour
into coney island,

Where thrills at three parks
await those who can pay.

At dreamland, exotic camel rides
pass giant water chutes.

♪

At steeplechase park
a 25-cent entry fee

Buys access to 25 rides.

What this rolling barrel
lacks in safety harnesses,

It more than
makes up for in fun.

The top attraction
at steeplechase:

A gravity-powered
wooden horse race.

They'll have to wait
another 22 years

For the cyclone rollercoaster
to open.

And at luna park,
250,000 electric lights

Make it brighter than
the manhattan skyline.

As the fame of coney island's
parks spreads across the nation,

So, too, does
the entertainment business,

Which it's helped to create.

A business that's about
to get a new jolt of energy...

From sports.

[hammering]

June 1910. Reno, nevada.

300 workmen are constructing
a 22,000-seat arena

For the fight of the century.

It's the first time
a boxing venue is built

To house one single fight.

Former champion jim jeffries
is back in training.

And it's not just
for the $101,000 purse.

He's got something to prove.

His opponent is the current
world champion,

32-year-old texan jack johnson.

Two years earlier
in sydney, australia,

Johnson beats tommy burns

To become the first black man to
win the world heavyweight title.

But the idea of
a black world champ

Upsets white america.

Jim jeffries is quoted
as saying he's fighting

To prove that a white man
is better than a negro.

The fight is so significant

That in an era
when filming is still rare,

Even the buildup is captured.

20,000 people
from all over america

Have the time and the money
to flock to reno,

Paying 10 bucks and up--
around $240 today.

And on the 4th of July, 1910,

An almost entirely white
male crowd fills the stands.

Jeffries, billed as
the great white hope,

Refuses to shake johnson's hand.

Jeffries starts aggressively.

But johnson is
a superior fighter.

♪

And jeffries soon tires.

In the 15th round,

Jeffries is knocked down for
the first time in his career.

[cheering]

And then put through the ropes

Before he finally quits.

Jack johnson is victorious:

Undisputed as
heavyweight champion.

But reports of his victory
lead to claims of a fix

And to violence
against black americans.

The fight footage becomes

One of the year's
most popular newsreels.

But fearing it's inflammatory,

In 1912 congress bans
the interstate transport

Of boxing footage.

Nonetheless,
the footage makes johnson

One of the first
national sports celebrities.

His high profile reflects
the increasing importance

Of sports and leisure,

In an era when americans have
more free time and more money.

In 1916 federal laws
begin to limit working days

To eight hours.

Now, ordinary american families
will have more time

To relax and play together.

Time that many parents
want their children

To spend in an organized
and healthy way.

[cheering]

The girl scouts preach
that exposing girls

To the right leisure activities
builds character.

The group's founder,
juliette gordon low,

Is a trailblazer.

She recognizes film's potential
to promote the organization.

In 1918, she commissions
a dramatized documentary

Entitled "the golden eaglet."

It tells the story of margaret,

Who discovers the benefits
of the girl scouts.

She learns to spend her
free time in a meaningful way

By developing skills
like caring for the sick

And even solving
a violent crime!

♪

The film features one
of the earliest portrayals

Of a summer camp...

A brand-new experience
for thousands of american kids.

By 1925, the girl scouts
pioneer female camping

With 300 locations.

Parents pay around five bucks
per week--$120 today.

The number of boys' summer camps

Rockets from fewer than 100
at the turn of the century

To more than a thousand in 1918.

Camps for both sexes
try to build self-reliance

By exposing kids to values
thought to be fading

In an urban world.

They promote an american
identity shaped by teamwork...

A concept that for
one group of citizens

Is especially appealing.

This semi-pro baseball game
is filmed

In fresno, california, in 1924.

[bat cracks]

The players on both teams
are all japanese americans.

Taizo toshiyuki,
seen here on camera,

Films their lives

In these rare and
never-before-seen home movies.

His friend, hisatoro nakagawa,
has two sports-crazed sons,

Johnny and toshio.

They are second-generation
americans, known as nisei,

Born in the u.S.A.

The nisei see sports
as a way to americanize

And win the respect
of their white neighbors.

Man: Run, run, run!

[crack]

Narrator: They build
a thriving baseball community,

Including their own semi-pro
leagues based on the west coast.

Johnny plays for
the fresno athletic club,

Filmed here
in a nisei league game.

His hitting wins him a nickname:
The "nisei babe ruth."

Even though the nisei are
shunned by the major leagues,

The game's big stars
come to them.

In 1927, lou gehrig and
babe ruth play in fresno

As part of an off-season
exhibition tour.

Johnny helps gehrig's
larrupin' lous

Beat ruth's bustin' babes
13 to 3.

[crowd cheering]

Johnny's brother toshio
focuses on football.

He's nicknamed "dyna,"
short for dynamite,

Because of his powerful tackling

In games like this one,
at fresno's firemen's ballpark.

Although football may trail
baseball in mass appeal,

It's the sport
of america's elites.

And for the ivy league
universities, it's a gold mine.

The harvard crimson team
has dominated college football

Since the 1880s.

Harvard stadium in boston
holds 42,000 paying fans,

Making the university
$429,000 a year--

Around $5 million today.

That kind of money
attracts attention.

Smaller institutions
see sports as a way

To earn both money and renown.

Man: Come on, tackle him,
there you go.

Narrator:
In south bend, indiana,

The university of notre dame

Earns fame from the exploits
of its football team,

The fighting irish.

Man: One, two, one, two,
one, halt.

Narrator: During the 1920s

A norwegian immigrant
named knute rockne

Turns the team
into a conquering force

And becomes the first
celebrity football coach.

Narrator: Rockne recognizes
the power of mass media

To help him market his brand

And welcomes cameras
to his practices.

The arrival of sound
makes rockne's voice

Instantly recognizable
to americans of the time.

His aggressive pep talks
become legendary,

Because he's happy to recreate
them for the newsreels.

Narrator: His skill at publicity
is paralleled

By his success on the field...

Building his offense
around the forward pass

And popularizing it
as a crowd-pleasing weapon.

His 1924 backfield
of jim crowley,

Elmer layden, don miller,
and harry stuhldreher

Terrifies opponents with
its powerful running game.

[crowd cheering]

When a reporter refers
to the players

As the four horsemen
of the apocalypse,

The p.R.-Savvy rockne
ensures every paper

Has a picture of the four
on horseback.

To run the football program,

Rockne receives the unheard-of
salary of $75,000 per year--

A million today.

By 1931 he's compiled
a winning percentage of .881--

A record that still stands.

[cheering]

Rockne's success
with the fighting irish

Elevates football
into a national game.

But at the age of 43,
at the peak of his fame,

Tragedy strikes.

On March 31, 1931,

The wooden aircraft
he's flying in

Breaks up over kansas,

Killing rockne and seven others.

He's the first
national celebrity

To die in an airplane crash.

100,000 people line the route
of his funeral procession,

And the service is broadcast
live on network radio.

By now, recreation has become
a valued part of american life--

A blend of patriotism,
money and celebrity.

And a new generation,
seeking fame and fortune,

Is prepared to take
enormous risks.

In 1920, america is packed
with young people.

Almost half the population
is under the age of 25,

And many begin to look
for crazy new thrills.

Weird fads
like flagpole sitting

Sweep the nation.

The point?

Just to see who can
sit the longest.

In atlantic city,
people are drawn

By the spectacle
of horse-diving.

Many of the thrill-seekers
are women.

In 1920, they get the vote

And earn one-third
of all college degrees.

By 1928, women comprise
40% of all graduates.

This home movie is filmed
in the late 1920s

At an unknown
private girls' college.

It captures the first female
generation to believe having fun

Is not a privilege;
it's a right.

[tapping]

Women are ready to seize
new opportunities.

And free time is a chance
to push boundaries.

A surplus of post-war aircraft
and lack of regulation

Create a new kind of
daredevilry--barnstorming.

In the 1920s it's a way
for pilots to earn money

By living on the edge.

A 19-year-old nebraskan waitress
named lillian boyer

And her pilot

Make the equivalent
of up to $15,000 a day

By courting danger in the sky.

She doesn't believe
in safety harnesses.

In 1922 she's filmed
wing-walking

Above chattanooga, tennessee,

And a star is born.

This film captures
the enormous risks she takes

Trying to leap from a wing

To a ladder
beneath another aircraft.

♪

Lillian performs for huge crowds
across the u.S. And canada...

Including one astonishing trick

Where she hangs from a wire
clamped between her teeth.

Lillian is far from
the only young woman

In her generation
breaking records.

The 1929 women's air derby
here in cleveland, ohio,

Is a showcase for female flyers.

On September 2nd,

18,000 people see
24-year-old louise thaden

Win a cross-country race
from california

In just over 20 hours.

But despite their achievements,

The women flyers
face discrimination.

Male organizers limit
the horsepower of each aircraft

To what they consider
appropriate for women.

A patronizing reporter
nicknames the competition

"the powder puff derby."

[applause and cheering]

Women are still
more likely to be told

To sit still and look pretty.

In 1926, norma smallwood
from oklahoma

Is crowned miss america
in atlantic city.

She is the first american indian
to hold the title,

And during her year's reign

Makes around $100,000
from public appearances.

But church and women's groups
protest the contest;

Saying it's too commercial,
even immoral.

In 1929,
the pageant is suspended.

A rival organization
fills the lucrative gap,

And contestants arrive
in baltimore, maryland,

From across the country.

The debate portion
isn't challenging.

Woman: This weather reminds me
of california.

Woman: Well, I don't know
about california weather,

But this is certainly
real new york weather!

Narrator: The judges line up
to give miss buckeye lake,

Lilyan andrus, the good news.

Man: Miss buckeye,
it gives me great pleasure

To confer upon you the honor
of miss america 1929,

The unanimous consent
of the judges.

I congratulate you.

Lilyan andrus: This is
the happiest moment of my life.

I'm so excited,
I don't know what to say.

Thank you very much.

Narrator: Lilyan finishes up

With an exhibition
of balance and poise.

But controversy
surrounds her win

When she's revealed
as a professional model

For ohio's buckeye lake
amusement park...

Which the contest's backers
have invested in.

A more enduring fame is won by
the babe ruth of women's sports,

Mildred didrikson.

She is one of the most
successful female athletes

Of all time.

♪

In July 1932, the 21-year-old
texan is filmed

At the olympic trials
in evanston, illinois,

Where she wins six
out of eight events.

Mildred didrikson: Awfully glad
to get the chance

To be on the united states
olympic team in los angeles.

Narrator: At the los angeles
games in August,

She competes in the maximum
three individual events

That women are limited to,

Winning gold in
the 800-meter hurdles,

Gold in javelin,

And silver in the high jump.

But despite her accomplishments,

She's dogged
by patronizing attitudes...

Criticized for
her athletic build

And supposedly "mannish"
appearance.

But she refuses to buckle.

She takes up golf in 1935

And becomes the game's
greatest female star.

Didrikson drives 1,000
practice balls a day

And is instrumental

In establishing
the women's pro game.

Ten years later she's earning
$100,000 a year--

Around $1.1 million today.

[yelling]

While white sports stars
earn money and prestige,

Black americans are
held back by prejudice.

Most colleges are
racially segregated.

[crowd cheering]

But black colleges
take pride in their teams...

Schools like tuskegee institute,

Whose cheer squad is captured
by newsreels in 1934

In a game at chicago's
soldier field

Against ohio's
wilberforce university.

[band playing]

[cheering]

The cheerleaders of
booker t. Washington high school

In norfolk, virginia,

Use call and response
to motivate the crowd.

[cheering]

A style quite different
from that used

At white american schools.

Like northwestern's cheer squad,

Filmed singing,
"go! U northwestern" in 1939.

[band playing]

♪

But though recreation and play
thrive in the early 1930s,

Most americans are under siege.

As the great depression
darkens their lives,

They will turn to entertainment
to escape its adversity.

In 1930, nearly 8 out of 10
who do have salaried work

Receive paid vacation time.

With more roads paved
and more people owning cars,

Americans head off
to explore the country.

Scientist arthur sherman
from mount clemens, michigan,

Sees an opportunity

In the surge of enthusiasm
for the great outdoors.

He designs and builds what
he calls a "covered wagon."

And kickstarts a craze
for recreational vehicles.

[knocking]

Woman: Uh-oh!

There's somebody knocking
at the window again.

Narrator: The name covered wagon
is intended

To conjure images
of the old west.

And if you've got money,

An rv can be yours,
starting from $395.

In 1931, sherman sells 117.

Five years later his company
is producing 1,000 a month.

Each is equipped
with conveniences

Like a bathtub, stove,
and even iceboxes.

Top-of-the-line models
feature a telephone intercom

To your chauffeur.

Woman: How about going
a little faster up there?

About 20 miles faster an hour.

Narrator: By 1936,
trailer manufacture

Is america's
fastest-growing industry,

With up to 400
competing companies.

But some of that boom
is spurred by insecurity.

The depression wipes out
thousands of homeowners.

Foreclosures become commonplace,

And sales of new homes collapse.

The travel trailer offers an
affordable housing alternative.

It's cheaper than
bricks and mortar

And removes the pressures

Of rent, mortgage
and property taxes.

In detroit, car designer
william b. Stout introduces

A larger, all-metal trailer,
which he names a mobile home.

It can be permanently fixed
to a concrete base,

And stout believes
it provides a solution

To those who can't
afford a house.

By 1936, the number
of trailer camps in america

Has grown to 15,000.

Complete with utilities
like electricity,

They create new, semi-permanent
communities across the country.

The era of the trailer park
has begun.

And parks like this one in
hampton beach, new hampshire,

Opened in 1935,
still exist today.

By 1936, an estimated 300,000
americans live in trailers.

To some, that's
a worrisome trend.

Man: One half of the population
of the united states

Will be living in automobile
trailers within 20 years.

Narrator: But struggling
americans love their trailers.

They enable people
to get away from it all.

In this time of economic gloom,

People seek escapes
of all kinds.

Horse racing booms
in the depression.

It draws almost as many people
as baseball...

Like the crowds here at
hialeah park in miami, florida.

Between 1932 and 1935, 20 states
legalize trackside gambling.

It's easy to tax and generates
much needed revenue.

Americans wager
$500 million every year--

The same as the entire
defense budget.

With high stakes
comes intense competition,

And no prize is greater
than the kentucky derby.

Racing fans doll themselves up
and parade at churchill downs

As they've been doing
on the first Saturday in may

Since 1875.

By the 1930s the derby
is one of the country's

Most revered
sporting traditions.

Tens of thousands pack the rail,

Paying 50 cents
to stand in the infield.

But the best views are from the
box seats in millionaires row.

Every running is preceded

By the university of
louisville's marching band

Playing "my old kentucky home,"

Before the horses line up for
the one-and-a-quarter-mile race,

Celebrated as the most exciting
two minutes in sports.

♪

On may 6, 1933,
a bitter battle breaks out.

Head play, on the outside,

And brokers tip approach
the finish neck and neck.

And the two jockeys whip
each other and not the horses.

It's dubbed the fighting finish,

Captured in the race's
most famous photograph.

Brokers tip is
declared the winner,

Pleasing jockey don meade.

Don meade: All I've got to say

Is I'm very glad
to win the race.

Narrator: He and rival
herb fisher are suspended

Following a post-race brawl.

But the 9-to-1 victor,
brokers tip,

Sends many gamblers home happy.

Providing americans
with more free time

And places to spend it

Is one of the goals
of fdr's new deal.

The works progress
administration, or wpa,

Builds recreational facilities
to spur the economy.

8 million americans are employed
to construct them,

Including more than
3,000 stadiums

And swimming pools,
like this one in harlem.

8,000 parks give
millions of families

Somewhere they can
relax for free.

12,800 playgrounds provide kids
with little worlds of their own,

Where they can do
what kids do best.

Almost every community
in america

Benefits from new amenities,

At a cost in 1935
of $4.9 billion.

[girl laughing]

[horn honks]

What may be the wpa's
most innovative idea

Is named federal project
number one.

♪ o say, can you sing,
dance or act? ♪

♪ if you can, it's
a well-established fact ♪

Narrator: In 1935 $27 million
goes to the creative arts.

It's an unprecedented attempt

To promote american music,
art and drama.

♪ dancers who can kick
but higher ♪

♪

Narrator: The federal theatre
project employs 12,700

In jobs ranging
from set builders

To costume designers.

1,200 stage productions
play in schools,

Community centers and theaters,

Bringing stories like
the anti-fascist play

"it can't happen here"
to new audiences.

Man: Well, you won't find
any subversive books here!

Man: Oh.
Now, how about this one?

Now this fella, charles dickens,
wasn't he a communist?

Narrator: The project is run
by playwright hallie flanagan.

She is determined to use
theater to fight racism.

In 1936, flanagan hires

20-year-old newcomer
orson welles

To produce a version
of shakespeare's "macbeth,"

Performed entirely
by african americans.

[laughing]

Man: My name's macbeth!

Narrator: It's the first time
black theater

Has received government money.

Man: Hail, king!

Narrator: Welles transfers
the play's scottish setting

To haiti.

Man: Behold!

Narrator: The production becomes
known as the "voodoo macbeth."

Man: The time is free!

All hail malcolm.

Man: Peace!

Narrator: It premieres at the
lafayette theater on 7th avenue

In harlem in April 1936.

An integrated crowd of 10,000

Jam the road for 10 blocks
next to the theater.

Man: Though birnam wood
become to dunsinane!

Yet I will try the last!

Man: I have nowhere.

[gunshots]

Narrator: And stars
maurice ellis

And charles collins make the
production a box office smash

On a tour of the north and west.

[whooping and gunshots]

[crack]

[cheering]

By 1939, americans are spending

$3.8 billion a year
on recreation.

And even a war can't stop
the country from having fun.

♪

September 8, 1943.

At new york's
madison square garden,

Up to 50,000 spectators
watch soldiers and sailors

Compete in the country's biggest
annual dance competition.

♪

The jitterbug craze is
still in full swing.

Entertainment is
a morale-booster,

Supported by president
franklin d. Roosevelt.

Two years earlier,
in April 1941,

He throws the first pitch
to open the baseball season

At washington's
griffith stadium.

The president has thrown
the opening pitch

Eight years in a row.

But by year's end,
america is at war,

And team owners question if the
major leagues should continue.

Roosevelt values
baseball's importance

To the nation's morale

And asks the big leaguers
to play on.

They'll be a shadow
of their pre-war selves,

As dozens of stars like
yankees legend joe dimaggio

Join the armed forces.

To fill the vacuum,

Some very different ballplayers
step up to the plate.

[cheering]

The women's game
has been developed

By players like josie caruso.

Josie caruso: I feel that
baseball offers opportunities

And a great chance
to recreation.

I get a great kick out of it.

Narrator: But women have been
limited to exhibition games,

Despite enthusiastic crowds.

[cheering]

[laughter]

With the men's game
weakened by the war,

Chicago cubs owner
philip k. Wrigley

Forms the first professional
women's baseball league in 1943.

His mantra is "look like women,
play like men."

♪

The players are required
to wear skirts

And deal with the pain
of sliding into second

With bare legs.

Each player earns
up to $80 a week,

If she follows strict rules
covering neat haircuts

And no smoking or drinking.

♪

Amateur cameraman bud nelson
of rockford, illinois,

Captures a home movie of the
league's most successful team,

The rockford peaches.

He films them soon after
the end of the war

In a game against
the muskegon lassies

At rockford's beyer stadium.

The line-up features some of the
game's greatest female players,

Including the league's
top hitter, dorothy kamenshek,

And center fielder
dottie ferguson.

♪

But after 1945, as male stars
return from the war,

The women's league
can't compete.

Attendance declines rapidly.

And in 1954, the league folds.

Despite its demise, the idea of
physical fitness for both sexes

Keeps growing in popularity.

The showplace for bodybuilders
is muscle beach

In santa monica, california.

In 1948, a young director
named joseph strick

Captures the beach on film

In a documentary about
this american subculture.

Exercise fanatics work out
on crude metal equipment,

First installed

As a depression-era
construction project.

♪

The california sun, sea and sand

Attract dedicated
fitness obsessives,

Who transform the beach
into a temple of toned bodies,

And earn muscle beach
its famous name.

It's also the home
of the two-piece swimsuit,

Created by pioneering female
bodybuilder abbye stockton...

When the traditional
all-in-one bathing suit

Proves too restrictive
for her workouts.

The stars of muscle beach
attract huge crowds.

♪

This 1954 home movie captures

17-year-old inglewood,
california, high school girl

Barbara thomason claiming
the title of miss muscle beach.

Getting her hands on the trophy

Means fighting off
the presenter's advances.

Bodybuilding isn't just popular;
it's lucrative.

Just ask charles atlas.

His pitch: Every man
needs to work out,

As seen in this 1946
promotional film.

Charles atlas:
I read thousands of letters

From people seeking better
health and happiness.

Why, only the other day a very
rich man called me up and said,

"charlie, I just lost
a half million dollars.

I'm going to blow
my brains out."

So I told him to forget it
and get to exercising.

Let me teach you how to
become strong, like this!

Narrator: Atlas develops
a bodybuilding program

For the average joe.

Instead of barbells,

His mail-order business
just sends workout lessons,

Saving on shipping
and making millions.

Anyone can follow the lessons
in their own home.

Atlas becomes
an international celebrity,

Made rich and famous

By exploiting free time
as a business.

The concept of selling fitness
to ordinary people

Is also what drives

One of the country's most
successful organizations:

Little league baseball.

♪

It's created by a pennsylvanian
named carl stotz.

Carl stotz: You know, we can't
do too much for our boys.

They're only young once.

Narrator: Stotz has
an egalitarian vision.

There are no try-outs.
No one gets cut.

Each player is given
an equal chance

And is placed on a team
that matches his abilities.

♪

Its approach depends
on volunteers,

And the kids themselves
to help build fields.

Little league
pioneers safety advances,

Like rubber cleats
and mandatory helmets.

During the early 1950s,
it sweeps the nation.

This 1950 promotional film
captures the eight best teams

In the country arriving
in williamsport, pennsylvania,

To fight for the little league
world series.

The two left standing
are houston, texas,

And bridgeport, connecticut.

[cheering]

Bridgeport's star pitcher is
12-year-old southpaw john lewis.

[crack]

[applause]

Lauded by his teammates,

He's following in the footsteps
of jackie robinson,

Who three years earlier broke
the color barrier in the majors.

[cheering]

[crack]

Thousands watch houston
triumph, 2 to 1.

And the hoopla from the victory
is captured

In this newsreel footage
of a parade held in houston

For the team's return.

At the start of the 1950s,
fortunes are being made

By selling entertainment,
leisure and fun.

No one wants to miss out
on the money.

And even sports with an image
problem can make millions;

Profits from yet
another perfect game.

February 28, 1949,
chicago stadium.

Over 20,000 fans pay to watch
the minneapolis lakers

Take on
the harlem globetrotters.

The crowd is drawn

By the globetrotters'
spectacular showmanship.

The all-black team
defies racial stereotypes

With its finely honed skills.

Teams in the newly formed
nba play the globetrotters

To raise the league's profile
and their income.

♪

Because now money is truly
the name of the game.

A 1953 survey reveals
that americans are spending

$18 billion per year
on leisure activities.

Everything from spectator sports
to fishing,

To niche sports
like sand-yachting.

Millions of families find
their favorite entertainment

A few blocks from home
at the bowling alley.

The game has been

A popular blue-collar pastime
for decades,

But is tainted by
a seedy reputation.

Boys hired to reset fallen pins

Were known to take bribes
from gamblers.

Until a new technology
transforms the sport.

The automatic pin-setter
makes the game respectable

And available 24 hours a day.

A promotional campaign by
the american bowling congress

Makes it a $350 million industry
by 1958.

♪

4,000 bowling lanes are built
annually across the u.S.

An estimated 22 million
americans bowl regularly--

More than play any other sport.

The game brings in
ten times the receipts

Of major league baseball.

Top players like don carter
are celebrities,

Filmed here with his
budweiser-sponsored team.

The first-ever million-dollar
endorsement deal

Doesn't go to a big league
slugger or nfl quarterback;

It goes to don carter.

It's July 1956
in wethersfield, connecticut.

The barstow family--
parents robbins and meg,

4-year-old danny,
8-year-old david,

And 11-year-old mary--

Are one of 25 american families
to win a competition.

♪

[cheering]

The whole street turns out
to wave them off

On the vacation of a lifetime.

They're heading to
america's dream destination...

A place millions are saving
their money to experience.

It calls itself
the happiest place on earth.

Disneyland.

It's the culmination of
what began at coney island:

Putting fun on sale.

And its astonishing scale leaves
the barstow kids awestruck.

1,100 people work at disneyland,

And the barstows' camera even
captures a young steve martin

Working as a magician.

The 60-acre park opened in 1955
in anaheim, california,

With an admission fee
of $1 for adults

And 50 cents for kids.

But to get on any of
the 35 rides, you pay extra.

At every corner
there's an opportunity

To buy into the brand.

Disney's shrewd exploitation
of family-friendly entertainment

Makes the park
a financial juggernaut.

Nearly 4 million visit
in its first year of operation.

By 1957 it's making a profit
of $1 million a year.

It's the ultimate embodiment of
the american leisure industry.

Disney's version of fun becomes
an iconic american lifestyle;

One you can buy.

It caps off an evolution

That turned
entertainment and play

Into the defining products
of 20th century american life.

♪