Hollywood Goes to War: Film and American Society 1939-1952 (review)

BOOK REVIEW Colin Shindler, Hollywood Goes to War: Film and American Society 1939-1952. London, Boston and Henley: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979. 152 pp. Shindler' s book should be of interest to American historians not so much for what it actually says, but for what it is setting out to do and how it organizes to do it. Hollywood Goes to War is part of a series on Cinema and Society under the general editorship of Jeffrey Richards (Department of History, University of Lancaster). The series' aim, as explained in Richard's preface, is to examine film "as straight historical evidence; film as an unconscious reflection of national preoccupations; film as escapist entertainment; film as a weapon of propaganda..." Shindler, a Cambridge trained historian now in television writing and production, adds: "Historians are still dubious of the value of work of the imagination. I hope this book will help to dispel some of these doubts." Shindler organizes his work into twelve chronologically based chapters ranging from "Alarms and Excursions (Events leading up to September 1939)" through "All Through the Night (December 1941October 1942)" to Cry Havoc - Again (January 1950 - November 1952)." The basic format of each is to present a brief examination of political and military developments which is then followed by a look at Hollywood's related major film productions. Shindley himself points out a problem of the chronological approach when he observes that the fastest production schedule for an A film was four months and producers were hesitant to deal with topical subjects if the product might be outdated by the time it was screened. (And one can easily remember rather embarrassing examples of films eulogizing the Chetniks and the Finns shortly before they ended up on the wrong side). Essentially, however, the approach works well. The historian looking for major new evidence will not find it. No unexpected revelations unearthed in either Washington or Hollywood archives. Instead the major sources are a selection of good, standard histories of the period and published Hollywood material, with particular use of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Why then go through the exercise? Particularly when some historians have moved beyond subjective analysis into the depths of studio 68 archives and oral history (e.g. Lawrence Suid's, Guts and Glory: Great American War Movies, 1978.) First one must remember Shindler' s audience, primarily the British public. Thus what may seem to an American historian as common knowledge, may well not be for the book's average reader. This is a point one can easily lose sight of because Shindler writes with such facility and feeling for an American product that it is easy to forget he is not a native son. Only when he goes off on an aside about J. Arthur Rank, playing "(American) football," or refers to milk coming in pints are we reminded of his origins. Second, reading the book is a pleasure. Even if one is familiar with the genre, it is enjoyable to meet old friends. Any author who thinks so well of Mrs. Miniver must have some merit. Shindler' s style is heavy on ironic humor which at times may wear thin. (It is difficult to label the Czechs as acting "unsportingly " for not praising Chamberlain's actions in 1938), but overall it is a pleasantly digested experience. Indeed the captions for the book's seventy-one illustrations can and should be read separately for their own humor. The author's principal tenet is that "American films were influenced more by the social and political forces acting on their makers than by the mere presence of intellectual concerns acting in vacuo. " The case is made and Hollywood Goes to War may be read as either an introduction to or a review of the role of a major genre. Its useful lness is limited, however, by the lack of reference to archival sources. Eugene P.A. Schleh Professor of History University of Southern Maine 69 ...