Richard Lawson, "Twenty Movies About the First Great Depression To Watch During the Sequel," Gawker (October 2008)
Lawson's saucy column begins with some classics—"It's A Wonderful Life," "The Grapes of Wrath"—and then moves into the slightly more obscure, concluding with a film called "Gold Diggers of 1933." We long to know what that's all about.
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975)
This historical documentary features James Cagney as "an American everyman," much the same role Bing Crosby casts himself in for the song.