*I forgot to include THE SHINING HOUR (1938) when listing Margaret Sullivan/Frank Borzage collaborations prior to 1940. and Margaret Sullavan's German cook and butler were arrested as German Spies sometime after she finished filming THE MORTAL STORM. A special thanks to my Patreon/Substack monthly channel supporters. You can support the channel here ➡ ☕www.buymeacoffee.com/cinemacities ⭐ patreon.com/CinemaCities If you love classic films and smart, entertaining deep dive stories about classic Hollywood subscribe to the free cinema cities newsletter 📰screenspectator.substack.com?sd=pf 🍿You can watch some of the films featured in the video here: Underground th-cam.com/video/gBQDdr0UwiQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=9n_WeaEH3lGILVCg The Man I Married: th-cam.com/video/izyrQMHBDWE/w-d-xo.html A Yank in the RAF: th-cam.com/video/u2sDupfYMDo/w-d-xo.html Beast of Berlin: th-cam.com/video/K_3U2vjfziw/w-d-xo.html Man Hunt: th-cam.com/video/i-K2KKLPdo0/w-d-xo.html 💿You can find The Mortal Storm here: amzn.to/42E0u3E Escape: amzn.to/3T2MNII Sergeant York: amzn.to/48dHDO5 Confessions of a Nazi Spy: amzn.to/3I1AjuA 📚Further Reading and Sources: The Mortal Storm by Phyllis Bottome: amzn.to/3wlXrkU Hollywood Hates Hitler: Jew-Baiting, Anti-Nazism and the Senate Investigation into Warmongering in Motion Pictures by Christ Yogerst: amzn.to/3T1zjNj Hitler in Los Angeles by Steven J. Ross: amzn.to/3wrXFqk Hollywood Enlists! The Propaganda Films of World War Two by Ralph Donald: amzn.to/3SYaS3 Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941 by Lynne Olson: amzn.to/42WcOg9 The Warner Brothers Prove Their Patriotism: digitalcommons.chapman.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1115&context=vocesnovae Phyllis Bottome’s The Mortal Storm: Film and Controversy www.monmouth.edu/department-of-english/documents/phyllis-bottomes-the-mortal-storm-film-and-controversy.pdf/ America’s Top Nazi Sued Warner Bros. for Libel in 1939 Because He Didn’t Like the Movie Confessions of a Nazi Spy paleofuture.com/blog/2018/9/14/americas-top-nazi-sued-warner-bros-for-libel-in-1939-because-he-didnt-like-the-movie-confessions-of-a-nazi-spy
I was just commenting to a guy how I had enjoyed the original novel of Man Hunt (aka Rogue Male) that became the Fritz Lang film, and here you make this video. Anyway, I always think of The Shining Hour as the movie where Joan Crawford upped her acting game thanks to the presence of Margaret Sullavan. Gonna have to save this hefty video for later in the afternoon as I have chores, but look forward to engaging it.
My maternal grandfather was a Russian of German Heritage who fled the Bolsheviks at aged 17, surnamed Weber. He was the son of a deceased physician and he could speak 7 languages but toiled as a barber and a commercial baker in the US. He despised all things European and his favourite pass times were American westerns and fly fishing. Wish I could have known more of his history but he died when I was 10 or 11 yrs.
Welcome back. I really missed you. I'm sure others have as well period they never show one of my old time favorite war pictures the pride of the Marines with John Garfield.
Thanks, Cinema Cities. My dad was a medic on Omaha beach on D-Day. I am deeply, eternally grateful for his service and incredibly disgusted that we as a nation disallowed Jewish (and other?) refugees onto our shores around 1939. I'm very thankful for the contribution these kinds of films made by giving us a hard kick in the arse.
There was an Anti war meeting in Pittsburgh on December 7, 1941. The meeting was held and was almost over when Pearl Harbor was reported over the Radio. That news broke up the meeting. A reporter then asked the man who had set up the meeting "What happens now", the response was simple the head of that meeting just said "We go to war".
Sorry to hear about the demonetization, but Google - which earned $306B last year, $238B from advertisers - must make sure Burger King isn't upset enough to pull its ads from TH-cam. The irony is almost as rich as Google, but I'll let it go and, instead, praise your effort for this fine short film. It's an important story, and no one tells these stories about the movies better than you.
@@jiananlee5482 TH-cam's profits come from advertisers, and YT pays Sidney with that profit. YT uses AI bots that sweep all videos for controversial material. Without proper context, because AI is stupid and in its infancy, her great video about antinazi films got demonetized. YT's advertisers depend on YT's AI to prevent a creator from receiving money from a video filled with horrible messages that might make the advertiser look bad. I used Burger King, a massive presence on YT (whose parent companies are 3G Capital and Restaurant Brands), as an example. I could've used Taco Bell. Or IKEA. Or any pharmaceutical company. The good news is that she appealed and got - and will continue to get - her well-deserved money after all.
TH-cam's demonetization policies are directly because of advertiser interest. He literally said it, TH-cam doesn't want burgerking to pull their ads from TH-cam. Obviously it's not just burgerking and he was joking there but that's really how it is. Advertisers dictate TH-cam's policies@@jiananlee5482
Jimmy Stewart who starred in “The Mortal Storm” rose through the ranks of the Army Air Corps to become the commander of an entire bomber wing (100 bombers; 1,000 men) and led many bombing missions onto Germany.
Another great film: “To Be or Not To Be” by Ernst Lubitsch (1942.) Sometimes labeled controversial because it involves satirical and dark humor about a tragic subject matter, it is filled with references that call for personal involvement, action and it honors those who sacrificed.
@@melanie62954 also, other great films by the same director that are comedies which have something special are Trouble in Paradise, Design for Living, Ninotchka, The Shop Around Corner.
I'm Korean, so my English is bad. I have been really interested in America since I was young kid. That's why I'm very interested in old Hollywood. I get to see old America. I really like your intelligent expressions. thank you
The thing that always gets me is that having been against Hitler before the US declared war was something that could get you on a HUAC list in the 1950s.
The US DIDN'T declare war on Nazi Germany. It was the other way around. Hitler declared on the US, on 11 December 1941. 4 days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
Other than The Great Dictator none of these films used the word "jew" or implied the Jews were being persecuted. Even in "The Mortal Storm" they could only show a "j" on a prisoner's cuff.
Haven't seen it for a while, but isn't the old professor in The Mortal Storm Jewish? I believe early in the film one of the young brownshirts says "Jews like him" were a credit to Germany.
Thank god for people like Fritz Lang, Joan Bennet, Frank Borzage, and Fredric March for their devotion. While these films can be counted as propaganda, they were for a worthy cause.
My mother, a German who grew up up in Germany until 1937 when she was 9, was inculcated into Nazi thinking in the school system there. The teachings left their mark, as she didn’t like The Mortal Storm and other such films- although I think she mostly disliked the films/tv shows that lumped all Germans into a big evil group. I totally get that point, although I think the Mortal Storm shows how many Germans did not agree with what was going on, but felt powerless in the face of it.
The United States is repeating the radicalism of extremists pushing out the morality of the majority of good people. Hopefully the extremists don't succeed here the way they have done in other parts of the world.
What a great video! And at 29+ minutes long, one of your meatiest. Kudos to Warner Brothers for not caving in to the German film market and making the kind of movies that other studios were afraid to make. From 1942 on, it was a different Hollywood.
Interesting and well made!! First thing, this reminded me of a 1944 film I saw for class called The Seventh Cross. It's based on a book by a German writer, Anna Seghers, and also tells a story of Germans resisting the Nazis, but one thing that I noticed while watching it is that the "good" characters tend to have less of a German accent than the bad ones. The lead was played by Spencer Tracy, for example. Second thing, it's interesting to see how internal politics affected the US response to WW2. In Canada too, to some extent. Basically, back in WW1, Canada had to join when Great Britain did. By 1939, it had more independence in foreign affairs, which may have been why it delayed joining the Allies a few days. That turned out to be only a week...though Canadian forces didn't have a big role until later in the war.
BRAVO! This was a nicely put together story of Hollywood when the Nazi's were raging in Europe. It wasn't at that time but the musical Cabaret with Liza Minnelli was a great film with changes coming gradually throughout the late 30s into the 40s. And Apt Pupil treating Nazism as almost like a disease that gets into you and doesn't let go or the insidiousness of the curiosity about evil of the human mind. It's sad to see the way people at the time either just joined in or fought against it while the Government wasn't sure if we should be involved. Strange how things HAVEN'T changed over all these years. Thank you for making this.
Thank you for this important video. I hope people will be encouraged to watch some of these films with their indelible truth of the tyranny faced and the foreboding we must realise.
I've seen all of these films, and yet you've run a thread through them, tied them all together, and provided a whole new dimension that will keep the the gears in my brain spinning for days. It's why I love this channel.
Gerald Nye delivered an isolationist speech on the morning of December 7, 1941. He was told beforehand about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, then was passed a note during the speech listing additional details of the attack. He made no mention of the attack until after he completed the speech. Only then did he add an "oh, by the way..." announcement about the attack.
One of my faves, "So Ends Our Night" (1941), was filmed independently due to how controversial it was at the time. A very powerful movie focusing on European refugees trying to survive without passports as the growing Nazi regime overtakes their countries, it features Fredric March, Margaret Sullavan, Erich von Stroheim, a breakout performance by a very young Glenn Ford, & effectively realistic production design by William Cameron Menzies. Recently restored in 2020 by Martin Scorcese's Film Foundation, it's shocking just how forgotten this film has become, they showed it for years almost every Sunday morning on A&E during the 80's & I watched it every time!
Adapted from Erich Maria Remarque's book Flotsam, this film holds a special place for me. Remarque, one of my favorite authors, is often associated with All Quiet on the Western Front, but his other works like Flotsam, The Night In Lisbon, Three Comrades are fantastic and deserve to be rediscovered.
@@bernadinesackinger7115I've never seen it shown there, only on A&E as I described. Years later, I bought the Ivy Home Video VHS, then the DVD public transfers of it, but the DVD version of their public domain print had gotten so bad, it cut off the start of the opening title in the DVD version. So I'm glad the Film Foundation offers a chance to view this, & other restored films they've done via Criterion Channel subscriptions ($19.99 monthly or $99 annually).
I’ve seen most of these films over the years, a few more than once. Viewing these clips in the context of what’s happening in the world and especially at home today, it chills me to the bone. Just a few months ago I had seen Escape, The Mortal Storm, and Confessions of a Nazi Spy, all of which made me feel, in today’s climate, more than, shall we say, a little uncomfortable. Good timing on your part…and, as always, a good show, too.
Très interessant ! Among all these films you listed, I watched and was impressed by the one with Joan Bennett "The man I married". I certainly will try and watch some other from your list.
As a film studies student I also fondly recall how many movies during and post WW2 covertly expressed fears related to nazi ideology and societal ailments.
Such an interesting topic few know about! I did a term paper on this in the 80's, but from the British film slant, as it was for my Modern Brit history class. The Congressional hearings were very mad at Brit films like Lady Hamilton and 49th Parallel (subtlely retitled The Invaders in the US), as they *were* made (and partly financed by the Brit MOI) to sway American opinion! You left out Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, which literally calls out to America for help at the end! That was made in the US, so it was part of the investigation. Nazis had been on Hitch's radar for awhile. Pretty obvious who the villains in The Lady Vanishes are, although they're never named!
What would really be interesting is that slant taken during the Spanish Civil War where Communists fought the Nazis, and later made an non-agression pact to carve up Poland. Must have been interesting to see American Communist switch sides so quickly and then come to the defense of Mother Russia when the Hilter invaded the USSR.
By the 1930s most Communists in the west had cut ties with the USSR and denounced it, and many blamed the Republican loss in the Spanish Civil War on the USSR for stirring up division between the Republican government and the CNT-FAI. There were a few that continued to support the USSR but they had become fairly rare. While the USSR attempted to portray itself as the leader of worldwide communism in reality it had no real influence beyond its puppet Commintern, which no significant parties outside the USSR joined after the Trial of the SRs had soured everyone on the Bolshevieks. Stalin then didn't help matters by prosecuting famous communists like Trotsky and Kammonev, cutting ties with even those outside the USSR that still subscribed to Leninist ideas (which were mostly developed by Trotsky).
This was an excellent piece. My only quibble would be the exclusion of Fritz Lang's, Hangman Also Die (UA 1943) with Brian Dunlevy, and The Keeper Of The Flame (MGM 1942), with Spencer Tracey and Katherine Hepburn. I love your stuff. Please, keep it up.
Hangmen is one of my favorite Lang films, but both Keeper of the Flame and Hangmen were released after the committee disbanded so not part of the pre war controversy.
This is such an entertaining and professionally produced documentary. It is a real gift for those of us who are classic Hollywood fans. Much appreciated!
Awesome! Possibly my favorite video you've done so far. Seems like I say that a lot. The combination of world history and film history gave me about everything I could want. Thank you.
@@willieluncheonette5843 I remember reading (sorry, I can't remember exactly where) Lang's account of what happened in 1930 (when he was still in Germany) when he announced that the title of his next film would be "Murderer Among Us." Suddenly he was encountering difficulties in getting it approved. When he finally got to speak to a UFA (the all-powerful German film studio) bigwig about it, asking him "what's wrong with making a movie about Kurten the child killer?" he saw the man suddenly relax and smile, saying "Ah, I see," and from then on Lang had no more trouble getting the film (retitled "M") finished. Lang had noticed the Nazi insignia on a button pinned to the man's lapel. From that moment, said Lang, he marked the beginning of his political maturity.
@@DanielOrme Thanks. Did not know that. Of course I'm sure you know Lang's accounted of the circumstances under which he left Germany.. Fascinating story, although some feel he embellished the story every time he told it.
@@Chiller11awesome, I had four great uncles who fought in the war one was a medic, another was a paratrooper another stormed the beaches and a sign painter for the soldiers and another was in the pacific on a small boat defusing mines.
A very interesting video. Zanuck makes a good point about propaganda. It's interesting to see American public response to WW2 before Pearl Harbour: there was obviously a real debate going on. It's easy to look back at historical events as a inevitable, but as PK Dick knew, they weren't.
@@CinemaCities1978 Yes. I teach a course on the history of comics, and the same thing happened there between Sept 1939 and Dec 1941 - American companies generally jumped on the anti-Nazi bandwagon, and were sometimes attacked as propagandistic (e.g. Captain America #1 featured Cap punching Hitler on the cover). Whereas here in Canada, and the UK, there was no phoney war period.
From 1933 to 1940, the Hollywood studios came to an arrangement with the Nazis that both parties understood at the time as "collaboration [Zusammenarbeit]." The studios sold around 250 movies to Germany in this period, in return for which they had to agree not to attack the Nazis in any of their productions. When the United States entered the Second World War in 1941, the studios finally put out a barrage of anti-Nazi pictures, but refused to use the medium to bring the genocide of the Jews to the world's attention.
Great video. I actually wrote my dissertation about the same topic (but also focused on Nazi Germany and British propaganda films) and whilst I've seen many of the films you've mentioned i wish this video was around when I wrote my dissertation as you mention films I couldn't see or never heard of!. It's about 11 years since i wrote it, so streaming was still kinda newish (making the library of films available online smaller), and my memory of it is kinda vague, but it was a fascinating topic. You should defo check out some UK films like Freedom Radio, Next of Kin, 49th Parallel, and Went the Day Well?
I’ve always loved The 49th Parallel, both as an anti-Nazi film and as a beautiful love letter to Canada. And what a fitting ending with Raymond Massey in a small role! just after his title role in Abe Lincoln of Illinois, to many movie goers it must have seemed as if they were watching Abe Lincoln thrashing a Nazi villain.
CC, I've run out of adjectives to describe how wonderful your videos are. This is another stellar one packed full of information and, unfortunately, just as topical today as it was then. Bravo!
Great job!😎 Thank you. I will definitely have to watch the films you’ve posted. Thank you for that. I think I watched some of them, but not in its entirety.
A very interesting Hollywood/WWII Story is that of British-born American film star Louis Hayward. He was a genuine American patriot. Putting his acting career on hold, he accompanied the American troops to Tarawa with a small crew in order to film in real time their fight to oust entrenched Imperial Japanese troops from the island. The stark reality he captured on film caused staunch objections against releasing it to the American public. FDR decided the public deserved to see and more fully understand the sacrifices of the young Americans who fought. (Louis Hayward returned from Tarawa to California to learn that his wife, Ida Lupino, had left him for actor Howard Duff, whom she married.)
Your indepth historical is amazing. It must've taken months just to research and find all related footages. I knew a bit about this topic, however this taught more than a historical documentary while also being so entertaining. Would,Keeper Of The Flame , be considered amongst these ? Once again, fantastic job😊
Every time I watch The Mortal Storm with Robt Young and Marg Sullavan I think of the Nuremburg Laws and I also wonder if her two brothers survive the war. That's how caught up I get in that story.
Mister Skeffington was a great film exposing the racism and holocaust in America's cinema when it was taboo to discuss. I applaud the controversial artistic message.
I'm a little surprised you didn't mention Mrs Miniver. I greatly enjoyed that as the family drama Slice of Life film which just happened to show everyone The Peculiar Horrors which were happening.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. It came out in '42 however. Oh, Greer Garson was radiant! Oddly, many years later, it turned me off to Downton Abbey when screenwriter Julian Fellowes lifted - in its entirety - the rose judging contest from Mrs. Miniver for that series.
Great video, thanks. Being English, I'd just like to politely challenge the line 'England stood alone' in 1940. Yes... except for the rest of the UK (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and volunteers from other parts of the Commonwealth (India, Africa, West Indies etc), fighters who had escaped from occupied countries (Norway, France, Poland etc) and volunteers from neutral countries (USA, Republic of Ireland etc). Remember them all.
I believe "England" was used as shorthand for the British Empire - pro allies would want to frame the conflict as little England defending itself against Axis powers to increase sympathies for the under dog
@@CinemaCities1978 This was really a remarkable editing and narrated story that left me speechless in terms of the complexity and I am very grateful for the work you put into this thank you
Thank you so much for your intelligent appraisal of the great Margaret Sullavan; an enchantress pitched in temperament and type, curiously enough, between the two Hepburns. She spoke lightly and quickly in a voice like an echo in a snowstorm that greatly enhanced the drivel she was given to play. Her mastery of comedy and drama on the stage and screen was complete. Yet, she was plagued by tremendous insecurity that led to her suicide at age 50. Would you consider devoting a segment to this magical actress in the future?
Just recently I was remarking on old pro-American, anti-Nazi films and how today they're often labeled as "propaganda", like they're bad or dangerous. Uh, no. Those movies were very patriotic, pro-family, pro-marriage, pro-freedom, pro-sacrifice...all the good stuff we've lost. Morality and decency were encouraged and Americans were bold, heroic, and selfless. I love old WWII movies. They're my escape to a better time. Yes, the time was hard and full of terror, but America was stronger.
Before you wax nostalgic for a time you never lived in, on September 11, 2001 many first responders and good Samaritans sacrificed their safety and lives to help their fellow American, despite race or nation of origin. Pro NFL player Pat Tillman gave up his wealthy career to train as an Army Ranger, dying in Afghanistan during the War On Terror.
@@ChyroneMcThunderschlong I absolutely honor those who do demonstrate selflessness and sacrifice today, and there are many of them, often unsung heroes. I just meant that it isn't the norm anymore. Most young people are not being taught the ideals that the Greatest Generation grew up on and lived out.
Oh, they were. The media environment now is far more diverse now. WW2 would be much harder to pull off now because nobody has a stranglehold on the press as then.
Nice vid, I never expected to say "Hell yeah!" from reading film producers' speeches in Congress. If hating Fascism is wrong, I never want to be Right.
Very Good Video. One of the films that I believe belongs in this, even though it was after Pearl Harbor, was Sherlock Holmes & The Voice Of Terror (1942), which deals with the British Underground rising up against A Nazi Spy Network operating in England. Along with Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce, as Holmes & Watson, respectively, are Evelyn Ankers, Reginald Denny, Henry Daniel, Tomas Gomez & many others. It's A Great Watch & A Great Mystery.
How can a contingent of the US Congress be so wrong about the dangers of fascism and attempt to withhold aid to those who are suffering from its aggressions? Couldn’t happen today thank goodness.
@@daltonanderson3718Israel is taking on the Islamic fascists… Hamas is a descendant organisation from the one founded by the Muslim Waffen SS division veterans after WW2.
One film you left out was a little B film at Columbia, ''None Shall Escape.'' It starred Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox and Henry Travers. Knox plays a disabled German schoolteachder who returns to a Polish village to resume his teaching duties as well as a romance with a Polish woman (Hunt). This 1944 film has a remarkable scene, perhapsl the first in an American film, showing Polish Jews being taken in cattle cars to camps.
The Three Stooges film, "You Nasty Spy" was released in January 1940 and was the precursor to Chaplin's "The Great Dictator". It gets little recognition of one of the earliest anti-Nazi films.
I LOVED this! Not long enough, it was that good. The Mortal Storm is a longtime petsonal favorite, which really had my "not a classic film lover" sister interested! I haven't seen all of these films, but it is interesting to see Idiot's Delight here! HAVE to find that Joan Bennett one! But, I remember Edward Dmytryk's Hitler's Children, which still holds up pretty well. Bonita Granville is amazing in Mortal Storm and Hitler's Children (and, of course, another sonewhat controversial film, These Three. Three very different roles. I also enjoy another film calked Edge Of Darkness, about resistance fighters with very surprising Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan roles! Wow! Nice to see you online again! Thanks!
Question: Is propaganda in Hollywood movies still a thing? Growing up you could see it in movies attacking Communism, Fascism and critiques of the government (and I don't mean just the US one). But I can't remember the last time a film looked at regime and built a story around tearing is down. Is Hollywood so concerned about making a buck that it's scared to? We have obviously see it bend its knee to China. Where are the movies about US citizen partaking (willingly or not) in the Ukrainian war, spies taking on their opposite numbers from Russia, China or indeed anywhere? Are they being made? Are they so niche that I'm not seeing them? Or are they so subtle that I am not seeing obvious parallels between the US & China in Trolls 3?
Propaganda in Hollywood Movies is very much still a thing, although it's less "Tear an Enemy Regime Down" and more "Enlist Today!". The Department of Defense allows Studios to use their assets (Planes, Ships, Bases, Trucks, Uniforms, etc.) in Films provided that they have script oversight and editorial control over the Final Cut of the Film. Look at the ties between the "Top Gun" Movies, the Michael Bay "Transformers" Movies, or Marvel's "Iron Man" Movies. The DoD was heavily involved with all of those!
You really haven't seen the almost endless flood of movies where the Russians are the bad guy? for a while it was such a cliche that the switch to having arabs be the enemy was almost refreshing, of course after 9/11 that itself quickly became a tired and often racist cliche. If anything it's just that for a long time Hollywood made way too many of these movies so people got tired of them so right now more fantasical movies dominate. With the current state of the world that might switch again plus people are becoming tired of super hero movies but I also don't think anyone trusts Hollywood to be able to produce genuinely good movies about geopolitics anymore.
A few points: "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" was released on May 6th, 1939, or in other words, nearly four months before the start of the War in Europe, as it was called at the time. The German spies had landed in the US in June 1942 and their capture (after two of their members decided to inform the FBI) was announce by J. Edgar Hoover in July 1942 . Or in other words, more than a half year after the US was already at war with the Axis. So the implication that the movie was based on actual events is false. I question the source of the polls at 6:00. According to the Gallup polls of 1940 and 1941, a majority of those polled were in favor of aiding Britain and France. However, when asked straight up whether the US should get involved militarily, an overwhelming majority were against ranging from 96% in April 1940 to 76% in March 1941. Even after Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, 79% were still against sending US armed forces to Europe. In November 1941, a month before Pearl Harbor, when asked if Congress should pass a resolution declaring a state of war on Germany, 63% still said no. Herbert Hoover wrote in "Freedom Betrayed": "It is obvious that the American people and the Congress were overwhelmingly opposed to our becoming involved in the war right up to Pearl Harbor. This was clear, not only from informal polls of the people and of the Congress, but it is evidenced by the line Mr. Roosevelt followed of not only constantly reassuring that he would not send our sons to war but also by his necessity to dress every measure, whether it be armament, Lend-Lease, convoys, or economic sanctions, with the camouflage that it will keep us out of war. And all this despite the gigantic propaganda for war through his own speeches, the Administration, the British, and a host of war committees."
Actually, Confessions of a Nazi Spy dramatized the events around the Rumrich Nazi Spy ring case. At the time, it was the FBI's biggest international case, the agent in charge wrote a series of national newspaper articles about it and the defendants were eventually sentenced in December, 1938. The photos of those defendants appears in the video where is says "NAZI SPIES" As for the gallup poll, the specific question was "Is it more important to defeat Germany rather than stay out of the war." 68% of those polled answered yes to that question.
@@CinemaCities1978 I didn't know about the Rumrich case and thought you meant the more notorious Operation Pastorius, so I stand corrected on that. However the clip of J. Edger Hoover shown definitely refers to the 1942 incident where he refers to saboteurs coming by submarine. As for the Gallup poll results I cited, the wording of the questions varied from poll to poll, but were: "Do you think the United States should declare war on Germany and send our army and navy abroad to fight?", "If it appears that Germany is defeating England and France, should the United States declare war on Germany and send our army and navy to Europe to fight?", "If you were asked to vote today on the question of the United States entering the war against Germany and Italy, how would you vote - to go into the war, or to stay out of the war?" or some small variation on these. The response to these was consistently against by a four to one margin. The way I read it is that majority of the public's thinking was all in favor of sending whatever aid could be given to the Allies, but drew the line on actually sending troops and that most people believed the Allies could defeat Germany without the need of the US military. One poll result that surprised me was the response to the question posed in February 1941, "If American ships with American crews are used to carry war materials to Britain and some of them are sunk by the Germans on the way over, would you be in favor of going to war against Germany?" 61% replied in the negative. Another in April 1941 was, "If the United States navy is used to guard merchant ships crossing the Atlantic, and some of our warships are sunk by German submarines, would you be in favor of going to war against Germany?" 50% saying no to 40% saying yes with the rest undecided. I would post my sources, but TH-cam seems to have a habit of deleting posts that have links. If you would like to know them, let me know and I'll figure a way.
It's also interesting to note that in Warner Brothers' "The Adventures of Robin Hood," Robin Hood (Erroll Flynn) gives an impassioned speech supporting isolationism, specifically castigating King Richard (disguised as a monk) for going off to fight a foreign war instead of tending to things at home. Yet, by 1940 - two years later - the Warners had changed their tune as, in "The Sea Hawk," Sir Francis Drake (Flynn again) is just begging Queen Elizabeth to let him go out and give those "French" a damn good thrashing!
Just saw a brief part of "The Mortal Storm" many years ago and I always remembered it for portraying Robert Young as a Nazi. By the time I saw it Robert Young was typed as a very good guy. Definitely propaganda but propaganda is not always lies as it is in many peoples mind today.
This was excellent thanks for sharing. It's easy to judge in hindsight, but given what could have been known at he time, I don't blame the American public at all for not wanting to get involved with European wars, because every war before WW2 was plain ridiculous. They were unaware of the true threat that the Nazis imposed on the world. I do have to say though, as a Canadian there's nothing I hate more than the phrase "...Britain stood alone..."
This isolationism is the reason American leaders allowed Japan to attack Pearl Harbor, retreading the "remember the Maine" tactic, knowing it was the only way to get the needed public support. Over night Americans went isolationism to standing in line to sign up for military service. In the Pacific we had been blocking supplies of oil and other necessary wartime goods going to japan, knowing full well what we were pushing them towards. We had only to wait till al other countries were ravaged and war weakened then swoop in, finish the fight that hadn't touched our shore and suddenly Americas leaders were the economic words of the world. Brilliant and sadly necessary as well
I recommend "All Through the Night", "Desperate Journey", and "Tomorrow the World" as other films made early in the 1940s with anti-Nazi messages. And when these and Casablanca (and others) were made, the outcome of the war in Europe was nowhere assured.
Here is the story for you on "Mrs. Miniver". Although released JUST after Germany and Italy declared war on the US was filmed on 1941. The director William Wyler aka "40 take Wily" said that Louise B Meyer head of MGM asked him to tone down the anti Nazi rhetoric which upsetted Wyler (several of his family were under Nazi occupation, sadly many were killed). MGM was getting alot of heat from congress and the Hays code. However after America was at war Meyer called him again and said "You can have your evil Goring monsters, forget what I said." (Goring was the head of the Luftwaffe).
2:27: Charles Lindbergh, America First: "And I have been forced to the conclusion, that we cannot win this war for England no matter how much assistance we send. That is why the America First Committee has been formed." Change "England" to "Ukraine", and you have almost verbatim remarks of Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswamy, and many others, and of course the "America First" watchword has been revived by the isolationist to whom they've all flocked: Donald Trump.
Really great piece. Well done. Its been 30 years since my last film studies class, and this was a very enjoyable walk down memory lane. My grandmother was one of the late teen/early 20s London women who did maths for Signals Corp, and watching a couple of films (some british, some american) from this era with her was one of the great experiences of my life. She introduced me to the great British actor James Mason and has such a wealth of experience to share. She passed in her 90s a while ago, now. Well, my dad was born in 1947 and hes the oldest, and i think my Nan was 23 when he was born. My granddad had been in the army since shortly after Invasion of France, at the age of 17 years 9 months. Lest We Forget, huh? Its never veen so important to remember our history. And movies make it easy for you, yiu eony ecwn have to read, or wirk out the moral, the movie will TELL YOU THE MORAL. Lol. Seriously, movies are so accessible, and its easy to forget how low literary rates were in the early 20th century. And yeah, some of those films are hilarious, some super powerful, some are masterclasses is dramatic blocking. If i see it again, ill come back and post a link for you. Its a youtube film archive called Cult Cinema Collection, i think. Lots of obscure stuff, a lot of westerns, but films from all over the world from the last hundred years. I watched some 70s robot animation and a John Ford westerb yesterday!
One of the things that gets me about these propaganda pieces is the contrast between them and actual fiction. I enjoy Jurassic Park and King Kong. But these things aren't real and there's no risk of them happening. I enjoy Star Trek and War of the Worlds. But there are no klingons, no Martians. But you look at these films like the Mortal storm, when they were made Hitler was a living breathing person walking the Earth. These things these monsters these nightmares they weren't fanciful tales. In fact these films are kind of the embodiment of that line from Pirates of the Caribbean "You best start believing in ghost stories, you're in one." So much else in Hollywood is pure fiction. And I enjoy that. But there's something very special when you're watching a story where the monster was completely real. It reminds me of that moment in "on the beach" at the very end. When the camera pans over the ruined world and lands on the caption above the church which says there is still time brother. And suddenly you realize this isn't a message to the characters in the movie. This is a message to you to really you. You are scrooge. You can change your stars. It doesn't have to end this way. And you can change it. Various of the propaganda pieces invoke that sentiment and went away or another. To that and I agree with the assessment given that if this is propaganda then guilty is charged. And I would absolutely do it again. Good stuff. Good video. You made me think. Thank you
*I forgot to include THE SHINING HOUR (1938) when listing Margaret Sullivan/Frank Borzage collaborations prior to 1940.
and Margaret Sullavan's German cook and butler were arrested as German Spies sometime after she finished filming THE MORTAL STORM.
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🍿You can watch some of the films featured in the video here:
Underground th-cam.com/video/gBQDdr0UwiQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=9n_WeaEH3lGILVCg
The Man I Married: th-cam.com/video/izyrQMHBDWE/w-d-xo.html
A Yank in the RAF: th-cam.com/video/u2sDupfYMDo/w-d-xo.html
Beast of Berlin: th-cam.com/video/K_3U2vjfziw/w-d-xo.html
Man Hunt: th-cam.com/video/i-K2KKLPdo0/w-d-xo.html
💿You can find The Mortal Storm here: amzn.to/42E0u3E
Escape: amzn.to/3T2MNII
Sergeant York: amzn.to/48dHDO5
Confessions of a Nazi Spy: amzn.to/3I1AjuA
📚Further Reading and Sources:
The Mortal Storm by Phyllis Bottome: amzn.to/3wlXrkU
Hollywood Hates Hitler: Jew-Baiting, Anti-Nazism and the Senate Investigation into Warmongering in Motion Pictures by Christ Yogerst: amzn.to/3T1zjNj
Hitler in Los Angeles by Steven J. Ross: amzn.to/3wrXFqk
Hollywood Enlists! The Propaganda Films of World War Two by Ralph Donald: amzn.to/3SYaS3
Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941 by Lynne Olson: amzn.to/42WcOg9
The Warner Brothers Prove Their Patriotism: digitalcommons.chapman.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1115&context=vocesnovae
Phyllis Bottome’s The Mortal Storm: Film and Controversy www.monmouth.edu/department-of-english/documents/phyllis-bottomes-the-mortal-storm-film-and-controversy.pdf/
America’s Top Nazi Sued Warner Bros. for Libel in 1939 Because He Didn’t Like the Movie Confessions of a Nazi Spy paleofuture.com/blog/2018/9/14/americas-top-nazi-sued-warner-bros-for-libel-in-1939-because-he-didnt-like-the-movie-confessions-of-a-nazi-spy
I was just commenting to a guy how I had enjoyed the original novel of Man Hunt (aka Rogue Male) that became the Fritz Lang film, and here you make this video. Anyway, I always think of The Shining Hour as the movie where Joan Crawford upped her acting game thanks to the presence of Margaret Sullavan. Gonna have to save this hefty video for later in the afternoon as I have chores, but look forward to engaging it.
My maternal grandfather was a Russian of German Heritage who fled the Bolsheviks at aged 17, surnamed Weber. He was the son of a deceased physician and he could speak 7 languages but toiled as a barber and a commercial baker in the US. He despised all things European and his favourite pass times were American westerns and fly fishing. Wish I could have known more of his history but he died when I was 10 or 11 yrs.
Welcome back. I really missed you. I'm sure others have as well period they never show one of my old time favorite war pictures the pride of the Marines with John Garfield.
Thanks, Cinema Cities. My dad was a medic on Omaha beach on D-Day. I am deeply, eternally grateful for his service and incredibly disgusted that we as a nation disallowed Jewish (and other?) refugees onto our shores around 1939. I'm very thankful for the contribution these kinds of films made by giving us a hard kick in the arse.
❤️
There was an Anti war meeting in Pittsburgh on December 7, 1941. The meeting was held and was almost over when Pearl Harbor was reported over the Radio. That news broke up the meeting. A reporter then asked the man who had set up the meeting "What happens now", the response was simple the head of that meeting just said "We go to war".
FDR sure knew how to bait everyone to his advantage
@@AmalekIsComing Impressive that FDR baited the Imperial Japanese into attacking China two years before he became President.
@@AmalekIsComing Nuts.
@@AmalekIsComing Bait? Maybe the Japanese shouldn't have given him "bait" by literally starting a bloody war lol
@@AmalekIsComingyeah youre a fan of the German counterpart I take it
Sorry to hear about the demonetization, but Google - which earned $306B last year, $238B from advertisers - must make sure Burger King isn't upset enough to pull its ads from TH-cam. The irony is almost as rich as Google, but I'll let it go and, instead, praise your effort for this fine short film. It's an important story, and no one tells these stories about the movies better than you.
Can you please tell me what does Burger King has anything to do with her demonetisation?
@@jiananlee5482 TH-cam's profits come from advertisers, and YT pays Sidney with that profit. YT uses AI bots that sweep all videos for controversial material. Without proper context, because AI is stupid and in its infancy, her great video about antinazi films got demonetized. YT's advertisers depend on YT's AI to prevent a creator from receiving money from a video filled with horrible messages that might make the advertiser look bad. I used Burger King, a massive presence on YT (whose parent companies are 3G Capital and Restaurant Brands), as an example. I could've used Taco Bell. Or IKEA. Or any pharmaceutical company. The good news is that she appealed and got - and will continue to get - her well-deserved money after all.
TH-cam's demonetization policies are directly because of advertiser interest. He literally said it, TH-cam doesn't want burgerking to pull their ads from TH-cam. Obviously it's not just burgerking and he was joking there but that's really how it is. Advertisers dictate TH-cam's policies@@jiananlee5482
Ironically, I just got an ad for Hungry Jacks in front of this video, unskippable (I'm Australian; they're Burger King). Ytbe pulling a fast one!
Google is a parasite, just like every other corporation.
Jimmy Stewart who starred in “The Mortal Storm” rose through the ranks of the Army Air Corps to become the commander of an entire bomber wing (100 bombers; 1,000 men) and led many bombing missions onto Germany.
And John Wayne refused to fight Nazis at all. I'd likely disagree with Mr Stewart on a million things. But he knew the correct way to deal with Nazis.
Another great film: “To Be or Not To Be” by Ernst Lubitsch (1942.) Sometimes labeled controversial because it involves satirical and dark humor about a tragic subject matter, it is filled with references that call for personal involvement, action and it honors those who sacrificed.
I saw this projected at a museum screening almost 40 years ago and it was a great experience.
Satirical, dark humor, and some gut-busting laughs! Love that movie.
To Be or Not to Be gets my vote for the funniest film of all time!
@@melanie62954 also, other great films by the same director that are comedies which have something special are Trouble in Paradise, Design for Living, Ninotchka, The Shop Around Corner.
Including Carole Lombard making the ultimate sacrifice offscreen...
It’s amazing we went from “No Arms For Sale” to the military industrial complex in a few short years.
I'm Korean, so my English is bad. I have been really interested in America since I was young kid. That's why I'm very interested in old Hollywood. I get to see old America. I really like your intelligent expressions. thank you
You're welcome!
Your English looks good to me.
@@sifridbassoon thank you so much 💓 💖 💗
Good for you👍
I see another foreigner insulting their own english when it is far better than even half of native speakers.
The thing that always gets me is that having been against Hitler before the US declared war was something that could get you on a HUAC list in the 1950s.
The US DIDN'T declare war on Nazi Germany. It was the other way around. Hitler declared on the US, on 11 December 1941. 4 days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
& the "Prematuire Anti-fascists" who supported the Spanish Republic!
Interesting note: U.S. did not declare war on Germany. Hitler declared against United States on December 10th
the strongest/most principled, disiplined & selfless anti-fascist fighters, the communists, were discriminated by US.
Probably not merely having opposed Hitler. And having *not* opposed Hitler after the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact could also get you on the list.
Other than The Great Dictator none of these films used the word "jew" or implied the Jews were being persecuted. Even in "The Mortal Storm" they could only show a "j" on a prisoner's cuff.
Which is probably why "The Great Dictator" still holds up.
Haven't seen it for a while, but isn't the old professor in The Mortal Storm Jewish? I believe early in the film one of the young brownshirts says "Jews like him" were a credit to Germany.
@@gmansard641 He is, but for some reason in the film he is never referred to as "Jewish" but as "Non-Aryan".
Thank god for people like Fritz Lang, Joan Bennet, Frank Borzage, and Fredric March for their devotion. While these films can be counted as propaganda, they were for a worthy cause.
"Propaganda" in its original sense simply means the spread of ideas or information. All the more effective if what you're saying is true.
lol
My mother, a German who grew up up in Germany until 1937 when she was 9, was inculcated into Nazi thinking in the school system there. The teachings left their mark, as she didn’t like The Mortal Storm and other such films- although I think she mostly disliked the films/tv shows that lumped all Germans into a big evil group. I totally get that point, although I think the Mortal Storm shows how many Germans did not agree with what was going on, but felt powerless in the face of it.
The United States is repeating the radicalism of extremists pushing out the morality of the majority of good people. Hopefully the extremists don't succeed here the way they have done in other parts of the world.
Well we are not vote blue
What a great video! And at 29+ minutes long, one of your meatiest. Kudos to Warner Brothers for not caving in to the German film market and making the kind of movies that other studios were afraid to make. From 1942 on, it was a different Hollywood.
1942 changed everything. It was very hard for some, like Senator Nye, to walk back their views once war broke out.
Jack Warner promoted CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY with the tag line "The First Film That Dares to Call a Swastika a Swastika!"
Why does Google - TH-cam always take the side of the bad guy over truth?
And now Hollywood caving in to the CCP, what changed?
You have taken an unexpected turn with these war films.
I applaud your decision, this series is fascinating .
Interesting and well made!!
First thing, this reminded me of a 1944 film I saw for class called The Seventh Cross. It's based on a book by a German writer, Anna Seghers, and also tells a story of Germans resisting the Nazis, but one thing that I noticed while watching it is that the "good" characters tend to have less of a German accent than the bad ones. The lead was played by Spencer Tracy, for example.
Second thing, it's interesting to see how internal politics affected the US response to WW2. In Canada too, to some extent. Basically, back in WW1, Canada had to join when Great Britain did. By 1939, it had more independence in foreign affairs, which may have been why it delayed joining the Allies a few days. That turned out to be only a week...though Canadian forces didn't have a big role until later in the war.
You left out the 3 Stooges film called You Nazi something that pre-dated all of these films
You Nazty Spy. Yes, one of their best.
And so perfect that Curly and Moe look the parts!
There was 3 Anti-Nazi 3 Stooges shorts: You Nazty Spy, I'll Never Heil Again & They Stooge To Conga.
BRAVO! This was a nicely put together story of Hollywood when the Nazi's were raging in Europe. It wasn't at that time but the musical Cabaret with Liza Minnelli was a great film with changes coming gradually throughout the late 30s into the 40s. And Apt Pupil treating Nazism as almost like a disease that gets into you and doesn't let go or the insidiousness of the curiosity about evil of the human mind. It's sad to see the way people at the time either just joined in or fought against it while the Government wasn't sure if we should be involved. Strange how things HAVEN'T changed over all these years. Thank you for making this.
Thank you for this important video. I hope people will be encouraged to watch some of these films with their indelible truth of the tyranny faced and the foreboding we must realise.
I've seen all of these films, and yet you've run a thread through them, tied them all together, and provided a whole new dimension that will keep the the gears in my brain spinning for days. It's why I love this channel.
Thanks! I have enjoyed every single one of your TH-cam posts and as a film enthusiast, your very high quality content is music to my ears.
thank you so much!!!! 😊
Gerald Nye delivered an isolationist speech on the morning of December 7, 1941. He was told beforehand about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, then was passed a note during the speech listing additional details of the attack. He made no mention of the attack until after he completed the speech. Only then did he add an "oh, by the way..." announcement about the attack.
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One of my faves, "So Ends Our Night" (1941), was filmed independently due to how controversial it was at the time. A very powerful movie focusing on European refugees trying to survive without passports as the growing Nazi regime overtakes their countries, it features Fredric March, Margaret Sullavan, Erich von Stroheim, a breakout performance by a very young Glenn Ford, & effectively realistic production design by William Cameron Menzies. Recently restored in 2020 by Martin Scorcese's Film Foundation, it's shocking just how forgotten this film has become, they showed it for years almost every Sunday morning on A&E during the 80's & I watched it every time!
Adapted from Erich Maria Remarque's book Flotsam, this film holds a special place for me. Remarque, one of my favorite authors, is often associated with All Quiet on the Western Front, but his other works like Flotsam, The Night In Lisbon, Three Comrades are fantastic and deserve to be rediscovered.
Has this ever been on Turner classic movies
@@bernadinesackinger7115I've never seen it shown there, only on A&E as I described. Years later, I bought the Ivy Home Video VHS, then the DVD public transfers of it, but the DVD version of their public domain print had gotten so bad, it cut off the start of the opening title in the DVD version.
So I'm glad the Film Foundation offers a chance to view this, & other restored films they've done via Criterion Channel subscriptions ($19.99 monthly or $99 annually).
I love this channel.
De-monetizaton? What happened?
It's fixed now. Whatever AI they use thought I was recruiting for the bund I suppose.
I’ve seen most of these films over the years, a few more than once. Viewing these clips in the context of what’s happening in the world and especially at home today, it chills me to the bone. Just a few months ago I had seen Escape, The Mortal Storm, and Confessions of a Nazi Spy, all of which made me feel, in today’s climate, more than, shall we say, a little uncomfortable. Good timing on your part…and, as always, a good show, too.
Très interessant ! Among all these films you listed, I watched and was impressed by the one with Joan Bennett "The man I married". I certainly will try and watch some other from your list.
As a film studies student I also fondly recall how many movies during and post WW2 covertly expressed fears related to nazi ideology and societal ailments.
Such an interesting topic few know about! I did a term paper on this in the 80's, but from the British film slant, as it was for my Modern Brit history class. The Congressional hearings were very mad at Brit films like Lady Hamilton and 49th Parallel (subtlely retitled The Invaders in the US), as they *were* made (and partly financed by the Brit MOI) to sway American opinion!
You left out Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, which literally calls out to America for help at the end! That was made in the US, so it was part of the investigation. Nazis had been on Hitch's radar for awhile. Pretty obvious who the villains in The Lady Vanishes are, although they're never named!
Foreign Correspondent may be the best of the bunch although in a different way than "Mortal Storm"
@@johnt8441 Agreed!
What would really be interesting is that slant taken during the Spanish Civil War where Communists fought the Nazis, and later made an non-agression pact to carve up Poland. Must have been interesting to see American Communist switch sides so quickly and then come to the defense of Mother Russia when the Hilter invaded the USSR.
Hollywood Party by Lloyd Billingsley is a fantastic book on the subject.
I wonder if Hemingway had the same idea in For Whom The Bell Tolls.
Orwell's disillusion with the Russian Communist party dates from his familiarity with how they did things during the Spanish Civil War.
By the 1930s most Communists in the west had cut ties with the USSR and denounced it, and many blamed the Republican loss in the Spanish Civil War on the USSR for stirring up division between the Republican government and the CNT-FAI. There were a few that continued to support the USSR but they had become fairly rare. While the USSR attempted to portray itself as the leader of worldwide communism in reality it had no real influence beyond its puppet Commintern, which no significant parties outside the USSR joined after the Trial of the SRs had soured everyone on the Bolshevieks. Stalin then didn't help matters by prosecuting famous communists like Trotsky and Kammonev, cutting ties with even those outside the USSR that still subscribed to Leninist ideas (which were mostly developed by Trotsky).
@@hedgehog3180Communist Party USA recieved money from the USSR until it dissolved
Great content! Loved this video. Thank you for an excellent effort.
This was an excellent piece. My only quibble would be the exclusion of Fritz Lang's, Hangman Also Die (UA 1943) with Brian Dunlevy, and The Keeper Of The Flame (MGM 1942), with Spencer Tracey and Katherine Hepburn.
I love your stuff. Please, keep it up.
Hangmen is one of my favorite Lang films, but both Keeper of the Flame and Hangmen were released after the committee disbanded so not part of the pre war controversy.
Plus, its ironic Robert Young played a nazi in Mortal Storm and then a cop catching an anti-semite in Crossfire, seven years later.
and in 1938 he played a German anti-nazi communist in Three Comrades.
Dan Dailey is even scarier in Mortal Storn! Literally flesh crawling.
I agree. Dailey is disturbingly good.
Agreed about the irony, but, of course, that's why they call it acting. Many German-Jewish refugee actors played Nazis during the war.
This is such an entertaining and professionally produced documentary. It is a real gift for those of us who are classic Hollywood fans. Much appreciated!
Awesome! Possibly my favorite video you've done so far. Seems like I say that a lot. The combination of world history and film history gave me about everything I could want. Thank you.
Ditto
Lang's Manhunt is a masterpiece. I believe he made 4 anti Nazi films here in USA
Yes fantastic film!
@@stratcat9432 So are his Ministry of Fear and Hangmen Also Die. He knew first hand what the Nazis were all about.
@@willieluncheonette5843 Hangmen Also Die is a masterpiece. It was co-written by Bertolt Brecht.
@@willieluncheonette5843 I remember reading (sorry, I can't remember exactly where) Lang's account of what happened in 1930 (when he was still in Germany) when he announced that the title of his next film would be "Murderer Among Us." Suddenly he was encountering difficulties in getting it approved. When he finally got to speak to a UFA (the all-powerful German film studio) bigwig about it, asking him "what's wrong with making a movie about Kurten the child killer?" he saw the man suddenly relax and smile, saying "Ah, I see," and from then on Lang had no more trouble getting the film (retitled "M") finished. Lang had noticed the Nazi insignia on a button pinned to the man's lapel. From that moment, said Lang, he marked the beginning of his political maturity.
@@DanielOrme Thanks. Did not know that. Of course I'm sure you know Lang's accounted of the circumstances under which he left Germany.. Fascinating story, although some feel he embellished the story every time he told it.
As a North Dakotan screw Gerald Nye. I’m glad for my family who fought for freedom.
As an Illinoian, I second that.
My father was in the 15th Air Force stationed near Foggia, Italy 1944-45. He lived in Grand Junction and read the Daily Sentinel.
@@CinemaCities1978 also I gotta see some of these films. I’m really interested in The Man I Married.
@@Chiller11awesome, I had four great uncles who fought in the war one was a medic, another was a paratrooper another stormed the beaches and a sign painter for the soldiers and another was in the pacific on a small boat defusing mines.
@@gmg9010 It's a good one!
A very interesting video. Zanuck makes a good point about propaganda. It's interesting to see American public response to WW2 before Pearl Harbour: there was obviously a real debate going on. It's easy to look back at historical events as a inevitable, but as PK Dick knew, they weren't.
It was such a fascinating era of history, this video really just scratched the surface of it.
@@CinemaCities1978 Yes. I teach a course on the history of comics, and the same thing happened there between Sept 1939 and Dec 1941 - American companies generally jumped on the anti-Nazi bandwagon, and were sometimes attacked as propagandistic (e.g. Captain America #1 featured Cap punching Hitler on the cover). Whereas here in Canada, and the UK, there was no phoney war period.
From 1933 to 1940, the Hollywood studios came to an arrangement with the Nazis that both parties understood at the time as "collaboration [Zusammenarbeit]." The studios sold around 250 movies to Germany in this period, in return for which they had to agree not to attack the Nazis in any of their productions. When the United States entered the Second World War in 1941, the studios finally put out a barrage of anti-Nazi pictures, but refused to use the medium to bring the genocide of the Jews to the world's attention.
The arc of history is amazingly consistent. Proves the saying "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it".
Great video. I actually wrote my dissertation about the same topic (but also focused on Nazi Germany and British propaganda films) and whilst I've seen many of the films you've mentioned i wish this video was around when I wrote my dissertation as you mention films I couldn't see or never heard of!. It's about 11 years since i wrote it, so streaming was still kinda newish (making the library of films available online smaller), and my memory of it is kinda vague, but it was a fascinating topic.
You should defo check out some UK films like Freedom Radio, Next of Kin, 49th Parallel, and Went the Day Well?
I've seen 49th Parallel, but I will check out the others. Went the Day Well looks very good, and it's available to rent online!
I’ve always loved The 49th Parallel, both as an anti-Nazi film and as a beautiful love letter to Canada. And what a fitting ending with Raymond Massey in a small role! just after his title role in Abe Lincoln of Illinois, to many movie goers it must have seemed as if they were watching Abe Lincoln thrashing a Nazi villain.
@@moonballoonsmith8238 I haven't seen Abe Lincoln of Illinois, but I did see Henry Fonda play the President in Young Mr Lincoln
I'll check tnose out. I've seen wentthe day well several times!
CC, I've run out of adjectives to describe how wonderful your videos are. This is another stellar one packed full of information and, unfortunately, just as topical today as it was then. Bravo!
thank you!
“Pimpernel Smith” is a wonderful resistance movie.
I had a landlord and friend who went to Canada to join the Canadian military in 1939/1940.
One of your best so far I think! Thanks for making this one. Great job on it
Awesomely done as always! Thank you👍👍
Great job!😎 Thank you. I will definitely have to watch the films you’ve posted. Thank you for that. I think I watched some of them, but not in its entirety.
You Natzy Spy and I'll Never Hail Again both by the 3 Stooges were from 1940 and 1941 respectively. Miss them?
Yes. The Stooges definitely deserve a mention. Check out "Higher Than a Kite" and "They Stooge to Conga."
A very interesting Hollywood/WWII Story is that of British-born American film star Louis Hayward. He was a genuine American patriot. Putting his acting career on hold, he accompanied the American troops to Tarawa with a small crew in order to film in real time their fight to oust entrenched Imperial Japanese troops from the island. The stark reality he captured on film caused staunch objections against releasing it to the American public. FDR decided the public deserved to see and more fully understand the sacrifices of the young Americans who fought. (Louis Hayward returned from Tarawa to California to learn that his wife, Ida Lupino, had left him for actor Howard Duff, whom she married.)
Well done!
If it isn’t too cliched, how about a look at Casablanca? Anti-Nazi, anti-isolationist, and one of the greatest movies ever made.
Casablanca was ridiculous.
@@stephencarter7266 Lame comment.
@@MB-vu3ow Casablanca was ridiculous AND _lame_ .
Better?
Extremely well done ❗️
I’m glad I stumbled across this.
📻🙂
Your indepth historical is amazing. It must've taken months just to research and find all related footages. I knew a bit about this topic, however this taught more than a historical documentary while also being so entertaining. Would,Keeper Of The Flame , be considered amongst these ? Once again, fantastic job😊
I have now watched this video twice! Great job! Next, I have some homework to do by watching all the films you have highlighted! ❤
Fascinating video! I'm searching out many of these films now.
Every time I watch The Mortal Storm with Robt Young and Marg Sullavan I think of the Nuremburg Laws and I also wonder if her two brothers survive the war. That's how caught up I get in that story.
THANK YOU. Must watch. More, please. Very timely.
Mister Skeffington was a great film exposing the racism and holocaust in America's cinema when it was taboo to discuss. I applaud the controversial artistic message.
I'm a little surprised you didn't mention Mrs Miniver. I greatly enjoyed that as the family drama Slice of Life film which just happened to show everyone The Peculiar Horrors which were happening.
Mrs. Miniver was an impactful film.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. It came out in '42 however. Oh, Greer Garson was radiant! Oddly, many years later, it turned me off to Downton Abbey when screenwriter Julian Fellowes lifted - in its entirety - the rose judging contest from Mrs. Miniver for that series.
Great video, thanks. Being English, I'd just like to politely challenge the line 'England stood alone' in 1940. Yes... except for the rest of the UK (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and volunteers from other parts of the Commonwealth (India, Africa, West Indies etc), fighters who had escaped from occupied countries (Norway, France, Poland etc) and volunteers from neutral countries (USA, Republic of Ireland etc). Remember them all.
I believe "England" was used as shorthand for the British Empire - pro allies would want to frame the conflict as little England defending itself against Axis powers to increase sympathies for the under dog
Thanks!
Thank you so much! 😊
@@CinemaCities1978 This was really a remarkable editing and narrated story that left me speechless in terms of the complexity and I am very grateful for the work you put into this thank you
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! A timely upload. "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it"
Thank you so much for your intelligent appraisal of the great Margaret Sullavan; an enchantress pitched in temperament and type, curiously enough, between the two Hepburns. She spoke lightly and quickly in a voice like an echo in a snowstorm that greatly enhanced the drivel she was given to play.
Her mastery of comedy and drama on the stage and screen was complete. Yet, she was plagued by tremendous insecurity that led to her suicide at age 50. Would you consider devoting a segment to this magical actress in the future?
I would absolutely consider doing a video on her. I find her magnetic onscreen and off screen she’s a fascinating woman.
@@CinemaCities1978 Again, I thank you, not only for your reply, but for your astute consideration of film history💖.
Just recently I was remarking on old pro-American, anti-Nazi films and how today they're often labeled as "propaganda", like they're bad or dangerous. Uh, no. Those movies were very patriotic, pro-family, pro-marriage, pro-freedom, pro-sacrifice...all the good stuff we've lost. Morality and decency were encouraged and Americans were bold, heroic, and selfless. I love old WWII movies. They're my escape to a better time. Yes, the time was hard and full of terror, but America was stronger.
Before you wax nostalgic for a time you never lived in, on September 11, 2001 many first responders and good Samaritans sacrificed their safety and lives to help their fellow American, despite race or nation of origin. Pro NFL player Pat Tillman gave up his wealthy career to train as an Army Ranger, dying in Afghanistan during the War On Terror.
@@ChyroneMcThunderschlong I absolutely honor those who do demonstrate selflessness and sacrifice today, and there are many of them, often unsung heroes. I just meant that it isn't the norm anymore. Most young people are not being taught the ideals that the Greatest Generation grew up on and lived out.
Another great video. I have only seen a few of these movies. Definitely have added more to my list.
Well done commentaries.
"We who know our history;
are condemned to watch
Others repeat it!"
Another fantastic piece! Thank you always. 😊
you're welcome!
A wonderful documentary about something. I knew nothing about. Congratulations on a job well done.
This is excellent and one of the most thought-provoking videos I've seen in a long time. Keep it up, please !!!!!
Thanks!
Thank you so much!!!!
This is a superlative video. It’s riveting, and it’s well researched and narrated.
Funny how many people seem to think that politics were never a part of Hollywood in the past.
Oh, they were. The media environment now is far more diverse now. WW2 would be much harder to pull off now because nobody has a stranglehold on the press as then.
Nice vid, I never expected to say "Hell yeah!" from reading film producers' speeches in Congress.
If hating Fascism is wrong, I never want to be Right.
Very Good Video. One of the films that I believe belongs in this, even though it was after Pearl Harbor, was Sherlock Holmes & The Voice Of Terror (1942), which deals with the British Underground rising up against A Nazi Spy Network operating in England. Along with Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce, as Holmes & Watson, respectively, are Evelyn Ankers, Reginald Denny, Henry Daniel, Tomas Gomez & many others. It's A Great Watch & A Great Mystery.
How can a contingent of the US Congress be so wrong about the dangers of fascism and attempt to withhold aid to those who are suffering from its aggressions? Couldn’t happen today thank goodness.
Good one
God help the Middle East 😢
Dude beat me to it.
@@daltonanderson3718Israel is taking on the Islamic fascists…
Hamas is a descendant organisation from the one founded by the Muslim Waffen SS division veterans after WW2.
Nice one.
One film you left out was a little B film at Columbia, ''None Shall Escape.'' It starred Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox and Henry Travers. Knox plays a disabled German schoolteachder who returns to a Polish village to resume his teaching duties as well as a romance with a Polish woman (Hunt). This 1944 film has a remarkable scene, perhapsl the first in an American film, showing Polish Jews being taken in cattle cars to camps.
The Three Stooges film, "You Nasty Spy" was released in January 1940 and was the precursor to Chaplin's "The Great Dictator". It gets little recognition of one of the earliest anti-Nazi films.
I LOVED this! Not long enough, it was that good. The Mortal Storm is a longtime petsonal favorite, which really had my "not a classic film lover" sister interested! I haven't seen all of these films, but it is interesting to see Idiot's Delight here! HAVE to find that Joan Bennett one! But, I remember Edward Dmytryk's Hitler's Children, which still holds up pretty well. Bonita Granville is amazing in Mortal Storm and Hitler's Children (and, of course, another sonewhat controversial film, These Three. Three very different roles. I also enjoy another film calked Edge Of Darkness, about resistance fighters with very surprising Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan roles! Wow! Nice to see you online again! Thanks!
It is crazy that Germany banned "42 Street" for being to leggy when some of the Nazi made musicals would make present present Vegas shows look tame.
Question: Is propaganda in Hollywood movies still a thing?
Growing up you could see it in movies attacking Communism, Fascism and critiques of the government (and I don't mean just the US one).
But I can't remember the last time a film looked at regime and built a story around tearing is down. Is Hollywood so concerned about making a buck that it's scared to? We have obviously see it bend its knee to China.
Where are the movies about US citizen partaking (willingly or not) in the Ukrainian war, spies taking on their opposite numbers from Russia, China or indeed anywhere?
Are they being made? Are they so niche that I'm not seeing them? Or are they so subtle that I am not seeing obvious parallels between the US & China in Trolls 3?
Propaganda in Hollywood Movies is very much still a thing, although it's less "Tear an Enemy Regime Down" and more "Enlist Today!".
The Department of Defense allows Studios to use their assets (Planes, Ships, Bases, Trucks, Uniforms, etc.) in Films provided that they have script oversight and editorial control over the Final Cut of the Film.
Look at the ties between the "Top Gun" Movies, the Michael Bay "Transformers" Movies, or Marvel's "Iron Man" Movies. The DoD was heavily involved with all of those!
You really haven't seen the almost endless flood of movies where the Russians are the bad guy? for a while it was such a cliche that the switch to having arabs be the enemy was almost refreshing, of course after 9/11 that itself quickly became a tired and often racist cliche. If anything it's just that for a long time Hollywood made way too many of these movies so people got tired of them so right now more fantasical movies dominate. With the current state of the world that might switch again plus people are becoming tired of super hero movies but I also don't think anyone trusts Hollywood to be able to produce genuinely good movies about geopolitics anymore.
@@hedgehog3180 Not in the last couple of years, not to the extent from when I was a wee lad.
The industry is now worried about being ‘fair’ to China, gotta keep the shareholders happy and the CEO needs a new yacht!
The substantial fraction of right-wing isolationist politicians persists to this very day.
As usual, well-researched, interesting and entertaining.
"Too leggy!" is now my default film criticism!
Of all the objections coming from the German censors, that was one I did not expect.
@@CinemaCities1978 Yeah, who knew the Nazi's were anti-leg.....anti-pedestrian?
@@TheloniousCube Ford was.
Putting your history degree to use 👏👏👏
About time 😂
Jealous 😢 but happy😊
@CinemaCities1978 this video is so good 👍
@@robs9237 thank you!
A few points: "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" was released on May 6th, 1939, or in other words, nearly four months before the start of the War in Europe, as it was called at the time. The German spies had landed in the US in June 1942 and their capture (after two of their members decided to inform the FBI) was announce by J. Edgar Hoover in July 1942 . Or in other words, more than a half year after the US was already at war with the Axis. So the implication that the movie was based on actual events is false.
I question the source of the polls at 6:00. According to the Gallup polls of 1940 and 1941, a majority of those polled were in favor of aiding Britain and France. However, when asked straight up whether the US should get involved militarily, an overwhelming majority were against ranging from 96% in April 1940 to 76% in March 1941. Even after Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, 79% were still against sending US armed forces to Europe. In November 1941, a month before Pearl Harbor, when asked if Congress should pass a resolution declaring a state of war on Germany, 63% still said no.
Herbert Hoover wrote in "Freedom Betrayed":
"It is obvious that the American people and the Congress were overwhelmingly opposed to our becoming involved in the war right up to Pearl Harbor. This was clear, not only from informal polls of the people and of the Congress, but it is evidenced by the line Mr. Roosevelt followed of not only constantly reassuring that he would not send our sons to war but also by his necessity to dress every measure, whether it be armament, Lend-Lease, convoys, or economic sanctions, with the camouflage that it will keep us out of war. And all this despite the gigantic propaganda for war through his own speeches, the Administration, the British, and a host of war committees."
Actually, Confessions of a Nazi Spy dramatized the events around the Rumrich Nazi Spy ring case. At the time, it was the FBI's biggest international case, the agent in charge wrote a series of national newspaper articles about it and the defendants were eventually sentenced in December, 1938. The photos of those defendants appears in the video where is says "NAZI SPIES" As for the gallup poll, the specific question was "Is it more important to defeat Germany rather than stay out of the war." 68% of those polled answered yes to that question.
@@CinemaCities1978 I didn't know about the Rumrich case and thought you meant the more notorious Operation Pastorius, so I stand corrected on that. However the clip of J. Edger Hoover shown definitely refers to the 1942 incident where he refers to saboteurs coming by submarine.
As for the Gallup poll results I cited, the wording of the questions varied from poll to poll, but were: "Do you think the United States should declare war on Germany and send our army and navy abroad to fight?", "If it appears that Germany is defeating England and France, should the United States declare war on Germany and send our army and navy to Europe to fight?", "If you were asked to vote today on the question of the United States entering the war against Germany and Italy, how would you vote - to go into the war, or to stay out of the war?" or some small variation on these. The response to these was consistently against by a four to one margin. The way I read it is that majority of the public's thinking was all in favor of sending whatever aid could be given to the Allies, but drew the line on actually sending troops and that most people believed the Allies could defeat Germany without the need of the US military.
One poll result that surprised me was the response to the question posed in February 1941, "If American ships with American crews are used to carry war materials to Britain and some of them are sunk by the Germans on the way over, would you be in favor of going to war against Germany?" 61% replied in the negative. Another in April 1941 was, "If the United States navy is used to guard merchant ships crossing the Atlantic, and some of our warships are sunk by German submarines, would you be in favor of going to war against Germany?" 50% saying no to 40% saying yes with the rest undecided.
I would post my sources, but TH-cam seems to have a habit of deleting posts that have links. If you would like to know them, let me know and I'll figure a way.
It's also interesting to note that in Warner Brothers' "The Adventures of Robin Hood," Robin Hood (Erroll Flynn) gives an impassioned speech supporting isolationism, specifically castigating King Richard (disguised as a monk) for going off to fight a foreign war instead of tending to things at home. Yet, by 1940 - two years later - the Warners had changed their tune as, in "The Sea Hawk," Sir Francis Drake (Flynn again) is just begging Queen Elizabeth to let him go out and give those "French" a damn good thrashing!
Just saw a brief part of "The Mortal Storm" many years ago and I always remembered it for portraying Robert Young as a Nazi. By the time I saw it Robert Young was typed as a very good guy. Definitely propaganda but propaganda is not always lies as it is in many peoples mind today.
I took a ‘Politics and Propaganda’ film course in college and one film was ‘Once Upon a Honeymoon’ with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Great film, imo
THIS! When people question, "How could hat happen here?". THIS is exactly HOW!
I doubt there are enough upstanding and confident men and women for it to happen here, unfortunately.
This was excellent thanks for sharing. It's easy to judge in hindsight, but given what could have been known at he time, I don't blame the American public at all for not wanting to get involved with European wars, because every war before WW2 was plain ridiculous. They were unaware of the true threat that the Nazis imposed on the world.
I do have to say though, as a Canadian there's nothing I hate more than the phrase "...Britain stood alone..."
We defended USSR only to be practically at war with them for the next 40 years. Pick your poison
This isolationism is the reason American leaders allowed Japan to attack Pearl Harbor, retreading the "remember the Maine" tactic, knowing it was the only way to get the needed public support. Over night Americans went isolationism to standing in line to sign up for military service. In the Pacific we had been blocking supplies of oil and other necessary wartime goods going to japan, knowing full well what we were pushing them towards. We had only to wait till al other countries were ravaged and war weakened then swoop in, finish the fight that hadn't touched our shore and suddenly Americas leaders were the economic words of the world. Brilliant and sadly necessary as well
Incredible video! I've been researching Nazi censorship during the Third Reich and I enjoyed your presentation of this history quite a lot, congrats
I recommend "All Through the Night", "Desperate Journey", and "Tomorrow the World" as other films made early in the 1940s with anti-Nazi messages. And when these and Casablanca (and others) were made, the outcome of the war in Europe was nowhere assured.
Here is the story for you on "Mrs. Miniver". Although released JUST after Germany and Italy declared war on the US was filmed on 1941.
The director William Wyler aka "40 take Wily" said that Louise B Meyer head of MGM asked him to tone down the anti Nazi rhetoric which upsetted Wyler (several of his family were under Nazi occupation, sadly many were killed). MGM was getting alot of heat from congress and the Hays code.
However after America was at war Meyer called him again and said "You can have your evil Goring monsters, forget what I said."
(Goring was the head of the Luftwaffe).
Propaganda is definitely a spectrum and the biggest factor is the timeliness of the the subject matter and if it displays current events
Sadly, The Mortal Storm doesn't use the words Jew or Jewish. Was that too controversial for the times? Characters are actually said to be "Non-Aryan."
I heard that casablanca was made with propaganda in mind. Was i wrong in that assumption? Since you never mentioned that film
Of course it was! Excellent film for many other reasons.
Well done! Thank you
2:27: Charles Lindbergh, America First: "And I have been forced to the conclusion, that we cannot win this war for England no matter how much assistance we send. That is why the America First Committee has been formed."
Change "England" to "Ukraine", and you have almost verbatim remarks of Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswamy, and many others, and of course the "America First" watchword has been revived by the isolationist to whom they've all flocked: Donald Trump.
Yes but Winston Churchill was not skimming billions of dollars!
@BusterBrown-i2j I understand your need to resort to lies in the absence of sound arguments.
the stooges were the first to make a movie mocking the axis powers
I had to look that one up: You Nazty Spy!, 1940.
@@Kidderman2210 stooges dont get enough credit for this.
Really great piece. Well done. Its been 30 years since my last film studies class, and this was a very enjoyable walk down memory lane. My grandmother was one of the late teen/early 20s London women who did maths for Signals Corp, and watching a couple of films (some british, some american) from this era with her was one of the great experiences of my life. She introduced me to the great British actor James Mason and has such a wealth of experience to share. She passed in her 90s a while ago, now. Well, my dad was born in 1947 and hes the oldest, and i think my Nan was 23 when he was born. My granddad had been in the army since shortly after Invasion of France, at the age of 17 years 9 months.
Lest We Forget, huh? Its never veen so important to remember our history. And movies make it easy for you, yiu eony ecwn have to read, or wirk out the moral, the movie will TELL YOU THE MORAL. Lol.
Seriously, movies are so accessible, and its easy to forget how low literary rates were in the early 20th century.
And yeah, some of those films are hilarious, some super powerful, some are masterclasses is dramatic blocking.
If i see it again, ill come back and post a link for you. Its a youtube film archive called Cult Cinema Collection, i think. Lots of obscure stuff, a lot of westerns, but films from all over the world from the last hundred years. I watched some 70s robot animation and a John Ford westerb yesterday!
Well done, I thought I was pretty well versed in this genre, but I have more to do!
What about The Three Stooges?
One of the things that gets me about these propaganda pieces is the contrast between them and actual fiction.
I enjoy Jurassic Park and King Kong. But these things aren't real and there's no risk of them happening. I enjoy Star Trek and War of the Worlds. But there are no klingons, no Martians.
But you look at these films like the Mortal storm, when they were made Hitler was a living breathing person walking the Earth. These things these monsters these nightmares they weren't fanciful tales.
In fact these films are kind of the embodiment of that line from Pirates of the Caribbean
"You best start believing in ghost stories, you're in one."
So much else in Hollywood is pure fiction. And I enjoy that. But there's something very special when you're watching a story where the monster was completely real.
It reminds me of that moment in "on the beach" at the very end. When the camera pans over the ruined world and lands on the caption above the church which says there is still time brother. And suddenly you realize this isn't a message to the characters in the movie. This is a message to you to really you. You are scrooge. You can change your stars. It doesn't have to end this way. And you can change it.
Various of the propaganda pieces invoke that sentiment and went away or another.
To that and I agree with the assessment given that if this is propaganda then guilty is charged. And I would absolutely do it again.
Good stuff. Good video. You made me think. Thank you