France Televisions - The Hollywood War 1939-1945 (2013) Part 1 United Under The Flag

– Original title “La guerre d'Hollywood 1939-1945” – While the world is about to be thrown into the Second World War, the American studios are going to put in place a unique mobilization in the history of cinema. At the end of the 1930s, Hollywood was indeed experiencing its golden age an average of eighty-five million Americans went to theaters each week. It is therefore through the cinema that the American government will address the entire nation to ask it to participate in the war effort. Responding to the call of President Roosevelt, the eight major Hollywood studios devoted their resources and talents in the service of the war effort. Feature films, documentaries, cartoons thousands of films are produced for the general public or the different branches of the military. All serve a purpose to motivate the commitment of new recruits, assist in the training of troops or to the organisation of the home front and denounce the Nazi ideology; to exacerbate the patriotic feeling… The greatest male stars of the time put on the uniform Clark Gable, James Stewart and Tyrone Power all actively participate in combat while Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis and Rita Hayworth mobilise to raise funds or entertain the troops. All producers, actors and directors, from the most famous stars to more anonymous technicians answer the call of the government to set up a giant propaganda machine and produce hundreds of films to support the American War effort. Largely unpublished archives, belonging mainly to the collections of the National Archives, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, UCLA (University of Los Angeles), the Library of Congress as well as private collections, “making-of shots”, rushes, but also excerpts or trailers of feature films, photographs, posters, promotional material, magazine covers… retrace this extraordinary adventure. THE HOLLYWOOD WAR portrays this unique venture and offers an original look into the Second World War, the history of America and the cinema.

Part 1 United Under The Flag

In the 1930s, American cinema was an industry that depended heavily on foreign markets. So when Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, the major studios took care of making films that did not displease the Nazis. But little by little, personalities like filmmaker John Ford or producer Jack Warner broke the law of silence and made feature films glorifying the army. In 1933, when Hitler came to power in Germany and Roosevelt in the United States, Hollywood was already an economic giant, the eighth largest industry in the country. Within it, voices are already heard against the rise of fascism – Confession of a Nazi Spy is the first major anti-Nazi film. From December 11, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, all the professions of the cinema will be put at the service of propaganda, from the creation of battalions of combat cameramen to the promotion of war bonds from the Treasury through mass enlistment and training new recruits.

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