War Comes to America
| War Comes to America | |
|---|---|
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Film
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| Directed by |
Frank Capra Anatole Litvak |
| Produced by | Frank Capra |
| Written by |
Julius J. Epstein Philip G. Epstein Emma Lazarus Anthony Veiller |
| Starring |
Dean Acheson General Bergeret Adolf A. Berle |
| Narrated by |
Walter Huston Lloyd Nolan |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Edited by | William Hornbeck |
| Distributed by | U.S. Army Pictorial Services |
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Release date
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Running time
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70 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
War Comes to America is the seventh and final film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight World War II propaganda film series.
The early part of the film is an idealized version of American history which includes mention of the first settlements, the American Revolutionary War (omitting the American Civil War), and the ethnic diversity of America. It lists 22 immigrant nationalities, 19 of them European, and uses the then-current terms "Negro", "Jap", and "Chinaman". This section of the film concludes with a lengthy paean to American inventiveness, economic abundance, and social ideals.
The run-up to World War II is then described, beginning in 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. The film examines how American public opinion gradually changed from one of isolationism to one of support for the Allied cause, and demonstrates this using a series of Gallup polls.
In 1936, public opinion is firmly isolationist, with 95% of Americans answering NO to the question "If another world war develops in Europe, should America take part again?". Congress responded with an arms embargo and a "Cash and carry rule" when trading with belligerents in raw materials.
In September 1937, the question "In the current fight between Japan and China, are your sympathies with either side?" is answered CHINA 43%, JAPAN 2%, UNDECIDED 55%, while in June 1939 the same question gives a 74% vote for China. Anti-Japanese sentiment thus forced the US government to block trade in oil and scrap iron with Japan.
In October 1939, 82% of Americans blame Germany for starting the war in Europe, while in January 1941, after the Fall of France, and also the founding of the Tripartite Pact, which was clearly aimed against the United States, the question "Should we keep out of war, or aid Britain, even at the risk of war?", AID BRITAIN got 68% of the vote. This increase in pro-Allied sentiment triggered Lend Lease aid to Britain (and to the Soviet Union after it was attacked by Germany).
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