Nostalgia World War II Video Library #1

117. NOSTALGIA WORLD WAR II VIDEO LIBRARY #1 (1944-45-USA). Produced by by the U.S. War Department. As victory in World War II seemed imminent, the U.S. homefront was apparently starting to take the end of the war for granted. In an effort to combat this complacency, the government produced some interesting propaganda films, all clearly stating the message: The war isn’t over yet; let’s ensure our victory by keeping up the fight at home!
1. BATTLE WRECKAGE. The subject is steelÑmillions of tons of it, making up the tanks, planes, ships, bombs and guns: “The hammered guts of warÑprime and proud. Waiting to carry the fight to the gang that started it!” Exciting documentary footage of D-Day and other victorious campaigns is followed by a survey of the wrecked weapons and vehicles left behind. All of them need replacing, and it’s up to us, the men and women who built them in the first place, to get busy again. One incredibly lengthy camera movement past huge mountains of battle wreckage tells the entire story, as does the accompanying message: “Here’s your job sheet for the last round of this fight. Give us steelÑfor a shining triumph!”
2. THE WAR SPEEDS UP. Narrated by JOSE FERRER. The title provides the recurring refrain for this account of our magnificent victories, shown through thrilling combat footage as well as through excerpts from Hollywood movies. (Watch closely for Robert Mitchum!) We’ve liberated Paris and Rome, and the Pacific is falling into our hands. But American industry is slowing down, failing to supply the vital replacement weapons to combat the “tough, fanatic enemy.” The war isn’t over for the men fighting it; for them, as well as for us, “the war begins every day!”
3. IT CAN’T LAST. A dramatized story, forcefully juxtaposing two very different worlds, A young pilot, downed in the Pacific and clinging to life in a tiny raft, dreams of life back home in Connecticut. His buddy tries in vain to keep him going, by reminding him that all of America is behind him. Framing this drama are vignettes showing a morning and evening in the young man’s home town. An older neighbor enjoys the peaceful autumn day, and thinks of anything but war, “A man can’t think about war in this kind of weatherÑand a war almost finished at that, it can’t last much longer, motherÑit can’t last.” At his feet: the evening paper, telling of a combat mission in the Pacific that day, and of one plane that failed to return. 46 minutes total. Propaganda