Director William Karel examines the biggest stock market crash in history, which occurred on the New York Stock Exchange 80 years ago -- Black Thursday, October 24, 1929. In this film, a wide range of economists and historians take turns discussing the causes of the crash and its economic and political consequences. These included acute poverty and the rise of the extreme right, both of which were to have a considerable impact on the decade to come. 1929 uses a wealth of black-and-white archive footage to illustrate what the experts have to say.