“The Shoemaker and the Hatter” (1950, Preserved by the Academy Film Archive)
In 1957, Academy Member Larry Bachmann (1912-2004) donated his collection of over 100 16mm film prints to the Academy. Bachmann’s collection remained unknown in the Archive’s holding for decades, but was rediscovered in the mid-90s. After World War II, the Marshall Plan transferred over $13 billion ($90 billion today) of material and technical assistance to 18 European countries. To help explain to average citizens how the plan actually worked, over 260 films were produced between 1948 and 1953. In April of 2005, the Academy Film Archive inaugurated what became a national tour of four programs of 25 titles, entitled “Selling Democracy.”