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A study of the war time control imposed on the civilian motion picture industry and with some reference to those affecting the Army motion pictures during World War II

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A study of the war time control imposed on the civilian motion picture industry and with some reference to those affecting the Army motion pictures during World War II

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Content A STUDY O F TH E W A R TIME C O N T R O L IMPOSED O N T H E CIVILIAN
M O T IO N PICTURE INDUSTRY A N D W ITH SO M E REFERENCE T O
THO SE AFFECTING- T H E A R M Y M O T IO N PICTURES DURING W O R L D W A R I I
A T h esis
P resen ted to
the F a cu lty o f the Department o f Cinema
The U n iv e r s ity o f Southern C a lifo r n ia
In P a r t ia l F u lfillm e n t
o f th e R equirem ents fo r the Degree
M aster o f A rts
by
Major R obert Bernhard Randle
June 1950
UMI Number: EP42693
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77m thesis, ‘ written by
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under the guidance of h.is ... Faculty Committee,
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Date June.1250.
Faculty Committee
Chairman
TABLE O P CONTENTS
CH APTER PAG E
I . INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 1
The problem .................................................................. 2
Statem ent o f th e problem ................................. 2
Im portance o f th e study ................................. 2
D e f in itio n s o f term s used^ ...................................... A
Method o f procedure .................................................... A
O rgan ization o f rem ainder o f th e t h e s is . . 5
I I . B A C K G R O U N D O F W AR-CAUSED M O TIO N PICTURE
CENSORSHIP PRIOR T O W O R L D W A R I I ............... 7
C iv ilia n production' p rio r to World War I I . 7
Army m otion p ic tu r e developm ent up to
World War I I ......................................................... 8
I I I . CENSORSHIP A N D SECURITY REGULATIONS IMPOSED
O N TH E CIVILIAN INDUSTRY................................. 12 "
IV. T H E M O TIO N PICTURE INDUSTRY UNDER G O V E R N M E N T
CONTROL....................................................... ..................... 1?
E arly phases . . . ■........................................... 17
Forced p rod u ction changes . . . . . . . . 18
F ir s t ce n so rsh ip o f exp orted film s . . . 22
P ic tu r e l o t s c lo s e d to p u b l i c ............... 25
Aid o f Hollywood e n lis t e d to produce
in form ation p ic tu r e s ............................ 28
iii
CHAPTER PACE
The O ffic e o f War I n f o r m a t i o n ................... . 31
Army req u ested check on film s about i t . 3?
Bureau o f Government Film s Issu ed
Manual fo r M otion P ic tu r e In d u stry . . . ko
Hollywood war e f f o r t , and the G overnm ent's
d e s ir e s a t end o f 19^2 • ♦ • ........... k2
Fear o f Government d ic ta to r s h ip in the
film i n d u s t r y ............................................ 51
Hollywood aid a g a in st war in North
A fr ic a r e q u e ste d . - .............................. 5k
Producers tr y to ea se wartim e ce n so rsh ip . 57
L ater p h a s e s .......................................................... 60
Government not in the m otion p ic tu r e
b u s i n e s s .......................................................... 63
O b jection s to H ollyw ood's w ar-tim e
p ic tu r e s ...................... 66
A t r o c it ie s e lim in a te d from p ic tu r e s by
War Department req u est . . . . . . . . 68
F ilm s told, to f ig h t apathy ............................. 72
C ensorship o f film s fo r tro o p s o v e r sea s . ?k
B a sic in form ation p r o h ib ite d from
exp ort or im p o r t ....................................... 78
P ic tu r e s dubbed in Japanese and fo r
E u r o p e a n s ..................................................... 83
i v
CHAPTER PA G E
In c o n clu sio n . . ........................................... 87
V. MILITARY CENSORSHIP AND SECURITY REGULATIONS
AS APPLIED TO A R M Y M O T IO N PICTURES . . . . 89
B r ie f h is to r y o f th e Army P ic t o r ia l
S e r v i c e ............................................................................ 90
Problem s a t the s t a r t o f World War I I . . . 91
The p hotograp hic m issio n o f Army P ic t o r i a l
S e r v i c e ................................................................... 95
P rod uction program — S ig n a l Corps Photo
grap h ic C enter ......................................................... 98
C o n tro ls a p p lie d to Army m otion p ic tu r e s . 102
Problem s w hich a ro se from th e combat f o o t
age ................................ 105
Army te c h n ic a l a d v iso r s a ssig n e d to
H o lly w o o d ............................................................. 108
C onclusion ................................ 109
VI. S U M M A R Y AND CONCLUSIONS............................................ 112
Summary ....................... • . . . . 112
The m ilita r y summary . ................................. 115
C o n c l u s i o n s .............................................................. 118
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................... 123
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The e n t r y o f th e U n ited S ta te s in to World War I I im
m ed ia tely made i t n e ce ssa r y th a t new la w s, r u le s and reg u la
t io n s be e s ta b lis h e d fo r a l l ty p es o f in d u stry w ith in the
U n ited S t a t e s . These new r e g u la tio n s were o f l o c a l , s t a t e
and fe d e r a l m agnitude, and were in voked to in su re a s g r e a t a
degree o f s e c u r it y a s co u ld be o b ta in ed f o r our n a tio n , I t s
Lsi
p e o p le , and i t s industry^ I t became im p erative th a t t h is
Csl
n a tio n be p r o te c te d from any a g g resso rAand a t th e same tim e
produce ev ery th in g n ece ssa r y to support th e U n ited S ta te s
T fO
Army, Navy and A ir Force on th e f i e l d o f b a ttle A .
The m otion p ic tu r e in d u stry was reco g n ize d by the
Government as a medium w hich co u ld e a s i l y sway p u b lic o p in io n
i f th e su b je c t in q u e stio n were p ro p erly film e d . I t th e r e -
f o r e A became n eo essa ry Ath a t r u le s and r e g u la tio n s be e s ta b -
Z T s 1
lis h e d to e f f e c t c e n so r sh ip and s e c u r ity m easureq. This
a c tio n by th e Government was I n s t it u t e d a s a means o f h elp in g
th e m otion p ic tu r e In d u stry guide th e thou ghts and a c tio n s
o f th e c i t i z e n s o f th e U n ited S ta te s toward c o o p er a tio n inn
tjO
an a l l ou t war e f f o r t . The c o n tr o l was a ls o n ece ssa r y to
A
p reven t th e r e v e la t io n , on the sc r e e n , o f in fo rm a tio n w hich
DO
m ight be used by the enemy a g a in st th e U nited S ta t e s .
2
I . T H E PR O BLEM
Statem ent o f the problem * I t I s th e purpose o f t h is
stud y to examine th e background o f s e c u r ity r e g u la tio n s and
cen so rsh ip r u le s a s they a f fe c t e d th e com m ercial m otion p ic
tu re in d u stry in H ollywood. The f e a r s o f the in d u stry a s to
what m ight happen to i t , and the a c tu a l e f f e c t s o f the regu
la t io n s w i l l a ls o be d is c u s s e d . F urther th e r e w i l l be an
a n a ly s is o f th e changes in p rod uction methods and th e regu
la t io n s s e t up f o r making o f Army film s by th e S ig n a l Corps
o f the U n ited S ta te s Army, a s w ell a s a d is c u s s io n of th e
o v e r a ll change in p rod u ction methods and th e in c r e a s e s in
th e amount and type of p ic tu r e s produced fo r the war e f f o r t .
('The Army p o rtio n o f the stu d y i s not as com plete a s the
w r ite r d e s ir e d , due to th e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of th e su b je c t by
th e Army and th e i n a b i l i t y to g e t to th e f i l e s o f Army In
t e l li g e n c e . The problem s brought up in th e study fu r n is h a
b a s is f o r fu r th e r in v e s t ig a t io n a t a l a t e r d a t e . )
Im portance o f the stu d y . The w r ite r chose t h i s sub
j e c t because he was im pressed by th e need f o r a com prehensive
study o f the problem s m entioned above. T his stud y w i l l serv e
to fu r n is h th e w r ite r w ith a very v a lu a b le background irr h is
p r o fe s s io n a l ca reer a s a S ig n a l Corps, R egular Army o f f i c e r .
Inasmuch as th e a u th o r 's f i e l d o f s p e c ia liz a t io n i s In the
p hotograp hic d iv is io n o f the S ig n a l Corps, and he has begun
t h is stu d y o f th e m otion p ic tu r e in d u stry i t sh ould serve
him w e ll when he i s a ssig n e d to th e S ig n a l Corps P hotographic
C enter a t a l a t e r d a te . The p rod u ction o f m otion p ic tu r e s
fo r the Army r e q u ir e s th e a b i l i t y to know how to d ea l w ith
th e problem s in b o th th e Army and the c i v i l i a n m otion p ic
tu re in d u str y .
During th e p a st war th ere was a g rea t d e a l o f work
done in c lo s e harmony by th e c i v i l i a n m otion p ic tu r e in d u stry
and the Army m otion p ic tu r e agen cy. The c i v i l i a n in d u stry
r e c e iv e d in s t r u c t io n s , r u le s , r e g u la tio n s and a d v ice on how
to produce p ic tu r e s , what should be s tr e s s e d and what sh ould
be r e p r e sse d in p ic t u r e s . Many o f th e se g u id e s to proper
p rod u ction came from th e Army, as w e ll as from th e Govern
ment. C o n tro ls a lso were e s ta b lis h e d fo r th e Army prod uction
o f film s by th e Army, and the Government. There has not
been a study made to d a te to determ ine what th e r u le s and
r e g u la tio n s w ere, how th ey were m et, and the e f f e c t s on b o th
the c i v i l i a n m otion p ic tu r e in d u stry and th e Array film pro
d u c tio n . T h is t h e s is r e p r e se n ts the f i r s t study o f th e prob
lem s r e s u ltin g from war tim e c o n tr o l o f m otion p ic tu r e pro
d u ctio n and how they were handled.
I t i s th e d e s ir e o f the w r ite r th a t t h is study form
a b a s is fo r c lo s e understanding o f the problem s p a r tic u la r
to the c i v i l i a n In d u stry , and th o se of the Army so th a t in
th e event o f any fu tu r e n a tio n a l emergency th e r e w i l l be a
k
b a s is from w hich to work. The m a te r ia l found in the study
may a ls o prove to be o f h i s t o r i c a l v a lu e .
I I . DEFINITIONS OF TER M S USED
Any term s used in t h is stu d y w hich m ight seem ambig
uous w i l l be e x p la in ed by th e w r ite r in th e body o f the
t h e s i s . The word "C ensorship'’ has a v a r ie ty o f m eanings. In
t h i s stud y th e on ly meaning g iv en to th e word w i l l be th a t
s o r t o f r e g u la tio n o r su p p ressio n o f m a te ria l which i f shown
in p ic tu r e s might hurt th e war e f f o r t s o f t h i s n a tio n . Gen-’
so r sh ip f o r moral reason s i s not co n sid ered in t h i s stu d y .
S e c u r ity r e g u la tio n s are th o se r e g u la tio n s s e t up
w hich are n e cessa ry to p reven t the enemy from o b ta in in g v a l
u ab le m ilita r y or p o l i t i c a l in fo rm a tio n .
I I I . M E T H O D O F PRO CEDUR E
The d a ta from w hich t h is study has been d er iv e d were
ga th ered from s e v e r a l so u r e e s. As f a r as co u ld be determ ined
th ere were no p u b lish ed books on th e su b je c t. The problem
o f c o n tr o l,, or cen so rsh ip and s e c u r ity r e g u la tio n s , o f motion
p ic tu r e p rod u ction during World War I I , had n o t been stu d ie d
in any o v e r - a ll c o n sid e r a tio n as to i t s e f f e c t s on th e in
d u str y . I t was th e r e fo r e n ecessa ry t o g a th er d a ta from
p e r io d ic a ls , tra d e p ap ers, from Army tr a in in g f ilm s , from
Government p u b lic a tio n s , from l e t t e r s w ritten by p ersons
5
con n ected w ith th e in d u stry during th e war, from con versa
tio n s w ith p eo p le in v o lv e d in th e work during th a t p erio d ,
and from p erso n a l e x p e r ie n c e s o f th e w r ite r during th e p a st
e le v e n y e a r s . A few hooks were found w hich co n ta in ed ma
t e r i a l r'ela ted in some sm a ll way t o the su b je c t and were used
where p o s s ib le . These so u rces made up th e stu d y . The con
c lu s io n s are th o se o f th e w r ite r .
IV. ORGANIZATION O F REM AINDER O F TH E THESIS
A b r ie f background o f motion p ic tu r e s r e la t iv e to the
problem s w hich w ar-tim e c e n so r sh ip caused from World War I
up to World War I I w i l l be the su b je c t o f th e n ext ch a p ter.
This problem i s to be a tta c k e d from both th e c i v i l i a n and
th e Army s id e . Chapter I I I a n a ly zes the need o f w ar-tim e
r e g u la tio n s and c e n so r sh ip r u le s a s they a ro se and were in
v o lv e d betw een 19^0 and September 19^5* Problems o f r e la
t io n s w ith the motion; p ic tu r e in d u stry w i l l be d is c u s s e d in
Chapter IV. Chapter V c o n sid e r s m ilita r y ce n so rsh ip and the
r e g u la tio n s imposed on th e p rod uction o f Army f ilm s , b o th
th e tr a in in g film s and th e film s about th e **ar a s i t was b e
in g fo u g h t. The con clu d in g ch a p ter, Chapter VI,' summarizes
the p rev io u s ch a p te r s. T his summary w i l l be in the form o f
a d is c u s s io n o f th e o v e r - a ll e f f e c t s o f th e w ar-tim e r e s t r i c
tio n s and the requ irem en ts p la ced on th e m otion p ic tu r e in
d u str y , b o th c i v i l i a n and m ilit a r y , and w i l l in clu d e
c o n c lu sio n s and recommendations fo r procedures to be f o l
low ed In th e ev en t o f any fu tu r e war.
CHAPTER I I
B A C K G R O U N D O P W AR-CAUSED M O T IO N PICTURE
CENSORSHIP PRIOR TO W O R L D W A R I I
The m otion p ic tu r e in d u stry a s i t i s known tod ay, was
a v ery young in d u str y , by com parison, a t the s t a r t o f th e
f i r s t World War. I t was c le a r th a t a s th e in d u str y grew and
d evelop ed i t would be an im portant fa c to r in h e lp in g to shape
the th ou gh ts o f the p u b lic .
A few d ays a f t e r th e d e c la r a tio n o f war in 1916 th e
th e a te r s o f the n a tio n began to show p a t r io t ic s li d e s and f u l l
le n g th p ic tu r e s w hich were in ten d ed to s e l l the war to th e
p u b lic . The p ic tu r e s made along th e s e li n e s id e a liz e d the
Americans and t h e ir A l l i e s , w h ile th ey made th e Germans th e
most t e r r ib le , h e a r t le s s and r u th le s s people in e x is te n c e .
Examples were p ic tu r e s such a s ’ ’The K aiser — B east o f Ger
many” and "Shoulder Arm s.” T his was th e p ic tu r e as i t was
In 1916.
C iv ilia n p rod u ction p r io r to World War I I . The s t a r t
o f dark clo u d s p r e d ic tin g war in th e o f fin g fo r th e U nited
S ta te s w hich began in about 1939 and co n tin u ed to grow u n t il
December sev en th 19^1 made t h i s country aware of the danger
w hich was about to become a r e a l i t y . With t h i s danger th ere
was the ru sh to arm and become a s In v u ln era b le a s p o s s ib le .
8
T his speed to arm cau sed many p eop le to le a v e th e q u ie t o f
t h e ir homes and stea d y jo b s f o r the a c t iv i t y and h ig h wages
o f the d e fe n se jo b s. Men and women, by the m illio n s , began
working in a r s e n a ls , f a c t o r i e s , sh ip yard s and a l l s o r ts o f
in d u stry th a t were new to them and w hich were producing war
m a te r ia ls . These p eop le had to be ta u g h t new s k i l l s and
d u tie s q u ic k ly and in d e t a i l so th a t they would b e a b le to
produce a s much a s p o s s ib le in the s h o r te s t p o s s ib le tim e.
The c i v i l i a n m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y , in co n ju n ctio n
w ith th e s ix t e e n m illim e te r p rod u cers, a t th e re q u e st o f the
U n ited S ta te s Government, made many in s t r u c t io n a l film s w hich
en ab led th e n a tio n to arm as r a p id ly as p o s s ib le . There was
no q u e stio n but what th e speed o f p rep a ra tio n f o r war was
more r a p id ly accom p lish ed by th e use o f a u d io -v is u a l methods
than would have been p o s s ib le w ith o u t them.
Other needs such a s s e c u r it y problem s which had to be
tau gh t to th e American p u b lic as soon a s p o s s ib le and w hich
had to be g iv en a s wide a d is t r ib u t io n as p o s s ib le were put
on film and shown in a l l th e th e a te r s in the co u n try . T his
job was done by th e c i v i l i a n in d u stry in th e main, a t the
f i r s t o f th e war, and d id g re a t good in tea ch in g th e p u b lic
i t s p a rt in th e war e f f o r t . There w i l l be fu r th e r d is c u s
sio n o f t h i s su b je c t in th e body o f th e stu d y .
Army m otion p ic tu r e developm ent up to World War I I .
The Army motion' p ic tu r e se t-u p w hich had fu n c tio n e d so
e f f i c i e n t l y during th e p ro g re ss o f the f i r s t World War was
cu t out alon g ivith many o th e r im portant fu n c tio n s a s a r e s u lt
o f th e d r a s t ic m ilita r y c u ts made in th e p ea ce-tim e Army.
There was a c e r t a in amount o f p hotograp hic work done a t th e
A m y War C o lleg e in W ashington, B .C ., but th e p rod u ction o f
m otion p ic t u r e s , even tr a in in g f ilm s , was d isc o n tin u e d . In
1925 p hotograp hic co u rses were r e - in s t a t e d in some sm all
s tu d io s a t 39 W h iteh a ll S tr e e t , New York C ity . I t was a t
t h i s tim e th a t World War I film and o th er more cu rren t f o o t
age in th e f i l e s was made a v a ila b le t o the n ew sreel com panies.
In 1931 the f i r s t Army sa n ctio n e d program was o ffe r e d
in w hich S ig n a l Corps men were g iv e n one year in an in s tr u c
tio n program a t th e Hollywood s tu d io s to t r a in them in the
p r o fe s s io n a l m otion p ic tu r e c r a f t . The program t^ ras d esig n ed
to a cq u a in t them w ith th e r a d ic a lly new developm ents in
sound reco rd in g and rep ro d u ctio n w hich would be used in
fu tu r e S ig n a l Corps f ilm s .
By th e n ex t y ea r sound film s were b ein g produced. Re
q u e sts fo r v is u a l a id s by th e r e s t o f th e m ilita r y e s t a b lis h
ment began to swamp th e p hotograp hic f a c i l i t i e s o f the Army.
About f iv e y ea rs la t e r i t was n e cessa ry to s e t up a Train
in g Film P rod uction Laboratory a t F ort Monmouth, New J e r se y ,
and a s im ila r la b o ra to ry a t Wright F ie ld , D ayton, Ohio to
take care o f th e v is u a l a id f ilm needs o f the Army and the
A ir F orce.
December sev en th , 19^1 found th e m otion p ic tu r e branch
o f the Army in a p rec a rio u s p o s it io n . T his branch o f th e
S ig n a l Corps o f the Army was not prepared fo r th e tremendous
ta sk w hich la y ahead. The tim e fa c to r in modern w arfare i s
som ething w hich i s o f v i t a l im portance. M illio n s o f every
day American c i t i z e n s were in d u cted , or e n lis t e d in th e se r v
i c e s o f th e n a tio n . These men and women had to be o r ie n te d ,
in d o c tr in a te d , and tau gh t the new s k i l l s and d u t ie s o f th e
s e r v ic e s . They needed to know about many new and stra n g e
item s of equipm ent, and how to itake ca re o f th e m se lv es in
c e r ta in c o n d itio n s . They had to know how to a c t i f they
should ev e r come in c o n ta c t w ith th e enemy and a m u ltitu d e
o f oth er th in g s .
I t was a t t h i s tim e th a t th e p rod uction o f T raining
Film s fo r th e Army r e a lly was begun on a g r e a t s c a le . W ith
th e in c r e a s in g r e q u e s ts fo r f ilm ic v is u a l a id e s i t became ne
c e ssa r y to have adequate p erso n n el and stu d io space t o pro
duce the re q u ir ed fo o ta g e . As a r e s u lt o f t h i s need th e Army
purchased th e E astern S e r v ic e S tu d io s a t A s to r ia , Long I s la n d ,
New York, on the tw enty se v en th o f January, 19^2. T his
stu d io was b u i l t by Famous P layers-L ask y in 1920 a t an e s
tim a ted c o s t o f ten m illio n d o lla r s . With th e advent o f
ta lk in g p ic tu r e s and the consequent demand fo r New York Stage
a c to r s and a c t r e s s e s , Paramount Film s used th e stu d io fo r
p rod u ction o f some o f t h e ir e a r ly wt a lk ie s ."
W ith t h i s in c r e a se d space a v a ila b le a s w e ll a s the
t e c h n ic a lly q u a lif ie d p erso n n el th a t had been brought in to
th e Army, th e S ig n a l Corps began to a tta c h th e problem o f
tea ch in g the v a s t numbers o f p ersons who had come in to the
S e r v ic e s m ilita r y d u t ie s . A tr a in in g program o f A u d io-V isu al
methods was begun. There had n ever b efo re been such a pro
gram s e t up to h elp tr a in a s la r g e a number o f p e o p le .
A ll t h i s in c r e a se d p ro d u ctio n , w h ile n e c e ssa r y , had to
be r i g id l y c o n t r o lle d so th a t in form ation g iv e n in th e film s
would be used o n ly by a u th o riz ed p erso n n el. To do t h is i t
was n ecessa ry to put c e r ta in c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s on th e v a r io u s
film s produced, and to r e s t r i c t the a u d ien ces w hich cou ld
v iew c e r ta in p ic t u r e s . A ll o f t h is w i l l be d is c u s s e d in de
t a i l l a t e r in th e stu d y .
CHAPTER I I I
CENSORSHIP A N D SECURITY REGULATIONS IMPOSED O N
T H E CIVILIAN INDUSTRY
M otion p ic tu r e s a re a l l made in H ollywood. That I s
the thought most o f th e p eo p le in th e U nited S ta te s have when
anybody sa y s anything about the home o f th a t w onderful image
th a t i s seen on the s i l v e r sc r e e n , or in c o lo r in th e th e a te r s
o f t h i s la n d . Hollywood i s more than a p la c e . I t i s a word
th a t has many m eanings. To some i t i s the f a ir y lan d o f th e
Im p o ssib le come tr u e ; to o th e rs i t i s an in sa n e asylum run
by th e in m a tes, and to s t i l l o th e rs i t i s th e end o f th e
rainbow . I t i s , and alw ays has b een , a l l o f th e se th in g s ,
and many more.
H ollywood i s th e headquarters o f an in d u str y worth
more than t w o - b lllio n - d o lla r s , th a t has made th e a r t o f en
terta in m en t i t s b u s in e s s . For many y ea rs th e w orld has known
the movie b u sin e ss and th e p eop le who have worked in i t as
th o se who work hard and p la y hard. The Hollywood co lu m n ists
have t o ld the w orld about t h e ir lon g hours in th e s tu d io s ,
and the in term in a b le sh o p ta lk has been spread around th e
w orld as has th e la v is h n e s s of t h e ir p a r t ie s , th e sp len d or
o f t h e ir homes, th e b ig c a r s and b o a ts, and th e number o f
t h e ir swimming p o o ls . H ollywood had i t s p rem ieres amid b a t
t e r i e s o f s e a r c h lig h ts , fla n k ed by temporary g ran d stan d s.
13
I t s c lo th e s were flam boyant and i t s manners in fo rm a l.
Underneath a l l t h i s gaudy s o r t o f l i v i n g , Hollywood,
as a community, has much in common w ith o th e r American com
m u n ities. Long b efo re P e a r l Harbor one could, have found in
any American community a group o f p eo p le who sen sed th e grow
in g menace o f fa sc ism and the coming o f a war. T his group
co u ld be found in Hollywood a ls o . The b e l i e f grew a b i t
f a s t e r and g r e a te r in Hollywood than in most o th e r c i t i e s in
America f o r th e m otion p ic tu r e in d u s tr y 's a r t i s t s and tech
n ic ia n s came from a l l over the w orld , and b ecau se b efo r e th e
war i t s p ic tu r e s were produced fo r a w orld m arket. As the
war clo u d s darkened, th e market grew sm a ller and sm a lle r a s
th e fa s c is t-m in d e d c o u n tr ie s began to bar th e American f ilm .
About th e m iddle o f 1938, W alter Wanger produced
"Blockade," a p ic tu r e d e a lin g w ith th e Span ish C iv il War.
While the f ilm on ly in d ic a te d th e opposing f o r c e s and d id n o t
id e n t if y them, i t s sym pathies were c le a r ly w ith th e L o y a lis t s .
The p ic tu r e was r e a lly m ild in i t s scope, b u t i t cr ea ted a
• I
fu ro re and was p ic k e te d in some c i t i e s and banned in o t h e r s .J -
"C o n fessio n s o f a N azi Spy? was produced by Warner
B rothers about a year l a t e r . T his p ic tu r e was based orr
evid en ce p resen ted a t a t r i a l o f German s p ie s in New York
^Movie Lot To Beachhead, The M otion P ic tu r e Goes to
War and P repares f o r the. Future {New York: D oubleday, Doran
and Company, I n c ., 1 9 ^ 5 ), p» 7*.
(/■
14-
C ity 1 s F ed era l D i s t r i c t C ourt. The f ilm charged th a t German-
Amerlcan Bunds were m ills fo r esp io n a g e, sab otage and propa
ganda, and th a t the German c o n su la te s were l i t t l e more than
o
clo a k s f o r a hidden w arfare a g a in s t th e U n ited S ta t e s .
The e f f e c t o f t h is p ic tu r e was som ething th a t was not
dreamed co u ld ev er happen in t h i s cou n try. Those th a t pro
duced or had an yth in g to do w ith th e p ic tu r e were th rea ten ed ;
German o f f i c i a l s in t h is country w ere a ll;.c r y in g “C o n sp ira cy .1 *
The p ic tu r e was banned by a l l o f the c o u n tr ie s th a t were
a fr a id o f Germany, but in th e U n ited S ta te s th e p ic tu r e had
a g rea t in flu e n c e . The p ic tu r e r e a lly sa id n o th in g th a t
was n o t a lr ea d y known t o th e American p e o p le . The dram atiza
tio n o f th e dangers o f Nazism were brought out w ith shocking
v iv id n e s s .
There was a lou d cr y from the i s o l a t i o n i s t s who charged
th a t Hollywood and th e p ic tu r e in d u stry Was tr y in g to g e t th e
U n ited S ta te s in to war w ith such p ic tu r e s a s the “C o n fessio n s
o f a Nazi Spy," "The M ortal Storm," "Escape," and "Pour
Sons." In th e th r ee y ea r s between the Munich co n feren ce and
December se v e n th , 1941 th e in d u stry produced more than a
thousand fe a tu r e p ic t u r e s . F if t y o f th e se p ic tu r e s were
a n ti-N a z i. For th e b ulk o f i t s f ilm fa r e , th e m ovie-goin g
p u b lic p r e fe r r e d p ic tu r e s r e p r e s e n ta tiv e o f th e American
' ' 2Ibid. , p. 15•
15
l i f e . However a em ail, but h ig h ly v o c a l group o f in d iv id
u a ls brought a lou d and b a s e le s s charge th a t Hollywood was
tr y in g to urge th e U n ited S ta te s in to a war w ith Germany.
A ll t h is lou d t a lk by th e sm a ll group o f p eo p le d id
b rin g an in v e s t ig a t io n o f H ollyw ood's a lle g e d "war mongering"
a t th e c lo s e o f 19^1*^ However th e in v e s t ig a t io n d id not
g e t to any g r e a t le n g th , and ju s t b efo re P ea r l Harbor i t was
announced th a t th e I n v e s tig a tio n would be co n tin u ed a f te r
th e f i r s t o f the y ea r.
H ollywood was s t i l l th e same c it y w ith a l l th e g l i t t e r
and glamour o f th e days o f th e 1 9 3 0 s, but betw een th e tim e
th a t the N a zis a tta ck ed Poland and th e Jap a tta c k on P ea rl
Harbor, l i f e in the film colony had undergone a d ecid ed
change. The p eo p le were having fun a s were th o se in th e r e s t
o f th e c i t i e s o f th e U n ited S ta te s , but now th ey were th in k
in g and argu in g about th e war. They were r a is in g money fo r
th e USO, th e R ussian R e li e f , the Greek R e lie f , Bundles f o r
B r ita in , and a l l th e r e s t o f the needy cau ses th a t were cry
in g fo r help* In a d d itio h th e a c to r s , the s tu d io workers —
th e p eop le b eh in d th e a c to r s — a l l dug deep in to t h e ir
p o ck ets and co n tr ib u te d to th e War C hest.
O n th e morning o f seven December 19^1* when th e
stun n ing news fla s h e d o v er th e r a d io , a l l o f H ollywood, ju s t
3I b i d - , p . 1 8 .
16
a s th e r e s t o f th e w orld , s a t back dazed. The n ext day th e
Japanese em ployees in s tu d io s were t o ld not to r e p o r t fo r
work u n t il th e Government had ru le d on t h e ir s t a t u s . They
n ever d id retu rn during th e war.
T h is was th e g e n e r a l s it u a t io n a t t i e s t a r t o f th e
war; i t was World War I I th a t had begun and f o r w hich cen
so r sh ip and s e c u r ity r e g u la tio n s must be e s ta b lis h e d and en
fo r c e d i f th e U n ited S ta te s were to g e t th e war over in th e
l e a s t amount o f tim e w ith th e l e a s t p o s s ib le l o s s o f l i f e .
CHAPTER IV
TH E M O TIO N PICTURE INDUSTRY UNDER G O V E R N M E N T C O N T R O L
I . EARLY PHASES
There was a need fo r some s o r t o f c e n t r a l, or Govern
m ental c o n tr o l over th e m otion p ic tu r e In d u stry to tak e e f
f e c t ih w ar-tim e.
T h is f a c t had a r is e n to some e x te n t w ith th e form ation
o f the U n ited S ta te s F ilm S e rv ice when i t was e s ta b lis h e d to
g e t Governmental c o n tr o l over ju s t Government f ilm p rod u ction
and d is t r ib u t io n . The attem p t to d evelop a c le a r in g house
fo r Government m otion p ic tu r e s had f a i l e d due to th e la c k o f
co o p era tio n from a g e n c ie s w hich were je a lo u s o f t h e ir r ig h t s .
About a l l th a t o r g a n iz a tio n was a b le to do was to prepare a
l i s t i n g o f a l l Government p ic tu r e s a v a ila b le f o r d is t r ib u t io n
E arly in January o f 19^2, P resid en t R o o sev elt ap
p o in te d Mr. L ow ell M e lle t t , d ir e c t o r o f the O ffic e o f Govern
ment F ilm s. The p r e s id e n t s ta te d in a l e t t e r w r itte n about
th e same tim e th a t he w anted no c e n so r sh ip o f m otion p ic tu r e s
There was to be no e x a c t and s t r i c t c o n tr o l o f p ic tu r e s to
be produced. The in d u str y fig u r e d th a t the new o f f i c e and
the p r e s id e n t 's l e t t e r would have j u s t a m oral e f f e c t upon
s t a t e r e g u la tio n s and com m ercial p rod u ction .
The new O ffic e o f Government Film s s ta te d th a t i t s
d uty would be to meet w ith t h e lle a d e r s chosen by the indus
tr y and im part th e Governmental v ie w s and r e g u la tio n s per
ta in in g to th e m ovies. At f i r s t the in d u stry was up in the
a ir a s to what to e x p e c t. There was no in d ic a tio n as to the
kind o f p ic tu r e s d e s ir e d , to l i f t th e m orale, to b rin g out
p a t r io t ic f e e l i n g , and in g e n er a l to e x c it e th e p u b lic to
back the war e f f o r t . The v iew s o f th e Government in d ic a te d ,
th a t th e p u b lic did want to see some comedy, and h o t .t o remove
th e whole f i e l d o f en terta in m en t from l i f e . In a d d itio n th e
Government f e l t th a t th e r e was a p la c e f o r war p ic tu r e s in
the p a tte r n o f m otion p ic tu r e s to be produced, or in o th e r
words to see l i f e as i t was b ein g liv e d .
Mr. M e lle tt , in one o f h is f i r s t m essages to th e in
d u stry s ta te d th a t u n le s s th e p eo p le a s s o c ia te d w ith p ic tu r e
p rod u ction were c a lle d by th e Government fo r a s p e c i f i c ta sk
th ey cou ld g iv e t h e ir b e s t war s e r v ic e by rem aining in H o lly
wood and making more and b e tte r m otion p ic tu r e s . T his s t a t e
ment was made from two m o tiv a tin g f a c t o r s . One was the
tr u th o f th e sta tem en t, and th e o th e r was to sto p the ru sh
f o r com m issions o f p erso n s above th e d r a ft age.^ -
F orced p rod u ction changes. E arly in January 194-2 the
Array found i t n ecessa ry to impose r e s t r i c t io n s w hich were to
^ D ailv V a r ie ty , H ollywood, O a lifo r n ia , January 18,
19^ -2 .
19
l a s t u n t il th e end o f th e war on th e southern C a lifo r n ia
a r e a . As a r e s u lt o f th e s e r e g u la tio n s p r a c t ic a lly a l l s c r ip t s
in work and th o s e in p rod u ction had to be r e v is e d e x te n s iv e
l y , not b ecau se o f s to r y co n ten t so much as th e a c tu a l p h y si
c a l p rod u ction problem s in v o lv e d . The Army d e c r e e s a l l but
drove the producing com panies back w ith in t h e ir stu d io l o t s
f o r p ro d u c tio n s. Whenever i t became o f v i t a l n e c e s s it y fo r
th e re to be lo c a tio n work, th e e n t ir e p erso n n el n ecessa ry had
to go beyond th e b la c k su t a rea s and the areas o f m ilita r y
Ba l e r t ” c o n t r o l. T his meant to A rizon a, Nevada or New M exico.
Some o f th e ”d o n lt s ” of p rod u ction th a t the s tu d io s
were c o n tr o lle d w ith in the e a r ly s ta g e s o f the war were a s
2
fo llo w s : The sh o rt lo c a tio n ja u n ts to sp o ts anywhere w ith
in th e c i t y such as sc e n e s a t s t r e e t in t e r s e c t io n s or in v o lv
in g e x t e r io r s o f m ansions or oth er b u ild in g s , as w e ll as
midtown ch ase s c e n e s , were o u t. The reason was: ( l ) such
sc en es draw b ig crowds upon w hich th e Army frow ned a t the'
tim e; (2) more im portan t, no p o licem en „ were a v a ila b le to
handle the crow ds.
Train sh o ts were o u t, a s th e armed fo r c e s had re q u i
s it io n e d a l l e x tr a r o l lin g sto c k a v a ila b le . Only under th e
2
Hollywood R ep o rter, H ollywood, C a lifo r n ia , January
9 , 19^2 .
most f o r t u it o u s com bination o f circu m stan ces would the
s tu d io s be a b le to engage a tr a in . Motion p ic tu r e com panies
on lo c a tio n co u ld make no sc e n e s near th e en tran ce to a r a i l
road tu n n el or near a r a ilr o a d b r id g e . As a p r o te c tio n
a g a in s t p o s s ib le sa b o ta g e, a l l tu n n e ls and b r id g e s were un
der armed guard alo n g th e e n tir e P a c if ic c o a s t. S ir e n s were
forb id d en in any ch a se seq u en ces, even in th e open cou n try,
w ith the a n t i- s ir e n law b e in g r i g i d l y en fo rced .^
The a ir p la n e r e s t r i c t i o n s were th e h e a v ie s t. There
cou ld be no a ir s h o ts , s in c e a l l p r iv a te p la n e s had been
grounded. However th e new r u le s went beyond th a t and made i t
a g a in st th e law to photograph any a ir p o r t fo r m otion p ic tu r e
p u rp oses. I t was p e r m is s ib le to photograph an a ir p la n e , but
i t cou ld not be done a t any reco g n ize d a ir p o r t and i t had
to be a s ta tio n a r y sh o t. I t was fo rb id d en to even t a x i th e
p la n e . I f i t was d e s ir e d or n ece ssa r y to have th e motor o f
th e p lane running, the p r o p e llo r had to be removed f i r s t ,
so th a t i t would be p h y s ic a lly im p o ssib le to g e t th e sh ip
o f f th e ground. I f a p lan e were to be used i t had to be d i s
m antled and taken to th e spot where the shot was to be ta k en .
At th a t sp o t, i t co u ld be reassem b led under th e ey es o f
armed s o ld ie r s , who were to step back when th e sh o t was tak
en, but who must sta y w ith in gun range.
3
I b i d .
21
No m otion p ic tu r e s co u ld be taken anywhere near any
Army r e se r v a tio n s o r near any dam. There co u ld n ot be any
p ic tu r e s taken in c o a s t a l harbors from San D iego to S e a t t le .
M otion p ic tu r e com panies were not a llo w ed to op era te any
L
b o a ts f o r p ic tu r e fp u r p o se s in any c o a s ta l w a te rs.
Even daytim e lo c a t io n s in th e h i l l s or d e s e r t reg io n s
o f C a lifo r n ia , the typ e o f d e s o la te sp o ts u su a lly used f o r
w estern s.h a d become su b je c t to many u n c e r t a in t ie s . The Army
was not announcing where i t was goin g to e s t a b lis h a n t i
a ir c r a f t b a t t e r ie s , and th e r e s u lt was th a t some o f them
sprang up n ear some o f th e f a v o r it e c lo s e - in w estern lo c a tio n
s i t e s .
Long sh o ts o f m anufacturing p la n ts , sim ply to e sta b
l i s h such p la n ts fo r in t e r io r s and c lo s e e x t e r io r scen es were
com pletely, banned, s in c e th e g r e a t m a jo rity o f the la r g e r
U n ited S ta te s in d u s t r ia l p la n ts were engaged in th e manufac-
6
tu r e o f war m a te r ia ls .
A ll o f th e se r e s t r i c t i o n s meant th a t, when p o s s ib le ,
th e l o c a t i o n .s i t e s had to be d u p lic a te d w ith in th e stu d io
w a lls or had to come out o f th e s c r ip t s . S hootin g sc h e d u les
were len g th en ed to a llo w f o r a ll- d a y lig h t e f f o r t s . T his d id
add c o n sid e r a b ly to th e c o s t s o f p ic tu r e s b ecau se o f the
4
I b id .
5 I b id -
a d d itio n a l exp en d itu re f o r h igh s a la r ie d p r in c ip a ls who had
t o be kept on th e p a y r o ll lo n g er and whose a d d itio n a l stip e n d
was more than th e lim ite d savin g w hich the s tu d io s might
r e a liz e from th e e lim in a tio n o f o v ertim e. The one th in g about
a l l th e se r e g u la tio n s w hich h elped th e s tu d io s in th e e y e s o f
the Government was th a t th e stu d io e x e c u tiv e s who were g o in g
to be hurt by th e r e g u la tio n s contended th a t th ey had alw ays
so lv e d t h e ir problem s in tim e o f emergency and would so lv e
the s e .
F ir s t c e n so r sh ip o f ex p o rted f ilm s . Mexico was th e
f i r s t n a tio n o u ts id e th e U n ited S ta te s th a t f e l t th e ir o n
g r ip o f th e new w ar-tim e r e s t r i c t i o n s o f t h is co u n try . About
th e f i r s t o f February 19^2 s t r i c t ce n so rsh ip o f a l l American
n ew sreels g o in g in to Mexico was put in to e f f e c t . T his was
th e f i r s t d r a s t ic c e n so r sh ip s in c e A m erica’ s en try in to th e
war. Behind th e Government clampdown was th e known p resen ce
o f many A x is a g en ts in M exico who were busy in s p e c tin g ev ery
r e e l shown in Mexican th e a te r s fo r any and a l l d a ta they
m ight p ick up and forward to t h e ir home governm ent. The
n ew sreels th a t were b ein g shipped ou t o f th e cou n try by the
f i v e le a d in g n ew sreel com panies had alw ays been s u b je c t to
Army and Navy c e n s o r sh ip , b u t th e new order was an e f f o r t to
tig h te n th e r e g u la tio n s and prevent a s many a s p o s s ib le o f
the le a k s o f m ilit a r y in fo rm a tio n .
T his new c e n so r sh ip and th e com plete in s p e c tio n o f
e v e r y f o o t o f film th a t en tere d or l e f t th e b ou n d aries o f th e
U nited S ta te s in clu d ed film fe a t u r e s , n e w sr e e ls , d ocu m en taries,
and any o th e r typ e o f f ilm that:.m ight be s e n t e it h e r way.
The r e g u la tio n was put in t o e f f e c t under the "Trading With
th e Enemy Act" o f 1917*^ A ll p ic tu r e s and ev ery p r in t o f
each p ic tu r e had to carry a c e n so r sh ip stamp secu red a t the
p o rt o f d ep artu re in ord er to f a c i l i t a t e c e n so r sh ip and in
s p e c tio n . The custom s house o f f i c i a l s inform ed Hays o f f i c e
p erso n n el th a t th ey would have s p e c ia l in s p e c to r s a v a ila b le
on one hour’ s n o tic e to se e th e film s p r o je c te d . T his was
th e procedure w hich e x is t e d during World War I . There was
g r e a t concern by th e m otion p ic tu r e e x e c u tiv e s a t f i r s t r e
gard in g the new r e g u la tio n s , e s p e c ia lly s in c e th ey had n ot
been inform ed what type o f m a te r ia l would be banned f o r ex
p o r t. T his m atter was c le a r e d up in a m atter o f tim e, but a t
f i r s t the Customs o f f i c i a l s re fu se d to e la b o r a te on th e
statem ent th a t they would bar sh ip p in g o f a l l m a te ria l con
sid e r e d t o be a g a in s t th e in t e r e s t s o f th e governm ent. Shots
o f th e P a c if ic c o a s t lin e or o th er d efe n se lo c a t io n s , fo r
exam ple, were taboo.
The r e s u lt was th a t Paramount had to r e - e d i t and cu t
^The Hollywood R ep o rter, Los A n g eles, C a lifo r n ia ,
February" "6, 19 ^2.
2 k
th e l a t e s t Dorothy Lamour fljlm w hich they had made, M The
F l e e t ' s In ," w hich showed s a il o r s disem barking and in addi4i
t lo n , some v ie w s o f th e c o a s t lin e . U n iv ersa l was n o t if ie d
th a t i t s n ew sreel on Hawaii cou ld n ot le a v e th e cou n try. None
o f th e P ea rl Harbor fo o ta g e w hich was film e d or e d ite d by the
com m ercial com panies was a llo w ed to le a v e th e U n ited S ta te s
f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s . ( I t has been s t a t e d th a t th e Navy r e
le a s e d i t s fo o ta g e sh o t p r io r to and subsequent to th e De
cember se v en th a tta c k a f t e r ce n so rin g i t - )
F ilm com panies sought a l i s t o f ty p es o f fo o ta g e taboo
fo r ex p o rt from th e T reasury Department such a s th e one th a t
th ey had r e c e iv e d from th e Army and Navy. This a c tio n was
n e ce ssa r y to a n t ic ip a t e th e q u e s tio n a b le , and th u s p r o te c t
th em selv es a t the sou rce o f the p ic tu r e .
There was one I s o la te d in c id e n t which cau sed th e S ta te
Department to c o n sid e r l o c a l c e n so r sh ip by c o n su ls in a l l
fo r e ig n c o u n tr ie s o f n ew sre els and o th er news m a te r ia l on
film . The s it u a tio n a ro se from a one year o ld n ew sreel
w hich was shown in a M exican town in February 19^2. The r e e l
had a c l i p o f (General MacArthur e x p la in in g th e s t r a t e g ic im
p ortance o f th e P h ilip p in e s and e x p la in in g how i t s d e fe n se s
made i t im pregnable from a tta c k . Screening o f t h i s r e e l a t
t h is la t e d a te , aroused c o n sid e r a b le la u g h te r , h ootin g and
d e r is io n from the M exican a u d ien ce, a l l to th e d etrim en t o f
th e U nited S t a t e s , a cco rd in g to th e lo c a l c o n su l, who
25
su g g ested th e S ta te Department put t h i s lo c a l c e n so rsh ip in -
8
to e f f e c t to a v o id su ch happenings.
The r e g u la tio n s were tig h te n e d by th e O ffic e o f Cen
so r sh ip so th a t the producers in s te a d o f o b ta in in g o n ly a
g e n e r a l approval from th e Army, Navy or o th e r government
bureau had h en cefo rth to have s p e c i f i c approval fo r ex p o rt
from the v a r io u s b u reau s. The new ord er s ta te d :
In c a s e s where th e Los A n geles Board o f Review o f th e
O ffic e o f C ensorship r e q u ir e s w r itte n ap p ro v a l from the:-
War, Navy, or oth er governm ent agency, i t i s n ecessa ry
th a t th e l e t t e r s t a t e th a t th e agency in t e r e s t e d approved
the su b je c t fo r e x p o r t. The Los A ngeles Board o f Review
r e q u ir e s p h o to s ta tic cop ys of su ch l e t t e r s of a p p r o v a l . 9
Th® Boards o f R eview were s e t up in th r ee c i t i e s by
Mr. Byron P rice', D ir e c to r o f C ensorship in 19^2. These
boards were lo c a te d at H ollywood, C a lifo r n ia and New York
C ity to examine com m ercial product and a s p e c ia l board was
s e t up a t R o ch ester, New York, to check 16 m m film p ro ce ssed
a t the Eastman Kodak la b o r a t o r ie s .
P ic tu r e l o t s c lo s e d to p u b lic . There was no outward
attem pt on th e p art of th e government to keep th e p u b lic who
had fo r y ea r s been a llo w e d to take ev ery advantage o f se e in g
the s ta r s a t work and a t th e b ig p rem ieres a p a r t, but the
p
D a ily V a r ie ty , Los A n g eles, C a lifo r n ia , February 2 ,
1 9^2 .
9
H ollywood R ep o rter, Los A n g eles, C a lifo r n ia , Febru
ary 25, 19^3*
26
s e c u r ity r e g u la tio n s l a i d down made i t mandatory th a t such
a c tio n be ta k en . The r e s u lt was th a t ord ers were s e t up w ith
r i g id r e s t r i c t i o n s a g a in s t v i s i t o r s on any s e t s in th e s tu d io s
where tr a in in g film s were b ein g made. These r e s t r i c t i o n s
■were in d ic a te d by th e use o f la r g e sig n s d en o tin g th a t th e
s e t was c lo s e d and r e s t r ic t in g a l l v i s i t o r s .
T h is a c tio n f e l l in to l in e w ith a tig h te n in g o f th e
g e n e r a l r e g u la tio n s under w hich tr a in in g film s were made in
H ollywood. The Army would much p r e fe r to make i t s own f ilm s
as i t was a b le to c o n tr o l c lo s e ly th e p erso n n el th a t worked
on th e f ilm s . However due to the n e c e s s it y o f producing a
g r e a t number o f film s on a g r e a t v a r ie t y o f s u b je c ts in a
v ery sh o rt p e r io d o f tim e i t was im p o ssib le to make a l l th e
p ic tu r e s in th e f a c i l i t i e s a v a ila b le w ith in th e Army s ta g e s .
I n s tr u c tio n s had been se n t to Hollywood th a t everyone a s
sig n ed to such p ro d u ctio n s must be a b le to c e r t i f y American
c it iz e n s h ip and must have a v a ila b le a t a l l tim es b ir t h c e r
t i f i c a t e s f o r in s p e c tio n by a u th o riz ed r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s o f
th e War Departm ent.
P r io r to th e war one o f th e most in t e r e s t in g s ig h t s
fo r the p u b lic who happened to be in Hollywood a t th e tim e
o f the opening o f a new p ic tu r e was th e prem iere w ith the
s e a r c h lig h t s , th e p o lic e , th e gran d stan d s, and a l l th e p eop le
tr y in g to g e t a lo o k a t th e s t a r s . The Army is s u e d a s e t o f
r u le s fo r such d em o n stra tio n s w hich c u r t a ile d c e r ta in o f th e
27
elem en ts o f th e s p e c t a c le s . I t was r u led th a t no sk y-reach
in g l i g h t s co u ld be used; a lth o u g h f lo o d s , sp o ts and o th e r
lig h t in g co u ld be used i f th ey were not aimed upward; a t
ten d a n ts had to be on hand to shut o f f l i g h t s in ca se of a ir
r a id alarm s and l i g h t s sh ould be hooked in to a s in g le sw itch
where p o s s ib le ; s t r e e t s had to be k ep t c le a r o f se a tin g
sta n d s, equipm ent, crowds o r an yth in g e l s e th a t m ight im
pede t r a f f i c ; no more than f iv e thousand p erso n s in c lu d in g
th o se w ith in th e t h e a te r , co u ld g a th e r in th e v i c i n i t y , and
the stu d io showing th e p ic tu r e must see th a t p o lic e kept the
crowd from ex ceed in g th a t number.'*"0
In co n n ectio n w ith th e Army r e g u la tio n s on th e use o f
s e a r c h lig h ts a t p rem ieres th e Army had a ls o is s u e d r e g u la tio n s
p e r ta in in g to th e use o f l i g h t s by th e s tu d io s during the
film in g o f n ig h t outdoor s h o ts . In November 19^2 th e Army
became q u ite in cen sed a t th e stu d io s fo r v io la t in g th e dim-
out r e g u la tio n s on th e n ig h t sh o o tin g o f f ilm s . When such
sh o o tin g was to be done i t had to have th e approval o f the
Army and then o n ly i f th e r e were to be canvas s tr e tc h e d over
th e top o f th e s e t sh o o tin g area so th a t the lig h t rays would
not go up in to the sk y. One o f th e s tu d io s d ecid ed th a t I t
b ein g a hot n ig h t, and th e amount o f l i g h t needed fo r the
sh o t in c r e a se d th e h eat to such an e x te n t under th e canvas
r o o f, th ey would j u s t fo r g e t the ban and tak e th e canvas o f f
10The Hollywood R ep o rter, H ollywood, C a lifo r n ia ,
February 26, 19^2 *
28
th e to p or th e s e t .
At th ree in th e morning s e v e r a l Army p la n e s w ith
p hotographers fle w o v er th e stu d io and took p ic tu r e s o f th e
a c t i v i t i e s . The n ext morning th e W estern D efen se Command
took a c tio n a g a in s t th a t p a r tic u la r stu d io and a l l o th e r s .
The s tu d io s were t o ld th a t th e dimout r e g u la tio n s would be
com plied w ith r e g a r d le s s o f w eather elem en ts or h e a t. Fur
th e r th e ord er s ta te d th a t l i g h t s under no circu m sta n ces co u ld
be v i s i b l e from the o u ts id e . In a d d itio n s tu d io s were a ls o
ordered t o b la ck en a l l o u ts id e lig h t in g on th o ro u g h fa res
le a d in g to s ta g e s and s t r e e t s on th e l o t s .
The n ext day a l l th e s tu d io s were a c t iv e in p a in tin g
ou t l i g h t s , checking a l l p o s s ib le l ig h t le a k s , and p u ttin g
a d d itio n a l doors on e n tra n ces to s ta g e s where l i g h t m ight
creep through. The W estern D efen se Command had made i t c le a r
th a t any v io la t io n o f th e dim -out law s would be p ro secu ted
1 1
to th e f u l l e s t e x te n t.
A id o f Hollywood e n lis t e d to produce in fo rm a tio n p ic
t u r e s . From th e very f i r s t o f th e war th e r e was a cry coming
from some so u rces fo r a p ic tu r e , or s e r ie s o f p ic tu r e s to be
made w ith th e o v e r - a l l theme of one w orld and one war. I t
was thought th a t i f su ch a p ic tu r e were made and had o r ig
in a l m a te r ia l sh o t on s e a , a ir and la n d b a t t le f r o n t s in a l l
^ T h e Hollywood R ep o rter, Hollywood, C a lifo r n ia ,
November 3> 19^2.
29
p a r ts o f the w orld , docum ented w ith scen es o f c i v i l i a n war
a c t i v i t y on th e home fr o n t in a l l th e a n ti-A x is c o u n tr ie s
i t would do a g r e a t d e a l to add to the e f f o r t to g e t th e job
over w ith and th e war won. T his id e a d id not take form in
th e film in g o f one p ic tu r e , but th e re were a group o f p ic
tu r e s w hich were produced during th e war w hich d id th e same
jo b .
A number o f p r o je c ts were s ta r te d by th e in d u stry a t
the req u est o f the d if f e r e n t governm ental a g e n c ie s p o rtra y
in g econom ic and d ip lo m a tic problem s. These p ic tu r e s alon g
w ith th e u n in terru p ted flo w o f en terta in m en t film s made up
th e b ulk o f th e work done on film s by th a t in d u str y f o r th e
war e f f o r t . At f i r s t th e government asked th a t o v er tw enty
film s be made a lo n g in fo rm a tio n and m orale l i n e s to f a l l in
to th e ca te g o r y o f a few fe a tu r e s and some sh o rt s u b je c ts .
The r e q u est fo r th e p ic tu r e s was made by th e governm ent, but
th e method f o r s e l l i n g the p ic tu r e s to th e p u b lic was l e f t
up to th e in d u str y .
The p ic tu r e s had to be d is t r ib u t e d com m ercially to
th e th e a te r s . The d is t r ib u t o r s g o t to g e th e r and d ecid ed to
s e l l th e p ic tu r e s to th e e x h ib ito r s a t a reduced c o s t w hich
would in su re th e w id e st p o s s ib le d is t r ib u t io n . T his a c tio n
took care o f th e t h e a t r ic a l d is t r ib u t io n o f th e government
in s p ir e d f ilm s , and th e re was a se p a r a te government d i s t r i
b u tio n system organ ized to handle th e s ix te e n m illim e te r
30
n o n -th e a tr ic a l c ir c u la t io n .
A ll t h i s tim e the O ffie e o f Emergency Management F ilm
S e r v ic e , th e o f f i c i a l producing agency fo r th e c o o r d in a to r
o f f ilm s , co n tin u ed to expand. In i t s two y ea r h is t o r y th ey
had produced over t h ir t y f iv e p ic tu r e s on assignm en t from
th e v a r io u s governm ent a g e n c ie s . P art o f th e s e f ilm s were
d is t r ib u t e d by the War A c t i v i t i e s Oommlttee.
There was some concern over th e f a c t th a t the Army was
c o n tr o llin g so much o f th e m a te r ia l about th e war e f f o r t by
i t s s t r i c t c e n so r sh ip and s e c u r ity r e g u la tio n s th a t i t was
im p o ssib le to show th e p u b lic p ic tu r e s o f the a l l out e f f o r t
b ein g made by Americans in the d if f e r e n t s t a t e s . T his con
d it io n brought about an in c r e a sin g o p p o rtu n ity to co v er a l l
a s p e c ts of th e war e f f o r t on th e p a rt o f th e n ew sre els by a
r u lin g o f th e War D epartm ent. The new r u lin g d id perm it fo r
th e f i r s t tim e, e x te n s iv e camera co v era g e, by p o o l and by
assignm ent from a l l com panies, o f accom plishm ents on the
p rod u ction f r o n t. The n ex t ste p was to gran t e n tr y , under
a u sp ic e s o f th e Army t o gun f a c t o r ie s , tank w orks, v a s t new .
a ir c r a f t p la n ts , a r s e n a ls and o th er d e fe n se p la n t s . The
n ew sre els were a llo w ed to film , a t u n id e n t ifie d lo c a t io n s ,
lon g l i n e s o f ta n k s, gu n s, jeep s and o th er equipm ent flo w
in g at reco rd breaking r a t e s . P ic tu r e s o f women a t work in
s h e ll lo a d in g p la n t s , the s w ift movement o f m a te r ia l to th e
f ig h t in g fo r c e s and d em on stration s o f ch em ical and m obile
31
w arfare were arranged.
N ew sreel spokesmen, g r a t e f u l f o r th e r e la x a tio n o f
r u le s to perm it b e tte r co v era g e o f th e home f r o n t , a t th e
same tim e ex p resse d th e hope th a t th ey would be gran ted f u l l e r
p r iv ile g e s on th e f ig h t in g fr o n ts . They p o in te d ou t th a t
P ea r l Harbor and M arshall Isla n d were the o n ly b a t t l e sequen
c e s is s u e d to th a t tim e. Both new spapers and s t i l l photo
g ra p h ic s e r v ic e s , th ey d e c la r e d , had been g ra n ted s p e c ia l
p r iv ile g e s n o t a ffo r d e d th e n ew sreels on th e f ig h t in g f r o n ts .
I t was s h o r tly a f t e r t h is th a t th e n ew sreels g o t p erm ission
to f ilm p ic tu r e s a t the f ig h t in g fr o n ts and were a b le to g e t
t h e ir own m a te r ia l on th e sc ree n s in t h i s co u n try . There
were r e s t r i c t i o n s on th e way th e f ilm was handled fo r pro
c e s s in g , but a t l e a s t th e n ew sre els d id g e t to sh o o t t h e ir
own m a te r ia l. Most o f th e m a te ria l th a t g o t on th e n ew sreel
sc ree n s was th a t sh o t by th e cameramen o f the s e r v ic e s w ith
a d d itio n a l m a te r ia l added by th a t sh ot by th e com p aratively
few com m ercial n ew sreel men th a t were in the d if f e r e n t th e
a t e r s of o p era tio n to co v e r th e war.
The O ffic e o f War Inform at io n . Elmer Davis',: th e f a
mous newspaper man and Oolumbla B ro a d ca stin g System news
a n a ly s t, became th e f i r s t d ir e c t o r o f the O ffic e o f War In
form ation when P r e sid e n t R o o sev elt is s u e d th e lo n g -e x p e c te d
ord er g a th e rin g a l l v a r ie d governm ent p r e ss and in fo rm a tio n
32
s e r v ic e s under one le a d e r s h ip . Mr. D avis was a ls o g iv en
broad a u th o r ity and s p e c i f i c d u tie s r e l a t i v e to th e m otion
p ic tu r e p ro d u ctio n .
The p r e s id e n t d ir e c te d Mr. D avis to c o o r d in a te , and
is s u e , a l l war in fo rm a tio n c o n s is te n t w ith governm ent p o lic y
and in c o n s u lta tio n w ith a newly formed a d v iso r y war inform a
tio n c o u n c il o f War, Navy, S ta te , In ter-A m erican , P sy c h o lo g i
c a l W arfare Committee and o th er departm ent c h i e f s . Mr.
D avis was to have eq u al rank w ith Mr. Byron P r ic e , c h ie f
12
cen so r.
The C h ief o f th e O ffic e o f War In form ation was in
s tr u c te d to form u late and carry o u t, through th e use o f p r e s s ,
r a d io , m otion p ic tu r e and o th e r f a c i l i t i e s , th e in fo rm a tio n
programs d esig n ed to f a c i l i t a t e th e developm ent o f an in
formed and i n t e l l i g e n t u nd erstan d ing o f th e s t a t u s and prog
r e s s o f th e war e f f o r t and o f th e war p o l i c i e s , a c t i v i t i e s
and aims o f th e G-overnment. In a d d itio n to t h i s he was to
re v iew , c le a r and approve a l l proposed rad io and m otion -
p ic tu r e programs sponsored by the F ed eral Departm ents and
a g e n c ie s , and to serv e a s th e c e n t r a l p o in t o f cle a ra n ce and
c o n ta c t fo r th e ra d io b ro a d ca stin g and m otion p ic tu r e in du s
t r i e s , r e s p e c t iv e ly , in t h e i r r e la tio n s h ip s w ith th e F ed eral
Departm ents and a g e n c ie s con cern in g such Government program s.
-^M otion P ic tu r e H erald, June 20, 19^2.
The O ffic e o f War In fo rm a tio n was to take o v er th e O ffic e
o f F a cts and F ig u r e s, the O ffic e o f Government R ep orts, th e
o f f i c e o f th e C oordinator o f Government F ilm s, the F oreign
In form ation S e r v ic e , and th e p u b lic it y departm ent o f the
13
O ffic e fo r Emergency Management.
One o f th e f i r s t th in g s th e new ly c r e a te d M otion P ic
tu re Bureau o f th e O ffic e o f War In form ation d id was to oony
duct a su rv e y , w ith N elson H. P oyn ter who was th e head o f
th e H ollywood branch o f th e bureau f o r OW I, and Warren H.
P ie r c e , h is a s s i s t a n t , to co v er a l l th e p ic t u r e s r e le a s e d
betw een March f i r s t 19^2 and September f i r s t 19^-2. A lso in
clu d ed in th e survey were th o s e p ic tu r e s a w a itin g r e le a s e ,
In p ro d u ctio n , in p rep a ra tio n o r p roposed. O W I took in to
account th e developm ent o f new problem s which would be con
fr o n tin g the American p eo p le in th e fo llo w in g s i x months to
a year and a ls o review ed th e p robable s ta tu s o f th o se prob
lem s w hich were cu rren t a t the fu tu r e d a te s .
The r e s u lt s o f th e survey in d ic a te d th a t th e in d u stry
was moving s t e a d ily in th e d ir e c tio n o f g iv in g th e American
p eo p le a b e t t e r u nd erstan d ing o f th e n a tio n ’ s war problem s.
However, d e s p it e the g r e a t improvement in th e o v e r - a ll
b alan ce of p ic tu r e p ro d u ctio n , th e r e s t i l l seemed to be many
gaps w hich m ight be s e r io u s in n atu re as to th e amount o f
13I b i d .
3^
war in fo rm a tio n w hich was b ein g g iv e n o u t.
I t was th e o p in io n o f the board th a t th e em phasis in
th e e n t ir e in d u str y seemed to be to o much on the e x c it in g
b lood -an d -th u n d er a s p e c ts o f the war, w ith to o l i t t l e on th e
e q u a lly im portant problem s a r is in g in every day c i v i l i a n
l i f e and d e a lin g w ith th e b a s ic is s u e s o f the war, and the
peace to come. O W I attem p ted to persuade th e producers and
d is t r ib u t o r s to ju g g le r e le a s e d a te s on p ic tu r e s w hich were
com pleted or approaching com p letion so a s to p re se n t more
b alan ced programs f o r th e p u b lic .
As a y a r d s tic k to measure th e c o n tr ib u tio n s o f th e
m otion p ic tu r e s toward th e war e f f o r t th e O ffic e of War In
form ation used s i x g en era l c a te g o r ie s w hich were s e t fo r th
in th e Government In form ation Manual w hich had been c ir c u
la t e d throughout th e p ic tu r e In d u stry . The su rvey uncovered
th e fo llo w in g f a c t s : The f i r s t o f th e se c a te g o r ie s d e a lt
w ith the is s u e s o f th e War fo r w hich th e U n ited S ta te s was
f ig h t in g . From Mardh to th e end o f August 19^-2 o n ly one f e a
tu re in th a t c l a s s had been r e le a s e d and one o th e r was a w a it
in g r e le a s e . I t was tr u e th a t a t th a t tim e th e r e were e ig h t
fe a tu r e s o f m ajor im portan ce, in some sta g e o f p rep a ra tio n .
The second ca teg o ry d e a lt w ith th e enemy, h is id e o lo g y ,
o b j e c t iv e s , and t a c t i c s . A la r g e sh are o f th e war p ic tu r e s
r e le a s e d to th a t tim e had f a lle n under t h is c l a s s i f i c a t i o n .
Most o f them d e a lt w ith th e su b je c ts such as s p ie s ,
35
sa b o te u r s, or f i f t h column a c t i v i t i e s . At l e a s t t h ir t y -
fo u r such p ic tu r e s had been r e le a s e d in th a t p e r io d o f a few
m onths. I t was tru e th a t when th e su rvey was made th e v o l
ume o f such p ic tu r e s was d e c lin in g , but n in e te e n su ch f ilm s
were a w a itin g r e le a s e and some tw enty more were in some
sta g e o f p rep a ra tio n or p ro d u ctio n .
The t h ir d O ffic e o f War In form ation c a teg o ry was th a t
c a lle d th e U n ited N ation s — our b r o th e r s-in -a r m s — and t h i s
ca teg o ry was covered by o n ly th r ee p ic tu r e s a t the tim e cur
r e n tly showing w ith th ree more of th e type a w a itin g r e le a s e .
T h is one, a l l im portant su b je c t had b een ta c k le d in fo r c e
by th e in d u str y and th e r e were f o r t y - s i x p ic tu r e s o f th a t
n atu re in p rep a ra tio n or proposed by th e end o f August 19^2.
The fo u r th O ffic e o f War In form ation ca teg o r y was th a t
o f th e P rod u ction F ron t. In t h is ca teg o r y th e r e w ere fo u r
fe a tu r e s and two sh o r ts d e a lin g w ith the su b je c t on th e
sc ree n a t the tim e and o n ly one fe a tu r e and two sh o r ts were
a w a itin g r e le a s e . There were s ix fe a tu r e s showing A m erica1s
b a t t le on th e p rod u ction l i n e in p rep a ra tio n , and a number
o f sh o r ts on th e su b je c t were e it h e r in p rep a ra tio n or had
been proposed.
The f i f t h ca teg o r y o f the O ffic e o f War In form ation
survey was c a lle d th a t o f th e Home F ron t, and th e r e had been
r e le a s e d th r e e fe a tu r e s and th ere were f i v e more w a itin g to
be r e le a s e d . There were s ix te e n o th e r s in p rep a ra tio n o f
36
fe a tu r e le n g th and tw e n ty -e ig h t sh o r ts in p rep a ra tio n or
a w a itin g r e le a s e . Seven sh o r ts on th e su b je c t were b ein g
shown.
The l a s t ca teg o ry o f the survey conducted by th e Of
f i c e o f War In fo rm a tio n , was th a t w hich d e a lt w ith the F ig h t
in g F o rces. There were s ix te e n f e a t u r e s , o n ly fo u r o f w hich
were combat f ilm s , and s i x o th e r s , h a lf o f w hich were combat
film s a w a itin g r e le a s e . T his was th e ca teg o ry t h a t was th e
e a s i e s t to dram atize and th e g r e a t numbers o f t h i s type of
f ilm s th a t fo llo w e d d e a lin g w ith th e F ig h tin g F orces f u ll y
r e f le c t e d t h i s . There were a t th e end of August 19^2 s ix t y -
e ig h t fe a tu r e s o f th a t n atu re in p rep a ra tio n , about h a lf o f
w hich were about combat o f the American s o ld ie r and s a il o r .
The O ffic e o f War In form ation was g r e a tly con cern ed
over th e number o f such fe a tu r e s w hich were con tem p lated fo r
p ro d u ctio n . The ex p e r ie n ce g a in ed by th e r e s u l t s in England
had shown th a t the p u b lic s h o r t ly became t i r e d o f too many
combat film s and demanded an o p p o rtu n ity to t o to th e th e a te r
w ith ou t having to w itn e s s b lood sh ed and f ig h t in g during th e
o n ly p e r io d o f r e la x a tio n th a t th ey had. A nother o f the
s c r e e n ’ s most con sp icu ou s w ea k n esses, acco rd in g to th e O ffic e
o f War In fo rm a tio n , was th e f a ilu r e to show how v ig o r o u s ly
and p o w e rfu lly and y e t i d e a l i s t i c a l l y the American p eo p le met
•^ B o x o f f ic e , Los A n g eles, C a lifo r n ia , September 12,
1 9^ 2 .
37
th e g r e a t em ergency. A lso la c k in g were p ic tu r e s th a t tended
to r e f l e c t a c c u r a te ly th e v ir t u e s o f American l i f e in such a
way a s to g iv e th e A l l i e s who se e th e p ic tu r e a gen u in e un
d ersta n d in g o f the American p e o p le . Of co u rse i t must be
understood th a t th e p e r io d th a t th e O ffic e o f War In form ation
was c o n s id e r in g was ab out th e f i r s t o f September 19A2 , and
a f t e r th a t tim e most o f th e item s th a t were p o in te d out in
th e survey a t th e end o f August, 19^2 had been c o r r e c te d .
There was no in te n t io n on th e p art o f the government
to se e th e sc ree n f i l l e d w ith n oth in g but war s u b j e c ts . O W I
d id s t a t e th a t th e bureau f e l t th e fu tu r e c a lle d fo r few er
and b e t t e r war p ic tu r e s w ith b e t t e r o v e r - a ll b a la n ce betw een
th e im portant t o p ic s to be shown. I t was d ecid ed th a t the
q u a lity o f th e film s m ight be improved i f l e s s e r fe a tu r e s
w hich were dragging in th e war were to abandon th e war theme
e n t ir e ly and become p u rely escap e p ic t u r e s . T his would a l
low im portant war s u b j e c ts to be c o n fin e d to p ic tu r e s o f s u f
f i c i e n t q u a lity to carry the v i t a l m essage o v er w ith ou t b ein g
a b ore to th e p u b lic .
Army r e q u este d check o n .f ilm s about i t . The g r e a t
number o f p ic tu r e s th a t w ere made a t the s t a r t of th e war
used Army p e r so n n e l, or were about Army p e r so n n e l, or in some
rem ote way had a, co n n ectio n w ith s e r v ic e p erso n n el. Such
film s when made by H ollyw ood, had to be r e g is t e r e d and f i l e d
38
w ith th e Army.
The purpose was to p rovid e th e Army heads w ith an a c
cu ra te v iew as to how th e Army was b ein g p re se n te d on th e
screen and to co u n sel producers b e fo r e th ey spent money on
p ic tu r e s th a t would prove d e tr im e n ta l to th e m ilit a r y fo r c e s
and w hich would haye to be w ith h e ld from th e p u b lic .
The r e g is t r a t io n plan was s ta r te d a s a means o f keep
in g a c e r ta in stu d io from i n d e f i n i t e l y ty in g up a su b je c t
w hich th e Army was in t e r e s t e d in g e t t in g on th e screen q u ick
l y as an a id to r e c r u it in g . The need fo r c e r ta in s p e c i a l i s t s
such a s f l y e r s , n a v ig a tio n p erso n n el and bom bardiers, req u ired
th a t s t o r ie s be w r itte n about th e se groups and g o tte n on th e
sc ree n in th e s h o r te s t p o s s ib le tim e .
The Army a ls o ca u tio n e d producers a g a in s t p o rtra y in g
o f f i c e r s and s o ld ie r s “c a r e le s s ly 8 even though Army coop era
tio n had not been asked f o r on th e p ro d u ctio n . I t was f e l t
th a t th e Army d eserv ed to be p ro p erly p o rtra y ed to th e w orld
through f ilm s a s one means fo r th e p eo p le to le a r n o f th e
g r e a tn e s s o f the Army. In summary the Army a sk ed th a t the
s tu d io s n o t if y i t whenever fe a tu r e or sh ort p ro d u ctio n s were
con tem plated in w hich Army co o p era tio n would be sought; th a t
Army c o o p e r a tio n not be re q u ir e d when p ro cess backgrounds o f
the Army were to be used; th a t th e Army be n o t i f i e d when
a c to r s were to p ortray o f f i c e r s or s o ld ie r s .
I t was r e a liz e d a t th e o u ts e t o f t h i s re q u e st fo r th e
r e g is t r a t io n o f t i t l e s ana s u b je c ts th a t th e su c c e s s o f th e
p la n depended on th e com plete co o p era tio n o f th e -industry.
The plan was s e t up to work roughly in th e fo llo w in g manner.
T i t l e s o f s t o r i e s would be p la ce d on f i l e and a l l o th er
stu d .ios would be n o t i f i e d o f p r io r cla im . The Army would
n o t if y th e s tu d io s when th e re was a d e f in i t e and u rgen t need
fo r some p a r tic u la r s u b je c t, as has been in d ic a te d b e fo r e ,
and i f th e f i r s t s tu d io , th a t c o n t r o llin g th e s to r y , found
th a t i t was not g o in g to be able to s t a r t i t on tim e then
the sto r y cou ld be sw itch ed to another s tu d io .
A system was d e v ise d to p la c e the numerous t i t l e s ,
co v erin g p r a c t ic a lly ev ery b a t t le or s ig n if ic a n t fe a tu r e o f
th e way to th e m iddle o f June 19^2, a t the tim e on f i l e in
th e Hays o f f i e e , in the War D epartm ent’ s Array T itle -S u b je c t
R e g is tr a tio n F i l e . P rio r to th a t tim e w r ite r s and s tu d io s
had rushed through s k e t c h ily o u tlin e d id e a s to cla im r ig h t s
to film such fe a t u r e s , and th ere had been a g r e a t scram ble
over p r i o r i t i e s . H ollywood was doing ev e ry th in g in i t s powers
to a id th e war e f f o r t and to b rin g ou t what th e War D epart
ment wanted shown on th e sc ree n . The fe a tu r e s com pleted,
or in p ro d u ctio n throughout th e war covered ev ery branch o f
armed s e r v ic e s and c i v i l i a n s e r v ic e . T his t i t l e r e g is t r a t io n
by th e Army in no way co u ld be co n stru ed as c e n so r sh ip in
th e American way o f th in k in g , but was ra th er d e sig n ed as a
m ild s e c u r ity measure to see th a t th e Army was c o r r e c tly
40
p ortrayed and to a id th e Hollywood s tu d io s in making film s
about the Army.
Bureau o f Government Film s Issu e d Manual f o r Motion
P ic tu r e In d u str y . At th e end o f June 19^2 , the Bureau o f
G-overnment F ilm s, an agency o f th e O ffic e of War In form ation
is s u e d a f i f t y page mimeographed manual, su b je c t "G-overnment
In form ation Manual f o r th e Motion P ic tu r e I n d u s t r y ." ^ The
manual was g iv e n to a number o f the p rod u cers, w r it e r s ,
d ir e c to r s'; stu d io heads and a few a g e n ts . I t was o ffe r e d
as a su b je c t o f stu d y and d is c u s s io n a t m eetin gs o f v a rio u s
g u ild s and o th er film o r g a n iz a tio n s , a s w e ll a s fo r p erso n a l
co n fe r e n c es x-irith in d iv id u a l c r e a to r s .
The b o o k le t o u tlin e d the v iew s o f th e governm ent t o
ward the p rod u ction o f m otion p ic t u r e s , and su g g e ste d many
d ir e c t ways f o r c r e a to r s to h elp in th e war e f f o r t . There
were some d ir e c t su g g e s tio n s made to th e producers su ch a s
showing f ilm s p o rtra y in g th e R ussian farm er d e str o y in g h is
f i e l d s and home b efo re th e enemy cou ld p r o f it by them; or
showing th e C hinese p ea sa n t f ig h t in g w ith o u td a ted r i f l e s
a g a in s t th e Japanese ta n k s; o r-th e Y ugoslav g u e r r i l l a s a c r i
f i c i n g h is fa m ily r a th er than come t o therms w ith th e ty r a n t.
A ll o f th e s e t h in g s , the government f e l t co u ld be shown
•^ H o lly w o o d R e p o r te r , H o lly w o o d , C a l i f o r n i a , June 3 0 ,
19^2 .
ta .
d r a m a tic a lly and h e r o ic a lly in m otion p ic t u r e s .
There was a s e c t io n d evoted to the F ig h tin g F orces.
In t h i s s e c tio n i t was s t a t e d th a t American Commanders had
A llie d tr o o p s and n aval u n its under t h e ir command in c e r ta in
th e a te r s o f th e war, and i t was a ls o n ecessa ry f o r American
Army and Navy u n its to be under A llie d commanders in o th er
war a r e a s. The u n ity o f th e A l l i e s had to be p resen te d a s a
sig n o f s tr e n g th and m utual tr u s t.
There were c h a lle n g e s made to the im a g in a tio n of
w r ite r s and p roducers by some o f th e comments in th e manual.
I t s ta te d th a t i t was r e a l l y very ea sy to g lo r i f y the A ir
Corps, th e men who p arach u ted to ground and th e ta n k ers. How
ev e r i t was more d i f f i c u l t , but j u s t as n e c e ssa r y to drama
t i z e th e in fan trym an, w ith h is grim com bination o f danger and
d isc o m fo r t. I t was a ls o d i f f i c u l t to g la m o rize th e men in
the S erv ice o f Supply, th e tru ck d r iv e r s and o th e r s who kept
th e goods r o llin g to th e fro h t in s p it e o f a l l th e elem en ts
w hich m ight and o fte n were a g a in s t them. I t was su g g ested
th a t th e merchant m arine, th e Women's Army C orps, and th e
M edical Corps m ight a ls o be made scree n t o p ic s in ord er to
o f f e r as com plete a panorama a s p o s s ib le to th e m illio n s o f
th e a te r g o e r s . A f i n a l item in t h is p art o f th e manual n oted
th a t under the d em ocratic p ro cess th e u n d e r p r iv ile g e d had b e
come l e s s u n d e r p r iv ile g e d a s a r e s u lt o f b ein g a b le to f ig h t
f o r th e same th in g th a t th e r e s t o f th e cou n try was f ig h t in g
k z
f o r .
Hoarding and la b o r sh irk in g were two item s touched on
a s dangers to th e war e f f o r t . There was a l o t o f unwarranted
c r it ic is m o f th e B r it is h , and a p a tr o n iz in g a t t it u d e toward
th e C hinese, rum ors, f i f t h column t a lk , th a t th e manual
s ta te d was th e duty o f th e motion p ic tu r e s to d is p e l. In ad
d it io n th e problem s o f war p rod uction and a g r ic u ltu r e were
brought out as rem inders to th e w r ite r s of what to g lo r if y
in th e s c r ip t s . A ll o f th e s e th in g s were to be fou gh t in
ah e f f o r t to gu id e th e p u b lic to d e s ir e d th in k in g h a b its .
The manual d e f i n i t e l y had a stro n g im pact on th e mo
t io n p ic tu r e in d u str y , and th e p h ilo so p h y , f a c t s and quota
tio n s from some o f th e sp eech es o f the P resid en t o f the
U n ited S t a t e s , and o th er government and m ilit a r y o f f i c i a l s
found t h e ir way in to many p ic tu r e s produced a f t e r th e manual
was d is t r ib u t e d to th e in d u str y .
Hollywood war e f f o r t , and th e G-overnment.1 s d e s ir e s
a t end o f 194-2. The O ffic e o f War In form ation was opened in
May 1942, and i t s ta te d th a t what I t ex p ected from Hollywood
was f o r th o se who made p ic tu r e s fo r American and fo r e ig n
a u d ien ces to r e co g n ize and a ccep t t h e i r ' f u l l r e s p o n s ib ilit y
in th e war e f f o r t . T his was e x a c tly what i t ex p ected o f
every o th e r American in d u stry and in d iv id u a l c i t i z e n . The
1 &
The H ollyw ood R e p o r te r , H olly w o o d , C a l i f o r n i a , June
3 0 , 194- 2 .
^3
governm ent d id not want Hollywood to t r i f l e w ith th e war.
I t d id not want th e war lo o k ed upon as m erely a n oth er v e h ic le ,
o r a p a ssin g phase o f l i f e upon w hich to hang a movie s c r ip t .
Every p ic tu r e tou ch in g upon or d e a lin g w ith the war must " b e
regarded p u r p o se fu lly and th o u g h tfu lly fo r what i t cou ld do
to h elp w in th e war. I t meant th a t th ere sh ou ld he few er,
b e t t e r and more c a r e f u lly s e le c t e d war p i c t u r e s — few er
b lo o d -a n d -th u n d er combat t h r i l l e r s and more s e r io u s works
w hich'w ould h elp to p u b lic u nderstanding o f th e war, i t s
c a u se s, th e s a c r i f i c e and hard work th a t i t demanded. (These
sta tem en ts had been made in about a l l o f the e a r ly comments
about th e in d u stry during the f i r s t sta g e s o f the war. They
have a lrea d y appeared in th e t e x t o f t h i s stu d y , but are r e
p ea ted a t t h i s p o in t to in d ic a te a g a in what th e f e e l in g o f
th e governm ent was as to th e d ir e c t io n i n : w hich th e motion:
p ic tu r e s sh ould be m oving. They in d ic a te th e r e g u la t io n s -
th a t were b e in g p la ced on th e in d u stry and w h ile not e x a c tly
c e n so r sh ip or s e c u r it y r e g u la tio n s , th ey are c l o s e l y a l l i e d
w ith th a t so r t o f c o n t r o l.)
The O ffic e o f War In form ation had le a rn ed in the
s e v e r a l months o f i t s e x is te n c e t h a t th e m otion p ic tu r e in
d u stry was ea g e r to co o p e r a te in th e war e f f o r t , and anxious
to do ev ery th in g p o s s ib le to h elp w ith th e wary. I t had a l
so le a rn ed th a t th e most u s e fu l fu n c tio n o f th e O ffic e o f
War In form ation was to p ro v id e ^ d i r e c t and c l e a r ahchanhel
4 4
o f In form ation betw een th e m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y and th e
G-overnment a s was p o s s ib le . The O ffic e had n oth in g to do
w ith th e p e r so n a l appearances o f s t a r s ; i t was n o t to attem p t
any f ilm p ro d u ctio n o o th er than o f f i c i a l d ocu m en taries. I t s
most im portant fu n c tio n was to l e t th e movie maker know what
his* G-overnment wanted and needed in the way o f war inform a
t io n p a ssed a lo n g to. the th e a te r -g o in g p u b lic o f Am erica.
Once th e p ic tu r e producer was inform ed, i t was h is r e sp o n si
b i l i t y and o b lig a t io n to make th e b e s t p o s s ib le use o f th e
weapon o f in fo rm a tio n in h is hands.
T his problem o f making th e p ic tu r e s th a t th e Government
d e s ir e d to have made b rou ght up th e q u e stio n : Should a l l
the p ic tu r e s be war p ic tu r e s ? Of co u rse th e answer was Bn o .w
There was a need f o r p u r ely e s c a p is t en terta in m en t p ic t u r e s .
However even in th e se p ic tu r e s th e producer was fa c e d w ith
th e .r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a r is in g from th e war — o f b ein g sure
th a t the p ic tu r e w ould n o t c r e a te ad verse o p in io n s o f American
l i f e in fo r e ig n c o u n tr ie s , or bad o p in io n o f any o f th e
U n ited N a tio n s a t home, and o f se e in g th a t c o n d itio n s por
tra y ed in contem porary p ic tu r e s a s fa r as p o s s ib le f a i t h f u l -
f u l l y r e f l e c t e d l i f e as i t was a t th e tim e th e film was r e
le a s e d , and not th e u n r e a lit y o f pre-w ar d a y s.
A nother q u e stio n was w hether or not th e O ffic e o f
War In fo rm a tio n forb ad th e making o f c e r ta in ty p es o f p ic
tu r e s , o r demanded th e p ro d u ctio n o f an oth er ty p e- Of
^5
cou rse th e answer wajs in th e n e g a tiv e . The O ffic e o f War
In form ation was charged w ith th e r e s p o n s i b il it y o f ex p ress
in g th e Government1s v iew p o in t regard in g a p ic tu r e to th e
producer. I t then became th e p ro d u cer's r e s p o n s ib ilit y to
d ecid e w hether th a t p ic tu r e should be made and how i t sh ould
be made.
The Government r e sp e c te d freedom o f e x p r e s s io n on th e
screen as i t d id in th e p r e s s , on th e r a d io , on th e cr a ck er -
b a r r e l or on th e le c t u r e p la tfo rm . In t o t a l war i t was ne
c e ssa r y to u se ev ery weapon toward th e e v e n tu a l v ic to r y .
There was no q u e s tio n a t any tim e o f th e im portance o f th e
sc ree n a s a weapon o f t o t a l war. However th e O ffic e o f War
In form ation b e lie v e d th a t a fr e e screen co u ld f ig h t more e f
f e c t i v e l y than co u ld a regim en ted group o f a r t i s t s and te c h
n ic ia n s . The v a s t p o o l o f te c h n ic a l knowledge and e n te r ta in
ment t a le n t o f H ollywood was th e g r e a t e s t in one p la c e i n
th e w orld . The O ffic e o f War In form ation b e lie v e d th a t a n
even b e t t e r job cou ld b e done w ith o u t m olding H ollywood to
i t s w i l l , sim ply by t e l l i n g fr e e men and women, "Here are
c e r ta in problem s fa c in g your Government and th e U n ited
S t a t e s . They are Y O UR problem s. I t i s up to you to use
c r e a tiv e g i f t s to h elp s o lv e them."
H ollywood was n ot concerned w ith th e problem s o f day-
to -d a y in fo r m a tio n . That was th e p ro v in ce o f th e n e w sr e e ls,
th e p r e s s , and th e r a d io . The problem s o f th e m otion p ic tu r e
in d u str y were th o se o f d ram atizin g the in ta n g ib le p hases o f
th e war in fo rm a tio n program. That in d u str y co u ld b e s t in
te r p r e t and make r e a l th e u n d erlyin g is s u e s o f th e war. W hy
was th e w orld a t war? What cou ld f i n a l l y b r in g peace? W ho
was th e enemy and what d id he sta n d fo r? What was i t th a t
made a l l th e s a c r i f i c e w orth w h ile? How co u ld th e A l l i e s
c o n s o lid a te t h e ir e f f o r t s in w inning th e war and' a ssu rin g
th e peace? How was i t p o s s ib le fo r each o f th e one hundred
and t h ir t y m illio n Am ericans to b e s t serve h is cou n try in
the g ig a n t ic str u g g le ? How cou ld the "Home Front" b e s t sup
p o rt th o se on the f ig h t in g f r o n t ? ^
I t was th e prim ary job o f th e H ollywood o f f i c e o f th e
O ffic e o f War In form ation to keep the in d u str y a b r e a st o f
th e s e problem s. Due to th e n e c e ssa r y tim e la g betw een th e
in c e p tio n o f a p ic tu r e id e a and i t s peak d is tr ib u tio n ', keep
in g a b rea st meant lo o k in g ahead, from nine months to pos
s ib ly a co u p le o f y ea rs in th e fu tu r e . Up u n t il th e end o f
19A2 the war had touched America o n ly l i g h t l y . I t was the
fo llo w in g p e r io d th a t would be th e r e a l t e s t a s t o the
a b i l i t y o f th e m otion p ic tu r e to carry i t s p a rt o f th e lo a d .
T o ta l war meant grim th in g s f o r th e n a tio n .
T o ta l war meant th a t n ea rly ev ery a b le -b o d ie d man in
17
D a ily V a r i e t y , H o lly w o o d , C a l i f o r n ia , O cto b er 19»
19A 2 .
it-7
th e n a tio n w ould e it h e r he in th e armed f o r c e s or In e s s e n
t i a l war work. I t meant th a t th e re would be r e a l c a s u a lty
l i s t s . I t meant th a t th e r e would be many, many women — many
o f them m others and homemakers — in in d u str y ; th e r e would
be l o t s o f c h ild r e n in n u rsery -sch o o ls; homes would be d is
ru p ted , and th e g en era l home l i f e o f th e American fa m ily
would be u p se t. I t a ls o meant th a t th e r e w ould be sharper
and more fa r -r e a c h in g r a tio n in g . The p u b lic would be o b lig e d
to g e t a lo n g on l e s s than th ey had form erly been a b le to
buy. I t meant lo n g er and harder hours o f la b o r .
These were th e jo b s th a t th e O ffic e o f War In form ation
wanted ta c k le d by th e m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y . I t was a t e r
r i f i c jo b , and th a t was a f a c t r e a liz e d by b o th th e in d u str y
and by th e Government. To h elp producers and w r ite r s de
term ine w hether t h e ir product was m easuring up to th e stand
ards s e t by th e Government, th e O ffic e o f War In form ation
prepared a g u id e fo r p rod u cers.
The O W I gu id e r a is e d th e fo llo w in g q u e s tio n s : Would
th e p ic tu r e h e lp win the war? What war in fo rm a tio n problem
d id the p ic tu r e seek to c l a r i f y , d ram atize o r in te r p r e t?
Was i t an excape p ic tu r e ? Would i t harm th e war e f f o r t , by
c r e a tin g f a l s e p ic tu r e s o f th e Am erican, h 3 s ..a llie s or th e
w orld o f th e day? D id th e p ic tu r e c o n tr ib u te som ething N E W
to th e u n d erstan d in g o f th e w orld c o n f l ic t and th e v a r io u s
f o r c e s in v o lv e d , or had th e su b je c t a lrea d y b een a d eq u a tely
A8
covered? Did i t m erely make use o f the war a s th e b a s is fo r
a p r o f it a b le p ic tu r e , c o n tr ib u tin g n o th in g o f r e a l s i g n i f i
cance to th e war e f f o r t and p o s s ib ly le s s e n in g th e e f f e c t o f
o th e r p ic tu r e s o f some im portance? • At th e tim e th a t th e p ic
tu re reached i t s maximum c ir c u la t io n on th e sc r e e n , would i t
r e f l e c t c o n d itio n s a s th e y were and f i l l th e need o f th e
cu rren t tim e , or would i t be outdated? D id th e p ic tu r e t e l l
th e tr u th o r would th e young p eo p le o f the day scorn i t a
few y ea rs l a t e r , and say th ey had been m isle d by propaganda?
The Bureau o f Motion P ic tu r e s o f th e O ffic e o f War
In form ation had s ta te d , In e a sy -to -u n d e rsta n d term s, what I t
ex p ected from Hollywood.
The n ex t q u e stio n was to f ig u r e out how th e in d u stry
sto o d as o f th e f i r s t o f O ctober 1 9 A2 . A survey was p re
pared to show th r e e th in g s : f i r s t , p ic tu r e s b e in g e x h ib ite d
a t th e tim e; second, p ic tu r e s com pleted and ready fo r r e
le a s e ; and th ir d , p ic tu r e s proposed or in v a r io u s s ta g e s o f
p rep a ra tio n or p ro d u ctio n . The l i s t o f fe a tu r e s c l a s s i f i e d
accord in g to th e s ix b a s ic themes o f th e War In form ation
program a s o u tlin e d by P re sid en t R o o se v e lt in h is a d d ress on
19
the S ta te o f th e N ation i s shown below :
18
D a ily V a r ie ty , H ollywood, C a lifo r n ia , O ctober 19»
19^2 .
19
Loc. c i t .
The ISSUES: What W e Are F ig h tin g For; The American
Way o f L if e .
R ele a sed from J u ly 1 , 1942 to October 1 , 1942 . . 3
Com pleted and a w a itin g r e l e a s e ................................. . 0
P roposed or in p r e p a r a t i o n ..................................................15
The ENEM Y: H is Id e o lo g y , Aims and M ethods.
R ele a sed from J u ly 1 , 1942 to O ctober 1, 1942 . . 24
Completed and a w a itin g r e le a s e .................................. * 1 7
Proposed or in p r e p a r a t i o n ................................................. 35
The UNITED NATIONS: Our B roth ers-In -A rm s.
R elea sed from J u ly 1 , 1942 to O ctober 1 , 1942 . . 3
Completed and a w a itin g r e le a s e ....................................... 5
Proposed or in p rep a ra tio n ............................................ 54
The PRODUCTION FRONT: Supplying th e m a te r ia ls f o r
V ic to r y .
R ele a sed from J u ly 1 , 1942 to O ctober 1 , 1942 . . 2
Completed and a w a itin g r e le a s e ...................................... 1
Proposed or in p rep a ra tio n . . ........................................ 10
The H O M E FRONT: C iv ilia n R e s p o n s ib ilit y .
R elea sed from J u ly 1 , 1942 to October 1 , 1942 . . 2
Completed and a w a itin g r e le a s e ...................................... 3
Proposed o r in p r e p a r a t i o n .................................... 23
The FIGHTING FORCES.
R elea sed from J u ly 1 , 1942 to October 1 , 1942 . . 4
Completed and a w a itin g r e le a s e ...................................... 9
Proposed or in p r e p a r a t i o n ..................................................90
There w i l l be a com parison made l a t e r in th e stu d y betw een
th e above ch a rt and m a te r ia l in 1944.
The O ffic e of War In form ation was con cern ed about th e
t o t a l in d u str y output o f war film s f o r two main r e a so n s. I t
f e l t th a t c e r t a in p hases o f th e war had been o v e r s tr e s s e d
(esp io n a g e and sa b o ta g e ), w h ile o th e r p hases o f eq u al or .
g r e a te r im portance had b een n e g le c te d . A nother reason f o r
concern was due to th e ex p erien ce o f p ic tu r e producers in
England w hich dem onstrated th a t to o much em phasis on war,
50
and p a r t ic u la r ly on combat had k i l l e d th e p u b lic demand f o r
war p ic tu r e s o f a l l k in d s, and th ereb y endangered the e n t ir e
fu n c tio n o f th e m otion p ic t u r e s .
The c h ie f f a ilu r e in th e p ic tu r e p ro d u ctio n program
o f H ollywood to th e end of 19^2, was th e f a i l u r e to a ch ie v e
th e g o a l s e t up by th e O ffic e o f War In fo rm a tio n , f o r few er
and b e t t e r war p ic tu r e s w ith b e t t e r o v e r - a ll in te r p r e ta tio n
of th e u n d erlyin g is s u e s o f the war b ein g shown. Elmer D a v is,
the d ir e c to r o f th e O ffic e o f War In fo rm a tio n , s a id in one
o f h is t a lk s about th e fu n c tio n s o f the in d u str y a s he saw
i t , th a t th e m ovies sh ou ld g iv e In fo rm a tio n , but th a t they
co u ld a ls o do more than t h a t , th ey c o u ld g iv e th e p u b lic un-
20
d er sta n d in g . They co u ld c l a r if y problem s w hich m ight be
com plex and co n fu sin g * They co u ld fo c u s a t te n t io n upon key
problem s and th e e s s e n t i a l is s u e s w hich th e p eo p le must de
c id e ) th e b a s ic c h o ic e s were th e th in g s the p eop le had to
make. P ic tu r e s make c le a r and i n t e l l i g i b l e th e enormous
c o m p le x itie s o f g lo b a l geography, m ilita r y t a c t i c s , economic
dilem m as, p o l i t i c a l d is p u te s , and p s y c h o lo g ic a l w arfare.
The medium o f p ic tu r e s co u ld be used to g iv e the p u b lic c le a r ,
c o n tin u o u s, and com prehensive Images of th e t o t a l p a tte r n
o f the t o t a l war.
The O ffic e o f War In form ation survey in d ic a te d th a t
20
Dally Variety, Hollywood, California, October 19»
51
the in d u str y had been d oing a good job as fa r as i t w ent,
b u t th a t th e war f ilm s were n ot fo c u s in g the key problem s
w hich th e p eo p le must g r a s p . They w ere n ot making c le a r the
enormous c o m p le x itie s o f th e g lo b a l w arfare a s th ey m ight
do, and a th in g w hich l a t e r th e in d u str y d id do to th e b e s t
o f i t s a b i l i t y .
H ollywood was ea g er to co o p era te in th e war e f f o r t ,
and most a n x io u s to do ev e ry th in g p o s s ib le to h e lp w ith th e
s tr u g g le f o r v ic t o r y . The in d u stry made a promised a f t e r
th e rep o rt, f o r a b e tte r -b a la n c e d program o f war f ilm s . These
p ic tu r e s would d ea l a d eq u a tely , p r o v o c a tiv e ly and in s p ir in g -
l y w ith a l l p h ases o f th e war.
F ear o f Government d ic t a t o r s h ip in th e f ilm In d u str y .
There was a t one tim e o r an oth er d uring the f i r s t p hases o f
th e war a fe a r th a t th e Government m ight g e t too much c o n tr o l
ov er th e m otion p ic tu r e In d u stry . The tre n d tow ard th e
Government " d ic t a t o r s h ip 1 1 o f th e f ilm in d u str y in England,
w hich had been growing s t e a d ily in B r it is h tra d e c i r c l e s ,
was r e f l e c t e d in th e U n ited S ta t e s . P ic tu r e company heads
had been p u ttin g q u e r ie s to t h e ir B r it is h tra d e r e p r e se n ta
t i v e s and o f f i c i a l s v i s i t i n g in America about the problem s
o f governm ent c o n tr o l o f film s in England. T h is fe a r was-.
re p o r ted r e s u lt in g from th e in c r e a s in g Government a c t i v i t y
in film p ro d u ctio n and n o n -th e a tr ic a l d is t r ib u t io n on the
52
B r itis h , s id e o f the ocean.
The apparent ten dency in W ashington and London to
f o llo w each o t h e r 's governm ental d ir e c t iv e s in g e n e r a l war
tim e econom ic and s o c ia l s tr u c tu r e s had g iv e n r i s e t o specu
la t io n w hether th e U n ited S ta te s in d u stry w ould be reshaped
to th e same e x te n t. O f f i c i a l l y , th e ap preh en sion in b o th
th e B r it is h and American p ic tu r e c i r c l e s was g r o u n d le ss.
The in d u str y b ased i t s fe a r s on th e u ses b ein g made by the
v a r io u s (fovernraent departm ents fo r more film fo r non-commer-
screen p urposes than th e p ic tu r e in d u str y was u sin g i t s e l f .
Government f ilm s , th o se produced to inform th e p u b lic a s to
what was happening in th e U nited S ta te s and the r e s t o f th e
w orld , were b e in g made in g r e a t numbers and many thousands
o f f e e t . These film s w ere n ot in ten d ed to com pete w ith th e
com m ercial m otion p ic tu r e s ; th ey were to be in a d d itio n to
th e Hollywood en terta in m en t film and were to carry a m essage
th a t was in fo r m a tiv e r a th e r than e n t e r t a in in g . There were
many r e e l s o f t h i s typ e o f p ic tu r e b ein g made and a l l were
r e c e iv in g a trem endous a u d ien ce due to th e f a c t th a t they
were shown w ith o u t c o s t to th e p u b lic . I t was th e in te n tio n -
o f th e Government to b rin g th e s u b je c ts to th e foregrou n d ,
and the in te n t was a c h ie v e d . In d oing s o , however, th e t o t a l
p ro d u ctio n o f film was re a ch in g an amazing number o f f e e t .
Thus th e worry o f th e in d u str y . The fe a r was th a t th e Gov
ernment m ight n ot s t i c k s t r i c t l y to in fo rm a tiv e s u b je c ts .
Though th e B r i t i s h G-overnment p rod u ction had embraced
fe a tu r e le n g th f ilm s , and n o n -th e a tr ic a l d is t r ib u t io n v ia
m obile u n its had become one o f the most im portant a s p e c ts o f
wartim e sc ree n fa r e in E ngland, o f f i c i a l en try in to a l l
p h ases o f p ro d u ctio n and d is t r ib u t io n on a permanent commer
c i a l b a s is was rem ote.
I t was fu r th e r p o in te d out th a t, in s o fa r a s th e U n ited
S ta te s f ilm trad e was con cern ed , G-overnment p ro d u ctio n ac
t i v i t i e s had c u t even l e s s in to com m ercial t e r r it o r y in th e
S ta t e s , sin c e th ey had been p u rp o sely lim it e d to sh o r t, f a c
t u a l f ilm s . The O ffic e o f War In form ation had d isc o n tin u e d
th e p ro d u ctio n o f f i c t i o n a l sh o r ts n ea rly a s soon a s th e y had
begun them. The c i v i l i a n in d u stry had attem p ted to g e t th e
G-overnment to cu t out a l l i t s m otion p ic tu r e s ex cep t th o se
f o r th e Armed S e r v ic e s . The id e a was th a t th e G-overnment in
making p ic tu r e s o f any s o r t was c u ttin g in to th e market o f
th e in d u str y .
As f a r a s th e B r i t i s h p rod u ction w en t, i t owes much
to G-overnment a c t i v i t i e s on th e o th e r sid e o f th e ocean a c
co rd in g to th e a u th o r ita tiv e c i r c l e s , b ecau se i t had been
p o s s ib le to produce a c o n s id e r a b le number o f d om estic film s
o f b e tte r -th a n -a v e r a g e q u a lit y th rou gh th e c o o p er a tio n a c
corded th e B r it is h M in istr y o f In form ation by th e War O ffic e .
As a G-overnment bureau the B r it is h M in istr y o f In form ation
had been a b le to g iv e th e lo a n o f s t a r p erform ers. Army and
54
Navy req u irem en ts rank f i r s t o f co u rse, b ut th e B r it is h
M in istry o f In form ation ranked t h ir d . P la y ers needed f o r
p ro d u ctio n s co u ld thu s be loan ed back s in c e th e v a r io u s
branches o f the s e r v ic e s co u ld t e l l w ith in sh o rt n o tic e whe
th e r the p la y e r s co u ld b e spared from a c t iv e d u ty. Loans
o f p la y e r s from the armed fo r c e s were a t a minimum, however,
s in c e they were u sed o n ly in im portant fe a tu r e le n g th p ic
t u r e s . In the U n ited S t a t e s , were p la y e r s su ch a s James
Stew art or Tyrone Power r e le a s e d fo r f e a t u r e - le n g th film
p rod u ction to be shown com m ercially i t would be assumed th a t
th e stu d io h o ld in g p r io r c o n tr a c t r ig h t s co u ld cla im th e
s e r v ic e s o f th e perform er f o r th e same purpose.
' Hollywood a id a g a in s t war in N orth A fr ic a r e q u e ste d .
The m otion p ic tu r e s in th e war had an o th er v i t a l use w hich
had n ot been d is c u s s e d to d a te in t h i s stu d y , t h a t o f a pro
paganda f o r c e . The tr u th o f t h i s was shown during th e Ameri
can in v a sio n o f French Morocco and v a r io u s o th e r c o u n tr ie s
in N orth A fr ic a . S p e c ia l French language n e w sr e e ls were
prepared and sh ip p ed by U n ited N ew sreel, the com posite
r e e l s com p iled by th e film u n it o f th e O ffic e o f War In fo r
mation" fo r d is t r ib u t io n in A llie d and n e u tr a l c o u n tr ie s .
F ic t io n f ilm s , d ocu m en taries, V io tb ry sh o r ts and every type
o f m otion p ic tu r e th a t w ould show French sp ea k in g p eop le in
A fr ic a th e American way o f l i f e , and w hich w ould carry th e
55
m essage o f th e U n ited N a tio n s in th e war a g a in s t th e Germans
were a ls o u sed .
Every m ajor producing company in H ollywood was coop
e r a tin g w ith th e O ffic e o f War In form ation in making film s
a v a ila b le f o r shipm ent to A fr ic a . These p ic tu r e s had French
sound tr a c k s or s p e c ia l French t i t l e s . D is tr ib u tio n was
handled in N orth A fr ic a by r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s o f th e American
d is t r ib u t o r s in co o p er a tio n w ith th e O ffic e o f War Informa
t io n men s ta tio n e d in th e d if f e r e n t c i t i e s .
In O ctober 19^2 V ich y , th e French c a p it a l a t th a t
tim e , banned im p o rta tio n or e x h ib itio n o f American f ilm s in
A lg ie r s , where ap proxim ately two hundred and s ix t y th e a te r s
were in o p e r a tio n . By November o f th a t year a l l o f th e
th e a te r s were showing f r e e U nited S ta te s f ilm s , and th e Of
f i c e o f War In form ation had rep la ced th e Nazi-m ade propaganda
p ic tu r e s w ith our film s in A lg ie r s and ev ery o th e r Am erican-
h e ld t e r r it o r y in N orth A fr ic a . The n a tiv e s who saw the
p ic tu r e s ch eered the H ollywood film s and th e n e w sr e e ls . A
b i t o f good propaganda was in je c t e d in to th e n ew sreel by
some fo o ta g e o f P r e sid e n t R o o se v e lt d e liv e r in g a sp eech in
French to th e French p eo p le in N orth A fr ic a . The n ew sreel
had been planned weeks in advance o f the in v a s io n , and th e r e ,
were o th e r s th a t fo llo w e d q u ic k ly to keep th e f e e l i n g stro n g
toward th e Am ericans and t h e ir ca u se in N orth A fr ic a . In
a d d itio n i t was r e q u este d th a t a s soon a s th e la n d was
56
secure* any p ic tu r e th a t showed th e Americans and what th ey
were doing fo r th e war e f f o r t or th a t p resen te d a sto r y o f
n a tio n a l u n ity in th e U n ited S t a t e s , or an y th in g th a t so ld
th is co u n tr y ' s p a r t ic ip a t io n w ith th e A l l i e s in th e war, go
o v er . There was some concern in c e r ta in q u a r te rs a s to whe
th e r our propaganda p ic tu r e s would o f f s e t th o se w hich th e
Germans se n t in to n e u tr a l c o u n tr ie s a s w e ll a s A fr ic a , b u t
i t was q u ic k ly r e a liz e d th a t the g r e a t m otion p ic t u r e . in d u str y
o f America w ith a l l i t s f a c i l i t i e s and t a le n t co u ld e a s i l y
outdo what H it le r had done in th e war o f propaganda through
the sc r e e n .
The lon g range program fo r A fr ic a and th e o th e r in
vaded c o u n tr ie s was d esig n ed to keep th e n e w sr e e ls and th e
en terta in m en t f ilm s flo w in g in to th e p ic tu r e houses in th o se
c o u n tr ie s , and a t th e same tim e embark on an e x te n s iv e sh o rt
su b je c t program f o r t h e a t r ic a l and n o n -th e a tr ic a l d is t r ib u
t io n . A program was s t a r t e d w hich put s ix te e n m illim e te r
propaganda f ilm s in England, In d ia , Egypt and o th e r coun
t r i e s . S ix te e n m illim e te r film s were made in s i x to tw elv e
d if f e r e n t la n g u a g es. These p ic tu r e s were s e n t in to p la c e s
where th e r e had n ever b e fo r e been any m otion p ic t u r e s , and
covered a range o f s u b je c ts from d e n ta l care and p u b lic
h e a lth to e n g in e e r in g .
The u se o f th e s ix t e e n m illim e te r f ilm s had b een grow
in g r a p id ly i however the B r it is h were u sin g them;'a; g r e a t
5?
d e a l more than th e Am ericans had up to the w ar. In England
th e p eop le had been ed u ca ted to th e f a c t u a l f ilm more than
th e y had in th e S t a t e s . There i t was w id ely used in f a c t o r i e s ,
c lu b s ,,t r a d e u nion s and s c h o o ls . The r e s u lt was th a t th ere
were l o t s o f h a lls s e t up to show th e s ix te e n m illim e te r
f ilm s , made by th e U n ited S ta t e s , to g e t th e m essage to th e
m asses o f th e p e o p le .
' P roducers tr y to e a s e wartim e c e n s o r sh ip . The fo r e ig n
market had b een r e s t r ic t e d to a lm o st n o th in g due to the
enemy o ccu p ied n a tio n s and the f a c t th a t in th e c o u n tr ie s
w hich th e A l l i e s were occupying th e r e was no revenue from
th e f ilm s . A nother cau se f o r con cern th a t th e in d u str y f e l t
was th e n e c e s s it y f o r d r a s t ic a l ly a lt e r in g th e typ e and man
ner o f p r e s e n ta tio n o f screen s t o r i e s due to th e wartim e
c e n so r sh ip . I n d iv id u a l producers began com plaining about
what th ey regard ed a s to o sev ere in te r p r e ta t io n o f th e p ic
tu r e s by th e c e n s o r s.
The amount o f revenue l o s t c o u ld n o t be e stim a te d ,
b ut th e f a c t th a t i t was a g r e a t d e a l was re co g n ize d . By th e
f i r s t o f January, 19^3, about a dozen p ic tu r e s had been de
f i n i t e l y turned down by th e "O ffice o f C en sorship on exp ort
li c e n s e s . O thers had been g ra n ted p erm issio n f o r export
to c e r ta in a re a s o n ly , th e com panies sig n in g s t ip u la t io n s
th a t the f ilm s would not be e x h ib ite d elsew h ere. S t i l l
58
o th e r f ilm s had been p a r t i a l l y r e - s h o t , or r e - e u t in order
to g e t th e O ffic e o f C en sorship s e a l o f ap p roval.
The p roducers com plained th a t th e c e n s o r sh ip was over
unim portant f a c t o r s in t h e i r s t o r i e s . For exam ple, an yth in g
shoifing an American (3-overnment o f f i c i a l as crooked was
banned. A crooked o f f i c i a l in c i t y , county o r s t a t e govern
ment was, and i s , p r a c t ic a lly a s to c k c h a r a c te r in Hollywood
f ilm s . One p ic tu r e was r e fu se d a s e a l o f ap proval due to th e
em phasis on r a tio n in g o f su gar. The com p lain ing producers
claim ed th a t many o rd in a ry human f r a i l t i e s , such a s a s o ld ie r
g o in g A bsent w ith o u t L eave, co u ld n o t be worked in to th e
s t o r i e s .
The O ffic e o f C en sorsh ip , e s ta b lis h e d in H ollywood in -
June o f 19^2 had been rea d in g a l l s c r ip t s p r e se n te d to i t in '
advance o f p ro d u c tio n . I t o ffe r e d su g g e s tio n s and inform a
t io n in an e f f o r t to h e lp producers b efo re th e s to r y was
put on f ilm . However th e bureau was bound by r u le s a s l a i d
down by th e C h ief o f the O ffic e o f C ensorship and by C olon el
W . P resto n Corderman, Army o f f i c e r a s s ig n e d t o th e O ffic e
o f C en sorsh ip , who a s c h ie f p o s ta l c e n so r had b een h an d lin g
much o f th e f ilm end o f th e c e n so r sh ip job.
The O ffic e o f War In fo rm a tio n , a se p a r a te bureau but
w orking c l o s e l y w ith the O ffic e o f C en sorship in H ollywood,
was a ls o a id in g in advance o f p ro d u ctio n when i t had a ch an ce.
*
T he Hollywood Office of W a r Information had even gone to the
59
p o in t o f tip p in g o f f s tu d io s th a t c e r ta in books o r p la y s
m ight not meet w ith G-overnment a p p ro v a l, i f i t had read or
heard th a t th e s tu d io s were in t e r e s t e d in p u rch asin g th e
s t o r i e s . At l e a s t one b ig Broadway p ro d u ctio n d id n ot reach
th e screen b eca u se word had been p a ssed to th e s tu d io th a t
th e O ffic e o f War In form ation would n ot approve i t .
The e f f e c t o f c e n so r sh ip on th e in d u str y was n ot as
g r e a t as the in d u str y a t f i r s t fe a r e d . However i t was agreed
th a t en terta in m en t l o s e s i t s f la v o r when r e s t r i c t i o n s su?e
too s t r in g e n t . I t was a b i t d i f f i c u l t to p r e se n t a l l Americans
a s k n ig h ts in sh in in g armor.
Throughout the e n t ir e war th e A d m in istra tio n in s i s t e d -
th a t th e re was no c e n s o r sh ip , a c tu a l or in ten d ed . P ersons
in th e in d u str y had v a r io u s v iew s ran gin g from fa c e a ccep ta n ce
o f th e word o f th e G-overnment to b e l i e f th a t th e r e was a cen
so r sh ip o f f e a r . In o th e r w ords, th e su g g e stio n o f one o f
th e A d m in istr a tio n 's a g en ts had b e t t e r be fo llo w e d b ecau se
th e governm ent had many v a r ie d and s p e c i f i c alm ost llf e - a n d -
d ea th powers w hich co u ld be e x e r c is e d I n d ir e c t ly .
T h is much o f th e stu d y in. ch a p ter IV has been about
th e e a r ly p h ases o f th e c o n tr o ls Imposed by th e G-overnment
and i t s a g e n c ie s on th e c i v i l i a n m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y .
The in d u stry r e c e iv e d the c o n tr o ls and su g g e stio n s o f the
G-overnment w ith varyin g d eg rees of co o p era tio n a t f i r s t , b u t
l a t e r found out th a t th e b e s t a c tio n was to f o llo w c lo s e ly
th e p a tte r n and thu s e lim in a te th e tr o u b le w hich was sure
to a r is e w ith v io la t io n o f th e c o n t r o ls .
I I . LATER PHASES
The l a t e r p h ases o f the war and th e r e g u la tio n s Im
p osed on th e c i v i l i a n in d u str y In v o lv ed l i t t l e argum ent. The
in d u str y knew by th a t tim e they had a job to do and th a t th e
r u le s fo r th e job had b een la id down. Any v io l a t i o n o f th e
r e g u la tio n s would hurt o n ly th e in d u str y in t h a t th ey would
have to e it h e r r e - e d it p ic tu r e s th a t had been made# or e l s e
th ey would have to put th e p ic tu r e on a s h e lf o a s b ein g one
th a t a o u ld en et be shown u n t i l a f t e r th e war.
The a g e n c ie s th a t w ere d ic t a t in g th e se c o n tr o ls were
in th e main# th e O ffic e o f War Inform ation# th e O ffic e o f
P o s ta l C ensor, the War D epartm ent, th e Hays O f fic e , and any
s t a t e r e g u la tio n s th a t m ight be in f o r c e .
The O ffic e o f War In fo rm a tio n , w ith I t s Bureau o f
M otion P ic tu r e s has been d is c u s s e d a t le n g th in th e stu d y .
The O ffic e o f P o s ta l Censor was an agency o f the F ed eral
G-overnment w hich had a g r e a t d e a l to do w ith what w ould be
sh ip p ed ou t o f the co u n tr y , as w e ll as g e n e r a l r u le s and
r e g u la tio n s w hich would n ot be a llo w e d broken. I t was in
t h i s o f f i c e where th e m ost o f th e Army C en sorship o f the
f ilm s made by th e p eo p le in H ollywood were view ed to make
su re th a t th e r e were no v i o la t i o n s o f th e Army r e g u la tio n s
61
f o r th e p ro d u ctio n o f m otion p ic tu r e s by th e c i v i l i a n in
d u str y .
The War Department se n t out a l i s t o f th in g s th a t
went to form th e item s w hich were c o n t r o lle d in th e making
o f m otion p ic tu r e s d uring the World War.
The Hays o f f i c e c o n tr o lle d th e c i v i l i a n in d u str y as^
to th e m orals o f the p ic t u r e s , the language and th e l i k e o f
t h a t. They were in e x is te n c e lon g b efo re th e war and w i l l
be in some c a p a c ity or o th e r fo r many y ea rs to come, and t h e ir
job w i l l remain much th e same a s i t has been fo r th e y e a r s .
I t m ight be s a id one o f th e m issio n s f o r w hich th e Hays o f
f i c e was brought in to b e in g , was th a t o f c le a n in g up the
m otion p ic t u r e s as to m orals and g iv in g w hatever h elp n e c e s
sary to th e in d u stry a s t o p a ssa b le film ; th is m issio n has
been accom p lish ed in a v er y e f f i c i e n t manner.
The Government agen cy in H ollywood was th e O ffic e o f
War In fo r m a tio n 's Bureau o f M otion P ic tu r e s , a s has been
s ta te d b e fo r e in t h i s stu d y . I t sh ou ld be remembered th a t
th e M otion p ic tu r e i n t e r e s t s th em selv es went to W ashington
e a r ly in th e s t a r t o f th e war to in q u ir e how th ey co u ld
h e lp b e s t in th e war e f f o r t . The r e s u lt was th e c r e a tio n o f
th e bureau, a t th e con sen t and h ea rty approval o f a l l members
o f the in d u s tr y . The bureau o ffe r e d much a d v ic e , many sug
g e s tio n s and had g iv e n e x te n s iv e co o p era tio n to p ic tu r e pro
d u c ers. I t was tru e th a t some o f the su g g e s tio n s had not
62
been a ccep te d and some, on th e o th e r hand, had been a c
c e p te d . No in s ta n c e had come to the g e n e r a l n o tic e o f p res
sure on a producer to a c c e p t bureau s e r v ic e o r o f any r e
p r is a l f o r n ot a cc ep tin g i t .
The n e a r e st th in g to a c tu a l c e n so r sh ip came from the
Armed F orces o f f i c e r s who had a very d ir e c t in t e r e s t in p ic
tu r e s showing armed men in t h is o r th a t phase o f m ilit a r y
/
l i f e . Leading producers s a id th a t no in s ta n c e o f s iz a b le
f r i c t i o n had a r is e n betw een 'the o f f i c e r s and th e p rod u cers.
The Bureau o f M otion P ic tu r e s r e q u este d producers to
subm it s c r ip t s and rough cu t f ilm s f o r rev iew . I t was not
com pulsory, u n le s s th ey f e l t the com pulsion o f f e a r . Some
o f th e p rod ucers resp ond ed and o th e r s d id n o t. There were
some e a s i l y e x c it a b le p erso n s in th e f ilm c a p it a l and th ere
were some who seemed to f e a r a r i g i d A d m in istra tio n ce n so r
sh ip and thought th a t freedom o f sp eech was g o in g w ith a
W ashington w ind. The Government men who headed up th e
Bureau o f M otion P ic tu r e s t r ie d t o calm th e f e a r s o f the
21
producers as b e s t th ey c o u ld .
The s it u a t io n was ohe o f th e m inute and n o th in g th a t
la s t e d f o r any g re a t le n g th o f tim e , and th e r e was n oth in g
new in th e scheme o f th in g s w hich sh ou ld have w o rried th e
21
The Los A n geles Tim es, Los A n g eles, C a lifo r n ia ,
February 28, 19 ^3 •
men in th e in d u s tr y . There had been a p e r io d o f tim e w hich
had p a ssed w ith th e new r e s t r i c t i o n s caused by th e war b ein g
c a r e f u lly ob served by th e men who w ere charged w ith a s s i s t
in g th e in d u str y in making sure th a t noth in g g o t film e d
w hich would impede th e war e f f o r t . P rio r to t h i s tim e th ere
had been no one but th e Hays O ffic e and p o l i t i c a l cen so r
sh ip boards in v a r io u s s t a t e s and c i t i e s to r e g u la te the
in d u str y in any way. I t m ight have j u s t been th e a r t i s t i c
temperament coming to th e fo r e but in any c a se i t was tem
p orary. The Government, th e p u b lic , and th e in d u str y i t s e l f - ■
knew th a t th e m otion p ic tu r e s o f t h i s n a tio n had been doing
th e b e s t p o s s ib le job to a id th e war e f f o r t to d a te , and a
job so w e ll done th a t i t d id not seem p o s s ib le th a t anybody
co u ld ev e r fe a r th a t th e Government was g o in g to do an yth in g
to hurt th e in d u s tr y .
Government n ot in th e m otion -picture b u s in e s s . The
Government was not g o in g in to th e m otion p ic tu r e b u s in e s s ,
and more than th a t i t had no f a u lt to fin d w ith th o se th a t
were running th e b u s in e s s . Mr. Lottfell M e lle t t , head o f
th e Bureau o f M otion P ic tu r e s , O ffic e o f War In fo rm a tio n ,
in W ashington, D .C ., t r i e d to r e a ssu r e the in d u str y by t e l l
in g them th a t th e Government had co n fid en ce In t h e i r m e r it.
That co n fid en c e co u ld be e x h ib ite d in about s ix t e e n thousand
th e a te r s in America and unnumbered thousands o f th e a te r s in
o th e r la n d s . The Government and th e m otion p ic tu r e In d u stry
6k
had d evelop ed th e proper r e la t io n s h ip w ith one a n o th er. I t
was tru e th a t i t was a d if f e r e n t one from t h a t o f normal or
peace tim e s, and i t was due in th e main alm ost w h o lly to the
s p i r i t , th e p a t r io t i c s p i r i t , o f th e men and women who com
posed th e p ic tu r e in d u str y .
The in d u str y had o ffe r e d to h elp th e G-overnment, and
th e G-overnment had o f fe r e d to a s s i s t th e in d u str y in ca rry
in g out th e d e s ir e t o p la y a f u l l p art in th e war. A prac
t i c a l w orkable method o f c o o p e r a tio n had d ev elo p ed from th e
two p a r a lle l p r o p o sa ls, and th e r e s u lt on th e whole had been
22
g r a t if y in g to b o th p a r t ie s .
There had b een some concern a t tim es oh th e p art o f
p eo p le w ith in and w ith o u t the in d u stry l e s t in th e f a c t th a t
th e y seem in g ly p la ced th em selv es to some d egree in the hands
o f th e G-overnment, th e c u sto d ia n s o f th e g r e a t c r e a t iv e a r t
m ight endanger th e freedom o f th e a r t . I t was a n a tu ra l
con cern , one w hich th o se charged w ith ca rry in g o u t th e
Government’ s h a lf o f th e co o p er a tio n had had f u l l sympathy.
They had been very d eterm in ed th a t th ey sh ou ld n o t win th e
war through p r o c e sse s t h a t would lo s e th e im portant th in g s
f o r w hich th e war was b ein g fo u g h t. One o f th e s e th in g s
was freedom o f e x p r e s s io n .2^
22
Dally Variety, Hollywood, California, M arch 5 >
19^3.
2-^Loc. c i t .
A fte r o v er a y e a r ’ s e x p e r ie n c e i t seemed, th a t th e
m utual e n te r p r is e had dem onstrated th a t i t was p o s s ib le f o r
th e G-overnment in r e a l democracy to m arshal th e v o lu n ta ry
s e r v ic e s o f a l l i t s p eo p le w ithou t tr a n s g r e s s in g on th e
2 k
fundam ental l i b e r t i e s o f any o f them.
The p ic tu r e s th a t th e G-overnment had made were lim it e d
t o th o se f a c t u a l p ic t u r e s , d esig n ed sim ply to g iv e th e peo
p le o f America in fo rm a tio n th ey needed to .h a v e and which
th ey were e n t i t l e d to have, and w hich th e Government, in i t s
war e f f o r t needed th e p eo p le to have. Beyond th a t th e Gov
ernment d id n ot th in k i t s fu n c tio n sh ou ld g o . The r e s u lt
was th e p ic t u r e s about sa lv a g e o f t i n ca n s, o ld rubber,
tu b e s, o ld r u s ty m achinery, about sa v in g f a t s and g r e a s e s ,
about the k in d o f work fo r w hich men and women w ere needed,
about th e fo o d s th a t sh ou ld be e a te n , about why in tim es
l ik e war tim e s th e p u b lic cannot e a t a l l th e th in g s they
would l ik e to e a t , about the sh a rin g o f c a r s, and mani
s im ila r such unrom antic s u b je c ts . In normal tim e s th e s e
p ic tu r e s would seem to be very d u ll , b u t th e m o v le-g o ers
d id n ot appear to fin d them d u ll, m ainly b eca u se th ey were
p ic tu r e s d e a lin g w ith m a tters w ith w hich th ey were in tim a te
ly c o n c e rn e d .2^
2 k
D a lly V a r ie ty , l o c . o i t .
2 5
Loc. c i t .
66
More im portant than what th e governm ent d id in th e
m atter o f making p ic t u r e s , was what the G-overnment d id not
do. The Government d id n o t, through th e use o f p ic tu r e s
endeavor to regim ent th e erotions o f th e American p e o p le . To
do t h i s was and i s n o t a fu n c tio n -of any governm ent in
dem ocracy. Educate y e s , but not r e g im e n t.th e p u b lic .
Ob .le c tio n s to H ollyw ood1 s war- tim e p ic t u r e s . There
were comments r a is e d in some p a r ts o f th e co u n try , and some
from o v e r se a s th a t th e p ic tu r e s b e in g produced in Hollywood
were not what th ey sh o u ld be making. This cry was from th e
m in o r ity , but i t i s f e l t th a t i t should be t o ld in t h is
stu d y . The Hollywood R eporter had. an e d it o r ia l w hich read
a s fo llo w s :
Some o f the movie producers are d oing an a s in in e job
in p r e s e n tin g war to th e cinem a lo v e r s . I saw a film
th e o th e r n ig h t in w hich the Army was composed m ostly
o f trombone p la y e r s and ja zz s in g e r s done up on uniform .
Men who are supposed to be in th e b u s in e s s o f sa v in g
t h is cou n try danced and g ig g le d and made jo k e s. G ir l
h e lp e r s — I d o n 't know what th ey were d o in g a t th e
camp — w if f le d a rumba. And everybody s a lu te d ev ery
body e l s e and made lo v e in o u t-o f-th e -w a y c o r n e rs o f
th e camp.
Then suddenly a serg ea n t-m a jo r — o r maybe he was a
g e n e r a l — came ou t on the sta g e o f the b e n e f it per
formance (th e r e was a b e n e f it perform ance) and sa id :
"Boys, your country i s c a l l i n g ! " And away th e men
w ent. Armed to th e t e e t h and g rin n in g a s i f th e y were
c a ts come from C h esh ire.
"I'm g la d to know what Hollywood th in k s war i s ," s a id
a fo r e ig n d iplom at s i t t i n g n ex t to me. "The enemy
would be so p le a s e d ." ^
67
The S ta r s and S tr ip e s was th e o f f i c i a l Army paper
p r in te d in th e European T heater o f O peration d u rin g th e war.
T h is paper was run e n t i r e l y by th e s o ld ie r s in th a t th e a te r
o f o p e r a tio n . I t was one o f the f i r s t , i f n ot th e f i r s t
army paper to tak e e x c e p tio n to th e type o f p ic tu r e s th a t
were b ein g sh ip p ed to the men o v e r se a s . The fo llo w in g i s a
q u o ta tio n from th a t paper:
"Flag Waving"
R e c e n tly we have been sic k e n e d by th e way Hollywood
a t i t s w o rst, has "waved th e fla g ."
W e are proud o f th e American f l a g , fo r i t r e p r e se n ts
th e U n ited S ta te s o f Am erica. . .o u r homeland and
p e o p le . T0 see th a t f l a g "ballyhooed" by Hollywood i s
d is g u s tin g , f o r i t d oesn t need " p u b lic ity ."
Hollywoo'd, however must have h eroes to b rin g n ic k le s
in to th e box o f f i c e ; so during t h i s war w e're a l l
h e ro e s. I t w ouldn’ t be q u ite so bad i f H ollywood m ovies
were shown o n ly in America; but th e y 'r e w id e ly d is t r ib u t e d
here in B r it a in . In such circu m sta n ces i t i s hard to
see y o u r s e lf p o rtra y ed on th e screen as a "bloody hero"
when you know y o u 're surrounded by men, women and c h i l
dren who have d e f i n i t e l y proved th ey a re b rave beyond
th e a b i l i t y o f H ollywood to p o rtra y .
Then to se e our b e a u tif u l f l a g , f ly in g proudly in
th e b r e e z e , every t h ir d sc e n e, i s ju s t to o much. I t
i s cheap and done to secu re ap p lau se where th e d ir e c t o r ,
through h is own w eak ness, i s u nab le to c r e a te p a t r io t i c
em otion in a le g it im a t e manner.
W e w ould a p p r e c ia te th e Hays o f f i c e more i f i t sp e n t'
l e s s tim e c u ttin g swear words from the s c r ip t s o f po
t e n t i a l war m ovies and gave a l i t t l e more thought to
"good ta s te " in th e m ovie s c r ip t s d e sig n ed f o r fo r e ig n
^ T he Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood, California,
June 3 0 , W V 2 .
68
consum ption. W e f e e l th a t in a d d itio n to nev/s cen so r
sh ip , -movies should he cen so red f o r good t a s t e b e fo r e
th ey are ex p o rted to fo r e ig n c o u n tr ie s and th a t such
c e n so r sh ip by th e Hays O ffic e would e lim in a te d is t r u s t
o f America th a t bad f ilm s show in th e minds o f p eop le
who sh o u ld be our b e s t f r i e n d s .2?
The M otion P ic tu r e Producers and D is tr ib u to r s o f
Am erica took stro n g e x c e p tio n to t h i s l e t t e r or e d i t o r i a l
and attem p ted t o le a r n th e m otive b eh in d the “f la g w aving”
comments, and a ls o attem p ted to le a r n w hich p ic t u r e s or
p ic tu r e th a t th e S ta r s and S tr ip e s had in mind. The a t t it u d e
o f th e m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y was th a t they welcomed c r i t i
cism , but u n le s s some c o n s tr u c tiv e su g g e stio n was made, such
sw eeping a c c u s a tio n s r e a lly serve no purpose. As fa r as
can be found n oth in g came o f th e comments in th e Army paper
inasm uch as th e r e a l cau se o f th e comments was n ever d is c lo s e d .
A t r o c it ie s e lim in a te d from p ic tu r e s by War Department
r e q u e s t. A nother wartim e r e s t r ic t io n w hich th e in d u str y ran
in to was th e d ir e c t iv e from th e War Department a g a in st th e
showing o r r e fe r e n c e to in d ia lo g u e , o f a t r o c i t i e s com m itted
by the Japanese a g a in st an American c i v i l i a n or m ilita r y
p r iso n e r o f war. T h is e d ic t took Hollywood by su r p r is e and
cau sed c o n sid e r a b le c o n fu sio n , s in c e s e v e r a l major s tu d io s
had p ic tu r e s in p ro d u ctio n d e a lin g w ith th e Japanese
2^The S ta r s and S t r ip e s , London, England, A p r il 13 >
19*K 3*
>
69
a t r o c i t i e s . The a c tio n came on th e h e e ls o f th e G-overnment
w arning th a t f ilm s t r e a t in g upon th e cu rren t j u v e n ile de
lin q u en cy problem would, not be regard ed a s s u it a b le fo r ex
h ib itio n ' o u ts id e t h i s co u n try . F ilm s o f t h i s s o r t were be
in g used by th e G-ermans to show th a t in a Democracy such a s
th e U n ited S ta te s th e c h ild r e n were a llo w ed to run w ild and
had no id e a a s to r ig h t o r wrong. They, th e G-ermans, were
ta k in g the. p ic t u r e s and running them a l l o v er th e w orld , e s
p e c i a lly in South A m erica, where th ey h ired h a l l s and used
th e p ic tu r e s as a means o f la u g h in g a t th e Democracy o f th e
U n ited S t a t e s . Some p rod ucers thought th a t when t h i s r e s t r i c
t io n was put on them th a t a l l freedom o f p ro d u ctio n had been
taken away. The tr u th was th a t th e r e g u la tio n was put on
th e p ro d u ctio n o f th a t s o r t o f film o n ly a f t e r the G-overn
ment had been inform ed th a t th e enemy n a tio n was u sin g th e
p ic tu r e s a s had been m entioned to th e d etrim en t o f t h i s na
t io n . A fte r t h i s f a c t had been ex p la in ed to th e in d u stry
c le a r ly th ey d id n ot p r o t e s t th e r e g u la tio n any more, and
tem pered th e s c r ip t s to do away w ith t h i s s o r t o f th in g .
I t was c e r ta in th a t w h ile F ed era l C en sorsh ip a s such'-
d id not e x i s t i t was c le a r th a t p ow erfu l In flu e n c e was ex
e r te d over th e In d u stry through th e ex p ed ien cy o f th r e a te n in g
to deny ex p o rt l i c e n s e s due to p ic tu r e s regard ed a s in im ic a l
to wartim e American i n t e r e s t s . N early a l l th e f ilm s about
the war in th e P a c if ic co n ta in ed sc e n e s and, o r d ia lo g u e
70
d e a lin g w ith ab uses p e r p e tr a te d by Japanese o f f i c i a l s or
s o ld ie r s .
Among p ic tu r e s w hich were a f f e c t e d by the new e d ic t
w ere, M etro 's '’T h irty Seconds Over T okyo,” and "Dragon Seed";
P o x 's "Purple H eart," d e a lin g w ith wounded s o ld ie r s in th e
P a c if ic a r e a , and "Horror Isla n d ," a l e s s im posing su b je c t to
t r e a t s p e c i f i c a l l y w ith Ja p a n 's I n te n tio n to propagate a hy
b r id N ipponese ra ce by th e in term a rria g e o f i t s n a tio n a ls w ith
su b ju gated p eo p le; W arner's " D e stin a tio n —• Tokyo" and Uni
v e r s a l 's prop osed "B east o f th e E a st." In M etro 's "Cry
Havoc," th e c lim a c tic sc e n e s shewed n u rses m arching out o f
t h e ir dugout to su rren d er to the Jap an ese. As i t was o r ig
i n a l l y film e d i t was to th e accompaniment o f scream s and
s h r ie k s in tim a tin g th e n u r se s were a t r o c it y v ic tim s — th e
sound tra c k was l a t e r e lim in a te d .
The rea so n f o r th e r e q u est th a t a t r o c i t i e s n o t be shown
was g iv e n a s f e a r o f fu r th e r c r u e lt ie s a g a in st Am ericans who
were a t th e tim e h eld by th e J ap an ese. The th e o ry was th a t
the Japanese m ight f ig u r e th a t a s lo n g as th ey were b ein g
charged w ith th e cr im es, and would have to pay f o r them l a t
e r , th ey m ight a s w e ll co n tin u e them.
H ollywood n ever assum ed, r e a lly , th a t W ashington had-
a ttem p ted to a r b it r a r ily d ic t a t e ju s t what sh o u ld or should
n o t be u sed in com m ercial p ic tu r e s d e a lin g w ith war is s u e s .
Hoxtfever many " su g g estio n s" em anating from th e d if f e r e n t
71
Government departm ents were embodied in to p ic t u r e s on th e
recom mendation o f th e O ffic e o f War In fo rm a tio n . One of th e
m ost s t r ik in g exam ples was a p ic tu r e produced by Paramount,
t i t l e d “The H it le r G a n g ." ^ When the film was f i r s t d i s
cu ssed in s c r ip t form , th e producer s t a te d th a t he In tend ed
to show through th e in c e p tio n , grow th, and developm ent o f th e
N azi p a rty th a t Germany was in th e hands o f a mob o f c r im in a l
g a n g s te r s . He had v is u a liz e d the film on th e s c a le o f a
"super" g a n g ste r e p ic , an alogou s to th e American g a n g sterism
o f th e p r o h ib itio n e r a , in which the " crlm e-d oes-n ot-p ay"
clim a x would be shown in th e m ilit a r y d e fe a t o f Germany.
The f ilm "The H it le r Gang," a s i t was made, d id not
tou ch on th e p a st war, World War I I , and ended w ith th e 1936
b lo o d purge. The g a n g ste r elem en ts and th e " in sid e" depraved
l i v e s and c a r e e r s o f th e H itle r p arty le a d e r s p la y ed a p art
in th e f a c t u a l p lo t , but more s ig n i f i c a n t l y , th e German
Junkers and army o f f i c e r c liq u e s p o rtra y ed th e Im portant p a rt
th ey p la y ed in th e grow th o f the N azi movement. T his phase
o f th e p ic t u r e , includ-ed and s t r e s s e d a t the in s is t e n c e o f
th e O ffic e o f War In fo rm a tio n , was done a t th e " u n o ff ic ia l
su g g estio n " o f th e S ta te Departm ent. The e x p la n a tio n o f
t h i s was due to W ash in gton 's d e s ir e to em phasize th e th eo ry
th a t th e rem oval o f th e H it le r c liq u e would not so lv e the
E d it o r ia l in th e New York Tim es, November 1&, 19^3*
72
G-erman problem , and th a t th e p eop le o f the d em ocracies must
be on guard a g a in s t th e fa s c is t-m in d e d G-erman Army groups who
m ight overthrow the N azi G-overnment to seek a n e g o tia te d
p e a c e .^ T h is id ea was a ls o brought ou t in a s e r ie s o f f ilm s
made by th e U n ited S ta t e s Army to ed u cate th e s e r v ic e men as
to th e background o f the G-erman thought toward war and p ea ce .
In c o n tr a s t to th e a t t it u d e o f th e G-overnment toward
f ilm s showing ju v e n ile d elin q u en cy , g a n g ste r s an d -th e Japan
e s e a t r o c i t i e s , W ashington wanted a speedy f o r e ig n d is t r ib u
t io n o f th e f ilm . The p ic tu r e was e d ite d and assem bled as
i t was sh o t in order th a t i t co u ld be shown a s e a r ly as p os
s i b l e . I t was one o f th e f a s t e s t p ic tu r e s made by any com
pany in th e war y e a r s . There was no d i f f i c u l t y in showing
th e p ic tu r e in th e A llie d c o u n tr ie s , b u t th e r e was some d i f
f i c u l t y in g e t t in g r e le a s e of th e m otion p ic tu r e in the
n e u tr a l c o u n tr ie s . However t h is s it u a t io n was overcome to
some e x te n t by making a number o f s ix t e e n m illim e te r p r in ts
o f th e f ilm so th a t th ey were sm uggled in to th o se t e r r i t o r i e s
f o r "contraband 1 1 sh ow ings.
F i l m s t o ld to f i g h t ap ath y. As th e war p ro g ressed th e
G-overnment c o n tin u a lly f e l t th e f e a r o f th e n a tio n becoming
a p a th e tic to th e war e f f o r t . I t was a lo n g war and as tim e .
^ E d i t o r i a l in th e New York Tim es, November 1A, 19^3*
73
went on th e p u b lic read th e papers and knew th a t war was a
tra g ed y . Hoxvever, i t seemed to be the way th in g s were and
th ey m ight a s w e ll l e t i t go at th a t and hope th a t i t would
soon be o v e r . S tan ton G -r lffis , c h ie f o f the D om estic D iv i
sio n o f th e O ffic e o f War In fo r m a tio n 's Film Bureau, t o ld th e
in d u str y a t one o f h is m eetin g s w ith th e War A c t i v i t i e s Com
m itt e e , th a t th e primary d uty o f the m otion p ic t u r e s was to
c o r r e c t any apathy toward th e war. One o f th e ways th a t th e
apathy was ev id en c ed was in th e b la ck m ark ets. A nother o f
the dangers was th e t a lk th a t th e war would be o v er in a few
months and th a t th e p eo p le cou ld l e t down in th e war e f f o r t .
G r i f f i s s a id th a t he ■ thought the American p u b lic c o u ld fa c e
f a c t s i f th e film s gave them th e tr u th . I t appeared th a t
econom ic problem s were o f v i t a l im portance. There must be no
i n t e r e s t in p o l i t i c a l im p lic a tio n s , and th e job was to t e l l
the p u b lic what th ey a s Americans must do on the home fr o n t
t o win th e war. Mr. G r i f f i s ' id e a was to make a s e r ie s o f
sh o rt s u b je c ts on th in g s l i k e food p rod u ction and co n serv a
t io n , as w e ll a s sh o r ts on g a s o lin e c o n se r v a tio n . More o f
th e se sh o r ts were to be made a t l a t e r d a te s . They were made,
a s has been d is c u s s e d b e fo r e in t h i s stu d y , on su ch s u b je c ts ,
as rubber c o n s e r v a tio n , t in c o n se r v a tio n , f a t s and se v e r a l
o th e r s u b j e c ts . Always th e aim was to keep th e n a tio n aware
o f t h e ir v i t a l p art in th e war e f f o r t even though th ey were
a t home. The medium o f th e film s made i t p o s s ib le f o r th e
7^
s u b je c ts to have th e x fid est p o s s ib le d is t r ib u t io n .
The program o f th e in fo rm a tio n sh o r ts was s e t up f o r
an average o f one sh o rt o r b u lle t in , every two w eeks. The
d is t r ib u t io n was handled through th e War A c t i v i t i e s Commit
te e by th e n ew sreel com panies. There were a d d itio n a l s p e c ia l
s u b je c ts made by th e Army and Navy on r e c e n t cam paigns, such
as th e ^ ’L ib e r a tio n o f Home,” and xrere r e le a s e d a s soon as
th ey were made a v a ila b le by the s e r v ic e s , to the O ffic e o f
War In fo rm a tio n .
For th e f i s c a l y ea r 19^5 C ongress a p p ro p ria ted
fo r film a c t i v i t i e s fo r th e d om estic branch o f th e O ffic e o f
War I n f o r m a t i o n . I t was w ith t h i s money th a t s u b je c ts
su ch a s th o se l i s t e d e a r l i e r , p lu s film s about th e need fo r
women r e c r u it s in th e armed f o r c e s , manpower problem s, War
Bond a p p e a ls, paper s a lv a g e , th e q u e s tio n s o f p r ic e - f ix in g
and econom ic s t a b i l i z a t i o n were em phasized in s h o r ts . In
a d d itio n , o th e r film s to u ch in g on the su b je c t o f retu rn in g
s o ld ie r s , and on th e work o f th e U n ited R e lie f A d m in istra tio n
were In clu d ed in th e program.
C en sorship o f film s f o r tro o p s o v e r s e a s . A cry was
s e t up in 1 9 ^ about th e c o n tr o l o f p ic tu r e s se n t o v er sea s
to the tr o o p s . I t was im p lied th a t th e O ffic e o f War
-^ °The M otion P ic tu r e H erald , Hew York C ity , J u ly 22,
1944.
In form ation had a p o lic y in flu e n c e on th e se f ilm s . T his
a lle g a t io n was v ig o r o u s ly d en ied by the O ffic e o f War In fo r
m ation o f f i c i a l s , who s ta te d th a t th e p o lic y s e t down by the
War A c t i v i t i e s Committee to show no p o l i t i c a l p ic t u r e s , had
n ot been d e v ia te d from in th e l e a s t . I t was tru e th a t the
O ffic e o f War In form ation d id c o n tr o l the m otion p ic tu r e en
terta in m e n t o f the tro o p s o v e r s e a s . They view ed a l l f ilm s
d esig n ed fo r ex p o rt w ith th e o b je c t o f h e lp in g th e in d u stry
produce p ic t u r e s th a t m ight h elp the war e f f o r t . F req u en tly
i t was p o s s ib le to in tr o d u ce new and h e lp fu l su b je c t m atter
to th e screen and make i t p o s s ib le fo r th e tro o p s to be b e t
t e r inform ed and e n te r ta in e d . I t was a ls o tr u e th a t th e Of
f i c e o f War In fo rm a tio n produced p ic tu r e s o f i t s own and d i s
tr ib u te d them o v e r s e a s . I t was tru e th a t th e s e p ic tu r e s were
1 1 p r o p a g a n d a ,a n d were in ten d ed to induce a c e r t a in s t a t e o f
mind on th e p a rt o f th o se th a t saw th e p ic t u r e s . However,
t h i s in i t s e l f was n ot o b je c tio n a b le . I t was In l i n e w ith •
th e Government p o lic y .
T h is p o lic y in c lu d e d a C o n g ressio n a l ban on the d is
sem in a tio n among s o ld ie r s in the f i e l d , o f any p o l i t i c a l
propaganda. The ban cau sed a c o n sid e r a b le headache to th e
Army o f f i c i e - l s concerned w ith the d is t r ib u t io n o f m agazines
through p o st exch an ges, but i t r e a l l y c r e a te d no g r e a t d i f
f i c u l t y w ith r e s p e c t to th e m otion p ic tu r e s . The ban was
a p r o v is io n o f the F ed era l s o ld ie r - v o te law , w hich was an
76
amendment to th e H atch Act p r o h ib itin g the u se o f F ed eral
fun ds or sp o n so rsh ip to In flu e n c e th e Armed F o rces in v o tin g
in F ed era l e l e c t i o n s . ^ The ban was aimed a t o f f s e t t i n g th e
trem endous advantage w hich the A d m in istra tio n h eld through
i t s o p e r a tio n o f th e O ffic e o f War In form ation and th e p o st
exch an ges, ships* s t o r e s and o th er f a c i l i t i e s f o r p ro v id in g
in fo rm a tio n and r e c r e a tio n to servicem en , in p r e s s in g P r e s i
dent R o o s e v e lt’ s e l e c t io n .
The r u le s were d e sig n ed to en fo rce s t r i c t im p a r tia lit y
in th e d isse m in a tio n o f p o l i t i c a l in fo rm a tio n to servicem en
o v er se a s through p r in te d m a te r ia l, f ilm s and radio* These
r u le s were tr a n sm itte d to a l l Army commanders throughout the
w orld by the War D epartm ent. The r u le s were r e v is e d , modi
f i e d and amended from tim e to tim e s in c e t h e ir o r ig in a l pub
l i c a t i o n in an e f f o r t to meet p r o t e s t s th a t c e r ta in im portant
m agazines were b ein g d en ied s o ld ie r s b ecau se o f p o l i t i c a l
b ia s o f th e c o n te n t.
W ith r e s p e c t to m otion p ic t u r e s , th e in s t r u c t io n s p er
ta in in g to th e d is t r ib u t io n or p r e s e n ta tio n o f m a te r ia l, b o th
in s id e and o u ts id e th e U n ited S t a t e s , p ro v id ed th a t m a te r ia l
w hich was fo r en terta in m en t purposes must n o t co n ta in p o l i t
i c a l argument or propaganda. M a ter ia l w hich was p resen te d
as coverage o f news or in fo rm a tio n o f p u b lic e v e n ts and
“ ^ M otion P ic tu r e H erald, New York, J u ly 2 2 , 1 9 44.
p erso n s in p u b lic l i f e must be im p a r tia l.
The nature o f m otion p ic tu r e s made i t r a th e r easy to "
m eet the req u irem en ts fo r th e in d u s tr y . Few fe a tu r e p ic tu r e s
were p o l i t i c a l l y s la n te d s in c e , i f fo r no o th er rea so n , th e
p roducers w anted th e w id e s t p o s s ib le au dience fo r t h e ir f ilm s
and d id n ot w ish to take th e r is k o f a lie n a t in g any p a rt o f
i t by ta k in g one s id e o f a c o n tr o v e r s ia l s u b je c t. The news
r e e l s , l i k e th e news colum ns o f any good d a ily paper, had to
c o n fin e th em selv es to f a c t s and e v e n ts and found Dem ocrats
and. R ep u b lican s e q u a lly p h o to g en ic. The h e a v ie s t impact o f
th e p o l i t i c a l p r o h ib itio n was on th e O ffic e o f War Inform a
tio n n e w sr e e ls . T h eir co n ten t was c a r e f u lly w atched by h igh
o f f i c i a l s o f th e bureau, who were v er y co g n iz a n t o f th e f a c t
th a t th ey were su b je c t to f in e s o f a s much as one thousand
d o lla r s and im prisonm ent i f th ey v io la t e d th e law .
W o m otion p ic tu r e s were b arred from th e s e r v ic e men
by the Army under th e p r o v is io n s o f the lax-/. The m agazines
d id not fa r e so w e ll, but th e r e was an attem p t to g e t th e law
r e la x e d some so th a t th e s e m agazines could be d is t r ib u t e d to
th e servicem en . There was one tem porary ex c e p tio n and th a t
was the f ilm " W ilson .” T h is p ic tu r e was d e c la r e d to be one
w ith a p o l i t i c a l s la n t and f o r a m atter o f a cou p le o f days
i t was h e ld up a s a f ilm w hich v io la t e d th e S o ld ie r Vote Law.
T his a c tio n cau sed g r e a t concern and. much copy was w r itte n
about i t . Hoxtfever, in a m atter o f a few days i t was a l l
78
c le a r e d up and th e film was g iv en g e n e r a l d is t r ib u t io n .
B a sic in fo rm a tio n p r o h ib ite d from exp ort or im port.-^2
From tim e to tim e as th e need f o r th e p u b lic a tio n o f new
d ir e c t iv e s to co v er th e changing s it u a t io n a ro se th e O ffic e
o f C en sorship in W ashington, B.C. p u b lish e d memoranda w hich
serv ed a s a g u id e fo r m a te r ia l p r o h ib ite d from ex p o rt or im
p ort in th e form o f m otion p ic t u r e s . In June o f 19^4 one
o f the l a s t o f such memoranda x-zas p u b lish ed w ith some o f
the fo llo w in g g e n e r a l and s p e c if ic m a te r ia l to be found in
i t .
The ex p o rt o f f ilm s was deemed to co v er a l l p o in ts
o u ts id e th e c o n tin e n ta l U n ited S ta te s w ith th e e x c e p tio n o f
Canada, H aw aii, A lask a, P uerto R ico and th e V ir g in I s la n d s .
The purpose o f p i c t o r i a l c e n so r sh ip was to keep in f o r
m ation con cern in g p o s s ib le bombing o b j e c t iv e s , te c h n ic a l
d a ta , m ilit a r y or econom ic c o n d itio n s , and a d v erse propaganda
harm ful to the war e f f o r t from le a v in g th e co u n tr y . A lso
f ilm c e n so r sh ip was d esig n e d to p rev en t enemy propaganda and
in fo rm a tio n le a d in g to su b v e r siv e a c t i v i t i e s from e n te r in g
th e cou n try.
There was no hard and f a s t r u le o f thumb ap p ly in g to
c e n s o r sh ip . I n te r p r e ta tio n and a p p lic a tio n o f th e d if f e r e n t
32
Government Memorandum, The O ffic e o f C en sorsh ip ,
C hief P o s ta l Censor (W ashington, D .G .: Government P r in tin g
O f fic e , June 15 > 1 9 ^ ) »
79
p r in c ip le s must be governed by th e know ledge, u nd erstan d ing
and judgment o f th o se a p p ly in g them. The f i n a l r e s p o n s ib il
i t y fo r w ar-tim e exp ort and im port c e n so r sh ip o f m otion p ic
tu r e s and n e w sr e e ls r e s t e d w ith th e Film C en sorsh ip Boards o f
Review o f th e O ffic e o f C en sorsh ip . C ertain ty p e s o f matehis-1
a ls o re q u ir ed o f f i c i a l w r itte n ap p roval from th e War D epart
ment, Navy D epartm ent, or o th e r G-overnment a g e n c ie s having
d ir e c t su p e r v is io n o v er th e s u b je c t in v o lv e d . Approval by
any o th e r agency r e p r e se n te d r e le a s e o n ly in s o f a r a s th a t
agency was con cern ed , and was not b in d in g on th e Board o f Re
v iew .
The Los A n geles Board o f R eview , under th e C h ief P o s ta l
C ensor, Byron P r ic e , was r e s p o n s ib le fo r c e n so r sh ip examina
tio n o f a l l dram atic and o th er com m ercial film produced on
th e West C oast fo r e x p o r t. The Hew York Board o f Review was
r e s p o n s ib le fo r th e exam in ation o f a l l n e w sr e e ls o ffe r e d fo r
ex p o rt, r e g a r d le s s o f p ort o f e x i t , and fo r a l l incom ing
n e w sr e e ls , r e g a r d le s s o f p o rt o f e n tr y . I t was r e sp o n sib le
a ls o fo r dram atic p ic t u r e s , com m ercial and in d u s t r ia l film s
and "shorts'* produced in th e e a s t , or im ported through p o r ts
o f en try in th e e a ste r n h a lf o f th e U n ited S t a t e s .
F oreign language t i t l e s and t r a n s la t io n s were review ed
by w hich ever board o r i g i n a l l y exam ined th e p ic tu r e on w hich
t i t l e s were superim posed. F oreign t i t l e s and t r a n s la t io n s
f o r a p ic tu r e produced in H ollywood would be rev iew ed by
80
the Los A n g eles Board. S im ila r ly , th e New York Board r e
view ed fo r e ig n language t i t l e s and t r a n s la t io n s fo r p ic tu r e s
produced, in th e e a s te r n a rea o r im ported through p o r ts o f
en try in th e e a s te r n h a lf o f the U n ited S t a t e s . T h is l a t t e r
was a change and was made in the b e l i e f th a t , th e Board o f Re
v iew th a t o r ig in a lly p a ssed on th e p ic tu r e was in a much b e t
t e r p o s it io n to c o n sid er proposed fo r e ig n lan guage changes
than a board w ith ou t p rev io u s knowledge o f th e p ic t u r e .
These r e g u la tio n s a p p lie d o n ly when i t was n e c e ssa r y to r e
v iew any changes in a f ilm .
The p hotograp hic sh o ts w hich req u ired approval by the
33
Army, th e Navy or any o th e r a p p ro p ria te a u th o r ity in clu d ed :
a . A ll a e r ia l photographs and d e t a ile d c lo s e -u p a ir
sh o ts o f war p ro d u ctio n p la n t s , d o ck s, sh ip y a rd s, r a ilr o a d
te r m in a ls , dams, power p la n t s , sto ra g e ta n k s, r e s e r v o ir s ,
ra d io to w e rs, a r s e n a ls , m u n ition s dumps, f o r t s and a l l o th e r
m ilita r y i n s t a l l a t i o n s , in c lu d in g a l l a ir f i e l d s and m ilita r y
d ep o ts; d e t a ile d c lo s e -u p sh o ts o r panoramic sh o ts o f c i v i l
as w e ll a s m ilita r y a ir f i e l d s , c i t i e s , f a c t o r i e s , or t e r
r a in showing d is t in g u is h in g b u ild in g s or landm arks in r e la
tio n to each o th e r or to the g e n e r a l lan d scap e; any p ic tu r e
o f a new -type p la n e , tank, gun or o th er m ilita r y equipm ent.
b . D e ta ile d photographs o f id e n t i f i a b le b each es and
3 3
Ibid. , pp. 1-^.,
8 1
c o a s t lin e s w hich w ould a id th e enemy la n d in g p a r t ie s or any
se a c o a st o f th e U n ited S t a t e s , i t s t e r r i t o r i e s o r pos,ses
s io n s . T his d id not in c lu d e c o n v e n tio n a l s c e n ic view s o f
c o a s t lin e w hich d id n ot d is c lo s e in fo rm a tio n o f s t r a t e g ic
v a lu e to th e enemy.
c . T e ch n ica l d a ta o f any kind (o th e r than th a t w hich
d is c lo s e d w ell-know n p r o c e s s e s , I n s t a l l a t i o n s and o th er in
form ation o f l i t t l e im portance to th e m ilit a r y , n a v a l or
econom ic war e f f o r t s o f th e U n ited S ta te s ) w hich cou ld be
used or ad apted fo r use in co n n ectio n w ith any p r o c e s s , syn
t h e s i s or o p era tio n in th e p ro d u ctio n , m anufacture, reco n
s t r u c t io n , s e r v ic in g , r e p a ir o r use o f any a r t i c l e fo r any
phase o f w a rfa re. The l i s t was so com prehensive th a t te c h
n ic a l d a ta g e n e r a lly was p r o h ib ite d ex cep t th a t co n ta in ed
in in d u s t r ia l film s approved by th e O ffic e o f Economic War
fa r e and a Board o f R eview .
d. Movements o f la n d , a i r or se a f o r c e s , and merchant
s h ip s , when i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , o r ig in or d e s t in a tio n was in
d ic a te d .
e . V iews o f Army, Navy, or Marine Corps a c t i v i t i e s
and d e t a ile d v ie w s o f equipm ent.
f . Movement o f n a v a l or merchant sh ip s in the c o a s ta l
w a ters o f th e U n ited S t a t e s , i t s p o s s e s s io n s , or n aval b a ses
w hich m ight be o f v a lu e to th e enemy w ith regard to a tta c k ,
sa b o ta g e, or a n y th in g e l s e .
82
g . P ic tu r e s o f internm ent camps or o f p erso n s in te r n e d .
In a d d itio n , labor, c la s s or o th e r d istu r b a n c e s s in c e
1917 w hich m ight be d is t o r t e d in to enemy propaganda g e n e r a l
ly were p r o h ib ite d f o r e x p o r t. Such scen es shown as an in
c id e n t to th e main theme o f a p ic tu r e w hich, in the o p in io n
o f th e Board o f Review having j u r is d ic t io n , were not harm ful
to th e war e f f o r t m ight be used in d.ramatic p r o d u c tio n s.
S cenes o f la w le s s n e s s or d iso r d e r in w hich o rd er was r e s to r e d
and th e o ffe n d e r s p unished might be approved i f la w le s s n e s s
was n o t th e main theme and was not th e major p a rt o f th e pro
d u c tio n . W hile i t was r e a liz e d th a t "gangster" p ro d u ctio n s
r e f l e c t e d d is c r e d it on th e American system o f government in
th e eyes o f fo r e ig n a u d ie n c e s, su ch scen es were not p r o h ib ite d
a lt o g e t h e r . The Board o f Review having j u r is d ic t io n would
g iv e an u n o f f i c i a l o p in io n on such sc e n e s, p r io r to com ple
t io n o f th e p ic t u r e , but any such o p in io n would n ot be b ind
in g inasm uch a s f i n a l a c tio n would n ot be taken on th e pro
d u c tio n u n t i l i t had been com p leted .
Undue em phasis co.uld not be p la c e d on r a tio n in g o f e s
s e n t i a l s or o th er in fo rm a tio n r e v e a lin g econom ic p rep a ra tio n
by t h i s cou n try fo r p rolon ged war e f f o r t .
The d ero g a to ry p ic t u r iz a t io n or p r e s e n ta tio n o f na
t io n a ls o f th e A llie d n a tio n s or o f the n e u tr a l c o u n tr ie s
was co n sid er ed o b je c tio n a b le .
The A llie d armed fo r c e s were not to be b u rlesq u ed ,
83
h eld up to r id ic u le or shown as unworthy r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s o f
t h e ir governm ents as the main theme or major p a rt o f any
dram atic p ro d u ctio n . B r ie f e r seq u en ces o f su ch n atu re were
o b je c tio n a b le in n e w s r e e ls .
The c e n so r sh ip exam in ation o f p h otograp h ic in fo rm a tio n
and com m unications coming in to th e U n ited S ta te s had the
b a s ic fu n c tio n o f p rev e n tin g enemy propaganda from e n te r in g
th e co u n try , and a ls o h a lte d in fo rm a tio n w hich m ight le a d
to sab otage or o th e r su b v e r siv e a c t i v i t y .
A ll o f t h i s in fo r m a tio n a s to th e ty p e s o f th in g s
th a t were b ein g screen ed was n ot a l l - i n c l u s i v e but d id serve
a s a g u id e . They were m o d ified from tim e to tim e . The Of
f i c e o f th e C h ief P o s ta l Censor alw ays r e se r v e d th e r ig h t
to take a p p ro p ria te a c tio n in c a s e s where any sc e n e s or. t e x t
would impede th e war e f f o r t .
P ic tu r e s dubbed in Japanese and fo r Europeans. W hile
th e r e g u la tio n s as to what might be shown and what m ight not
be shipped in to or out o f t h is n a tio n were alw ays b ein g
changed to m eet th e ch an ging c o n d itio n s , so were the p ic tu r e
producers being asked to make changes in t h e ir p ic tu r e s fo r
the fo r e ig n m arket. In May o f 1944 the in d u str y was asked
a g a in to make more p ic t u r e s a v a ila b le f o r th e fo r e ig n m arket.
They were asked to make a s e r ie s o f d ocu m entaries to s u p p le -'
raent the O ffic e o f War In form ation f ilm s , and a.lso to
r e c r u it p ro d u ctio n p erso n n el fo r th e New York and London
s t a f f s o f th e O ffic e o f War In fo rm a tio n . At the same tim e
i t was announced th a t th e f i r s t Hollywood film s were b ein g
dubbed in Jap an ese. (Dubbed, a term meaning th a t th e narra
t io n was b ein g changed to Japanese from th e o r ig in a l E n g lis h .)
The work was done in New York and th e p ic tu r e s were to be
se n t to Japan and to be shown in th e Japanese th e a te r s one
s te p a f t e r th e land was taken from th e Jap an ese. The indus
tr y was asked t o make about tw elv e sh ort s u b je c ts f o r fo r e ig n
consum ption. The p roced u re was to ta k e a l l th e enemy fo o ta g e
and s u b s t it u t e the American made fo o ta g e w ith th e sto ry or
le s s o n th a t our country wanted to g e t a cr o ss to .th e se p e o p le .
Then a f t e r th e system was e s ta b lis h e d i t was th e I n te n t and
a c t u a lly d id happen, to tu rn the th e a te r s back to th e ow ners.
A ll t h i s s o r t o f th in g was done by th e O ffic e o f War I n fo r
m ation, w orking as a u n it o f the P s y c h o lo g ic a l W arfare Branch
o f th e Army.
In Europe th e same procedure o f having dubbed film s
se n t in a s soon as p o s s ib le had been th e stand ard o p era tin g
p roced u re. By mid J u ly o f 1 9 ^ more than f i f t y f ilm s had
been dubbed in to French and I t a lia n by_ f iv e m ajor com panies
and th e O verseas F ilm D iv is io n o f th e O ffic e o f War Inform a
t io n arranged w ith th e com panies f o r r e le a s e o f two p ic tu r e s'
each f o r t h e ir d is t r ib u t io n a s soon as France and th e o th e r
European c o u n tr ie s were fr e e d . These were fo llo w e d up by
85
many o th e r s a s th e war p ro g ressed - Some o f th e com panies
were a b i t slow about tu r n in g o v er dubbed f ilm s to th e O ffic e
o f War In fo rm a tio n , a s th ey s a id th ey would p r e fe r to w a it
u n t i l th e m ilita r y s it u a t io n in Europe ^fould perm it d is t r ib u
t io n o f th e p ic tu r e s th rough t h e ir own ch a n n e ls. However,
the n e c e s s it y f o r th e problem b ein g handled in th e manner
th a t th e G-overnment r e q u e ste d was ex p la in ed and th e com panies
f e l l in to l i n e and tu rn ed over th e dubbed p ic t u r e s as r e
q u ested .
The dubbed v e r s io n s were in a d d itio n to th e fo r ty p ic
tu r e s w ith su per-im posed t i t l e s w hich a l l the f ilm com panies
had made a v a ila b le in th e l a t t e r p a rt o f 19^-2. Warner Bro
th e r s le d in th e dubbing w ith e ig h te e n p ic t u r e s in French and
about ten in I t a l i a n . Metro G-oldwyn Mayer had f i v e in French
and about s i x in I t a lia n ; U n iv er sa l had f i v e in French; Co
lum bia had e ig h t in French and I t a lia n ; T w en tieth C entury-Fox
had one in French and s e v e r a l o th e r s i» p ro d u ctio n in J u ly
194^. Paramount, and U n ited A r t i s t s , were w a itin g to see
how th e s it u a t io n d ev elo p ed b e fo r e g o in g ahead w ith t h e ir
dubbing. They la t e r dubbed s e v e r a l p ic t u r e s , but d id not
c a tc h up w ith th e o th e r s who had s ta r te d e a r l i e r .
3k
A p a r t ia l l i s t o f th e dubbed v e r s io n s in clu d ed :
Warner B ro th ers: “P r in c e ss O'Rourke," "The M altese
M otion P ic tu r e H erald, New York, J u ly 1 , 1 9 ^ »
F alcon ," "Straw berry B londe," "Sergeant York," "Yankee D oodle
Dandy," "Air F orce," "The G reat L ie ," " A ll T h is and Heaven
Too," "Always in M y H eart," "They D rive by N ig h t," " V ir g in ia
C ity ," " T ill W e Meet A gain," “Sea W olf," “The Sea Hawk," —
a l l in F rench. "Sergeant York," "Sea Hawk," and "Yankee
D oodle Dandy," in I t a l i a n .
U n iv e r s a l: " I t S ta r te d w ith Eve," "D estry R id es
A gain," b o th o f w hich were made a v a ila b le to the O ffic e o f
War In fo rm a tio n ; "Phantom o f the Opera," "Black S tr e e t," and
" F le sh and F antasy," a l l in French. "Shadow o f a Doubt,"
"Appointment f o r Love," in I t a l i a n .
Columbia: "Cover G -irl," "Sahara," "Adam Had Four
Sons," "This Thing C a lle d Love," "The D esp eradoes," "You Be
lo n g to Me," "The Lady I s W illin g , 1 1 and "Men in Her L ife ,"
a l l In F rench.
M etro: "The Z ie g fe ld G-irl," "Shop Around the Corner,"
were among o th e r s th ey dubbed in French.
As was m entioned b e fo r e , th e se were b u t a few o f the
film s th a t were dubbed and shipped to the o ccu p ied c o u n tr ie s
r ig h t a f t e r they were o ccu p ied . These film s were co n sid er ed
by th e In d u stry and the G-overnment a s good on es to show to
the' n a tio n s th a t were lo o k in g to th e U n ited S ta t e s as th e
g r e a t hope o f th e fu tu r e . They were th e b e s t p ic tu r e s a v a i l
a b le to g iv e the o p p ressed n a tio n s a f e e l in g o f r e l i e f and
th is was th e main reason th e y were chosen to be dubbed in
th e f o r e i g n la n g u a g e s .
In c o n c lu s io n . The m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y a s a
whole o ffe r e d to h e lp th e war e f f o r t o f the U n ited S ta te s o f
America from th e f i r s t s ig n s o f w ar. This in d u str y gave i t s
ev ery e f f o r t to the ta sk , in c lu d in g the tim e o f a l l o f i t s
h ig h and low p aid p e r so n n e l, i t s equipm ent, i t s s t u d io s , and
even th e f ilm s th a t were made by i t . They w i l l i n g l y made
changes in th e p rod u ction sc h e d u le s , cut out lo c a t io n work,
t
sp en t much money fo r s e t s th a t in normal tim es would not
have to be done; took a d v ice from th e o u tsid e as to what p ic
tu r e s to make and what s t o r i e s were to be t o ld . They l e t
t h e ir a r t be used as a means o f propaganda, o f ed u ca tio n , as
an in s p ir a t io n and a s a m orale b u ild e r so th a t th e war
co u ld be q u ic k ly and s u c c e s s f u lly term in a ted .
I t was tru e th a t a t tim es th e r e were th o se in th e in-'"
d u stry who were d o u b tfu l a s to th e wisdom o f su b m ission to
th e demands o f th e G-overnment. They fe a r e d th a t much o f the
freedom , the sp o n ta n e ity , th e money making power o f the
f ilm s would be l o s t fo r e v e r . However, a l l o f th e se fe a r s
were tem porary elem en ts w hich alw ays a r is e in th e normal
cou rse o f a war and were th e n e c e ssa r y c o n tr o ls fo r c e d upon
a l l in d u str y by an a l l o u t e f f o r t to a t t a in p eace w ith th e
g r e a te s t sp eed and the l e a s t amount o f l o s s to th e p u b lic
o f t h i s n a tio n .
The m otion p ic t u r e s d id a job th a t co u ld n ot have
been done by any o th e r medium in an yth in g l i k e th e sh o rt
p e r io d o f tim e i t was done by them. T heir accom plishm ent
w i l l lo n g be remembered by th e p eo p le of the U n ited S ta te s
whose m orale was l i f t e d and who were educated to th e r e q u ir e
m ents and s a c r i f i c e s o f th e war as was th e w hole o f th e
lib e r a t e d or n e u tr a l w o rld . The p ic tu r e s made in Hollywood
f o r consum ption o f th e U n ited S ta te s and o f th e f r e e w orld
brought the le s s o n s in te n d ed to be ta u g h t, home w ith fo r c e
and r e a l i t y th a t co u ld n ot be done by any o th e r medium.
A ll o f t h i s was done by Americans b en t on h e lp in g o th er
Americans and f r e e p eo p le of th e w orld to m ain tain or r e -
a l t a. in freedom .
CHAPTER V
MILITARY CENSORSHIP A N D SECURITY REGULATIONS
AS APPLIED T O A R M Y M O TIO N PICTURES
T his s e c tio n o f th e study I s an attem pt to g iv e as
much in fo rm a tio n a s p o s s ib le r e la t iv e to th e m ilit a r y cen
so r sh ip and s e c u r ity r e g u la tio n s a p p lie d to th e p rod uction
o f Army m otion p ic tu r e s . The w r ite r had d i f f i c u l t y in ob
ta in in g as.:much in fo rm a tio n a s he would have d e s ir e d to in
clu d e in th e study due to th e f a c t th a t th e in fo rm a tio n i s
in Army f i l e s th a t a r e n o t a v a ila b le to him. The f i l e s in
q u estib n are lo c a te d in Long Island. C ity , New York, and in
th e P entagon, W ashington, D.C. The o n ly means o f o b ta in in g
th e in fo r m a tio n , a t p r e s e n t, from th e se f i l e s w ould be to
make a p erso n a l study and e x tr a c t a d e t a ile d rep o rt as to
the problem s o f Army m otion p ic tu r e p rod u ction from th e s t a r t
o f World War I I up to th e end o f th e war. T h is se a r ch and
th e r e s u lt s would show th e ty p es of c o n tr o ls e s ta b lis h e d fo r
th e p rod u ction o f p ic t u r e s , th e c le a r a n c e s r e q u ir e d f o r p er
so n n el working on th e p ic t u r e s , th e r e la t io n s h ip o f the Army
w ith the c i v i l i a n m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y , and a l l th e oth er
problem s o f th e p rod u ction during th e war. These th in g s
are a l l touched on in t h i s stu d y, and i t i s b e lie v e d that
th ey serv e in th e main a s an o u tlin e from w hich fu r th e r study
can be made a t a l a t e r d a te .
90
B r ie f h is to r y o f th e Army P lo t o r la l S e r v ic e . The
S ig n a l Corps P hotographic S erv ice r e a lly began w ith Matthew
Brady during th e C iv il War when he o b ta in ed p erm issio n from
P r e sid en t L in co ln to photograph sc en es a t th e f r o n t . By
1865 Mr. Brady and h is a s s i s t a n t s had made o v er seven thou
sand photographs o f the war; th a t was r e a lly th e f i r s t l i v e
a c tio n sh o ts ev e r made o f any war in w hich th e U n ited S ta te s
was in v o lv e d .
In th e y ea r 1881 th e f i r s t m ilita r y photographer took
p ic tu r e s fo r th e Army when G eneral Adolphus G reely , who was
C h ief S ig n a l O ffic e r a t the tim e, produced a s e r i e s o f w et-
p la te photographs made during h is A r c tic e x p e d itio n . When
G eneral G reely retu rn ed to W ashington, he s e t up a m ilita r y
p h otograp h ic la b o r a to ry a t what i s now F ort Myer, V ir g in ia .
During th e s tr u g g le s in Cuba and th e P h ilip p in e s a t
th e tim e of the Spanish-A m erican War a number o f S ig n a l com
p a n ie s were is s u e d p hotograp hic equipment w ith th e assignm ent
o f p hotographing the h is t o r y o f the engagem ents. The su c c e ss
o f t h is p hotograp hic e f f o r t stim u la te d the C h ief S ig n a l Of
f i c e r , in 1 9 0 3 / to eq u ip se v e r a l u n it s fo r f i e l d photography
xvith th e ex p r e ss m issio n o f record in g h i s t o r i c a l e v e n ts.
There seems to be no s p e c if i c date, a t w hich the f i r s t
m otion p ic tu r e camera was used in th e Army, b u t in 1909 i t
i s record ed th a t th e S ig n a l Corps m otion p ic tu r e camera men
record ed the momentous, o f f i c i a l , t e s t - f l i g h t s o f th e Wright
B ro th ers in t h e ir new f ly in g m achine. From th a t tim e on.
th e m otion p ic tu r e camera became a r e c o g n iz e d p a rt o f the
equipm ent o f th e S ig n a l Corps o f the U n ited S ta t e s Army.
B oth s t i l l and m otion p ie tu r e cameramen p la y ed a g r e a t p art
in th e w ar.'1 '
8 In th e y ea r s th a t follow ed -, u n t i l about 1931 > th e
p h otograp h ic branch o f th e Army was one o f th e fu n c tio n s th a t
f e l t the k n ife edge a lo n g w ith th e g e n er a l m ilit a r y c u ts o f
the p e r io d . In th e year 1931 a program was begun w hich o f
fe r e d one year in s t r u c t io n in H ollywood a t th e s tu d io s w hich
tr a in e d S ig n a l Corps O ffic e r s in th e p r o fe s s io n a l m otion p ic
tu re c r a f t and a cq u a in ted them w ith th e r a d ic a l new d ev elo p
m ents in sound reco rd in g and rep ro d u ctio n w hich were t o be
used in fu tu r e S ig n a l Corps f ilm s . The n ext year saw th e •
f i r s t sound m o tio n 'p ic t u r e s b ein g produced by th e Army, and
in about f i v e y ea r s th e r e q u e s ts f o r T rain ing F ilm s became
so numerous th a t i t was n e c e ssa r y to s e t up new la b o r a to r ie s
2
to p r o c e ss th e n eed s.
Problem s at th e s t a r t o f World War I I . W hile th e num
b er o f m otion p ic tu r e s made by th e Array p r io r to th e s t a r t
o f World War I I had been g e t t in g g r e a te r .and g r e a te r a l l the
1H isto r y and M issio n o f th e S ig n a l Corps P hotographic
C enter (Long I s la n d C ity , New York: S ig n a l Gorps P hotographic
C en ter, November 15> 19^-9 )•
2
C aptain Frank P. LIberman, "A H isto ry o f Army Photog
r a p h y ,” B u sin e ss S creen , VII (December, 19^-5) > 72.
92
tim e, the t o t a l number was not v er y h ig h . T h is f a c t o r was
a t tr ib u t e d to s e v e r a l c a u s e s . In th e f i r s t p la c e th e im
p ortan ce o f th e work had n ot been im p ressed on the G-eneral
S t a f f to th e e x te n t th a t th ey were w illi n g to recommend h igh
a p p r o p r ia tio n s n e c e ssa r y to make any g r e a t number o f p ic t u r e s .
Furtherm ore th e s iz e o f th e Army was sm all and th e p erso n n el
was q u ite s t a b le and th ey cou ld be tr a in e d by the men th a t
were in th e u n its and knew a l l about the n eed s o f th e newer
men. T rain in g a id s w er e, to the Army, n o t to o im p ortan t.
In 'the f a l l o f 1939 th e r e were l e s s than two hundred thousand
men in th e Army. There was l i t t l e new equipm ent b ein g made
f o r th e s e r v ic e s and th a t w hich was new was e a s i l y tau gh t
to men who were l i f e - l o n g s o ld ie r s in t e r e s t e d in and fa m ilia r
w ith th e type o f equipm ent.
Then in the f a l l o f 19^0 and th e sp rin g o f 19^1. th e re
was a d e f i n i t e and sudden exp an sion of th e s e r v ic e s . This
ex p a n sio n co n tin u ed up u n t i l about th e month o f May, 19^5>
when i t i s e s tim a te d th a t th e peak o f over tw e lv e m illio n men
and women was rea ch ed . I t was w ith t h i s exp an sion th a t th e
la c k o f adequate m otion p ic tu r e tr a in in g a id s was r e a lly f e l t .
The few film s th a t were a y a ila b le and cu rren t enough, to be
o f v a lu e were spread so t h in ly a c r o s s th e n a tio n in th e new
tr a in in g camps th a t they r e a lly were o f l i t t l e v a lu e . These
film s were s t r i c t l y o f th e M nuts and b o l t s ” ty p e . They had
no s to r y i th ey were n ot a t a l l p i c t o r i a l , and th e y were not
93
th e type o f f ilm th a t the new Army man needed and wanted in
ord er to le a r n the le s s o n s o f w arfare in th e s h o r te s t amount
o f tim e.
The r e s u lt was th a t in the e a r ly days o f tr a in in g f o r
World War I I th e in s t r u c t io n was g iv e n to new r e c r u it s by
men who had no tea ch in g e x p e r ie n c e , were not p a r t ic u la r ly in
t e r e s t e d in te a c h in g , and m oreover were unhappy about the
id e a o f te a c h in g a l o t o f fr e s h c i v i l i a n s some o f whom had
had a l o t o f ed u ca tio n and had made a s u c c e s s in b u s in e s s
o n ly to be d r a fte d in to th e Army. The r e s u lt was th a t most
o f th e men chosen a s in s t r u c t o r s a t the f i r s t o f th e war d id
n ot work out a t a l l w e ll. There was no stand ard method o f
tea c h in g a c e r t a in o p e r a tio n , and t h i s was v er y n e c e ssa r y i f
th e new s o ld ie r s were to be ready to f ig h t th e enemy in a
sh o rt le n g t h 'o f tim e.
There was no q u e stio n in the e a r ly y ea r s o f prepara
tio n fo r th e war th a t th e Army p lan fo r th e p ro d u ctio n and
use o f v is u a l a id s in tr a in in g was sound, but i t was the ex
e c u tio n o f th e plan th a t was g ig a n t ic . The G-eneral S t a f f
b e lie v e d th a t a c e n t r a liz e d War D ep artm en t-film u n it co u ld
in su r e uniform and c o n s is t e n t m ilit a r y d o c tr in e . A lso th a t
i t would e lim in a te d u p lic a tio n o f equipm ent, m a te r ia ls and
la b o r ; th a t i t would f a c i l i t a t e p rod u ction o f r e s t r ic t e d and
c o n f id e n t ia l, a s w e ll as s e c r e t m a te r ia l; th a t i t x-rould
u t i l i z e to the g r e a te s t d egree a v a ila b le d is t r ib u t io n ,
9 ^
sto ra g e and lib r a r y f a c i l i t i e s ; and f i n a l l y , th a t War D epart
ment p ro d u ctio n would save in c o s t o f p ro d u ctio n .
There were th r ee problem s th a t a ro se out o f th e id e a
th a t th e Army produce i t s own f ilm s . F ir s t th e problem o f
sp a ce, second th e problem o f p erso n n el to ca rry ou t th e pro
d u c tio n , and t h ir d ly , th e problem o f where to g e t th e film
equipm ent. The space problem was so lv e d by buying the E a st
ern S e r v ic e S tu d io s, Long Isla n d C ity , New York. The prob
lem o f p erso n n el was so lv e d by the f a c t th a t th e r e were many
w r it e r s , cameramen, d ir e c t o r s , p r o je c t o f f i c e r s , soundmen,
and e d it o r s who were R eserve Corps men, or who o b ta in ed d i
r e c t com m issions from c i v i l i a n l i f e . Many o th e r s e n lis t e d
and were p ick ed out- o f recru itm en t and r e c e p tio n c e n te r s .
O thers were tr a in e d fo r th e job.
The th ir d problem , th a t o f th e n e c e ssa r y f ilm fo o ta g e ,
and the equipm ent was s o lv e d r a th e r e a s i l y , s in c e th e War
Department s p e c if ic a t io n s d id not d i f f e r g r e a tly from th o se
o f th e c i v i l i a n in d u str y . Some item s were hard to o b ta in ,,
but when th a t c o n d itio n a ro se i t was th e same w ith the c i v i l
ia n in d u str y and s u b s t it u t io n s were made. I t must be s ta te d
here th a t th e R esearch C ouncil o f th e Academy o f M otion
P ic tu r e A rts and S c ie n c e s d id a l l in i t s power to a s s i s t the
War Department and d e f i n i t e l y made a s u b s ta n tia l co n trib u
t io n to the p rod u ction su c c e ss o f th e Army f ilm program.
95
The -photographic m issio n o f Army P i c t o r i a l S e r v ic e *
The Army P ic t o r i a l S e r v ic e had a d e f in i t e m issio n in the Army
and th a t m issio n i s c a r r ie d out in th ree w ays. P ic tu r e s
must be produced o r procured. There must be a purpose fo r
th e p ic tu r e s In order to j u s t i f y th e p erso n n el and money in
v o lv e d . The l a s t fu n c tio n o f th e m issio n i s to have an
au dience f o r th e p ic t u r e s a f t e r th ey have been o b ta in ed .
P robably th e b e s t way to show the m issio n i s to break
3
i t down in a s o r t o f ch a rt form a s fo llo w s:* '
Produces and p rocu res
film s :
TRAINING- FILMS (T ra in in g
film s ; Film B u lle tin s ;
B r it is h , Commercial, and
M isc. A d a p ta tio n s; P r i
v a t e ly Sponsored T rain
in g F ilm s; F ilm s t r ip s ) .
TRAINING FILMS (F oreign
language v e r s io n s ) .
For the purpose o f : Customers
To tr a in tro o p s in
m ilit a r y d o c tr in e ;
Use and ca re o f
Weapons; t a c t ic s ;
M ilita r y Law; e t c .
To tr a in fo r e ig n
tro o p s in American
m ilita r y d o c tr in e .
A ll Army
Troops
STAFF FILM REPORTS (pro
duced w eekly from combat
fo o ta g e d u rin g x*ar).
To make a v a ila b le
combat photography
fo r m ilit a r y p la n
ning and inform a
tio n p u rp o ses.
F oreign
Troops se r v
in g w ith
American
f o r c e s , un
d er American
command.
(SECRET)
L im ited to
th e C hief o f
S t a f f , Com
manding
G en era ls.
3
C o lo n el R. C. B a r r e tt, "The S ig n a l Corps P hotograp h ic
C enter," B u sin e ss S c r e e n , VII (December, 19^5)> 72.
96
P r o d u c e s and p r o c u r e s
f i l m s :
C O M B A T BULLETINS (Pro
duced w eekly from combat
fo o ta g e d uring w ar).
HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGIES
(from combat fo o ta g e )
F or th e p u rp o se o f : C u stom ers
TECHNICAL FILM BULLETINS
A N D PROJECT TECHNICAL
FILM BULLETINS.
CAM PAIG N REPORTS AND HIS
TORICAL FILMS
ORIENTATION FILMS
ARM Y-NAVY SCREEN
M AG AZINE
G .I. M OVIE W E E K L Y
INDUSTRIAL SERVICE FILMS
To inform tro o p s o f
war p r o g r e ss in a l l
t h e a te r s . To o r ie n t
tro o p s to combat con
d it i o n s .
To document cam
p a ig n s.
To a llo w c r i t i c a l
a n a ly s is o f weapons
and m a te r ia l, com
b a t t a c t i c s .
To reco rd sh o rt p ic
t o r i a l h i s t o r i e s
o f m ilit a r y opera
t io n s .
To d e fin e whom we
f ig h t and why; to
a cq u a in t troop s w ith
our a l l i e s .
To im prove troop
m orale; to in c r e a se
und erstan d ing o f th e
war.
To improve tro o p
m orale; to in c r e a se
u n d erstan d in g o f th e
the war.
To in c r e a s e morale
among war w orkers;
to in c r e a s e war pro
d u c tio n .
A ll tro o p s.
P ost-w ar
H is to r ic a l
study by
m ilit a r y and
p u b lic
a g e n c ie s .
A ll Arms and
S e r v ic e s .
A ll tro o p s
and the pub
l i c .
A ll U nited
S ta te s Armed
f o r c e s .
A ll U nited
S ta te s Armed
f o r c e s .
Troops o f
the U n ited
S ta te s and
A l l i e s .
War p la n t
workers
( Through
Bureau o f
P u b lic Re
la t io n s ) .
EDUCATIONAL FILMS To r e - o r ie n t tro o p s A ll tr o o p s,
p r io r to d isc h a r g e .
97
P r o d u c e s and p r o c u r e s
f i l m s :
For t h e p u rp o se o f : C ustom ers
RECONDITIONING- AN D
RECREATIONAL FILMS
SPECIAL PRODUCTIONS AND
SPECIAL PROJECTS
To p rovid e m en tal, C on valescen t
p h y s ic a l, and v o c a - tr o o p s,
t io n a l r e h a b ilit a t io n .
V arious A ll Arms and
S e r v ic e s .
Army P ic t o r i a l S e r v ic e P rocu res th e fo llo w in g film s .
(a) E n tertain m en t film s To e n t e r t a in tro o p s
and to in s t r u c t .
To e n te r ta in tro o p s
and to in s t r u c t .
To document th e war,
(b ) T ech n ica l tr a in in g
film s
A R M E D PICTORIAL SERVICE
PRODUCES STILL PH O TO G RAPH S provide s t r a t e g ic
and t a c t i c a l inform a
tio n ; p u b lic iz e and
inform ; p rovid e
ev id en ce fo r id e n t i
f ic a t io n and le g a l
purpo se s ; and t o
tr a in tr o o p s.
PROCESSES ALL V-MAIL:
AND OFFICIAL PHOTOM AIL
TRAINS PERSONNEL
To co n serv e sh ip p in g
space and speed com
m unication
To p rovid e te c h
n ic ia n s f o r a l l
p h otograp h ic opera
t io n s .
A ll tro o p s o f
th e U n ited
S ta te s and
A llie d n a tio n s .
(Same as
a b o v e .)
C h ief o f S t a f f ;
Commanding
G en erals o f
T h eaters o f
o p e r a tio n s,
War Department
s t a f f a g e n c ie s ,
a l l Arms and
S e r v ic e s ;
Bureau o f Pub
l i c R e la tio n s ,
Government
a g e n c ie s ,
Commercial,
P r iv a te .
A ll tro o p s
and the
p u b lic .
S ig n a l Corps
P hotographic
o rg a n iza
tio n ; Other
Army u n it s
and U n ited
N a tio n s p er
so n n e l.
98
P r o d u c e s an d p r o c u r e s
f i l m s :
For th e p u rp o se o f : C u stom ers
MAINTAINS O N E OF TH E
LARGEST FILM LIBRARIES
IN THE W O R L D (m otion
and s t i l l ) .
OPERATES TH E LARGEST
FILM DISTRIBUTION
ORGANIZATION IN THE
W O R LD .
CO NDUCTS EXTENSIVE
RESEARCH IN PH O TO G RAPH Y.
SELECTS AND APPROVES
PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT
AND SUPPLIES T O BE
PROCURED.
To m ain tain th e
Army's p i c t o r i a l
r e c o r d s.
To f a c i l i t a t e u t i l i
z a tio n o f a l l f ilm s
produced, so th a t
tro o p s a re: tr a in e d
in m ilit a r y d o c tr in e ;
o r ie n te d to th e war;
inform ed o f p ro g re ss;
e n te r ta in e d .
To improve photo
g ra p h ic and p r o c e s s
in g tec h n iq u e s; to
improve p hotograp hic
equipm ent.
To a ssu re a v a ila b il
i t y o f th e proper
equipment to S ig n a l
Corps P hotographic
u n its and branches;
to p rovid e raw f ilm
sto c k o f n e cessa ry
amount and ty p e f o r
use by Army.
A u th orized
a g e n c ie s .
A ll tr o o p s.
A ll Arms and
S e r v ic e s o f
th e A m y.
A ll Arms and
S e r v ic e s (e x
ce p t A ir
Force and
Army Map
S e r v ic e ) .
P rod u ction program — S ig n a l Corps P hotographic Cen
t e r . The p rod u ction program a t the S ig n a l Corps Photograph
i c C en ter. The p rod u ction program a t the S ig n a l Corps
P hotographic C enter was th e p la c e where th e c e n so r sh ip and
s e c u r ity r e g u la tio n s were im posed. I t was h ere determ ined
what was to be c l a s s i f i e d and to whom the f ilm s w ould be
shown. In a d d itio n to t h i s i t was a t the P hotographic Cen
t e r where the. fo o ta g e to be r e le a s e d had been s t u d ie d and
c le a r e d f o r w hatever c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i t m ight r e c e iv e . T h is
l a t t e r had to do w ith the clea ra n ce g iv e n to th e show ings
o f th e f ilm s . When a f ilm was r e q u e s te d by one o f th e Arms
or S e r v ic e s o f th e Army th e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f th e f ilm was
u s u a lly s t a te d . However, th e re were alw ays s e v e r a l th in g s
th a t came up betw een th e t ime a p ic tu r e was r e q u e s te d and
th e tim e n e c e ssa r y to c le a r th e id e a , w r itin g o f th e s c r ip t ,
g e t t in g th e p ic tu r e approved by th e budget com m ittee, and
g e t t in g i t in p ro d u ctio n . Then by th e tim e th a t the f i n a l
p r in t was made and th e f ilm was ready fo r d is t r ib u t io n ,
more tim e had e la p se d . At any one o f th e se s t e p s th e c l a s
s i f i c a t i o n o f the f ilm m ight be changed due to circu m sta n ces
w hich a ro se w ith the p a ssa g e o f tim e .
The v a r ie t y o f s u b je c ts produced a t th e C enter was
alm ost u n b e lie v a b le as th ey ran from body to s o u l, from cook
in g to m a in ta in in g tro o p m orale, from bookkeeping to gunnery.
The p ro d u ctio n o f a year m ight run from a f ilm s t r ip on c le a n
in g a v e g e ta b le steam er to a C haplain Corps f ilm on p a s to r a l
c o u n s e lin g . There had n ev er been a problem o f fin d in g sub
j e c t s to f ilm . The problem had alw ays been one o f s e le c t io n
from th e m u ltitu d e o f r e q u e s ts made fo r m otion p ic tu r e s each
y ea r . D uring th e war y ea r s each f ilm re q u e ste d was g iv e n a
p r io r it y and then th e p ic tu r e was made a cco rd in g to how h igh
th e p r io r it y was on th e l i s t , as soon a s th e r e was space
a v a ila b le f o r th e film in g o f the p ic tu r e and the a v a i l a b i l i t y
100
o f a crew .
The s u b je c ts were arranged in p r io r it y order w ith in
c la s s e s and ea ch s u b je c t was accom panied by a d e s c r ip tio n
o f i t s scope and te c h n ic a l n a tu re. I f th e su b je c t was a
g en er a l one and embraced s e v e r a l s p e c i f i c s u b j e c ts , th e se
were d e sc r ib e d in d e t a i l .
A ll A d m in istr a tiv e and te c h n ic a l l i s t s w h ich co n ta in ed
th e req u irem en ts fo r th e tr a in in g f ilm program were su b m itted
through th e Army F ie ld F o rces H eadquarters f o r c o n s id e r a tio n
from th e sta n d p o in t o f th e o v e r - a ll Army tr a in in g needs and
th e s p e c i f i c n eed s o f th e Army d u rin g th e d ays o f war. Each
su b je c t was th en recommended f o r ap p roval or d isa p p r o v a l,
and i f i t was d isap p roved th en th e rea so n fo r t h is a c tio n
was s t a te d .
A fte r th e r e q u e s ts f o r film had c le a r e d th e Army F ie ld
F o rces th e r e q u e s ts were forw arded to th e D ir e c to r o f L o g is
t i c s , or th e Commanding G-eneral, Army S e r v ic e F orces a s i t
was d u rin g th e most o f the war. A fte r fu r th e r c a r e fu l
stud y o f th e l i s t w ith th e in t e r e s t o f the Army a s a w hole
in mind., the A djutant G-eneral n o t i f ie d th e S ig n a l Corps
P hotographic C enter, through th e Army P i c t o r i a l S e r v ic e D i
v i s i o n , O ffic e o f th e C h ief S ig n a l O ffic e r , t h a t c e r ta in
s u b je c ts had b een t e n t a t i v e l y approved f o r p r o d u c tio n . As
has a lrea d y b een m entioned, th e se l i s t s g e n e r a lly had a
p r io r it y in d ic a te d fo r ea ch s u b je c t, w ith th e s u b je c ts
101
having th e g r e a t e s t a p p lic a tio n l i s t e d to r e c e iv e th e h igh
e s t p r io r it y . The p r i o r i t y l i s t s were e s ta b lis h e d by the
D ir e c to r o f M ilita r y T ra in in g , Array S e r v ic e F o rc es, G-eneral
S t a f f , and Army G-round F o r c e s. So a l l the S ig n a l Corps had
to do wa.s to f i t th e p ro d u ctio n s in to t h e ir sc h e d u le .
The m a te r ia l in th e p reced in g paragraph d e f i n i t e l y
shows th a t th e p ro d u ctio n o f m otion p ic tu r e s by th e Photo
g ra p h ic C enter was n o t a h it or m iss a f f a i r . I t was a w e ll-
c o n sid e r e d , we1 1 -planned d e c is io n b a sed on th e tr a in in g
needs o f th e v a r io u s a g e n c ie s o f th e Army, w eigh ed and
e v a lu a te d in r e fe r e n c e to th e n eeds o f the e n t ir e Array no
m atter where th ey m ight have been.
Once a p ic tu r e r e q u e st was on th e sc h e d u le , th e f ilm
p r o je c ts f e l l more or l e s s n a tu r a lly in to a c e r t a in c l a s
s i f i c a t i o n d ic t a t e d by th e purpose behind th e f ilm . T rain
in g film s were perhaps th e la r g e s t s in g le group, and th ey
were th e in s t r u c t io n a l f ilm s th a t were in g r e a t demand and
fo r th e most p a rt needed to be made q u icicly and g o tte n out to
th e f i e l d . The film had to show s w i f t l y and e f f i c i e n t l y why
a c e r ta in job had to be d one, what th e problem s m ight be th a t
had to be surm ounted, and how th e job was to be perform ed.
B e sid e s th e tr a in in g film th e r e were s e v e r a l o th er
ty p e s o f p ic tu r e s produced by the C enter and ea ch had a de
f i n i t e m issio n to p erform , th a t i s when p r o je c te d b efo re a
c e r ta in aud.ienee th e c o n te n t o f th e f ilm was d esig n ed to
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carry over an id e a to th e view er w hich , i t was hoped, would
sta y w ith him.
C o n tro ls a p p lie d to Army m otion p ic t u r e s . W hile ra
th e r com plete in fo rm a tio n was a v a ila b le on c e n so r sh ip and
c o n tr o l o f m otion p ic tu r e s f o r c i v i l i a n consum ption during
World War I I , as y e t i t i s im p o ssib le to o b ta in a com p lete
p ic tu r e o f th e same p r o c e s s e s as a p p lie d to f ilm s fo r m ili
ta r y p e r s o n n e l. T h is i s due to la c k o f s u f f i c i e n t r e se a r ch
m a te r ia l a v a ila b le in C a lifo r n ia fo r such a stu d y .
T h is problem sh ou ld be in v e s t ig a t e d in the fu tu r e i f
th e r e i s to be com plete u n d erstan d in g o f the e n t ir e prob
lem . T his in v e s t ig a t io n w i l l o f n e c e s s it y have to be made
in W ashington, D.C. and in Long I s la n d C ity , New York. The
Army has alw ays been and undoubtedly w i l l be slow and ca re
f u l in i t s r e le a s e o f m a te r ia l p e r ta in in g to s e c u r it y and
c e n s o r sh ip . The r e s u lt i s th a t much o f th e in fo r m a tio n in
t h i s s e c t io n i s taken from p erso n a l ex p er ien ce o f the w r ite r
a s he saw th e procedure in a c tu a l o p e r a tio n d u rin g th e p a st
war as w e ll as from knowledge o f th e o p e r a tio n s o f th e War
Departm ent d u rin g th e p a st war.
The outbreak o f th e war foun d the Amy w ith a v ery
i n s u f f i c i e n t supply o f f ilm s to t r a in th e tr o o p s th a t were
pouring in to i t s ra n k s. T his f a c t has been m entioned b efo re
in th e stu d y . The problem e x is t e d and th e o n ly s o lu t io n to
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i t was to produce m otion p ic tu r e s to meet th e n eed s a s f a s t
as i t co u ld be done. T h is ta s k was a tta c k e d w ith a l l the
en ergy a v a ila b le in th e War D epartm ent. Every o r g a n iz a tio n
th a t had any k in d o f problem th a t m ight be tau gh t o r the
tea c h in g o f w hich m ight be a id ed by th e use o f m otion p ic -
tu r e s began t o swamp th e Array P ic t o r i a l S e r v ic e w ith r e
q u e s ts . The r e s u l t was th e sc r e e n in g o f r e q u e s ts and th e
e sta b lish m e n t o f p r io r it y l i s t s a lr e a d y d is c u s s e d in t h i s
stu d y . The f i r s t s e c u r it y m easures were in s t ig a t e d a t t h i s
phase by th e Army. The s u b je c t d e s ir e d had to have some
s o r t o f c l a s s i f i c a t i o n p u t on i t and th e s e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s
d u rin g th e war in clu d ed R e s t r ic t e d . C o n fid e n tia l, S e c r e t, and
Top S e c r e t. There were o th e r h ig h er c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s w ith
l o c a l code names put on a c e r ta in few p ic tu r e s th a t were
produced, but th e se were v ery few and due to t h e ir nature
cannot be d is c u s s e d in t h i s stu d y .
As has been s t a te d in an e a r l i e r p art o f t h i s stu d y
some o f th e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s put on th e s c r ip t s a s o f th e d a te
o f r e q u est were o fte n changed by th e tim e th e p ic tu r e was
fin is h e d due to the tim e la g in th e p ro d u ctio n o f th e f ilm .
For exam ple, a film on th e o p era tio n o f a p ie c e o f eq u ip
ment, a t the tim e o f r e q u e s t f o r th e p ic tu r e , might be c l a s
s i f i e d S e c r e t, but by th e tim e th e f ilm had b een com pleted
the equipm ent had become known to th e p u b lic , or to. th e Army
a s a whole and so th e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n a s S e c r e t on th e f ilm
10^
would lim it th e number o f tro o p s th a t m ight need to see th e
f ilm . The r e s u lt was th a t a r e v is e d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n had to
be put on i t p r io r to r e le a s e .
Then th e n ext p la c e where c l a s s i f i e d f ilm r e q u e s ts
made a d iff e r e n c e was in th e p ro d u ctio n o f th e f ilm s . Cer
t a in p erso n n el a ssig n e d to g e t th e f ilm produced m ight not
have had a s e c u r it y c le a r a n c e h ig h enough to be a b le t o work
on th e e n tir e f ilm and know a l l about i t . T h is problem o f
ten came up, and th e r e s u lt was th a t one s o ld ie r , or c i v i l i a n
w orking on th e p ic tu r e a t th e S ig n a l Corps P h otograp h ic Cen
t e r m ight be a b le to work on o n ly p a rt o f a p ic t u r e . T his
means o f c o n tr o l k ep t th a t person from knowing th e whole
s to r y o f th e f ilm and th u s from knowing th e f i n a l cu t v e r s io n
o f the f ilm . By d oin g t h i s the Army was a b le to make p ic
tu r e s w ith the p erso n n el a v a ila b le and s t i l l n ot slow down
th e o p e r a tio n o f th e P hotograp h ic C enter by h avin g to o b ta in
c le a r a n c e s on th e q u e stio n a b le p e r so n n e l. An a lt e r n a t iv e
used in some c a s e s was to ta k e o th e r p eo p le o f f one job and
put them on th e c l a s s i f i e d film b ecau se o f p erso n n el c le a r
a n c e s.
The problem o f th e f i n a l ap p roval o f f ilm c le a r a n c e s
w hich were to be checked and a s s ig n e d to th e p ic tu r e when
i t was com p leted and ready fo r tu rn in g over to th e D is tr ib u - -
t io n Branch o f th e S ig n a l Corps P hotograp h ic C enter was a c
com p lish ed . I t was done o n ly a f t e r th e f ilm and i t s
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I m p lic a tio n s were s tu d ie d , and th e o v e r a ll n eed s o f the Army
and o f th e war e f f o r t as a whole were xireighed.
Problem s w hich a ro se from th e combat f o o t a g e - When
combat fo o ta g e a r r iv e d in th e S ig n a l Corps P h otograp h ic Cen
t e r , or in W ashington, D.C. from o v e r se a s th e a te r s o f opera
t io n th e r e was a g r e a t s e c u r it y problem as to what sh ou ld be
o ffe r e d to th e n ew sreel com panies, what was t o be shown to
th e tr o o p s, and what was v i t a l fo r showing to th e G-eneral
S t a f f o f th e War D epartm ent. Even th e f ilm ta k en by th e
c i v i l i a n n ew sreel p hotograp hers had to be c e n so red .
The p hotographers had le a r n e d e x a c tly how th e f ilm
sh o t was to be ca p tio n e d to make su re th a t i t a l l co u ld be
p ro p erly i d e n t i f i e d , what to sh o o t and what n o t to sh o o t;
the p la n s f o r g e t t in g the fo o ta g e back to th e S ig n a l Corps
P hotograp h ic L aboratory had been made. I t was d eterm in ed
th a t th e la b o r a to r y co u ld handle a s much a s f i f t y thousand
f e e t a week. T his was ample fo r the n eed s, i t was found, a s
th e lim it cou ld even be stretched by running the la b o r a to ry
tw en ty -fo u r hours a day.
The n ex t problem was th a t o f g e t t in g th e f ilm back
from th e beachheads and from the o th er b a t t l e f i e l d s as th e
war p ro g re sse d . At f i r s t i t was d e c id e d th a t th e r e would be
f o c a l p o in ts on the b each es and th a t th e f ilm would be se n t
from th e cameraman to th e s e c e n te r s w hich were marked by
106
s p e c ia l f l a g s and th e commanding o f f i c e r s o f th e m essage
c e n te r would have a s p e c ia l arm hand. Then th e n e g a tiv e was
placed* in p r e ss sa ck s marked nURG ENT" and f e r r ie d a c r o ss to
England on f a s t "boats. S p e c ia l c o u r ie r o f f i c e r s were p la ce d
on th e docks and j e t t i e s a t th e B r i t i s h p o rts to take o f f
th e sacks and r u sh them to th e o f f i c e o f B r it is h M in istry o f
In form ation in London. Each o f th e a g e n c ie s . U n ited S ta te s
Army, B r it is h F o rces, and French and Canadian were c a lle d to
come and g e t t h e ir n e g a tiv e s a s q u ic k ly a s th ey a r r iv e d .
As th e war p ro g r e sse d t h is method o f d e liv e r in g th e
film changed a h i t in th a t th e f o c a l p o in ts or m essage cen
t e r s were s e t up a t la n d in g s t r ip s r ig h t “ behind th e A llie d
l i n e s , and s p e c ia l p la n e s p ick ed up th e exposed f ilm and fle w
i t d i r e c t l y to the c l o s e s t la n d in g f i e l d to London. There
the film was p ick ed up by m essengers and h u rried by ca r or
m o to rcy cle to the la b o r a to r y .
D uring th e f i r s t days o f th e in v a sio n the la b o r a to r y
worked around th e c lo c k . The f ilm was im m ediately d ev elo p ed
and a f t e r I t was p r o c e sse d i t went im m ediately to th e pro
j e c t io n rooms. These rooms and th e th e a te r in co n n ectio n
were c l o s e ly guarded by M ilita r y P o lic e and d e sig n a te d as
SHAEF T h ea ter s. I t was in th e se th e a te r s th a t the film was
f i r s t view ed and then o n ly b e fo r e a group o f o f f i c e r s from
th e U n ited S t a t e s , B r it is h , Canadian and French A rm ies.
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These few o f f i c e r s had th e h ig h e st p o s s ib le c le a r a n c e and
th a t was n e c e ssa r y due t o th e f a c t th a t th ey saw a g r e a t
d e a l o f fo o ta g e w hich co u ld not be shown to any ex cep t th e
Supreme A llie d E x p ed itio n a ry F orces Commanding G-eneral and
h is im m ediate s t a f f . Of cou rse t h i s fo o ta g e th a t was so
h ig h ly s e c r e t was a v ery sm a ll p a rt o f th e f o o t a g e , b u t s t i l l
th e f i r s t c e n so r sh ip was n e c e ssa r y . The c e n so r s u sed a film
punch system to in d ic a te th e cen so red p o r tio n s o f th e film
w ith o u t th e d e la y o f a c t u a lly c u t tin g th e n e g a tiv e . Thus
ev ery frame th a t x«ras sh o t came t o W ashington where the un
cen so red p o r tio n s were r e le a s e d a s th e s it u a t io n demanded.
C en sorsh ip o f n ew sre el war m a te r ia l was n ot a s
se v ere a s m ight be im agined judging by th e le n g th s th a t th e
S e r v ic e s went t o in talcing adequate s e c u r ity p rec a u tio n s
a g a in s t an yth in g g e t t in g r e le a s e d w hich sh o u ld n ot be shown
i n p u b lic . The War Department made t h i s c le a r in a rep o rt
w hich r e v e a le d th a t o n ly 3 per c e n t o f the combat fo o ta g e
film e d by n e w sr e els from P ea rl Harbor u n t il th e end o f th e
war had been w ith h e ld fo r reason s o f s e c u r it y . The b ulk o f
th e impounded m a te r ia l was la t e r r e le a s e d a s soon a s m ilita r y
o p e r a tio n s p e r m itte d , so th a t a c t u a lly o n ly 1 p er c e n t o f
th e t o t a l n ew sreel fo o ta g e was w ith h e ld .
The c o o p e r a tio n exten d ed by th e Army to n ew sreel co r
resp o n d en ts was as g r e a t a s any exten d ed to th e Army
p hotograp hers th e m se lv e s. Cameramen In combat a r e a s were
p rovid ed f r e e tr a n s p o r ta tio n , t h e ir exposed f ilm was shipped
to England and then back to W ashington by a i r , and was g iv e n
c le a r a n c e over a l l o th e r fo o ta g e . About t h i r t y - s i x hours
was th e e s tim a te d tim e la p s e betw een th e a r r iv a l o f the
f ilm in th e U n ited S ta t e s and i t s r e le a s e to th e n ew sreel
com panies. M oreover th e camera u n it s o f th e Army S ig n a l
Corps and th e Army A ir F o rces r e le a s e d to th e n e w sr e e ls hun
d red s o f d if f e r e n t s u b je c ts w hich t o t a le d w e ll o v er th r ee
hundred thousand f e e t o f f ilm . A ll o f t h i s sh ou ld g iv e a
good id e a o f th e c o o p e r a tio n w hich th e Army ex ten d ed the
com m ercial n ew sre el men and how q u ic k ly th e c e n s o r s h ip pro
ced u re, in v o lv e d as i t w as, was c a r r ie d o u t. The th e a te r o f
o p e r a tio n s in xirhlch t h is happened was th e European th e a te r .
However, j u s t b ecau se th e m ention i s o f th a t th e a te r o f war
i t d id n o t mean th a t th e co o p era tio n was o n ly ex ten d ed to
th e com m ercial n ew sreel men in th a t a re a . The n ew sre els were
g iv e n a l l th e a s s is ta n c e p o s s ib le ; t h e ir film was retu rn ed
to th e S t a t e s , p r o c e sse d , and r e le a s e d to the p u b lic w ith
eq u al sp eed from a l l th e f ig h t in g f r o n t s .
• Army t e c h n ic a l a d v is o r s a ssig n e d t o H ollyw ood. One
o f th e key s te p s w hich showed c lo s e co o p er a tio n betw een th e
c i v i l i a n in d u str y in H ollywood and the Army was th e i n i t i a
tio n o f th e p o lic y fo r th e assignm en t o f S e r v ic e p erso n n el
109
to any stu d io w hich was g o in g to use m ilit a r y uniform s o r a
m ilit a r y background in p ic t u r e s . By th e use o f Army uniform s
i s meant where Army p erso n n el was re p r ese n ted by a c t o r s .
The f e e l in g o f the Army on th e m atter was th a t th e r e sh ou ld
be no m isu se o f th e Army uniform , e it h e r by th e way i t was
worn, th e a c tio n s o f p erso n s in uniform or a n y th in g about
th e Army w hich was ou t o f l i n e .
The American s o ld ie r was to b e r e p r e se n te d a s doing
th e proper th in g a t a l l tim e s and w earing th e uniform c o r
r e c t l y . T his was a m orale fa c to r w hich was im portant due to
th e f a c t th a t so many o f the au dience se e in g a p ic tu r e would
have r e l a t i v e s and lo v e d ones in th e s e r v ic e s . In a d d itio n ,
th e Army r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s a ssig n e d to th e s tu d io s had a num
b er o f o th e r jo b s b e s id e s lo o k in g ou t fo r th e uniform s and
a c t io n s o f a c to r s r e p r e s e n tin g Army p e r so n n e l. They made
sure the t a c t i c s were c o r r e c t , and th a t th e equipm ent was
p ro p erly u sed . The d e s ir e to have p erso n n el from th e Army
a ssig n e d to th e s tu d io s making war p ic tu r e s was not a one
sid e d d e a l. B oth th e in d u str y and th e Army w anted i t , and
th e r e s u lt was th a t th e r e la t io n s h ip between th e two was o f
th e b e s t throughout th e war.
C o n clu sio n . The s e c u r it y r e g u la tio n s and cen so rsh ip
im posed on th e Army produced m otion p ic tu r e s during th e x ^ ra r
were more o f an in te r n a l item than one o f th e o u ts id e
elem en ts t e l l i n g th e Army what th ey co u ld do and what th ey
sh ou ld n ot do. T h is was a n a tu r a l a c tio n due to the f a c t
th a t th e Army was supposed to know how to f ig h t a war and in
doing so i t was n e c e ssa r y to be e x c e e d in g ly c a r e f u l o f ev ery
th in g th a t was spoken, p u b lish e d , or put on f ilm f o r p u b lic
e x h ib it io n . The Army found th a t i t had to put s e c u r it y regu
la t io n s in f o r c e w ith in i t s e l f in order to guard i t s new
equipm ent and th e l i v e s o f i t s s o l d i e r s , a s w e ll a s w in th e
war q u ic k ly . As the Army grew in s iz e th e need fo r more
and more p ic t u r e s t o a id in th e tr a in in g o f th e new s o ld ie r s
liras found n ec e ssa r y and t h i s meant th a t th e r e had to be l o t s
o f m otion p ic tu r e s made on many, many d if f e r e n t ty p e s o f
s u b je c ts . In o rd er to make th e se p ic tu r e s i t was n ece ssa r y
th a t many p eo p le h e lp in th e in c r e a s e d p ro d u ctio n . T his
meant th a t th e r e g u la tio n s p e r ta in in g to th e p ro d u ctio n o f
m otion p ic tu r e s had to undergo e x t e n s iv e changes a s to se
c u r it y in v e s t ig a t io n s made on th e p eop le em ployed in the
p ro d u ctio n o f th e f ilm s .
There has been no m ention o f the most o b v io u s o f th e
c e n so r sh ip f ilm s and s e c u r it y f ilm s th a t were mad.e by th e
S e r v ic e s d u rin g th e war. T his o v e r s ig h t has not been in
ten d ed to in d ic a te th a t th e s e f ilm s , or film s o f t h i s s o r t
were not made by the Army. There were s e v e r a l f ilm s made
on t h is su b je c t p e r ta in in g to ce n so r sh ip o f th e m a ils , cen
s o r sh ip o f sp ee ch , and th e ta lk in g about th e d ep artu re tim e
I l l
o f tro o p s h ip s , a s w e ll a s many o th e r s u b je c ts . However,
th e reason f o r le a v in g th e s e p ic t u r e s , or t h i s s u b je c t, ou t
o f the stu d y i s th a t th e im p lic a tio n s o f t h is type o f se
c u r ity r e g u la tio n s , w h ile th ey d id a r is e during th e war, were
c le a r and there was no q u e s tio n about them. The aim o f th e
w r ite r was r a th e r to b rin g out the im p lic a tio n s o f th e mean
in g o f c e n s o r sh ip and s e c u r ity r e g u la tio n s a s th e y a p p lie d
to th e c i v i l i a n in d u stry and to th e Army p ro d u ctio n o f mo
t io n p ic t u r e s .
A fte r t h i s d is c u s s io n o f th e Army p ro d u ctio n o f mo
t io n p ic tu r e s d uring th e p a st war i t sh ou ld be q u it e c le a r
tn a t a whole new a sp e c t o f film making was begun about the
f i r s t o f th e y ea r 19^2 and t h i s new system has been Improved
upon u n t il th e p r e s e n t. I f th e war had n o t come and fo r c e d
th e p ro d u ctio n o f Army f ilm s to th e h igh peak th a t th ey a t
ta in e d i t i s doubted th a t th e re w ould be n e a r ly a s g r e a t a
developm ent in th e u se o f tr a in in g and e d u c a tio n a l f ilm s a s
th e re i s to d a y .
C H A P T E R V I
SU M M A R Y AND CONCLUSIONS
I . SU M M A R Y
The m otion p ic tu r e was r e c o g n iz e d a s a p ow erful fo r c e
in World War I I and the U n ited S ta te s G-overnment made th e
b e s t o f t h i s to .o l to sp eed th e war to a s u c c e s s f u l con clu
s io n . The c i v i l i a n m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y in H ollywood,
C a lifo r n ia had known f o r a lon g tim e th a t i t was a pow erful
agency o f in flu e n c e in th e w orld and e s p e c ia lly in th e U n ited
S t a t e s . The war r e a l l y made th e w orld aware o f th e im port
ance o f th a t p r o fe s s io n . There were tim es when th e in d u s tr y '
f e l t th a t th e r e g u la tio n s o f the G-overnment were a l i t t l e
more than th ey a s f r e e American c i t i z e n s , in a fr e e G-overn
m ent, lik e d , b u t th e y c o u ld do n o th in g about I t e x c e p t com
p la in a l i t t l e and then red ou b le t h e ir e f f o r t s toward w inning
th e war.
I f a f i n a l a n a ly s is i s e v e r made in y e a r s to come, i t
w i l l undoubtedly show t h a t th e m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y o f
t h i s n a tio n d id a s much to win th e war a s was done by any
in d u stry in th e U n ited S t a t e s .
H ollywood s t a r t e d a t th e v ery b eg in n in g o f h o s t i l i t i e s
to do a l l th a t i t co u ld to h elp w in th e war. I t had been
a ccu sed o f i n c it in g th e American p eo p le t o war by th e
113
p ic tu r e s th a t i t produced and d is t r ib u t e d p r io r to P ea rl
Harbor w hich t o ld o f th e h orrors o f th e N azi regim e. There
were o th e r p ic tu r e s a ls o th a t brought to th e a t t e n t io n o f
th e American p eop le th e aw ful th in g s th a t w ere happening a l l
o v er th e w orld in th e N azi and Japanese c o n t r o lle d a r e a s.
However, i t was soon r e a liz e d th a t th o se who were
c r i t i c i z i n g th e H ollywood movie in d u str y were d o in g i t an
i n j u s t i c e . The p ic tu r e In d u stry o ffe r e d i t s s e r v ic e s to the
G-overnment. I t o ffe r e d i t s a c to r s and te c h n ic ia n s to th e
Government, but was to ld th a t th e b e s t p la ce f o r th o se
s h i l l e d men and women was r ig h t on th e job in Hollyx-rood un
t i l c a l le d s p e c i f i c a l l y by th e Government.
The s e c u r it y r u le s l a i d down by th e Government, th e
Army, and the Navy a l l c o s t th e s tu d io s money, b u t th a t was
sm a ll in com parison to what i t m ight c o s t i f the U n ited
S ta te s l o s t th e war, and w ith t h is thought in mind th e s tu d io s
d id an e x c e lle n t job o f ca rry in g ou t th e w ish e s o f th e Gov
ernm ent. They were g u id ed a s to th e s t o r ie s th ey c o u ld pro
duce ; th ey were t o ld what th ey co u ld put in to a p ic tu r e ,
and what th ey were n o t a llo w e d to put in to a p ic t u r e . They-
were t o ld what hours th ey co u ld sh o o t and under what co n d i
t io n s th e p ic tu r e s co u ld be film e d . They w ere t o ld how many
p ic tu r e s th ey should dub in th e d if f e r e n t fo r e ig n la n g u a g es,
and how many th e y should put in f o r e ig n t i t l e s . They were
t o ld what s t o r ie s th ey c o u ld n ot sh o o t i f th ey w anted to g e t
11^
a fo r e ig n market f o r t h e ir p ic t u r e s . They w ere t o ld to make
more p ic tu r e s to b u ild up th e m orale o f th e American p u b lic ,
and they were t o ld to make p ic tu r e s to in s t r u c t and educate
th o se same American p e o p le .
A ll o f th e se r e g u la tio n s were l a i d down by th e d i f f e r
en t G-overnment. a g en cies; in normal tim e s th e a r t i s t i c tem
perament o f th e p eo p le in th e m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y would
r e j e c t such r e g u la tio n . However, d u rin g the war th e pro
t e s t s , w h ile v ery few in com parison to th e amount o f r e g u la
t io n s and r u le s la id down, were v e r y m ild and d id not amount
to an y th in g w hich would in any way h in d er th e work toward
✓
th e g o a l o f t o t a l v ic t o r y f o r th e A llie d n a tio n s .
In the lon g run a l l th e p eo p le o f th e w orld w ere th e
r e c ip ie n t s o f the w on d erfu l work done by th e c i v i l i a n m otion
p ic tu r e in d u str y in th e H ollywood a rea , and th e y sh ou ld a l l
be d eep ly g r a t e f u l t o th e sp len d id c o o p e r a tio n g iv e n th e
U n ited S ta te s G-overnment, in s p it e o f h a rd sh ip s, to win th e
w ar. T h is Job o f w inning th e war was not done alon e by th e
f ilm in d u str y , nor was i t done e n t ir e ly by th e f ig h t in g men
o f th e U n ited S ta te s and th e r e s t o f the A l l i e s . The job
was done w ith th e a id and co o p er a tio n o f a l l th o se th a t
p itc h e d in and d id t h e i r p a r t, be i t on th e f i e l d o f b a t t l e ,
o r in th e war p la n t s , or in th e f i e l d s o f our n a tio n , or in
the m otion p ic tu r e in d u s tr y . The l a t t e r d id a g r e a t share
in k eep in g the m orale o f th o se on th e home fr o n t a t a h ig h
l e v e l so th a t they co n tin u ed to make th e product ion'- reach
115
peaks n ever b e fo r e known. I t was th u s th a t the m otion p ic
tu re in d u str y in s p it e o f or b ecau se o f — w hich I s not
known — th e s e c u r it y r e g u la tio n s and c e n so r sh ip s t i l l ren
d ered a m ost v a lu a b le s e r v ic e to th e country th a t i t had
ev e r been a b le to do w h ile s t i l l m ain tain in g i t s I n te g r it y
a s an in d iv id u a l in d u str y a b le to serv e th e n a tio n and s t i l l
e n te r ta in i t in th e same way as th ey had alw ays done.
The m ilit a r y summary. The problem o f g e t t in g th e
m essage o f m ilit a r y tech n iq u e through to th e m illio n s o f
tro o p s w hich w ere tr a in e d betw een f a l l o f 1940 and th e end
o f th e war in Septem ber, 1945 was a trem endous ta sk and took
th e com bined r e so u r c e s o f a l l a v a ila b le minds to g e t th e m is
s io n accom p lish ed in tim e to be o f h e lp to w in th e war.
The ta sk had been o f th e f i r s t im portance in World War I ,
and by th e tim e World War I I came a lon g i t had in c r e a se d to
su cn p r o p o r tio n s txiac i i d e f i n i t e l y c o n s t it u t e d a r e a l f a c
to r in m ilit a r y o p e r a tio n s , and sh o rten ed th e tim e req u ired
fo r co n v e r tin g a c i v i l i a n in to a s k i l l e d s o ld ie r cap ab le o f
ta k in g ca re o f h im se lf in th e fa c e o f th e enemy.
The Army P ic t o r i a l S erv ice D iv is io n o f the O ffic e o f
th e C hief S ig n a l O ffic e r had th e ta s k o f p r o v id in g a l l th e
m ilit a r y p h o to g ra p h ic s e r v ic e s n e c e ssa r y to the Army in
modern w a rfa re, w ith th e e x c e p tio n o f th e a e r ia l photography,
w hich was handled by th e A ir F o rc es. There w ere p ic tu r e s
116
produced f o r th e Array by th e c i v i l i a n m otion p ic tu r e in
d u s tr y , but th e s e were under the gu id an ce o f th e Army and so
i t was tr u e th a t the P i c t o r i a l S e r v ic e s o f th e Array saw th a t
th e Army a s a whole was fu r n ish e d w ith a l l th e m otion p ic tu r e s
n e c e ssa r y as soon a s i t was humanly p o s s ib le to g e t th e p ic
tu r e s in to th e hands o f th e F ilm L ib r a r ie s w hich serv ed as
th e d is t r ib u t io n system f o r the Army f ilm s .
The p ic tu r e s were produced f o r many p u rp oses a s i s
in d ic a te d by th e fo llo w in g w hich were d is c u s s e d in more de
t a i l in th e body o f th e study* There were m otion p ic tu r e s
produced f o r h i s t o r i c a l reco rd : th e combat f i l m s , th e v iew s
o f m aneuvers, th e p h otograp h ic p r e s e r v a tio n o f th e p arad es,
cerem o n ies, and many o th e r im portant o c c a s io n s ; f o r in fo r
m ation: th e se were p ic tu r e re c o r d s to a s s i s t in p la n n in g
s tr a te g y , to la y th e b a s is f o r d e c is io n s a s to where and
how m ilit a r y o p e r a tio n s sh ou ld be con d ucted, and to a i d in
a n tic ip a tin g enemy a c t io n s ; fo r tr a in in g : th e s e were de
sig n e d f o r a id in g in th e cla ssro o m tea ch in g o f many im port
ant s u b je c ts such a s th e o p era tio n o f new equipm ent, th e
e x e c u tio n o f d if f e r e n t ty p e s o f o p e r a tio n s , th e a b i l i t y to
p r o te c t o n e s e lf in th e fa c e o f th e enemy, and a h o st o f
o th e r s u b je c ts . There were film s made f o r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ,
such a s th o se u sed t o a id in th e sa feg u a rd in g o f m ilita r y
in fo rm a tio n and e s ta b lis h m e n ts , o f k eep in g u n d e sir a b le s out
o f im portant and busy war i n s t a l l a t i o n s , e i t h e r m ilit a r y or
1 1 7
or c i v i l i a n , and to sa feg u a rd corresp on d en ce.
These and many o th e r ty p es o f m otion p ic t u r e s pro
duced by th e Army and f o r th e Army during th e war were th e
p rod ucts o f much c lo s e r su p e r v is io n and c e n so r sh ip . Then
th e n ext s te p in th e s e c u r it y r e g u la tio n s en fo r ce d a t th e
tim e was to make sure th a t th e f ilm s were shown on ly to th e
a u th o r iz ed p e r so n n e l. T his was Im portant inasm uch a s some
o f th e film s t o ld s t o r i e s t h a t needed to be guarded and k ep t
from th e p u b lic as th ey co n ta in e d many o f th e s e c r e t s o f war
w hich i t was hoped would make a speedy c o n c lu sio n to th e
s tr u g g le a r e a l i t y . The rea so n th a t th e se s u b je c ts were
made th e m a te r ia l f o r m otion p ic tu r e s was th a t th e item s,
th e o p e r a tio n , or w hatever i t w as, needed to be shown to
groups o f s o ld ie r s in ord er th a t th e r e be th e b e s t under
sta n d in g p o s s ib le about th e s u b je c t. These th in g s were ne
c e s s a r y to th e Army, but th e showing o f the f ilm s had to be
guarded to a llo w o n ly th e few th a t were in t e r e s t e d in the
item to s e e th e p ictu re*
A ll th e branches o f th e Army were in v o lv e d in some
way w ith th e m otion p ic tu r e s produced a_uring th e war, by or
f o r th e Army. Everybody in th e S e r v ic e s had to se e c e r ta in
p ic tu r e s ; th ey had to be aware o f th e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f th e
p ic tu r e s w hich th ey saw; the C hief o f S t a f f w anted film s
produced, and a l l o f th e Arms and S e r v ic e s o f th e Army r e
q u e ste d m otion p ic tu r e s w hich were u sed as e d u c a tio n a l,
118
tr a in in g and in fo r m a tio n a l f ilm s . A ll o f th e se f ilm s were
s u b je c t to th e r e s t r i c t i o n s a s f a r a s th e s e c u r it y r u le s o f
th e day were en fo rc e d . I t meant th a t ev ery th in g th a t was
made in to a m otion p ic tu r e was o f n e c e s s it y guarded and
p r o te c te d by th e r u le s o f c e n so r sh ip and s e c u r it y r e g u la
t io n s . However, in s p i t e o f a l l t h is th e job done by th e
m otion p ic tu r e s in th e Army was som ething w hich had never
b e fo r e been a ttem p ted , but w hich was a t e r r i f i c su c c e s s in
tr a in in g , -ed u ca tio n , in fo rm a tio n and a s a h i s t o r i c a l medium.^
I I . CONCLUSIONS
The c i v i l i a n m otion p ic tu r e in d u stry in Southern
C a lifo r n ia , and the Army p rod u ction o f m otion p ic tu r e s dur
in g World War I I s e t up a program w ith th e a id o f the U n ited
S ta te s Government, w hich was an overwhelm ing su c c e ss from
th e p o in t o f view o f th e achievem ent o f th e o b j e c t iv e s l a i d
out fo r i t . One cannot t e l l fo r su re i f th e perform ance o f
th e fu n c tio n s was done w ith the maximum p o s s ib le e f f ic ie n c y -
However, i t i s tru e th a t th e m issio n was accom p lish ed .
There were some f a u l t s in th e system o f c o o p e r a tio n w hich
m ight be a v o id ed in any fu tu r e w ars.
At th e b eg in n in g o f th e l a s t war th e in d u str y
For e d u c a tio n a l im p lic a tio n s see C h arles F. Hoben,
M ovies th a t Teach (New York: Dryden P r e s s , 1 9 ^ 6 ), 189 PP*;
a ls o J . R. M ile s and C. R. Spain, Audio- V isu a l A ids in th e
Armed S e r v ic e s (W ashington, D .C .: American C ouncil o f Edu-
c a t io n , 19^7)> 96 pp.
119
p erso n n el went to W ashington and asked th e G-overnment what
th ey co u ld do to h e lp in th e war e f f o r t . The G-overnment
gave them a s ta n d -o ff answ er a t th e tim e and th en as tim e
went on th e program o f what was to be done, and how i t was
to be done, what was not to be d one, and a l l th e o th er ram i
f i c a t i o n s o f th e program were d e v is e d . A ll o f t h i s cou ld
be made much e a s ie r i f > now,' w h ile th e e x p e r ie n c e s a re s t i l l
r a th e r f r e s h in th e minds o f b oth th e G-overnment and th e
c i v i l i a n m otion p ic tu r y in d u str y , a m o b iliz a tio n p lan i s e s
t a b lis h e d in d e t a i l to o rg a n ize th e whole In d u stry and the
Government, a s w e ll as th e Army m otion p ic tu r e p ro d u ctio n
s e t up as to s p e c i f i c d u t ie s , r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , and a ssig n
m ents in th e ev e n t o f any fu tu r e war.
I f th e re were a b lu e p r in t p la n made by th e Government
a s to what bureau i s g o in g to take o v er th e job o f c o n tr o l
l i n g th e m otion p ic tu r e p ro d u ctio n o f the c i v i l i a n in d u str y
a s f a r a s the s e c u r ity and c e n so r sh ip r e g u la tio n s are con
cern ed , th e propaganda p ro d u c tio n , th e in fo rm a tio n and edu
c a tio n a l program, and what t o do about th e fo r e ig n m arkets,
a s w e ll a s th e m orale elem en ts in tim e o f war, th e m otion
p ic tu r e in d u str y co u ld g e t o f f t o a f a s t s t a r t and w ith as
l i t t l e l o s t m otion as p o s s ib le . Thus one agency would be
a t th e head o f m otion p ic tu r e p rod u ction fo r th e Government.
A program such a s th e one o u tlin e d above, w hich would
be fo rm u la ted w e ll in advance o f any c o n f l i c t in w hich t h i s
n a tio n m ight become in v o lv e d would be th e b e s t means o f
e lim in a tin g th e fe a r s th a t a r is e when a c i v i l i a n in d u str y
i s taken o v er by th e Government to h e lp in th e speedy con
c lu s io n o f any w a r .' How i s th e tim e to s e t up th e program.
An in d u str y o f a r t i s t s h a te s to be c o n t r o lle d by any o u ts id e
elem en t, a s th ey f e a r t h a t t h e ir a r t i s t i c endeavors w i l l be
l o s t to th e demands o f o u ts id e r s , and thu s th e a r t th a t g o es
in to th e p r o fe s s io n w i l l be l o s t . I f th e p la n o f what i s
to happen in tim e o f em ergency i s made c le a r and a g reed upon
p r io r to any tr o u b le , p la n s made to d ic t a t e th e a c tio n be
fo r e th e tim e f o r su ch a c t io n comes, then th e r e would be no
f e a r s , and th e in d u str y would be a b le to bend i t s f u l l fo r c e
to g e t t in g th e a ssig n e d m issio n com p leted .
The s u g g e s tio n s a s t o improved p ro d u ctio n a s f a r a s
th e Army i s concerned would be th a t th e m o b iliz a tio n p la n o f
th e Army in c lu d e not o n ly what th e S ig n a l Corps P hotographic
C enter w ould do, and how th e y would make the p ic t u r e s , b u t
a ls o to g e t th e e n t ir e Army lin e d up as to how p ic tu r e s
sh ould be r e q u e ste d , who would have to c le a r them in ord er
th a t th e p ro d u ctio n be sp eeded up t o th e f a s t e s t r a te pos
s i b l e . The r e q u e s ts fo r p ic tu r e s w hich were needed would be
made and th e g e n e r a l id e a or plan as to what was needed would
be in mind and i t w ould be ea sy to g e t th e p ic tu r e c le a r e d
f o r p ro d u c tio n , a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n put on i t , and the
p ro d u ctio n sch ed u le s e t up, and the p ic tu r e produced and
121
p la c e d In the hands o f the d is t r ib u t io n a g en cy . This would
p erm it p ic t u r e s to b e made r a p id ly and d is t r ib u t e d to th e
tro o p s w hich needed th e p ic tu r e . There w ould be th e sa v in g
o f tim e w hich in th e p a s t, was l o s t by th e many tim e s th a t
p ic tu r e r e q u e s ts had to be checked a s to th e a d v is a b ilit y o f
producing a = p a r tic u la r p ic tu r e and th e o th er check p o in ts
r e q u e s ts had to c le a r through b efo re the p ic tu r e was put on
the p ro d u ctio n sc h e d u le .
I f th e two s u g g e s tio n s r e l a t i v e to th e c i v i l i a n mo
tio n p ic tu r e In d u stry and th e Army p rod u ction o f m otion p ic
tu r e s were c a r r ie d out then th e r e would be j u s t one fu r th e r
ste p th a t sh ou ld b e made to com plete th e c y c le and make th e
p ro d u ctio n o f p ic tu r e s in tim e o f war one o f -theksm qothest
w orking o f a l l th e mediums h elp in g t h i s co u n try on to v i c
to r y . The t h ir d su g g estio n - would be th a t th ere be a m eeting
o f th e minds o f the bureau in W ashington r e p r e s e n tin g th e
G-overnment id e a s , th e c i v i l i a n in d u str y and th e Army a t
r e g u la r in t e r v a ls to ir o n o u t any su g g e stio n s w hich might
cr e e p up from tim e to tim e a s the c o n d itio n s change In r e
gard to th e p ro d u ctio n o f p ic t u r e s . T his m eeting w ould a ls o
a llo w everybody concerned to f in d out the l a t e s t id e a s and
in v e n tio n s and o p e r a tio n s in th e m otion p ic tu r e in d u str y .
At th e p r e s e n t tim e th e r e i s q u ite a b i t o f je a lo u s y betw een
th e members o f the c i v i l i a n in d u s tr y . However, th e r e has
n ever been' an y th in g b u t th e b e s t o f co o p e r a tio n betw een the
122
c i v i l i a n in d u str y and th e Army. T h is may be due to a. num
b er o f r e a so n s, but one su re th in g i s th e f a c t th a t th e Army
i s not a co m p etito r o f th e c i v i l i a n in d u str y . These meet
in g s would form a firm w orking u nd erstan d ing betw een th e in
d u stry and th e Government and th e s e r v ic e s w hich would pay
g r e a t d iv id e n d s d uring tim e o f war e s p e c ia l l y , b u t a l l th e
tim e as w e ll .
There i s one l a s t remark th e w r ite r f e e l s should be
made in co n clu d in g t h i s stu d y , and th a t i s th a t a s fa r as
th e Army p o r tio n o f th e in v e s t ig a t io n g o es i t would appear
th a t th e p o in ts brought up have r a m ific a tio n s w h ich sh ou ld
be c le a r e d up but w hich r e q u ir e r e s e a r c h beyond the lim it s
o f t h i s in v e s t ig a t io n . At some fu tu r e d a te i t m ight be
p o s s ib le to g e t more In form ation from th e f i l e s o f th e Army
in -W ashin gton, D.C. on th e su b je c t o f m ilit a r y c e n so r sh ip
and s e c u r it y r e g u la t io n s .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
bibliography:
A. BO O K S
Beman, Lamar T . , C en sorsh ip o f th e T h eater and M otion P ic
t u r e s . Hew York: H. W . W ilson Company, 1931* 359 PP*
DavisY Harry Meyer, and F* G. F a s s e t t , J r . , What You Should
Know About th e S ig n a l Corps. M ew York: W . W . Norton
and Company, I n c ., 19*4-3* 210 pp.
Dobb, Leonard W., Propaganda. New York: Henry H olt and
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E r n st, M orris L ., and W illiam S e a g le , To the P ure, A Study
o f O b scen ity and the C ensor. New York: The V ik ing
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Hoban, C harles F . , M ovies th a t T each. New York: Dryden
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Hovland, C arl I . , Arthur Lumsdaine, and F red'D . S h e f f ie ld ,
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M ile s , J . R ., and C. R. S pain , Audio- V1 su a l A ids in th e
Armed S e r v ic e s . W ashington, B.C.*. American C ouncil on
E d u ca tio n , 19*4-7. 96 pp.
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125
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New York H erald T rib un e. New York C ity , New York.
New York Tim es, New York C ity , New York.
V a r ie ty , (D a lly and W eekly), H ollywood, C a lifo r n ia , and New
York C ity , New York.
C. PERIODICAL ARTICLES
B a r r e tt, C o lo n el R. C. , 1 1 The S ig n a l-C o rp s P hotographic Cen
t e r , ” B u sin e ss S cre en , VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 35-37* 76,
7 8 , 80.
Brown, Thomas C. , “Army F ilm U t i l i z a t i o n , " B u sin e ss Screen',
VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 4 l , 83-
Cohen, C o lo n el Emanuel, "Film I s a Weapon,” B u sin ess S creen ,
VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 43, 7 2 -7 4 .
E rm ini, C aptain A ldo, "Foreign Language F ilm s," B u sin ess
S cre en , VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 5 2 , 92.
E r rig o , Tech. S g t. Frank S . , "Shooting Army C olor," B u sin ess
S creen , VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 5 0 -5 1 .
H ick s, L t. C o lo n el Orton H ., "Army P ic tu r e s Reach ‘Round
th e W orld," B u sin ess S creen , VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 5 3 -
5 4 , 8 8 .
Horgan, L t. C olon el P a u l, "The Measure o f Army F ilm s,"
B u sin ess S cre en , VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 3 8 -4 0 , 87*
Johnson, C aptain R o d ell C ., "Animation f o r Army F ilm s ,”
B u sin ess S creen , VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 44, 98.
J o n es, D orothy B ., "The Hollywood War Film : 1 9 4 2 -1 9 4 4 ,”
Hollywood Q u a rter ly , I (O ctober, 1 9 4 5 ), 1-19*
________ , "The H ollyw ood 's War F ilm s, 1 9 4 2 -1 9 4 4 ,” H ollywood
Q u a r te r ly , Supplement to Volume I (1 9 4 6 ), 46-59*
Liberraan, C aptain Frank P ., "A H isto r y o f Army Photography,"
B u sin ess S cr e en , VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 1 5 -1 7 , 94-95*
Munson, B r ig a d ie r G-eneral E. L ., "Army P ic t o r i a l S e r v ic e ,”
B u sin e ss S creen , VII (December, 1 9 4 5 ), 33*
1 26
Nathan, George Jean , " if Hollywood Came to D unsinane,"
American Mercury (November, 19^+6), 21.
Sonthelm er, Lt. Morton, “P hotographic O perations in the
P a c if ic ," B u sin e ss S cre en , VII (December, 19^5)* ^5,
90.
T hrasher, F re d e ric M ., "Some E d u ca tio n a l A sp ects o f M otion
P ic tu r e s ," The J o u rn a l o f E d u ca tio n a l S o c io lo g y .
W illia m s, Major D ennis R ., "Right Time, R ight P la c e , and
R ight F ilm ," B u sin e ss S creen , VII (December, 19^ 5), 55-
5 7 , 97*
D. UNITED STATES G O V ER N M E N T PUBLICATIONS
Armed F orces In form ation S ch o o l, "Making Army M otion P ic
tu r e s," Army In fo rm a tio n D ig e s t . C a r lis le B arrack s,
P en n sy lv a n ia , J u ly , 19 A9•
H eadquarters S ix th Army, "Film C a ta lo g , In clu d in g Motion
P ic t u r e s , Film S t r ip s , Film S lid e s and T r a n sc r ip tio n s
fo r Use in T ra in in g , In form ation and E d u cation Program,"
P r e s id io o f San F r a n c isc o , C a lifo r n ia : S ix th Army
Manual M 6-5, H eadquarters S ix th Army, September,- 19^8*
H isto r y and M ission o f th e S ig n a l Corps P hotograp h ic Cen
t e r . S ig n a l Corps P hotograp h ic C en ter, Long I s la n d
C ity , M ew York, November 15, 19^9-
War D epartm ent, " L ist o f War Department F ilm s, Film S tr ip s
and R e c o g n itio n Film S lid e s ," War Department F ie ld
M anual, F M 2 1 -7 , U n ited S ta te s P r in tin g O f fic e , Wash
in g to n , January, 19^6.
E. A R M Y TRAINING FILMS
0F-28 "A D efea ted P eo p le."
1-3327 "A ir F orce I n t e llig e n c e ."
OF-3 "D ivide and Conquer."
M-1171 "G-5 in A ctio n — European T heater."
TFB 50-20 "G-5 in A ctio n — Germany."
M — 1057 “Geography o f th e Japanese E m pire.1 1
19-2032 "Guarding A g a in st Sabotage."
0F-11 "Here I s Germany."
EF-5 "It's Your A m erica."
M-13^2 "L est W e F o rg et."
I-3306^ "Photo I n t e llig e n c e in Bombardment A v ia tio n .
21-1265 "Prep, fo r O verseas Movement."
I I -3 2 4 "Safeguarding M ilita r y In fo rm a tio n ."
30-2033 "Sucker B a it."
OF-2 "The N a zis Strike."
M-1211 "The True G lory."
0F-7 "War Gomes to Am erica."
FB-56 "W estern B a t t le F ront."

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Asset Metadata

Creator Randle, Robert Bernhard (author)

Core Title A study of the war time control imposed on the civilian motion picture industry and with some reference to those affecting the Army motion pictures during World War II

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Cinema

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Cinema,History, Military,history, United States,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Finn, James D. (committee chair), [Bittman], Ralph (committee member), Elkin, Frederick (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c20-4268

Unique identifier UC11261724

Identifier EP42693.pdf (filename),usctheses-c20-4268 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP42693.pdf

Dmrecord 4268

Document Type Thesis

Rights Randle, Robert Bernhard

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA