Morale Films:
Courage, Comedy, and American Nostalgia

While American soldiers were off fighting the Axis powers in faraway places, civilians at home found their normal way of life completely altered. Consumer goods became limited as rationing went into effect: crude oil, rubber, butter, meat, canned goods, clothing and shoes were all in short supply. Unacustomed to such constraits, Americans chaffed under the restrictions of home front mobilization. The one place where the public could still spend its money freely was at the movies. The OWI recognized the discontent of the average American, and sought to counterbalance this mobilization effect with entertainment. OWI enlisted the help of Hollywood to bolster the morale of the American public. Hollywood responded with enthusiasm-if there was one subjrect Hollywood producers thought they knew, it was America. The Hollywood propaganda machine pured out countless morale films, in an effort to sustain spirits on the home front. Stuios produced upbeat stories with happy endings about people who were beautiful, witty, and successful, but not so far removed from a middle class norm as to make it difficult for audiences to identify with the actors. The films presented an idealized version of American society, glorifying the average citizen who made personal sacrifices for the war effort. Hollywood and the OWI found that they could use similar sacred and sentimental symbols in the propaganda effort.

Many of the films of the war period dealt directly with issues facing the home front. Joe Smith, American lauded the everyday virtues of an ordinary assembly-line factory worker...who is captured and tortured by Nazi agents, but stoicly refuses to answer their questions about American the armaments industry. In Saboteur, yet another factory worker thwarts the Nazi foe. Pittsburgh extolled the importance of the steel works industry.

In addition to praising the virtues and importance of the factory workers, Hollywood attempted to bolster the courage of the American people by depicting the integrity and fortitude of the average citizen dealing with homefront constraints. One of the most popular vehicles for this theme was that of the trials and tribulations of American women left at home. Tender Comrade dramatized the daily existence of five working women sharing joy, sorrow, shortage, and an apartment, while their men were at war. Since You Went Away (original movie poster above right, 8) attempted the same on a more upper-class level, but got bogged down in subplots and kitsch.

Hollywood also sought to alleviate the pressures of the war effort through comedy and dance spectaculars. There were some lighthearted moments on the homefront when large groups of Americans gathered to sing popular tunes and dance fancy steps, while making derogatory remarks about Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo. By V-J Day, over seventy-five war period musicals had been released. As a genre, musicals surpassed every other film category during the war period. Some, like Stage Door Canteen and Hollywood Canteen made attempts to deal directly with the war situation. Others, such as Holiday Inn, ignored the conflict, prefering instead to devote its time to song-and-dance numbers. Yankee Doodle Dandy(at left, 9) presented an elaborate diorama of American patriotism: musical numbers covered everything from the American Revolution to George M. Cohan's WWI classic, "Over There".

One of the most surprising outputs of the WWII propaganda machine was the film genre of American nostalgia. These films, which had no direct relation to the war itself, subtly reminded the American moviegoer why the war was being fought. These films fondly looked upon eras of American history and culture. Films such as Meet Me In St. Louis and Life With Father depicted turn-of-the century America. Ironically, these films represent some of the best Hollywood propaganda. The American public unknowingly absorbed the message that they must continue to make personal sacrifices for the war effort, in order to preserve the innocent and idealogical American society portrayed on the screen.