We'll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema during World War II

by Robert L. McLaughlin, Sally E. Parry

We'll Always Have the Movies explores how movies made in Hollywood during World War II were vehicles for helping Americans understand the war. Far from being simplistic, flag-waving propaganda designed to evoke emotional reactions, these films offered audiences narrative structures that formed a foundation for grasping the nuances of war. These films asked audiences to consider the implications of the Nazi threat, they put a face on both our enemies and allies, and they explored changing wartime gender roles. We'll Always Have the Movies reveals how film after film repeated the narratives, character types, and rhetoric that made the war and each American's role in it comprehensible. Robert L. McLaughlin and Sally E. Parry have screened more than 600 movies made between 1937 and 1946 -- including many never before discussed in this context -- and have analyzed the cultural and historical importance of these films in explaining the war to moviegoers. Pre-Pearl Harbor films such as Sergeant York, Foreign Correspondent, and The Great Dictator established the rationale for the war in Europe. After the United States entered the war, films such as Air Force, So Proudly We Hail and Back to Bataan conveyed reasons for U.S. involvement in the Pacific. The Hitler Gang, Sahara, and Bataan defined our enemies; and Mrs. Miniver, Mission to Moscow, and Dragon Seed defined our allies. Some movies -- The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Hail the Conquering Hero, and Lifeboat among them -- explored homefront anxieties about the war's effects on American society. Of the many films that sought to explain the politics behind and the social impact of the war -- and why it concerned Americans -- Casablanca is perhaps one of the most widely recognized. McLaughlin and Parry argue that Rick's Caf? Am?ricain serves as a United Nations, sheltering characters who represent countries being oppressed by Germany. At Rick's, these characters learn that they share a common love of freedom, which is embodied in patriotism; from this commonality, they overcome their differences and work together to solve a conflict that affects them all. As the representative American, Rick Blain (Humphrey Bogart) cannot idly stand by in the face of injustice, and he ultimately sides with those being oppressed. Bogart's character is a metaphor for America, which could also come out of its isolationism to be a true world leader and unite with its allies to defeat a common enemy. Collectively, Hollywood's war-era films created a mythic history of the war that, even today, has more currency than the actual events of World War II.

Genres: History, Media Tie In

368 pages, Hardcover

First published March 3, 2006

Reviews

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. Mini reviews of movies made before, during, and after the war. Propaganda. The movies basically taught the country about the war, thus using propaganda in a more favorable way. But, still, propaganda.

Talked about a number of movies I'd not heard of. These were mostly B movies. Known as "B" movies because they occupied the B spot of a double feature. Todd McCarthy wrote about this in Kings of the Bs: Working Within the Hollywood System: An Anthology of Film History and Criticism.

[Hannah4lol · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5
Nicht so hilfreich wie erhofft, trotzdem große Sammlung an Filmen zum Krieg und der medialen Repräsentation!

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up. This is not quite the book I assumed it would be when I chose it. It's not a light read about films produced during the WWII era, but a detailed look at the movies from just before Pearl Harbor until right after 1945. The author did amazing research on these movies, including many I had never heard of. The chapters were divided into looks at our allies, Britain, Norway, France, Russia and China as well. Norway was particularly tough as the resistance faced tragic losses, which the films did not shy away from. Hollywood's tried to show how the problems of the allies affected us. Britain was fairly easy, but China was a world away.

The author also showed the war as it affected us. Life was not the same in 1945 as in 1941. Women's roles changed a great deal as well as the way their men looked at them. It wasn't just 'men fight, women stay home with the kids.'. There was even a section on how the children were affected. One amazing story was about a 14-year old who ran off to war, but was spotted in a newreel. His parents forced him to return home, not realizing he was no longer a kid but a 'fighting man.'

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't realize how many of these films I hadn't seen, films which reflected how the U.S. learn to fight a terrible war along with their allies.

[arytaco · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We’ll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema During World War II” by Robert L. McLaughlin and Sally E. Party is an in-depth nuanced analysis of the Hollywood films made preluding, during and soon after World War II. The authors go deep into the recurring patterns, symbolic elements and cultural impact of these movies, which shaped the public’s perception of the century’s greatest upheaval. Hundreds of movies are discussed — some more than others — including spotlights of less known films worthy of deeper consideration. For those interested in World War II or classic cinema, this is an important monument.

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty interesting and not something I had ever read before. It had a lot of emphasis on the movies themselves which although nice I wish it had a little more analysis.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have any interest in Hollywood movies, particularly those of the WWII era, you will like this book. If you've seen many of the films of this era, then you'll really enjoy this book.