This was the era of Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Humphrey Bogart. In 1942 the US War Department worked with military film units and established producers to make propaganda and training films. They asked studios to include scenes of people sacrificing cheerfully and voluntarily, and to present the armed forces and their allies in a positive light.
Established actors also enlisted in the armed forces. Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Gene Autry, William Holden, Jackie Coogan. Bandleader, Glenn Miller, enlisted in the Army Air Forces and and died when his plane went down over the English Channel in 1944. British actor, Leslie Howard, known for playing Ashley in Gone with the Wind, was killed in 1943 when his plane was shot down by the Luftwaffe.
Other actors and actresses assisted in the war effort by performing on USO tours and encouraging the public to buy war bonds.
Propaganda, Encouragement, and Escape on the Silver Screen
Though war raged in Europe and the Pacific, Hollywood was still producing movies, everything from Charlie Chaplin's spoof The Great Dictator to the Bing Crosby and Bob Hope musical Road to Morocco to the cinema classic Casablanca. Some films were pure escapism that featured romance or comedy, but others were more somber, and set among real world events. Most films had some patriotic angle, however.
In 1942, the Office of War Information (OWI) worked with military units and producers to produce propaganda and training films.
The US War Department released seven films in the series Why We Fight to help first soldiers and the public understand the importance of the US involvement in WWII.
It's a Wonderful Life director, Frank Capra, directed or co-directed these films and Disney artists provided animation, Even Donald Duck participated the action in the 1943 Disney short Der Fuehrer's Face, which depicted his nightmare about working in a factory in Nazi Germany.
The OWI did produce a manual, which suggested that filmmakers should ask themselves, "Will this picture help to win the war?"
The OWI's Bureau of Motion Pictures asked studios to include scenes of people sacrificing cheerfully and voluntarily, and to present the armed forces and their allies in a positive light.
Established actors also enlisted in the armed forces. Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Gene Autry, William Holden, and Jackie Coogan into the US Army Air Forces, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. into the US Navy, Tyrone Power into the USMC, Sir Alec Guinness into the British Royal Navy, and David Niven into the British Army Rifle Brigade.. Bandleader, Glenn Miller, enlisted in the Army Air Forces and and died when his plane went down over the English Channel in 1944. British actor, Leslie Howard, known for playing Ashley in Gone with the Wind, was killed in 1943 when his plane was shot down by the Luftwaffe. Humphrey Bogart had served in the US Navy in WW and tried to re-enlist in WWII, but was told he was too old, so he volunteered for the Coast Guard Temporary Reserve.
Many actors and actresses found other ways to assist in the war effort, performing on USO tours and encouraging the public to buy war bonds.
German born actress, Marlene Dietrich, not only served in those capacities, often on the front lines, but also created recordings for the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S) in German.
American actress, Carole Lombard, was killed in a plane crash while on a war bond tour.
Costumers at Paramount Pictures used books such as these filled with period images to ensure accuracy in their costumes.
Paramount Pictures (1943)
The wartime musical Salute for Three is about a press agent who schemed to get his client, aspiring singer Judy Ames, publicity by faking a romance between her and returning war hero Sergeant Buzz McAllister. Singer-actress Dona Drake appeared as herself, along with her band, in the film.
- Costume: Dona Drake (Played Herself)
Sheet Music
This sheet music if for "Don't Worry," a song from the film Salute for Thee
Actress Dona Drake in a promotional photo for the 1943 musical film "Salute for Three," Credit: Color Praeterita
Dona Drake
Paramount Pictures (1946)
O.S.S. was released just a year after the war ended and was the first of several movies made at that time about the agency. A team of operatives, including Elaine Dupree, are sent to Nazi-occupied France to blow up a railroad tunnel.
- Costume: Ellen Rogers / Elaine Dupree (Geraldine Fitzgerald)
1963
This "miniature" Chaffee tank model was used in the 1965 Universal Pictures production Battle of the Bulge. The film, which starred Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson, presented a dramatized version of the battle from the perspective of both an American and a German officer.
Disney (1998)
- List of those Killed in Action
Paramount (1998)
- Daniel Ryan Letter
NBC Universal (2000)
- Costume: Lt. Pete Emmett (Jon Bon Jovi) Kriegsmarine Uniform
NBC Universal (2000)
Enigma Machine
Walt Disney (2016)
- Costume: Rosie (Scarlett Johansson)
- Costume: Adolf (Taika Waititi)
Paramount Pictures (2016)
- Costume: Max Vatan (Brad Pitt)
- Costume: Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard)
Paramount Pictures (2016)
- Nazi Playing Cards
- Identity Documents: Max Vatan (Brad Pitt)
Hollywood was still making movies during World War II. In 1942 the US War Department worked with military film units and established producers to make propaganda and training films. They asked studios to include scenes of people sacrificing cheerfully and voluntarily, and to present the armed forces and their allies in a positive light. Established actors also enlisted in the armed forces. Other celebrities performed on USO tours and helped sell war bonds.