I just finished watching Foreign Correspondent (1940) which deals with the war. It was released the following year after WWII began an I'm amazed that given everything that was going on in the world, movies were being greenlit, shot and released. They felt comfortable enough to make movies while there was genocide going on and their own counties were going to be involved.
shareWhat do you think people who aren't directly involved with a war should be doing while a war goes on?
shareNot filmmaking. Especially when resources were low.
shareFilmmaking is always important in a war. Even in ancient times they would have theaters or puppet shows during wartimes (obviously not at the location of the battle.)
Movies are probably the best way to spread propaganda. More effective than posters or flyers.
it was needed more than ever.
shareI agree, but it really didn't seem like a smart decision. I know they even purposely make light-hearted films to help people get through the times. But imagine they were filming a movie around Pearl Harbour and then...
shareSame during the Depression. Movie and baseball attendance skyrocketed during the Depression.
share100% agree hownos. If there’s even the slightest truth to the adage that films are where dreams are made, then a time of war is when they are needed most to provide not only an escape from the reality of worldwide conflict but also to instil hope and positivity for a better future.
shareI get the reason for it, but in terms of safety and investment, it seems risky.
shareUsually sponsored by the state or the military.
shareI think it would have been more risky for morale & national determination to win, NOT to have made them. Wars aren't just won on investments & resources, as necessary as they are, but on the belief & faith of the public. Those WWII movies, along with other entertainment, were a reminder of the life & the world that they're fighting for, after all.
shareThere were a lot of movies about the war itself that helped motivate the war effort of citizens of the Allies.
shareGOOD POINT...GOOD OL FASHIONED WAR PROPAGANDA...THATS WHAT MADE MY GRANDFATHER ENLIST...A SHORT FILM HE SAW ABOUT PEARL HARBOR.
shareWhat branch did he serve in?
If he had any desire to I hope he wrote his memories down
I believe the US lost it's last WWI vet in 2011 and the WWII vets are very aged now
First hand personal accounts are vital to understanding enormous historical events
ARMY...HE SPENT TWO YEARS A P.O.W. OF THE JAPANESE...CAME HOME LOOKING LIKE A SKELETON.SAID NOBODY WOULD EVER TELL HIM WHAT/WHEN TO EAT EVER AGAIN...SPENT THE NEXT 50 YEARS EATING CANDY AND DRINKING BEER...HE NEVER WROTE ANYTHING DOWN,BUT TWICE A WEEK AT LEAST I WOULD RIDE MY BIKE TO HIS HOUSE AND WATCH COMBAT AND A TEAM EPISODES AND HE WOULD TELL STORIES...HE PASSED AWAY FROM ALZHEIMERS IN 94.
shareBless him, That's a hell of an experience, great respect to the fellow
Maybe you could write down the stories he told you, if you think he wouldn't mind
That's real history right there, no filter and no bullshit
I bet you made his week with your visits and having someone he cared for to talk to...those are Great memories to have
British films were still being made to help raise morale and for propaganda purposes, other than the usual romantic movies, comedies or rabble rousing ones, I’m amazed they made Went the Day Well in 1942.
It’s about a platoon of disguised German soldiers taking over a small English village in preparation for a full scale invasion, very similar to The Eagle Has Landed (1976).
49th Parallel (1941) is another early allied warning film, set in Canada about a stranded German U-boat crew and their attempt to foil the Canadians and escape to the neutral USA. Worth watching for a bad Laurence Olivier performance and a good Leslie Howard one. So sad that Howard would die during the war just two years later.
I've seen The 49th Parallel. I just find it odd that there were so many do productions going on during a time that wasn't safe.
shareAmerica didn't enter WW2 till very late 1941 so they were still at peace when the film you mentioned was made. Also a lot of the films made during that period were about morale and propaganda. I have always understood that the American Govt wanted into the war but the people didn't.
So lots of morale and propaganda type stuff going on. Some of the films are actually cringe worthy to watch especially the obvious ploys to get men to sign up and boost morale etc. I watched a film called Air Force which was quite good till the end when the B-17 seems to have an unlimited supply of bombs and takes on the Japanese Navy!
Even in Germany during the losing stages of the war they kept making propaganda films and even diverted troops and tanks etc to the film sets from the front line. Sounds silly but that is how important propaganda was seen to be.
I'm not talking specifically about the film I saw today. That just inspired me to write the post. I understand the morale boosting films, but it just didn't seem safe to film movies at a time when there was a World War.
shareI get that you mean films in general and I found it odd as well not so much in America where they weren't being bombed or invaded (Pearl Harbor being an exception) but even in the UK the Germans couldn't reach every part of it so I guess they found ways and places to make it safe.
I think in countries where things were a lot more critical you would find they didn't make as many if any at all.
Hollywood did have a bit of trouble finding leading men, many of its top actors left to serve in the military, but it also gained many European film directors who'd fled Europe. Most actors and actresses who didn't serve put a lot of effort into raising money for war bonds, and entertaining the troops.
Funny true story: Laurence Olivier learned to fly while under contract in the US, and when his contract was up, he went and enlisted in the RAF. Well he was a terrible pilot who kept crashing airplanes, and they may have desperate for pilots but they weren't THAT desperate, so finally the British government asked him to leave active service and make films to support public morale - something he might actually be good at. Olivier went off and made the wonderful "Henry V" and delivered the "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" speech to a nation that needed to hear it, instead of ruining expensive airplanes.
Interesting story.
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