Pre World War Two US Propaganda
Films that attack Fascism and Nazism , and isolationism , that drum up support for Britain , and warn America to prepare for war . Some British films , but mostly Hollywood films . Important to note that the British government spent a lot of money to sway US opinion in that period , including films .Included are a few earlier films that attack Fascism in general , and that predict war .
Pre - war of course means before Pearl Harbor .
Pre - war of course means before Pearl Harbor .
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- DirectorArchie MayoStarsLeslie HowardHumphrey BogartBette DavisA waitress, a hobo and a bank robber get mixed up at a lonely diner in the desert.A poet who turns away from the world is forced to face up to gangsters .
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJoel McCreaLaraine DayHerbert MarshallOn the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.Directed by Hitchcock , great stirring speech at the end with bombs falling in London .
- DirectorArchie MayoFritz LangStarsDon AmecheJoan BennettRoddy McDowallNewsman Mitch and teletype operator Jennifer, whose job is to see he doesn't send inappropriate stuff out of the country, dodge bombs during the blitz of London while falling in love.An American journalist fights British censorship to get scoops , but realizes he's only damaging the war effort , and helping the Germans .
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsEdward G. RobinsonGeorge SandersFrancis LedererFBI agent Ed Renard investigates the pre-war espionage activities of the German-American Bund.Warner Bros declares war on Germany !
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJoel McCreaBrenda MarshallJeffrey LynnAfter Barry Corvall discovers that his new bride is a possible enemy agent, he resigns from the diplomatic service to go undercover to root out an espionage ring planning to destroy American industrial capability.The Secret Service combats German spies , but is handicapped by political and public indifference .
- DirectorAlexander KordaStarsVivien LeighLaurence OlivierAlan MowbrayThe story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson and her rise and fall, set during the Napoleonic Wars.Uses the war against Napoleon as a metaphor for British defiance . Lawrence Olivier faced unpopularity for staying in Hollywood for the duration .
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsPat O'BrienConstance BennettJohn HallidayA British ship is attacked by a German U-boat at the onset of World War II. The reactions of the frightened passengers-from a German doctor to a drunken Irishman-are chronicled in this good story.American passengers on a British ship the day war is declared don't see why it affects them , until they are attacked by a German submarine .
- DirectorRoy BoultingStarsMichael RedgraveJames MasonBarbara MullenCynical, embittered newspaperman David Charleston (Michael Redgrave) is tormented, then inspired, by visions he keeps having of people who have drowned.Another writer retreats from the world , only for ghost from the past to force him to fight for what he believes in .
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsLeslie HowardLaurence OlivierRichard GeorgeA World War II U-boat crew are stranded in northern Canada. To avoid internment, they must make their way to the border and get into the still-neutral U.S.The crew of a sunken German U boat travel across Canada .
- DirectorLouis De RochemontStarsJohn AdairJohn SummersJulia KentAmerica learns the value of wartime preparedness in de Rochemont's study of World War I's effect on average citizens.
- DirectorHarry WattStarsJohn CobbRichard PeirsePercy Charles PickardThe planning and implementation of an RAF night raid on Germany in World War II, concentrating on a low level mission by a Wellington bomber on an oil storage facility by the Rhine.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsRobert StackDiana BarrymoreJon HallAn American joins the British Royal Air Force just before Pearl Harbor is attacked, and falls in love with a beautiful English girl.Depicts the Battle of Britain , in production before Pearl Harbor.
- DirectorJames WhaleVictor FlemingCharles VidorStarsGeorge BrentMartha ScottPaul LukasAn Austrian prince flees his homeland after the Nazis take over and settles in London. While in London, he meets a beautiful Austrian émigré who makes him realize his mistake in leaving Austria. He makes a deal with the Nazis to return in exchange for some Austrian prisoners, but discovers that the Nazis are not to be trusted.Austrian refugee from the Nazis realizes he should go back to lead resistance . ( interesting propaganda - saying the Austrian's were not Nazis , a post war claim by the Austrians for their independence )
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsRay MillandWilliam HoldenWayne MorrisThe personal and professional lives of three men from different walks of life who join the U.S. Army Air Corps are depicted.Recruitment poster for the air force , shows a practice air raid over Los Angeles . Features the line "I want to see the world , while it's still there."
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsDon AmecheEugenie LeontovichMary Beth HughesAfter the Germans invade Czechoslovakia the four sons of a Czecho-German family follow different paths: Czech patriot, Nazi supporter, artist in America, and heroic German soldier.
- DirectorLeslie GoodwinsStarsRobert PrestonNancy KellyEdmond O'BrienPre-Pearl Harbor propaganda film about young Americans, from various social backgrounds, who undergo parachute training at Fort Benning prior to becoming paratroopers.
- DirectorEdward H. GriffithStarsFred MacMurrayMadeleine CarrollPatricia MorisonA Texas pilot courts a British aristocrat in London amid bombing and in Portugal amid spies.American who flies bombers over to Britain , flippant about the war . Shows bombing of London and a slightly idealized view of the "Blitz spirit " . Includes a little speech about USA and Britain as like relatives , "there's things that annoy the pants off you..."
- DirectorJohn RawlinsStarsLloyd NolanIrene HerveyJ. Carrol NaishA ball player takes his girlfriend to a carnival, only to discover a ring of saboteurs.involves a British spy after (un named ) Nazi saboteurs .
- DirectorJohn H. AuerStarsJ. Edward BrombergOsa MassenWilliam WrightChris Waring (William Wright) is a government investigator trying to gather the necessary evidence to convict a shipping magnate, DeBrock (J.Edward Bromberg), of selling his ships to the United States but is suspected of holding up and preventing their delivery because of bribes from foreign powers. DeBrock's conscience, nor his flirty wife, Valerie DeBrock (Osa Massen), give him any peace of mind.Shipping magnate is suspected of letting US ships fall into " other hands" - un named Nazis .
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsJeffrey LynnPhilip DornKaren VerneA World War II Hollywood propaganda film detailing the dark underside of Nazism and the Third Reich set between two brothers, Kurt and Erik Franken, who are SS officers in the Nazi party. Kurt learns and exposes the evils of the system to Erik and tries to convince him of the immoral stance that marches under the symbol of the swastika.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsJoan BennettFrancis LedererLloyd NolanAnti-Nazi tract laced with 1938 newsreel footage finds American girl (Bennett) married to a German (Lederer) gradually learning he is a Nazi, trying to get their son to America.American woman marries a German - American , they visit the family in Germany and the husband becomes converted to the Nazis .
- DirectorTim WhelanStarsGeorge BrentIlona MasseyBasil RathboneThe film opens with a German air raid over the skies of London, and moves to the attempts of the F.B.I. and Scotland Yard investigators trying to circumvent the attempts of a sabotage ring dedicated to impeding the flow of American airplanes and flying fortresses to Britain (on FDR's Lend-Lease program since the United States was not yet at war with Germany and Italy.) Tim Hanley is an American agent, posing as a lawyer connected with the United States Embassy in London, and Reggie Oliver, a Scotland Yard detective, posing as a music critic, who has a hard time understanding American slang, are keeping their eye on Carla Nillson, a famous singer, whom they suspect of espionage. They all meet in London, then in Lisbon, and eventually in New York City, where Carla sings on the radio under the auspices and sponsorship of Sidney Grenner, a wealthy candy manufacturer, who is in reality the head of the sabotage gang. Miss Nillson may or may not know that some of the songs she sings over the radio are in code, and give instructions to the enemy operatives about airplane shipments to England. And even if she doesn't know, will she still be implicated and subject to being arrested by Tim, with whom she has fallen in love? And if she is arrested, will Tim be waiting for her after the Allies defeat the Nazis?FBI agent works with Scotland Yard man against saboteurs , all of whom have German names and accents - but still not named as such .
- DirectorFred GuiolStarsWilliam TracyJames GleasonNoah Beery Jr.An Army draftee with a good memory makes sergeant and saves the day.
- DirectorAdrian BrunelBrian Desmond HurstMichael PowellStarsMerle OberonRalph RichardsonJune DuprezA look at the current might of the Royal Air Force. Place - Great Britain, time - two months after the start of World War ll.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsRandolph ScottPreston FosterMargaret LindsayPilot disobeys unsafe orders and loses his job. He then starts a flying school which receives a boost when the government launches a program which it hopes will produce 20,000 pilots a year.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsRandolph ScottPreston FosterMargaret LindsayPilot disobeys unsafe orders and loses his job. He then starts a flying school which receives a boost when the government launches a program which it hopes will produce 20,000 pilots a year.Film is about the US government scheme to train flyers - a disclaimer at the start says for " peaceful purposes " only . One of the character's sister is opposed to his flying because of "other " uses for aviation . There's also a Chinese - American flyer - either an oblique nod to the Flying Tigers , or as there's also a Jewish flyer , a Texan etc , an early example of we're all in it together .
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnFred MacMurrayRalph BellamyA military surgeon teams with a ranking Navy flyer to develop a high-altitude suit which will protect pilots from blacking out when they go into a steep dive.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsRoger PryorVirginia ValeLionel RoyceJan Martin, sister of government chemist Paul Martin, realizes she is being followed by enemy agents after her brother. She ignores him at the Panama airport and embraces a stranger, Mike Lawrence, instead. Enemy agents Lake and Wilton are convinced that Mike is her brother and attempt to trap the pair. They get away but Jan disappears. Disguised with a black wig and new makeup, Jan becomes Dolores and gets a job singing at a cafe. Spotting Jan without her disguise, Mike follows her down an alley where they are trapped by Raynor, another espionage agent. They get away and Jan also gets away from Mike. Later, both Mike and Jan are captured and the agents realize that Mike is not the brother they are after. Paul is brought to the hideout, but Mike gets the drop on them.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsClark GableRosalind RussellPeter LorreA jewel thief and a con artist are rivals in the theft of a valuable gem as the Japanese army invades China.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsGinger RogersRay MillandRita JohnsonA frustrated city girl disguises herself as a youngster in order to get a cheaper train ticket home. But little "Sue Sue" finds herself in a whole heap of grown-up trouble when she hides out in a compartment with a handsome Major.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsNorma ShearerClark GableEdward ArnoldA group of disparate travelers are caught and thrown together in a posh Alpine hotel when the borders are closed at the beginning of World War II.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsCarole LandisHenry WilcoxonOnslow StevensAt the outset of World War II, June McCarthy meets Carl Cutler aboard the S.S.Aleria, a British vessel en route to New York from London, where she has been dancing. The ship is sunk in mid-voyage by an unidentified submarine, and Cutler aids in rescuing June. As they arrive safely in Manhattan, June asks Cutler to contact her fiancé, Jimmy Madden, about the use of his stranded freighter, "Apache", in Cutler's "import business." By this action, she has unwittingly aided Cutler, who is an undercover Nazi naval officer, with acquiring a "mother ship" for German submarines in the Atlantic. Cutler charters the "Apache" and also kidnaps June who, he fears, might realize he was responsible for the sinking of the "Alleria." When the ship is at sea, a submarine comes along-side, and the crew climbs aboard to be met by Cutler and his aides in full uniform. Madden is informed that Cutler is now the ship's captain, and then takes the ship on missions of commerce raiding in the Carribbean, with Madden and his crew imprisoned in the ship's hold. June is allowed freedom of the ship and Madden believes she is an accomplice of Cutler's. She regains his favor and trust when she conceives the idea of cutting carbide flares from the life preservers for floating S.O.S. messages.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsGary CooperWalter BrennanJoan LeslieA Tennessee farmer and marksman is drafted in World War I, and struggles with his pacifist inclinations before becoming one of the most celebrated war heroes.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsMadeleine CarrollHenry FondaLeo CarrilloA simple peasant is forced to take up arms to defend his farm during the Spanish Civil War. Along the way he falls in love with Russian whose father is involved in espionage.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsClark GableLana TurnerRobert SterlingTwo brother, rival correspondents, find themselves fighting their conservative editor over stories and each other of over the affections of a pretty blonde journalist.
- DirectorHoward BrethertonStarsWarren HullKay LinakerWilhelm von BrinckenA newspaper reporter stumbles upon German spies after a new alloy, an experimental metal that is lighter than aluminum but stronger than steel.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsTyrone PowerBetty GrableJohn SuttonAn American pilot impulsively joins His Majesty's Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend.
- DirectorPhil RosenStarsAlan BaxterAndrea LeedsOwen Davis Jr.(1937, Republic) Alan Baxter, Andrea Leads, Owen Davis, Astrid Allwyn. Captivating story of two brothers, one good, one bad. The good one becomes a lawyer while the bad one resorts to crime and ultimately.A German fan of Neitzsche uses a citizenship school for immigrants to , quote , prepare America for the next war , on the right side ... oh and his budgie's called Adolf .
- DirectorLew LandersStarsRichard CromwellHelen VinsonRobert ArmstrongA man is framed for being a spy. After he is released, he sets out to find who the real spies are.