By Richard Harland Smith
War Comes to America
Brief Synopsis
International events bring the U.S. closer to entering World War II on the eve of Pearl Harbor.
Cast & Crew
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Walter Huston
Narrator
Army Air Forces Orchestra
Music
Col. Frank Capra
Producer
Col. Frank Capra
Writer
Maj. William W. C. Hornbeck
Editing
Dimitri Tiomkin
Original Music comp
Film Details
Genre
Documentary
Release Date
Jan
1945
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
U.S. War Department
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 5m
Film Length
5,913 or 5,997ft
(7 reels)
Synopsis
To explain the United States' involvement in World War II, this film analyzes the country's history and the ideology of its people. American ideals, as described in the Declaration of Independence, are highlighted through a depiction of the history of the nation, the current American quality of life and the social, recreational and work ethics of the people. American reluctance to be drawn into the war is demonstrated by the Neutrality Act of 1935, which stipulated that no arms would be sold to nations at war, and through the results of various Gallup polls of the 1930s and early 1940s. These polls note that while many Americans were sympathetic to the Chinese, the majority of the people wanted to remain uninvolved. The progression of the war in Europe is chronicled. In Sep 1939, Britain declares war on Germany, and a Gallup poll reveals that 82% of Americans perceive Germany as the cause of the war. One month later, a poll indicates that Americans favor repealment of the Neutrality Act. Finally, Congress appropriates 1.5 billion dollars for the military, which is to be increased to 81 billion by 1943. In 1940, when the Nazis take France, the U.S. Army is a makeshift one, but a two-ocean Navy is being constructed, and the Selective Service Act is passed, conscripting American men. In 1941, the Lend Lease Act is passed, providing arms to be delivered to those countries fighting Axis aggression, and the Neutrality Act is repealed. Just when it appears that the Japanese are considering peace negotiations with the U.S., they bomb Pearl Harbor, and the U.S. is brought into the war. The film closes with a quote by Chief of Staff G. C. Marshall: "...victory of the democracies can only be complete with the utter defeat of the war machines of Germany and Japan."
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Documentary
Release Date
Jan
1945
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
U.S. War Department
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 5m
Film Length
5,913 or 5,997ft
(7 reels)
Articles
War Comes to America
Though he specialized in feature films that were critical of politicians and big business, Frank Capra was one of the first Hollywood personalities to volunteer for the war effort after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Too old for active duty, Capra (who had emigrated with his family from Sicily in 1903) was put to work doing what he did best - making films. Assigned as a major to the Office of War Information, Capra reported directly to Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, for whom he directed seven informational featurettes whose aim was to explain to the American G.I. Why We Fight (1942-1945). Capra's first, Prelude to War (1942), won the 1942 Academy Award for Best Documentary and was followed by The Nazis Strike (1943), Divide and Conquer (1943), The Battle of Britain (1943), The Battle of Russia (1943), The Battle of China (1944) and War Comes to America (1945). The final entry in the series, War Comes to America details the creation of the United States of America, its forging as a republic in the crucible of conflict (curiously left out of the conversation, the American Civil War), and the guiding principles of "one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all." With narration split between Walter Huston and Lloyd Nolan, War Comes to America is unbridled patriotism, lyrical, and rhapsodic. Screenwriters Julius and Philip Epstein were the authors of Michael Curtiz's wartime classic Casablanca (1942).
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
War Comes to America
Though he specialized in feature films that were critical of politicians and big business, Frank Capra was one of the first Hollywood personalities to volunteer for the war effort after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Too old for active duty, Capra (who had emigrated with his family from Sicily in 1903) was put to work doing what he did best - making films. Assigned as a major to the Office of War Information, Capra reported directly to Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, for whom he directed seven informational featurettes whose aim was to explain to the American G.I. Why We Fight (1942-1945). Capra's first, Prelude to War (1942), won the 1942 Academy Award for Best Documentary and was followed by The Nazis Strike (1943), Divide and Conquer (1943), The Battle of Britain (1943), The Battle of Russia (1943), The Battle of China (1944) and War Comes to America (1945). The final entry in the series, War Comes to America details the creation of the United States of America, its forging as a republic in the crucible of conflict (curiously left out of the conversation, the American Civil War), and the guiding principles of "one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all." With narration split between Walter Huston and Lloyd Nolan, War Comes to America is unbridled patriotism, lyrical, and rhapsodic. Screenwriters Julius and Philip Epstein were the authors of Michael Curtiz's wartime classic Casablanca (1942).
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film was subtitled "Project 6006; Information Film #7." According to government documents at NARS, the working title was of this film was America Goes to War. An opening title of the film notes that in addition to authentic footage, reenactments were included for clarity The film originally was to be produced in two parts, War Comes to America and War Comes to America, Part II. In a April 10, 1945 memo, Edward L. Munson, Jr., the Chief of the Army Pictorial Service, recommended to the Director of the Information and Education Division, Army Service Forces that War Comes to America be the last entry in the "Why We Fight" series because it ends with the actual involvement of the U.S. in the war and covers all the steps leading to it. In addition, Munson felt that as many other films dealing with America at war were being shown, it was thought War Comes to America, Part II, would "at best, now be but a cross-section of all the [other] films."
The film includes footage of Senator Hiram Johnson, Adolf Hitler, Charles Edison, Secretary of the Navy, Senator Gerald P. Nye, Senator Elbert D. Thomas, Dean Acheson, Assistant Secretary of State, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, President Franklin Roosevelt, Edward R. Murrow, Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galleazo Ciano, Saburu Kurusu, Charles A. Lindbergh, Wendell Willkie and Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War.
In addition to newsreel and government footage, captured enemy newsreels and films, Allied films and stock shots from Hollywood studio libraries, footage from a number of well-known films, including America, Drums Along the Mohawk, High, Wide and Handsome, Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Triumph of the Will, The Spanish Earth, The Plow That Broke the Plains, Saboteur, Washington Merry-Go-Round, The Roaring Twenties, A Yank in the RAF, The Pied Piper, The Story of Alexander Graham Bell, Crash Dive, The Big Parade and Union Pacific is included in the picture. The music score includes compositions taken from previous films in the Why We Fight series, including works by Alfred Newman, Arthur Lange, Dimitri Tiomkin and William Lava. Compositions by Tiomkin based on well-known music, including "The Last Time I Saw Paris," "This Is the Army, Mr. Jones," "Ave Maria," "Le Marseillaise" and Beethoven's 7th Symphony are also heard. According to Film Daily, the film was made freely available to theaters during the seventh war loan drive and at subsequent regular bookings. According to modern sources, the picture included footage of daily life shot by documentary filmmaker Robert Flaherty. The film was released by RKO in 1945, and later copyrighted and re-released in 1948. For more information on the "Why We Fight" films, see entry for Prelude to War.
