Bryan,
Needless to say, I was not yet born when these cinematic efforts were
made. But, thanks to television, I grew up on a steady diet of old
movies.
Here's a six-pack of pro-British (but Yank-financed) films from the
time period you mention. Note that four of these films (Gunga Din,
Goodbye Mr. Chips, British Intelligence, and That Hamilton Woman) are
not about World War II at all; they are essentially about the
indomitable British spirit. The release of these films was influential
in strengthening the bond that the American public felt for our
cousins across the sea.
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Gunga Din (1939)
Internet Movie Database: Gunga Din
http://imdb.com/title/tt0031398/
"Directed by George Stevens and loosely based on the Rudyard Kipling
poem of the same name, Gunga Din is a hymn to enlightened colonialism,
one of many pro-British films Hollywood produced as the fascist threat
to Europe grew more dire in the late 1930s."
CityPaper: Gunga Din
http://www.citypaper.com/film/review.asp?id=2728
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Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
Internet Movie Database: Goodbye, Mr. Chips
http://imdb.com/title/tt0031385/
"This timeless and affectionate movie is a favourite of fans of the
Hollywood golden age, even though it is not strictly a product
deriving from the Hollywood back lot. The production was one of three
films (the others were A Yank at Oxford and The Citadel) that MGM made
in England before the war through its MGM-British unit... MGM director
Sidney Franklin, a confirmed Anglophile, was assigned the project. By
the time filming began in 1939, however, Franklin had become a
producer at MGM and the direction fell to Sam Wood who traveled to
England to work with producer Victor Saville. Franklin maintained his
interest in the production and indeed, he presided over the final
editing process.
As with most Hollywood British films, the portrait presented of
British life, here the British public school, is an idealized one."
The Digital Bits: Classic Coming Attractions
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/barriemaxwell/maxwell030304.html
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British Intelligence (1940)
"This is an especially interesting film because although on the
surface it is about WWI, it seems essentially about patriotism and
fifth column activity for the coming WWII... In fact, while watching
the film it is very easy to forget that it has anything to do with
WWI, except in terms of the young soldier who reappears late in the
plot, originally having been introduced as wounded in a German
hospital. Also, the statement by Thompson of 'How many millions have
been killed...and how many millions more must die just because one man
sets himself above the almighty' seems like a timely reference to
Hitler."
Internet Movie Database: British Intelligence
http://imdb.com/title/tt0032283/
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That Hamilton Woman (1941)
Internet Movie Database: That Hamilton Woman
http://imdb.com/title/tt0034272/
"Star-chemistry between Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh ignites this
portrayal of the infamous romance between Lord Horatio Nelson and Emma
Hamilton. The Trafalgar battle-scenes were apparently designed to
inspire pro-British feeling in the US during WWII."
AroVideo: http://www.arovideo.co.nz/film.php?FilmID=4332
http://www.arovideo.co.nz/film.php?FilmID=4332
"THAT HAMILTON WOMAN (1941)... Concocted as a strange hybrid
distraction/propaganda piece during the darkness of Britain in World
War II... It's said that this was Winston Churchill's favorite film,
and that he wrote the excellent speech made in it by Lord Nelson to
the House of Lords."
Clayton and Theresa: That Hamilton Woman
http://claytonandtheresa.users.btopenworld.com/FilmTwo/ThatHamiltonWoman.html
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A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941)
Internet Movie Database: A Yank in the R.A.F.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0034405/
"A Yank in the RAF... Fox executive Darryl Zanuck made this film to
urge Americans to help the British in the war, and it catches glimpses
of the early war from England's view."
Movie Mirrors: A Yank in the RAF
http://www.san.beck.org/MM/1941/YankintheRAF.html
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Mrs. Miniver (1942)
"This film gives the full MGM treatment to the subject of how war
affects the people who are not on the front lines.
Greer Garson well deserved the Oscar she got for playing a Britsh
housewife during the German firestorm which fell on England. There is
a gripping sequence in which ordinary civilians come face to face with
the enemy. The final moments in the church are also truly moving. The
film helped stir American audiences to really get behind the war
against the Nazis."
Internet Movie Database: Mrs. Miniver
http://imdb.com/title/tt0035093/
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Here's an article that I think you'll find interesting:
"Gigantic Engines Of Propaganda": The 1941 Senate Investigation Of Hollywood
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2082/is_4_63/ai_77557517
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This was a fascinating question! I love being able to search my brain
for things that fall into a certain category. There's no search engine
quite like the wetware within the old cranium.
Best,
Pink |
