When America went to war with Japan and Germany, incoming G.I.s were escorted to a projection room to watch the serial “Why We Fight.”
The short movies explained the geography of the war zones and put moral cause behind the conflict. “Why We Fight” was the product of Frank Capra, who would later go on to direct the Jimmy Stewart classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Longtime entertainment journalist Mark Harris tells Steve Fast that Capra was brought into the war effort to catch up with Germany in terms of films such as the infamous “Triumph of the Will.”
“He got the idea to use that German propaganda footage,” Harris says. The director edited the German images to present a scary image of Nazis. “He managed to use enemy propaganda against the enemy.”
As Capra framed the fight in Washington, John Ford, John Huston and other big name movie directors served overseas on and off the front lines.
“Ford, really even before Capra, knew that that war would have to be and should be documented on film,” Harris says. “He trained sound men and camera men in the war. He shot, himself, the Battle of Midway.”
Harris writes about Capra, Ford and the other movie makers who framed and documented battle in his book of “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War.”
Listen to the interview: Mark Harris on The Steve Fast Show
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