An MGM PASSING PARADE Short Subject.
Peter Ravitch, a gentle soul from a small Yugoslav town, writes a poignant letter TO MY UNBORN SON as he lies dying from a Nazi bullet.
This true-life story of courage against the Nazi oppressor features a reading of Peter's remarkable letter, in which he hopes for a peaceful world full of boundless opportunity & joy for his son. The film is a good example of MGM's mastery of the short subject format.
After Pearl Harbor, Hollywood went to war totally against the Axis. Not only did many of the stars join up or do home front service, but the output of the Studios was largely turned to the war effort. The newsreels, of course, brought the latest war news into the neighborhood theater every week. The features showcased battle stories or war related themes. Even the short subjects & cartoons were used as a quick means of spreading Allied propaganda, the boosting of morale or information dissemination. Together, Uncle Sam, the American People & Hollywood proved to be an unbeatable combination.
Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.
Peter Ravitch, a gentle soul from a small Yugoslav town, writes a poignant letter TO MY UNBORN SON as he lies dying from a Nazi bullet.
This true-life story of courage against the Nazi oppressor features a reading of Peter's remarkable letter, in which he hopes for a peaceful world full of boundless opportunity & joy for his son. The film is a good example of MGM's mastery of the short subject format.
After Pearl Harbor, Hollywood went to war totally against the Axis. Not only did many of the stars join up or do home front service, but the output of the Studios was largely turned to the war effort. The newsreels, of course, brought the latest war news into the neighborhood theater every week. The features showcased battle stories or war related themes. Even the short subjects & cartoons were used as a quick means of spreading Allied propaganda, the boosting of morale or information dissemination. Together, Uncle Sam, the American People & Hollywood proved to be an unbeatable combination.
Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.