World War Ii On The Big Screen: 450+ Films, 1938-2008

World War II on the Big Screen This page intentionally left blank World War II on the Big Screen 450+ Films, 1938 –2008 DORIS MILBERG McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Milberg, Doris. World War II on the big screen : 450+ films, 1938–2008 / Doris Milberg. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7864-4740-4 softcover : 50# alkaline paper 1. World War, 1939–1945 — Motion pictures and the war. 2. Motion pictures — United States — History — 20th century. I. Title. II. Title: World War two on the big screen. D743.23.M55 2010 791.43' 6584053 — dc22 2009052812 British Library cataloguing data are available ©2010 Doris Milberg. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Front cover: John Wayne in The Longest Day, 1962 (20th CenturyFox/Photofest); at top film ©2010 Shutterstock Manufactured in the United States of America McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com To Ted, whose love, patience and encouragement have sustained me throughout the creation and birth of this book; and to the films depicting a proud era in our history. Their beat goes on. This page intentionally left blank Table of Contents 1 Preface Part I. 1938 –1945 One — Prelude to War: Fact and Fantasy 7 Two — Scarlett and Rhett, Hitler and War 15 Three — A Tenuous Peace in America 20 Four — The Road to War: December 7, 1941 28 Five — American Mobilizes 38 Six — War Themes: The Making of a Legend 56 Seven — Praise the Lord and Pass the Propaganda 80 Eight — Soldiers in Greasepaint 90 Nine — The Longest Day 96 Ten — The Road to Victory 114 Part II. Après la Guerre: War-Related Films Eleven — In the Wake of War 131 Twelve — The Best Years of Our Lives 141 Thirteen — The End of the Forties: A Time of Darkness 148 Fourteen — A Changing Scene, a Changing Society: The Fifties and Sixties 152 Fifteen — Time Marches On: The Seventies and Eighties 175 vii viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Sixteen — The End of a Century 193 Seventeen — The Dawning of a New Century 198 Epilogue 205 Selected Bibliography 207 Index 209 Preface In researching this book, I found it fascinating to note the number of films about World War II that are still being produced today, decades after the cessation of hostilities — which only goes to prove that although “War is Hell,” to quote famed nineteenth century war hero William Tecumseh Sherman, it is still one hell of a screen subject. World War II on the Big Screen is not merely a compendium of World War II films. The book is the chronicling of an era in which dictatorship and ensl