Truly Dreadful Film

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

*Spoiler/plot- 1957, A 50's and 60's school science class documentary film which covers the hard biology and science with some comedic and animation to keep the subject interesting for all ages provided by Frank Capra's talents. The use of Greek mythology is clever.*Special Stars- Richard Carlson, Dr Frank Baxter, Dir: Frank Capra*Theme- Educational school films don't have to be boring.*Based on- 50's biology and circulatory blood science*Trivia/location/goofs- Dr. Frank Baxter was the co-host of this video subject and the many other videos in the science documentary series. However, it seems strange that Dr. Baxter is an English professor at University of Southern California is presented and speaks in these films as a hard science presenter or researcher, since he's not. His career and reputation is not about science at all. He must have got the job for his on-camera screen great screen 'presence' or authority.*Emotion- A memorable and enjoyable film shown in Los Angeles schools during the 60's. I snapped up buying this found VHS video along with it's less memorable sister video subjects sponsored by the Bell Labs. The production quality and memory pathos was worth the buy and viewing time. This is a charming documentary all around. Let's give a big 'thank you' to Frank Capra and his directing talents.

A Frank Capra WONDERS OF LIFE film.Keeping the blood pumping through our veins is the responsibility of hardworking HEMO THE Magnificent.In the mid-1950's, AT&T and Bell Science teamed with famed Hollywood director Frank Capra to produce a series of CBS television science films to educate the public about the Universe around them. A far cry from the dreary black & white fodder so often foisted off on young scholars, the Capra films would both instruct and entertain with lively scripts and eye-catching visuals shown in Technicolor. The four films - OUR MR. SUN (1956), THE STRANGE CASE OF THE COSMIC RAYS (1957), HEMO THE MAGNIFICENT (1957), THE UNCHAINED GODDESS (1958) - quickly became schoolhouse favorites, where they were endlessly shown in 16mm format.The star of the series was Dr. Frank C. Baxter (1896-1982), an affable English professor at the University of Southern California. This avuncular pedagogue proved to be the perfect film instructor, genially imparting to his audience the sometimes complex facts in a manner which never made them seem dull or boring. Dr. Baxter, who won a Peabody Award for his achievements, continued making high quality instructional films after the Capra quartet were concluded.HEMO THE Magnificent, which was produced, written & directed by Capra, relates the story of the human heart and blood circulation system, using animation and gentle humor. Film star Richard Carlson appears as the Fiction Writer, energetically helping Dr. Baxter tell Hemo's tale.Movie mavens will recognize Sterling Holloway as part of the TV production crew, and the voices of Marvin Miller, Mel Blanc, June Foray & Pinto Colvig as various cartoon characters, all uncredited.The devotional Scripture which begins the film is completely in tune with the tenor & tone of the production.

I recall seeing this in the late '50's and to this day, I am still in possession of the knowledge that it gave me. I was probably in the 5th or 6th grade and learned a great deal from this series of films. The amount of information was very great but it was presented so "gently" that nearly anyone could remember it. It was in color, too, which still wasn't all that prevalent in films then. Big budget films were in color, but many were still filmed in black and white, so it was impressive in and of itself that it was in color. Frank Capra, probably the greatest director ever, did a splendid job and it educated millions of school children. Great job!

I also saw this movie in elementary school and can, to this day, recall facts about the heart and blood with the animated depiction. Why? Perhaps Capra was just that good at direction, but I think that the real reason was that this was before color TV was ubiquitous. Unlike today, when kids are constantly bombarded with video and sound, we had very little "multimedia" exposure. When we experienced it, it had a lasting impact. I defy my 11-year-old to remember what he saw just last night.