Why was it that the July 4th dance background movie had so much militaristic footage in it of military hardware? Was this supposed to be some kind of pro war thing due to the film being released in 1942?
mmm, doughnut...
-Homer J. Simpson
I'd say that's a pretty safe assumption, a lot of the movies produced at that time had patriotic themes running through them.
I DIED IN EPISODE 81!!!share
Filming began shortly before December 7, 1941, so the patriotism was injected into the number after that date.
shareIt was pretty obvious we were going to be forced into the war which was going on in Europe and Asia. Even if we weren't attacked on Dec.7. We were holding out but it was going to happen sooner of later.
shareYeah, the ships planes and the marching soldiers are not "extras". Also the old guys (too old for military service) in the war factory. And seeing FDR giving a speech REALLY dates it.
shareI suppose it could seem "pro-war" in retrospect, but given the context of both the time of production - literally spanning the days immediately before and after our entrance into the war - and its mid-'42 release date, it's understandable that such a "morale-boosting" (the term used then) element as Crosby's "Freedom" number would have been injected into the "Say It With Firecrackers" sequence.
It not only serves to momentarily remove the story from its fantasy world of gowns, tuxedos and chic nightclubbing, but provides an interesting historical perspective on the American mindset of the time. In those early days of the war, when the outcome was far from certain, it was something audiences seemed to appreciate even in the midst of otherwise escapist entertainment, and provides as much of a "time-capsule" look - for better or worse - at the way we were (to borrow a phrase) as the often-deleted "Abraham" number.
It may seem incongruous for an otherwise light entertainment (albeit a superior one) to make use of such cultural references and observations, but HOLIDAY INN is now all the more significant for them, if only to remind us of how different the world of 1941-42 was from the one of today.
Poe! You are...avenged!
I don't know so much pro-war as definitely patriotic. 99.9% of Americans were pro-war in 1942, wanting to seriously cause the "Japs" and "Jerries" some serious harm.
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It was not so much "pro war" as pro defense of the civilized world from the menace of Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany.
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