We'll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema during World War II [Hardcover]

Robert L. McLaughlin (Author), Sally E. Parry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2006

We'll Always Have the Movies explores how movies made in Hollywood during World War II were vehicles for helping Americans understand the war. Far from being simplistic, flag-waving propaganda designed to evoke emotional reactions, these films offered audiences narrative structures that formed a foundation for grasping the nuances of war. These films asked audiences to consider the implications of the Nazi threat, they put a face on both our enemies and allies, and they explored changing wartime gender roles. We'll Always Have the Movies reveals how film after film repeated the narratives, character types, and rhetoric that made the war and each American's role in it comprehensible. Robert L. McLaughlin and Sally E. Parry have screened more than 600 movies made between 1937 and 1946 -- including many never before discussed in this context -- and have analyzed the cultural and historical importance of these films in explaining the war to moviegoers. Pre-Pearl Harbor films such as Sergeant York, Foreign Correspondent, and The Great Dictator established the rationale for the war in Europe. After the United States entered the war, films such as Air Force, So Proudly We Hail! and Back to Bataan conveyed reasons for U.S. involvement in the Pacific. The Hitler Gang, Sahara, and Bataan defined our enemies; and Mrs. Miniver, Mission to Moscow, and Dragon Seed defined our allies. Some movies -- The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Hail the Conquering Hero, and Lifeboat among them -- explored homefront anxieties about the war's effects on American society. Of the many films that sought to explain the politics behind and the social impact of the war -- and why it concerned Americans -- Casablanca is perhaps one of the most widely recognized. McLaughlin and Parry argue that Rick's Café Américain serves as a United Nations, sheltering characters who represent countries being oppressed by Germany. At Rick's, these characters learn that they share a common love of freedom, which is embodied in patriotism; from this commonality, they overcome their differences and work together to solve a conflict that affects them all. As the representative American, Rick Blain (Humphrey Bogart) cannot idly stand by in the face of injustice, and he ultimately sides with those being oppressed. Bogart's character is a metaphor for America, which could also come out of its isolationism to be a true world leader and unite with its allies to defeat a common enemy. Collectively, Hollywood's war-era films created a mythic history of the war that, even today, has more currency than the actual events of World War II.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hollywood's WWII films played a vital role in helping average Americans understand the nations, conflicts and values involved. Their plots and images were often subject to government censorship, military recommendations and studio biases, but the movies brought to life distant battlefields, American allies and foreign enemies. To discuss the cultural meanings and impact of such films as Casablanca, Lifeboat and Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, Illinois State University professor McLaughlin and dean Parry viewed more than 600 movies made between 1937 and 1946. Their essential volume explores "the process by which actual events become film history and by which film history becomes myth." The authors chronologically discuss the interplay of historical fact, narrative storytelling and cultural stereotypes. Analyzing films, including such pre–Pearl Harbor works as Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940) and postwar films like The Courage of Lassie (1946), they identify recurring cinematic formulas used for depicting heroism, gender roles and juvenile delinquency. Whether dealing with famous flicks or lesser known titles, McLaughlin and Parry maintain a scholarly tone, treating blockbusters and B-movies with equal rigor, but never forgetting the view from the peanut gallery or the history and movie buffs among them. Photos. (Mar.)
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About the Author

Robert L. McLaughlin is associate professor of English at Illinois State University.

Sally E. Parry is Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Illinois State University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (March 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813123860
• ISBN-13: 978-0813123868
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,576,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert L. McLaughlin, Professor of English at Illinois State University, earned his Ph. D. at Fordham University in New York City. With Sally E. Parry he wrote We'll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema during World War II (UP of Kentucky, 2006). In addition to his work on the popular culture of World War II, he has published many articles on postmodern fiction, especially the novels of Thomas Pynchon. He has edited a fiction collection, Innovations: An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Fiction (Dalkey Archive Press, 1998). From 1993 to 2005 he was editor of the Review of Contemporary Fiction. He is currently completing a book on the musicals of Stephen Sondheim and working with Sally E. Parry on a study of Broadway plays during World War II.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars cultural study of wide-ranging influence and effects of American WWII movies, April 2, 2006

By 

Henry Berry "Henry Berry" (Southport, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: We'll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema during World War II (Hardcover)

World War II films have always been recognized as quintessential patriotic movies. There are anecdotes of young men going directly from movies such as "Salute to the Marines" and "Fighting Seabees" to military recruiters. But the co-authors take a more analytic look at the broad category of American popular movies during the World War II years. They find that the category was more diverse than generally realized, and that its purposes and effects were more subtle than seen in the inspiring films of military exploits. For example, the movie "Casablanca," for all its film noirish intrigue and memorable performances, "presented [the Germans] not only as bad but also as defeatable." This was undoubtedly an important message for the American public in the early days of the War when the Germans appeared invincible in their conquest of the nations of Europe. Surveying the wide, diversified field of WWII films, the authors with academic backgrounds in literature at Illinois State U. examine how many films went beyond simply evoking patriotism to maintaining support for the War on the "home front" and to forming perspectives and expectations on it and characterizing the enemy. The wartime films dealt with all significant aspects of the War, including portrayals of Russians, British, and other allies. The cycle of the films in relation to the course of the War is a thread of the wide-ranging, multidisciplinary study in a readable style appealing to film-lovers as well as ones interested in popular culture, social history, and cultural studies. Preston Sturges' June 1944 release "Hail the Conquering Hero" coming near the end of the body of wartime films deals with the adjustment of servicemen returning to civilian life.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting New Look, January 1, 2012

By 

Michael Samerdyke (Big Stone Gap, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: We'll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema during World War II (Paperback)

There have been many books on Hollywood films of the 1939-45 era, but "We'll Always Have the Movies" looks at this familiar subject with fresh eyes. One of they ways the authors do this is to see Hollywood films as trying to present different corners of the world in such a way so Americans could identify with these non-American places. Thus films like "The Moon is Down" and "This Land is Mine," in which Norwegians and Frenchmen deal with being occupied by Nazis, are really to encourage Americans to think about what they would do in such a situation.

A fascinating chapter of the book is to look at films that don't completely conform to the "Hollywood WWII movie" stereotype: films about juvenille deliquency in particular or films by Preston Sturges or Alfred Hitchcock that poke at trouble spots in American culture.

Even if you have read several books on Hollywood at war, "We'll Always Have the Movies" will give you something to think about and make you revisit some old films.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Great Films Overlooked, April 8, 2006

By 

Lidash63 - See all my reviews

This review is from: We'll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema during World War II (Hardcover)

I was disappointed to see that some pertinent films of WWII were left out of this book. Lillian Hellman is mentioned for two lesser known works, but excluded completely are, "Watch on the Rhine"(1943) and "The Little Foxes"(1941)which deal directly/indirectly with fascism. "Hold Back the Dawn" (1941) with Charles Boyer and Olivia DeHavilland, about refugees and their struggles, has been omitted.

There were missed musicals, such as "Babes on Broadway"(1941)with Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney which had entire scene, and original song/subplot devoted to the refugee children from Britain. "For Me and My Gal",(1942) Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, portrays WWI experiences to WWII audience. Also, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942) was in production during Pearl Harbor attack and script was adjusted to promote more support for WWII.

Additional exclusions were the homefront "Hargrove" films with Robert Walker and Donna Reed--"See Here, Private Hargrove"(1943), and "What's Up, Corporal Hargrove"(1944). The "Male Animal" (1941) with Henry Fonda, is set on a college campus, but has politics/extremism focus. "Janie Gets Married" (1946) Joan Leslie, is a light comedy about a new bride helping her husband adjust to post WWII lifestyle.

This book deals with more "serious" films of the era, but the lighter, comical, and musical creations also conveyed ideals, feelings, directly or indirectly re: WWII.