War Comes to America (1945)

Part VII of the "Why We Fight" series of wartime documentaries. This entry attempts to describe the factors leading up to America's entry into the Second World War.

Writers:

Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein,

Stars:

Dean Acheson, General Bergeret, A.A. Berle

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Dean Acheson	...	Himself (archive footage)
General Bergeret	...	Himself (archive footage)
A.A. Berle	...	Himself (archive footage)
Arno Breker	...	Himself (archive footage)
Neville Chamberlain	...	Himself (archive footage)
Winston Churchill	...	Himself (archive footage)
Galeazzo Ciano	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Galleazzo Ciano)
Édouard Daladier	...	Himself (archive footage)
Charles Edison	...	Himself (archive footage)
Francisco Franco	...	Himself (archive footage)
Josef Goebbels	...	Himself (archive footage)
Hermann Göring	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rudolf Hess	...	Himself (archive footage)
Heinrich Himmler	...	Himself (archive footage)
Hirohito	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

In this final installment of the "Why We Fight" propaganda series, the subject focuses on the United States of America. We learn of its good qualities and the things worth fighting for. With that established, we learn of the history of the United States' population shifting opinion towards siding with the Allies against the Axis until the attack on Pearl Harbour which brought America into full scale involvement in the war.

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Plot Keywords:

propaganda | claim in title | world war two | country name in title | territory name in title | 

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Genres:

Documentary | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Why We Fight, 7

Company Credits

Production Co:

U.S. Army Pictorial Services

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is in the public domain; it was never registered or renewed.

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Goofs

Twice there appears an animated clip showing about a dozen fully-equipped US troops in gray silhouette marching briskly left to right over a background graphic; however, a close look shows the "soldiers" actually wearing narrow-brimmed office-worker-style civilian hats rather than army helmets.

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Quotes

[the film explains the dire consequences for the United States of an Axis victory in Eurasia]
Narrator: German conquest of Europe and Africa would bring all their raw materials, plus their entire industrial development, under one control. Of the two billion people in the world, the Nazis would rule roughly one quarter, the 500 million people of Europe and Africa, forced into slavery to labor for Germany. German conquest of Russia would add the vast raw materials and the production facilities of another of...

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Connections

Featured in Frank and Ollie (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Fascinating Rhythm"
(uncredited)
Music by George Gershwin
Played during the America-before-the-war montage

User Reviews

War Comes to America is excellent conclusion to Frank Capra's Why We Fight series

Today is November 10. That's Veteran's Day for this year since the usual 11th fell on a Saturday. It's for this occasion that I chose to watch the last of Frank Capra's Why We Fight series: War Comes to America. Walter Huston serves as the elder statesman narrator giving the history of our country from Plymoth Rock to Pearl Harbor. He tells how people of most nationalities have helped to make our country great and how we suffered and triumphed. Through a combination of news footage and recreations we also see what actions from Germany and Japan led us to battle with them. There's also some wonderful use of songs like Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Kern and Hammerstein's The Last Time I Saw Paris (with vocals that sound like Judy Garland), and Berlin's This is the Army. So to anyone who wants to watch what it was like in the mid-20th century, I highly recommend War Comes to America. Oh, and if you happen to meet a veteran, by all means thank him or her!