Film, Cultural Policy, and World War I Training Camps: Send Your Soldier to the Show with Smileage

Smileage was a funding scheme designed to support the Commission on Training Camp Activities’ theater project during World War I. The public purchased coupon books that soldiers redeemed at the government Liberty Theatres, which purported to provide “morally uplifting” and “wholesome” live entertainment primarily, but later included Hollywood motion pictures. This article situates the Smileage campaign in the larger historical context during which the film industry negotiated its inclusion in war mobilization and its value to cultural policy. The theater project and camp recreation program illustrate the Wilson administration’s ambiguous and uneven stance toward the commercial film industry.