Going Hollywood: The War Years (1988)

A documentary about how Hollywood kept up morale during the years of World War II.

Director:

Julian Schlossberg

Writer:

Charles Badaracco

Stars:

Van Johnson, Vivian Blaine, Humphrey Bogart

Cast

Credited cast:
Van Johnson	...	Self - Host
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vivian Blaine	...	Self
Humphrey Bogart	...	Self (archive footage)
Dane Clark	...	Self
Jackie Cooper	...	Self
Gloria DeHaven	...	Self
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Self
Evelyn Keyes	...	Self
Hedy Lamarr	...	Self (archive footage)
Joan Leslie	...	Self
Roddy McDowall
Tony Randall	...	Self
Sylvia Sidney	...	Self

Storyline

Hollywood's dramatic contribution to the war effort including clips from Bataan (1943), Pride of the Marines (1945) and Cover Girl (1944), as well as newsreel footage and interviews with the day's biggest stars.

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Plot Keywords:

war filmmaking | world war two | 1940s | film history | hollywood california | 

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Genres:

Documentary | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

According to this documentary, the first Hollywood anti-Nazi film was Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), made six years after Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany.

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Quotes

Van Johnson - Host: There were so many stars. So much talent. So many beautiful women. They just don't make wars like that anymore.

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Connections

Features The Fighting Seabees (1944)

User Reviews

A decent overview but not a film for serious film buffs

Van Johnson narrates this documentary about Hollywood during WWII. It's a decent overview of the period for the average viewer, however, for the serious film buff the film is severely lacking and COULD have been a lot better. First, although many of the stars in the MANY clips used were identified, many more were not. It was, at times, inexplicable--such as where Dane Clark (a relatively minor star but a very good actor) is identified but John Garfield (a HUGE star) isn't identified! Second, NONE of the movies shown are identified...NONE! So, clip after clip are shown but you might have no idea which movies they are! And, if you like a clip and want to see the entire film, you probably have no idea where to start!! Third, and I think this is a much lesser problem, some of the prints used were pretty poor. Also, as a history teacher I took great exception to Johnson saying that the first victor of the war for the US was Guadalcanal in 1943. What about the Battle of Midway in 1942? It was a HUGE victory--one of the most lopsided and important of the war! So, as a rabid film buff, I was not thrilled by the film at all. But, for most folks, it will be educational and reasonably enjoyable.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Hollywoodin sotavuodet

Filming Locations:

Cine Studios, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Hill Productions, Castle Hill Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color (archive footage) Black and White Color