Popular science films had been commonplace in the early silent era, when companies like Edison and Kleine devoted significant parts of their catalogues to educational films. By the 1930s, however, the format was largely consigned to the nontheatrical market, its commercial existence reduced to a handful of series like RKO’s Struggle for Life (as the name suggests, a line of sensational nature films) and Paramount’s Popular Science films (a coproduction with Popular Science Monthly), as well as occasional specials.