All language subtitles for america in color s2e4 playtime

seen in colour 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

and don't forget man grenade grenade

kids start going to summer camps

and any girl can be Miss America

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

free time becomes big business

everyone's taking part

my name is Macbeth spending millions just to have fun

this is the story of America at play

as you've never seen it before

I want us to be captured

19:05 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 with thrills

at three parks await those who can pay

at Dreamland exotic camel rides past giant water shoots

at Steeple Chase Park

a 25 cent entry fee buys access to 25 rides

but 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 roller coaster to open

and at Luna Park

250,000 electric lights

make it brighter than the Manhattan skyline

as the fame of Coney Island's park

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

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 dollar 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 error when filming is still rare

even the build up is captured

twenty thousand 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 July 4th, 1910

an almost entirely white male crowd builds the stands

Jeffreys billed as the Great White Hope

refuses to shake Johnson's hand

Jeffrey starts aggressively

but Johnson is a superior fighter

and Jeffreys soon tires

in the 15th round

Jeffries is knocked down

for the first time in his career

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

The Girl Scouts preach that exposing girls to

the right leisure activities builds character

the group's founder Juliet Gordon Low is a trailblazer

she recognises films

potential to promote the organization

in 1918 she commissions a dramatised 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

the players on both teams are all Japanese Americans

Taizo Tashiyuki

seen here on camera

films their lives in these rare

and never before seen home movies

his friend Hisitoro Nakagawa has two sports craze sons

Johnny and Toshio

they are second generation Americans known as nisae

born in the USA

the Nisa see sports as a way to Americanize

and win the respect of their white neighbours

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 Nissa League game

his hitting wins him a nickname the Nissa Babe Ruth

even though the Nissay are shun by the major leagues

the game's big stars come to them

in 1927 Lou Garrigg and Babe Ruth play in Fresno

as part of an off season exhibition tour

Johnny helps Gary's Larup and Luze

beat Ruth's busting Babes

13 to three

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 Fireman's Ballpark

although football made trail baseball and 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 renowned

in South Bend Indiana

the university of Notre Dame

earns fame from the exploits of its football team

the Fighting Irish

1 2 1 2 1 4

during the 1920s

a Norwegian immigrant named Newt Rock Day

turns the team into a conquering force

and becomes the first celebrity football coach

alright mate

let's get smart

somebody alignment here

another alert

I go and explain something to a group of 4 tackles

near the 4 tackles

stand there and pay absolutely no attention

Rocky recognizes the power of mass media

to help him market his brand

and welcomes cameras to his practices

the arrival of sound makes Rockney's voice

instantly recognizable to Americans of the time

88 71 40 his aggressive Pep talks become legendary

because he's happy to recreate them for the newsreels

don't forget madam

we're gonna get him out of under the

go go go go

can we run to the stop and he'll be alright alright

his skillet 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 Laden

Don Miller and Harry Stool Drayer

terrifies opponents with its powerful running game

when a reporter refers to the players as

the four horsemen of the Apocalypse

the PR savvy Rugby

ensures every paper has a picture of the four

on horseback

to run the football program

Rockney receives the unheard of salary

of $75,000 per year

a million today

by 1931 he's compiled a winning percentage of 8 81

a record that still stands

rocking 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 31st, 1931

the wooden aircraft he's flying in

breaks up over Kansas

killing Rockney 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

women are ready to seize new opportunities

and free time is a chance to push boundaries

a surplus of postwar aircraft

and lack of regulation create a new kind of daredevilry

barn storming

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 US and Canada

including one astonishing trick

where she hangs from a wire clamped between her teeth

Lilian 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 Staton

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

patronizing reporter nicknames the competition

the Powder Puff Derby

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 years 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 organisation fills the lucrative gap

and contestants arrive in Baltimore

Maryland from across the country

the debate portion isn't challenging

this weather reminds me of California

well I don't know about California weather

but this is certainly real New York weather

the judges line up to give Miss Buckeye Lake

Lilian Andrus

the good news

Miss Buckeye

it gives me great pleasure to confirm you

the honor of Miss America 1929

the unanimous consent of the judges

I congratulate you

this is the happiest moment of my life

I'm so excited

I don't know what to say

thank you very much

Lillian 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 backers have invested in

a more enduring fame

is won by the Babe Ruth of women's sports

Mildred Diefrickson

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

Officer Glad

50 chance to be on the United States Olympic team

in Los Angeles

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 dog by patronizing attitudes

criticized for her athletic build

and supposedly manish appearance

but she refuses to buckle

she takes up golf in 1935

and becomes the game's greatest female star

Dietrichsen 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

while white sports stars earn money and prestige

black Americans are held back by prejudice

most colleges are racially segregated

but black colleges take pride in their teams

schools like Tuskegee Institute

whose cheer squad is captured by newsreels in 1934

in the game at Chicago's Soldier Field

against Ohio's Wilberforce University

the cheerleaders of Booker T

Washington High School in Norfolk

Virginia use call and response to motivate the crowd

style quite different from that used at white

American schools

like Northwestern's cheer squad film singing Go You

Northwestern in 1939

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 eight out of 10 who do have salary 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

uh oh there's somebody knocking at the window again

the name Covered Wagon

is intended to conjure images of the Old West

and if you 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 ice boxes

top of the line models feature a telephone intercom

to your chauffeur

how about how about gonna move face up there

that's 20 miles faster now

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

one part of the population of the United States

will be living in automobile trailers within 20 years

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 legalized trackside gambling

it's easy to tax and generates much needed revenue

Americans wage $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 back seats in Millionaire's Road

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

celebrating as the most exciting two minutes in sports

on May 6th, 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 races most famous photograph

Broker's tip is declared the winner

pleasing jockey Don Meade

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 FTR's New Deal

The Works Progress Administration or WPA

builds recreational facilities to spur the economy

eight 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

what maybe the WPA's most innovative idea

is named Federal Project number one

in 1935 $27 million goes to the creative arts

it's an unprecedented attempt to promote American music

art and drama

The Federal Theater Project employs 12,700

in jobs ranging from set builders

to costume designers

12 stage productions play in schools

community centres and theatres

bringing stories like the anti fascist play

it can't happen here to new audiences

and you won't find any subversive books here

now how about this

now this fella Charles Dicken wasn't here Communist

the project is run by playwright Halle Flanagan

she's determined to use theater to fight racism

in 1936 Flanagan hires twenty year old newcomer

Orson Wells

to produce a version of Shakespeare's Macbeth

performed entirely by African Americans

my name is Macbeth turn

it's the first time

black theater has received government money 10 King

Wells transfers the place

Scottish setting to Haiti behold

the production becomes known as the Voodoo Macbeth

the time is free

all am Malcolm Peace

it premieres at the Lafayette Theatre

on Seventh Avenue in Harlem in April 1936

an integrated crowd of 10,000

jam the road for 10 blocks next to the theater

Hope Venom would be come to dance the name

and I would try the last

I have no way

and stars Maurice Ellis and Charles Collins

make the production a box office smash

on a tour of the north and west

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 8th, 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

dozens of stars like Yankees legend Joe Dimaggio

join the armed forces

to fill the vacuum

some very different ball players step up to the plate

the women's game has been developed by players like

Josie Caruso

I feel that baseball offers opportunities

and a great chance to recreation

I get a great kick out of it

but women have been limited to exhibition games

despite enthusiastic crowds

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 Bayer Stadium

the lineup features some of

the game's greatest female players

including the league's top hitter

Dorothy Kamenzek

and centre 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 show place 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 workout on crude metal equipment

first installed as a depression error

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 Abby 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 presenters 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

I read thousands of letters from people

seeking better help and happiness

the other day

a very rich man called me up and said Charlie

I just lost a half million dollars

and want to blow my brain cell

so I told him to forget it and get to exercise

let me teach you how to become strong like this

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 Stutz

you know we can't do too much for our boys

they're only young ones

starts has an egalitarian vision

there are no tryouts

no one gets cut

each player is given an equal chance

and is placed on a team that matches his abilities

it's 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 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

Bridgeport star pitcher

is 12 year old southpaw John Lewis

lauded by his teammates

he's following in the footsteps of Jackie Robinson

who three years earlier

broke the color barrier in the majors

thousands watch Houston triumph 2 to one

and the Hoop LA from the victory

is captured in this newsweel 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 28th, 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 finally home skills

teams in the newly formed NBA

play the Globe Trotters 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 favourite 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 CD reputation

boys hired to reset fallen pins

were known to take bribes from gamblers

until a new technology transforms the sport

the automatic pinsetter makes the game respectable

and available 24 hours a day

a promotional campaign by the American Bowling Congress

makes it a 350 million dollar industry by 1958

4,000 bowling lanes are built annually across the US

an estimated 22 million Americans bowl regularly

more than play any other sport

the game brings in 10 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

four year old Danny

eight year old David and 11 year old Mary

are one of 25 American families to win a competition

the whole street turns out to wave them off

on the vacation of a lifetime

they're heading to America's dream destination

the 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 it's astonishing scale

leaves the Barstow kids awestruck

11 people work at Disneyland

and the Barstow's 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 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