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The Roosevelt Story

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The Roosevelt Story
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLawrence M. Klee
Screenplay byLawrence M. Klee
Produced byMartin Levine
Oliver A. Unger
StarringEd Begley
Gene Blakely
Kelly Flint
Canada Lee
Kenneth Lynch
Edited byWalter Klee
Music byEarl Robinson
Production
company
Tola Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • August 30, 1947 (1947-08-30)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Roosevelt Story is a 1947 American documentary film written and directed by Lawrence M. Klee. The film is a documentary about the private and public life of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The film was narrated by Ed Begley, Gene Blakely, Kelly Flint, Canada Lee and Kenneth Lynch. The film was released on August 30, 1947, by United Artists.[1]

Synopsis

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The Roosevelt Story opens with newsreel footage of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral procession along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., following his death on April 12, 1945, before tracing his life from his birthplace and family home at Hyde Park, New York.[2] The film covers Roosevelt's education through his graduation from Harvard University and his marriage to Eleanor Roosevelt, then follows his entry into politics, his work on Woodrow Wilson's 1912 presidential campaign, and his service as Assistant Secretary of the Navy.[3]

The film documents his 1921 diagnosis with polio and rehabilitation at Warm Springs, Georgia, his election and reelection as Governor of New York, and his nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate at the party's 1932 convention, the first time a presidential nominee accepted his nomination in person.[4] Also covered are the New Deal programs Roosevelt introduced during the Great Depression, among them the Works Progress Administration, the Public Works Administration, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.[3]

To illustrate the hardship of the era, the film introduces a fictional composite character, "Joe, an average, forgotten man," who recounts his experiences as a transient worker.[3] The film also depicts Roosevelt's fireside chats and his 1936 landslide reelection. It then turns to the rising international tensions of the late 1930s, the outbreak of World War II, Roosevelt's elections to unprecedented third and fourth terms, the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the formal declaration of war, and the formation of the United Nations.[3]

Cast

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "The Roosevelt Story (1947) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  2. ↑ "The Roosevelt Story". IMDb. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The Roosevelt Story". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
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