Tomorrow, December 7th, marks the 77th anniversary of the day America stood on the precipice of World War II, and a generation -- now referred to as The Greatest Generation, faced another moment of destiny.
Yesterday, we held a national day of mourning for former President George Herbert Walker Bush, who was our last president to have served in World War II. Characteristically of that generation, he enlisted on his eighteenth birthday.
Here is archival footage of twenty-year-old Lt. J.G. Bush being rescued after being shot down.
To keep faith with that Greatest Generation and the continuing gift of freedom they have left us, we need to remind ourselves of the reasons they had to give up their youth, in many cases, their lives, to a higher purpose.
Hollywood contributed a unique perspective and legacy of that era. We classic film buffs are familiar with the wartime dramas, the musicals, the patriotic messages, as well as the number of actors who left their careers to enter the military and the hundreds of others who supported the nation's war mission by entertaining troops, appearing at bond drives, and volunteering in many ways.
We've discussed in this previous post about the Hollywood Commandos or the FMPU which produced wartime training films. One of the most important projects made by this unit was director Frank Capra's Why We Fight series. This was meant to inform, inspire, and provide the necessary background to the purpose of why the service personnel were required to fight. Training them to use certain weapons, or how to act in certain situations was not the only important education they received in boot camp. The fight against fascism was as intellectual and emotional as it was tactical.
The first film in that series, Prelude to War is up at the top of this post. One hopes that in an era where fascism has found a foothold in our country, and young people know next to nothing about World War II, that an imperfect, decades-old training film, called "propaganda" today, is not so remote that it would not touch even the most stupid and cynical teenager posing for a class photo while giving the Nazi salute, or painting swastika graffiti, or draping a rope noose where it will be noticed.
Requiescat in pace, President Bush. Requiescat in pace, Greatest Generation.
Tom Tully was an actor of great depth, who exuded grace even in his most snide, sinister, and crusty roles, and yet who could display such unassuming warmth that one could hardly imagine him ever being snide, sinister, or crusty. Today we join several other blogs in the 9 th “What a Character!” Blogathon celebrating favorite character actors of classic films, sponsored by the blogs Paula’s Cinema Club , Once Upon a Screen , and Outspoken & Freckled . We covered some of Tully’s work in previous posts, including his genial, kindly, and somewhat befuddled uncle of Ginger Rogers, who visits him at Christmas here in I’ll Be Seeing You (1944). He had only been in Hollywood a couple years and it was something like his seventh movie. Mr. Tully already had worked over a decade in radio and on stage, but seems to have made an effortless transfer to screen, where he exhibits a natural, if not actually a shrewd and canny ability to navigate the intimacy of playing to a ...
A Face in the Crowd (1957) chronicles its era, lambastes it, and foreshadows future evils of an unchecked demagogue. Perhaps it also marks the end of the noir era of film in its intended righteous ending. It is that ending, however, that contradicts the realities of the future, the cynical realities of our own era. It might be the weakest moment of the movie. Andy Griffith makes a magnificent film debut as the noxious “country boy” whose meteoric rise in the media is made possible by a gullible public and the machinations of a canny promoter played by Patricia Neal. Both turn in stunning performances. Their co-dependent professional relationship becomes personal, and intensely psychological as both nearly go off the deep end in mental breakdowns by the movie’s conclusion. The film is a parable, and starts, rightly enough, as Miss Neal and a radio crew discover Mr. Griffith as a vagrant in jail, a colorful character they exploit for a whimsical program. We have beginning s...
Hollywood Fights Fascism ...Coming later this month. Past is prologue. Our greatest gift from the Greatest Generation was freedom from fascism...until now. Trumpism is Hitler 2.0. Relive, and celebrate, how evil was faced, discussed, dramatized...and fought. Classic films were the weapon. Collected essays from the blog, special thanks to Casey Koester for the striking cover art.
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