Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Good concept, poorly executed.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This is an amazingly well made propaganda film--one that is backed up with facts and isn't about stirring up the people. In fact, unlike most propaganda, its aim is to CALM the public--to get them to understand the facts and NOT give way to crazy rumors. In essence, this short film demonstrates that propaganda CAN be good, as propaganda consists of an argument meant to sway opinion--and isn't always bad. In particular, the industrial output of the Allied nations is compared to the Axis--showing that victory is all but inevitable (which turned out to be true)."Mr. Blabbermouth" is also effective because in addition to using a lot of facts, it also employs a nice sense of humor when addressing the nay-sayers and people who spread wild rumors. You can't help but laugh AND be a bit inspired and relieved when you see the film.All in all, at the time this came out, there couldn't have been a much better tonic for frightened Americans. Folks WERE falling prey to insane rumors and they needed to relax and understand that the war was winnable--just not immediately. And, to understand the need to keep your head and confront rumor-mongers for the good of the nation. A wonderful little piece of history that seemed very well reasoned and constructed throughout. Well worth seeing.

This short subject is typical of the wartime propaganda films warning us against believing all the false rumors spread by the Mr. Blabbermouths in society who want to impress others with their know-it-all attitudes in spreading misinformation.Since we all know people like Mr. Blabbermouth, it's easy to accept the idea that common sense must prevail against this sort of thing if we're to be good citizens. World War II was rife with sayings like: "Loose lips sink ships." Taking a stance against the Mr. Blabbermouths of the world was commonly accepted as the right thing to do.Based on an editorial that appeared in The Los Angeles Daily News, it begins with a blackout during an air raid alarm and shows how the gossipers talked about it the next day, with some of them spreading false rumors implying that the Japanese were better equipped for war since they'd been training for it for years. We then see some amusing sequences of Mr. Blabbermouth spreading his own lies and finally getting his comeuppance from the neighborhood barber who knows how to shut him up.Along the way, the narrator points out how much better equipped the United States was than Japan in terms of military preparations to fight back against the attack with a wealth of aluminum and steel.Amusing and timely, it's done with a sense of humor but teaches a good lesson.

Wartime or peacetime, the basic idea of this film still applies: "for safety's sake, please engage brain before putting mouth in gear"; and don't assume that the guy you're listening to has followed that rule!As Ray Bolger observed in "The Wizard of Oz" back in 1939, "Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking!" And while such people usually only damage themselves by looking ridiculous in front of people who actually do know something about the subject under discussion, sometimes they do manage to do major damage to others, whether by innocently ruining a reputation over something they've misinterpreted or by "only trying to help!" (case in point on that last: the Mr. Blabbermouth who invited himself along on a camping trip some friends and I had planned--he nearly laced our trail stew with "perfectly harmless wild mushrooms" which my friend D correctly identified as death angel mushrooms and intercepted in the nick of time!)War or no war, Mr. Blabbermouth lives and can be hazardous to your health!

At first glance this seems to be a stereotypical patriotic U.S. WWII film. It is much more than that even when you factor in some of the cringing portrayals of the enemy. If the enemy were as idiotic as they are often portrayed why were they such a problem? This film balances the jingoistic part with a very good message about attitude. Mr. and Mrs. Blabbermouth are the people who always make the worst of a good situation. If there is any good to be found they will bury it. This film tries to give the American public a feel good boost about their situation in the war. It's a morale builder and it works. I know that I would have felt more optimistic after seeing this short in 1942.