“In the spring and summer of 1931, German writer, traveler, photographer, and filmmaker Heinrich Hauser (1901–55) made a trip by car through the American Midwest, with Chicago as his main destination. This voyage resulted in a book, ‘Dirt Tracks to Chicago,’ and a silent ‘city’ film, WORLD CITY IN ITS TEENS. Whereas the book covers his entire journey, Hauser’s film concentrates on Chicago, with its skyline, skyscrapers, motorized traffic, local industries, labor, mechanized production, and places for leisure. […] Though Hauser considered Chicago to be ‘the most beautiful city in the world,’ his city symphony is notable for its critique of the modern American city, and of the United States in general.” –Eva Hielscher, THE CITY SYMPHONY PHENOMENON