Point Rationing of Foods (1943) User Reviews

Hard To Imagine, But This Had To Be Done In The U.S.

[ccthemovieman-1 · 5/10 · 8 June 2007]

This small feature that ran in theaters in America during World War II explained how the point system worked for rationing food. People today, from ages 1-65, probably can't fathom that America had to ration food in the last century, but it's true. During the last world war,it can do be done.

This documentary explains how much it takes to feed soldiers overseas; how difficult it can be to get the food safely there; what the effect is on the people back here in the States and why rationing is necessary. Mostly, it involved canned fruits and vegetables, coffee and processed food (i.e. sugar).

Since I was born in late1945 and never experienced rationing of food, I found it quite interesting. It was pretty nice, too, of the U.S. government to try to figure out how to keep the people satisfied with their freedom of choice on what products they could buy with their ration tickets. A point system was used to determine how much everyone was allowed and that is explained it detail. How you used your "rations" was up to you.

This isn't humorous or, frankly, that entertaining but it is a slice of history and one can learn a lot in this six-minute short.

"Share and share alike is the American Way to Victory . . . "

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 20 August 2016]

. . . concludes Narrator Karl Marx as the cartoon POINT RATIONING OF FOODS clinches a World War Two triumph for the USA. Only a compulsory conversion to Socialism allowed America to retain its Freedom against the Trump-like tramp tramp tramping of Hitler's approaching Nazi hordes. In RATIONING, the narrator informs American housewives (females are the only shoppers pictured here) of the quadratic equations and other mental gymnastics that will be necessary in the future to buy a can of soup. This spelled the start of the U.S. anorexia scourge, as many women were converted to the all-apple diet, since Eve's Forbidden Fruit was still available to buy outside of the Point Rationing System. Otherwise, in the absence of 21st Century graphing calculators, Rosie had to spend her days riveting and her nights sweating with a slide rule over her weekly shopping list. This was All Good, as a U.S. Troop was given another C-Ration on the Battle Front each time Rosie made a math error. As Karl used to say, from each according to his CPA's Trump Skills, to each according to her ACT math scores.

Share and share alike is the American way to Victory

[wmorrow59 · 7/10 · 22 October 2006]

As soon as the opening credits begin, you know you're not going to see a typical Chuck Jones cartoon. Instead of the Warner Bros. shield logo and the familiar music, the introductory text reads: The United States Government presents Point Rationing of Foods. The film is in black & white and even the lettering has a no-nonsense, industrial look, while the accompanying music could be described as 'triumphal,' almost like a march. The craftsmen who made the film are indeed from the Warner Bros. animation studio, but here they're designated as the "Leon Schlesinger Unit" as if it were a platoon, and we're also told that they belong to Screen Cartoonists Local 852. We're definitely not in Bugs Bunny Land. This short film was made for the Office of War Information and they obviously wanted to set a serious tone, unlike that of the more raffish "Private Snafu" cartoons made by some of the same personnel for screenings on military bases.

When the credits are over, the authoritative-sounding narrator gets right down to brass tacks and tells us that certain canned and processed foods will have to be rationed for a number of reasons: the demand has risen overseas and at home, the supply of tin (for canning) has been sharply reduced by the enemy, and there is also a farm labor shortage because so many young men are in the service. It's explained that the point rationing system that the U.S. Government plans to adopt has been used successfully in England for more than a year, and that the same system will be used across the entire country, whether in small rural stores or big urban "Super-Duper" markets. The same system will apply to all consumers, rich or poor. We are shown a rationing book, and the allotment of points to different foods is explained. We then observe as a young lady goes to a grocery store to do her shopping under the new system, and see how she's able to save points by making substitutions. The animation in this film is limited, rather like the Saturday morning TV cartoons of later years, but it suits the task at hand: the rationing system is explained clearly and the animated vignettes we're shown are helpful to that end.

This brief instructional film will be valuable to viewers with an interest in the political and social history of the American home front during the Second World War. It also serves as a poignant indicator of how much has changed in this country since then. During that war, according to people of my parents' generation and various historical accounts, our leaders explained the stakes in consistent and coherent terms, and almost all Americans were more than willing to pitch in, make sacrifices, and do whatever was necessary to prevail. Pleasure trips were curtailed, rationing was imposed on food, tobacco, and rubber products, and taxes were raised. The Truman Committee cracked down on war profiteers. At the end of this film the narrator intones: "Share and share alike is the American way to victory!" The music swells, the film is over, and we reflect on how much we had to be proud of then, and wonder how we lost our way.

Yeah, but what if I'm STARVING?!

[slymusic · 29 July 2010]

"Point Rationing of Foods" is a Warner Bros. cartoon sending an important message from the government of the United States. Narrated by the ubiquitous Robert C. Bruce, this cartoon deals with the scarcity of food during wartime and the requirement for American citizens to do their part by utilizing ration stamps for grocery shopping. I hadn't yet been born during the Second World War, so I can only imagine that this point rationing might have been a true burden for some folks, but our troops sorely needed the support.

Although this cartoon is primarily educational, it occasionally injects a little humor & liveliness into the proceedings. For example, I laugh at the scene in which four people hurriedly walk into a grocery store and walk out carrying different amounts of food, one heavyset man carrying a gigantic pile, one scrawny man hunching over with nothing to carry. I also enjoy the scene depicting a woman swaggering out a grocery store after using her ration stamps.

That's about all I wish to write about "Point Rationing of Foods", except that it exists as a bonus cartoon on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 Disc 3.

How many times do I have to tell people that war (whether you support it or not) necessitates rationing?

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 4 November 2007]

There is little that makes me nostalgic for WWII (even though I wasn't born until thirty-nine years after it ended) more than a movie like "Point Rationing of Foods". Although created by Leon Schlesinger Studios, this short film is nothing at all like the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons. It explains the process and purpose of wartime rationing, and how one can substitute certain foodstuffs so as to save money.

Yes, it's true. Even though WWII (you know, the war in which we fought the political alliance that had attacked us, rather than invading a country that had nothing to do with the attack?) was a very jingoistic era, our government established a system of rationing to ensure that we could supply our troops and allies with whatever they needed. Furthermore, Franklin Roosevelt imposed very high taxes on the ultra-wealthy so as to pay for the war. But now, during the so-called "war on terrorism", our government allows - if not encourages - consumerism; on top of that, George W. Bush is the first wartime president who didn't raise taxes. Obviously, he's got no time to worry about giving the troops the necessary body armor as long as he enriches Blackwater and ignores New Orleans.

In the future, people are going to look back at the early 21st century and wonder why we didn't take the steps that we took in WWII. If I may make a suggestion, the United Nations needs to pass a binding resolution banning extremists from seeking political office. Had they done that after WWII, the world probably wouldn't be in this big mess in which it finds itself today; heck, if the League of Nations had done it after WWI, we might have never had WWII. Had either organization set about enforcing democracy from the start, I bet that the United States would have established universal health care a long time ago. Of course, hindsight is far easier than foresight.

But I digress. While this short film is very much a product of WWII, I still really liked it, if only because of what it teaches us about the past and how we should be running the current war (as long as we choose to fight wars).