Frank Capra was an Italian American film director, producer, and writer born in Italy and raised in Los Angeles from the age of five. Capra became one of America's most influential directors during the 1930s, winning three Academy Awards for Best Director from six nominations, along with three other Oscar wins from nine nominations in other categories. Among his leading films were"It Happened One Nigh" (1934),"You Can't Take It with Yo" (1938), and"Mr. Smith Goes to Washingto" (1939). Capra served in the US Army during World War I and became naturalized shortly thereafter. He reenlisted after Pearl Harbor and was offered a commission as a Major at the age of 44. Chief of Staff George Marshall bypassed the US Army Signal Corps and assigned Major Capra the job of producing seven propaganda films (the Why We Fight series) that would be seen less as propaganda pieces and more as the inspiring films that Capra had made. After World War II, Capra's career declined as his later films, such as"It's a Wonderful Lif" (1946), performed poorly when they were first released. Outside of directing, Capra was active in the film industry, engaging in various political and social issues. He served as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, worked alongside the Writers Guild of America, and was head of the Directors Guild of America.
The well-known Why We Fight series, produced by the War Department under the general supervision of Lt. Col. Frank Capra, include:"Prelude to War""The Nazis Strike""Divide and Conquer""Battle of Britain""Battle of Russia""Battle of China" and"War Comes to Americ" and together represent one of the most comprehensive efforts to teach history through film. Designed for new recruits, these films were eventually shown to civilian warworkers and the general public. Capra's staff used the compilation method in these films. Footage was selected from the resources of the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the Army Pictorial Center, and the newsreel libraries in New York City. Films from Allied Governments and those captured from the Axis were also used in the productions. These films were arranged and rearranged to explain official U.S. policy on the causes of the war and toward the Allied and Axis powers."Prelude to Wa" reviews events leading to the war and contrasts American democracy with fascism."The Nazis Strik" and"Divide and Conque" detail German expansion toward the east and west."Battle of Britai" concentrates on the fight against the attacking Luftwaffe and the resilience and courage of British civilians."Battle of Russia" running almost two hours, quickly reviews centuries of Russian history, emphasizing the theme that the Russian people would ultimately defeat and drive out all foreign invaders. This film shows in grim detail the bitter conditions of fighting on the Eastern front."Battle of China" quickly withdrawn from circulation after its release, is the least historically accurate of the series. Its footage, obtained from many documentaries on China, shows the magnitude of the struggle between China and Japan and builds sympathy for the Chinese people."War Comes to Americ" is the summation of the work done by Colonel Capra's film staff; it is a fast-paced, rhythmical film on the values of American culture and U.S. composition, achievements, failures, and ideals. Although the Why We Fight films generally employ footage of historical events, they are more important for the study of ideas, attitudes, and interpretations than for the facts they present.
On March 4, 1943, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded an Academy Award to Frank Capra for Prelude to War as the Best Documentary film of 1942. Credits: Script, Eric Knight, Anthony Veiller; Editor, William Hornbeck; Music, Dmitri Tiomkin; Res. Richard Griffith; Narrator, Walter Huston.
Propaganda film about the background of World War II (Orientation Film No. 1). Opening shot, AV Hoover Dam. CUs of New York Times newspaper headlines regarding The League of Nations, Tariff Act, Isolationism and Prohibition. Narrator compares free democratic system to the Nazi regime. 01:30:28 Books freely read in USA, including Mein Kampf. 01:30:34 Scenes of German bookburnings in Berlin. Optical mix of flames with CUs of banned books, including Heinrich Heine, Remarque, Hemingway, Thomas Mann, and Mendelssohn music, to 01:30:54 . EXT of a Gothic style church, INT of Church, boys choir singing"Onward, Christian Soldiers" slow pan, CUs of the faces of the young boys singing. VS of American children playing outdoors on jungle gyms, drawing, painting, in the classroom, in the schoolyard, playing ball, skating, biking, etc. VS of German and Japanese children playing war games. Japan sequence: 01:32:47 to 01:33:22."Germa" youth in gas masks crawling through the grass in a field, presumably in"trainin" for their futures as Nazi soldiers. CU of Hitler and high ranking officials in military procession in Germany. Similar shots of military processions with Mussolini in Italy and with Hirohito in Japan. CUs of Hess, Goering, Frank, Dietrich, Todt, Reinhardt, Darre and Ley at podium. VSs of crowds rallying behind their leaders in Italy, Germany and Japan. VSs of animated maps describing each country's desired annexations, etc. In the end the map of the world is covered in swastikas and the Rising Sun.
Book burning; Hitler & high Nazi officials