All movies made during this era would have been patriotic and even propagandistic for the war effort. It would not have taken a word or money from the central government to make these types of movies.
First, the movie producers were as sympathetic to American entry into the war after Pearl Harbor as anybody. Some of the moguls probably would have liked involvement earlier. Second, while no directive was needed, a perceived lack of patriotism would have hurt the movie company's image, and might have invited unwanted regulation (not just from the national government, but even from movie theatres backing the effort). Finally, the movie going public wanted stories that highlighted the heroism of such men, most extended families had men enlisted or drafted for the war, so there was a genuine interest.
With a draft going on, there was no need for recruitment films for black soldiers. I would characterize the pro-soldier sentiment as an artifact (and not necessarily a bad one) of the era, not as advertising.
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stevezodiacxl5
15 years ago
"It would not have taken a word or money from the central government to make these types of movies. "
Uh, sorry. The government was knee-deep in propaganda during WW2, for all kinds of reasons, and Hollywood and Uncle Sam worked hand-in-hand on the propaganda films.
Recruitment wasn't necessarily the primary goal, although the more willing recruits signing up, the less the draft had to bring them in forcibly. But the entire country had to be convinced that the struggle was worth the immense cost in lives and money. And the draftees needed the impetus to go risk their necks in circumstances that would soon be seen to be very different from the glitzy Hollywood view of war.
Despite nostalgic memories of a totally spontaneous grass-roots patriotic effort during the war, the reality was that the government worked very hard to build and maintain the commitment of citizens and soldiers.
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lroy77
14 years ago
I hate to bring race into this but I think the primary reason that this was an all-black cast was because all the white people were over in Europe fighting the war.
I think it's a well-documented fact that blacks (in those days I guess they were called "Negros" politely) didn't have as high ranking positions as other officers.
In the very beginning of the movie when they had that wide screen shot of the WW1 soldiers, before the closeup of Bojangles...as far as I can tell they are the real world soldiers.
Regardless, in my book, this movie is as every bit of a big time musical as white people made in the 1930s.
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pscott1045
10 years ago
This is an example of a "Race Film," a movie with an all-black cast made for an all-black audience. A lot of blacks served during the war, but they were segregated. Movies, trains, buses, bathrooms, lunch counters, courtrooms, all were segregated.
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