This documentary short was nominated for the Academy Award for Documentary in a very large field, losing to four documentaries which tied. There will be mild spoilers ahead:
Henry A. Wallace was an interesting, even curious, choice for this type of wartime propaganda. First of all, he was the Vice President at the time and that job wasn't even remotely held in any esteem then. It was considered a dead end suitable for a non-entity. Second, Wallace was from the far left wing of the Democratic party. Third, Wallace clearly wasn't the most dynamic speaker and it shows here. The short turns out reasonably well for propaganda and does so largely in spite of Wallace rather than because of him.
This is, according to the text in the beginning, a speech Wallace gave at a dinner and was reprised here for the benefit of the American people. That it is propaganda is clear. Several times it refers to the Nazis as devils, Satan is their ally and so on and it brings in the Bible toward the end, quoting scripture to describe the cause on our side.
The purpose of this is the same as the purpose of much of the propaganda produced during the war-to explain to the people on the home front just how vital it was for them to keep up the hard work and sacrifice because it was needed for the allies to achieve complete victory. Through effective use of music and newsreel footage, the importance of the work on the home front is thrust in the faces of the audience, along with stirring proclamations about this being a "people's war".
A surprising amount of this was very left wing in tone, including a specific reference to the Communist revolution in Russia (understandable, given that the Russians were our allies and therefore one of the "free" peoples fighting the good fight against Satan's henchmen, the Nazis.
This documentary is seriously dated and is clearly, as with most propaganda, a product of its time. It's still worth watching if you're interested in the subject.
Henry A. Wallace was an interesting, even curious, choice for this type of wartime propaganda. First of all, he was the Vice President at the time and that job wasn't even remotely held in any esteem then. It was considered a dead end suitable for a non-entity. Second, Wallace was from the far left wing of the Democratic party. Third, Wallace clearly wasn't the most dynamic speaker and it shows here. The short turns out reasonably well for propaganda and does so largely in spite of Wallace rather than because of him.
This is, according to the text in the beginning, a speech Wallace gave at a dinner and was reprised here for the benefit of the American people. That it is propaganda is clear. Several times it refers to the Nazis as devils, Satan is their ally and so on and it brings in the Bible toward the end, quoting scripture to describe the cause on our side.
The purpose of this is the same as the purpose of much of the propaganda produced during the war-to explain to the people on the home front just how vital it was for them to keep up the hard work and sacrifice because it was needed for the allies to achieve complete victory. Through effective use of music and newsreel footage, the importance of the work on the home front is thrust in the faces of the audience, along with stirring proclamations about this being a "people's war".
A surprising amount of this was very left wing in tone, including a specific reference to the Communist revolution in Russia (understandable, given that the Russians were our allies and therefore one of the "free" peoples fighting the good fight against Satan's henchmen, the Nazis.
This documentary is seriously dated and is clearly, as with most propaganda, a product of its time. It's still worth watching if you're interested in the subject.