During the early years of the twentieth century, the motion picture industry slowly developed new techniques and skill. By 1917, the year the United States entered the Great War in Europe, the industry had reached a level of sophistication. 1917 saw the beginning of a barrage of anti-German, propagandistic films. Cecil B. De Mille produced Joan the Woman,The Little American, and Till I Come Back to You-all of which depicted the Huns as barbaric,uncivilized, and depraved men who only wanted to violate America's sweetheart, Mary Pickford. Other studios and directors followed suit. When World War II ended in November, 1918, American moviegoers had seen dozens of silent films justifying the United States' intervention in the global conflict. Audiences had cheered in unison as they watched reel after reel of American doughboys defeating the Germans, and had lived vicariously their nation's great triumph.

Throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s, the motion picture industry grew by leaps and bounds. War folms were replaced with westerns, comedies, adventures-escapist entertainment for a nation faced with ever-growing economic depression. As times grew harder, movies became more popular, offering a relatively inexpensive way to forget one's troubles. In the 1930s, more than 80 million people a week went to the movies to see their favorite stars in an escapist role. Gradually, some films depicting a more somber view of WWI emerged, such as All Quiet On the Western Front. For the most part, however, propaganda and war films remained virtually absent from the screen during the inter-war period. America's love afair with Hollywood grew, and movie stars became idols. This was the era of lavish film epics, like Gone With the Wind.

Original movie poster from Gone With the Wind(2)

Moviegoers outside a theater in Washington D.C., 1939 (3)
Library of Congress digital ID fsa8a31535

With the start of the 1940s, the war in Europe drew ever nearer to American shores. Try as it might to perpetuate the escapist fantasy of the 1930s, Hollywood grew ever more awaare of the impending conflict. It became time for Hollywood to once again take up the propagandist role. A few propaganda films began to inch onto the screens, taking potshots at the old German nemisis. These early attempts invoked the wrath of congressional isolationists. On September 9, 1941, a battle began between the best talent in Hollywood and the U.S. Senate as isolationists sought to curb the interventionalist tone Hollywood had begun to take. The hearings adjourned after three weeks, but the debate about what role Hollywood should play in propaganda continued. In October of 1941, Senate Resolution 152 was enacted, calling for thourough and complete investigation of any film propaganda.