'Hollywood Victory' review: The movies go to war
Dick Powell, left, Fred Astaire, Paul Henreid, Betty Hutton, Kay Kyser, Greer Garson, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Harpo Marx, James Cagney and Lucille Ball photographed at one of the stops of the Hollywood Victory Caravan. Credit: Photofest
HOLLYWOOD VICTORY: The Movies, Stars and Stories of World War II by Christian Blauvelt (Running Press, 240 pp., $30)
It's impossible to imagine another time in Hollywood's history than the lean wartime years of 1939 to 1945 when studio moguls, performers, directors and crew people created such a united front to boost America's morale.
Cranking out films designed to both honor the men and women who were fighting overseas as well as the folks who kept America's homefires burning, moviegoing was clearly the great American pastime during World War II. The bulk of the movies may have been in black and white, but shades of red, white and blue permeated just about every effort that came out of Hollywood back then.
Shedding a light on that era of cinematic history is former Roslyn resident and film scholar Christian Blauvelt in his entertaining and inspiring book "Hollywood Victory," from the Turner Classic Movies imprint Running Press, in which he gives heroism and heartbreak equal billing.
Naturally, there are the tales of the stars who couldn't wait to fight, such as Jimmy Stewart, who had tried to enter even before U.S. entry in the war but was turned down for being 10 pounds underweight. (He finally made the grade in early 1942.) Also eager to enlist that year was Clark Gable, who was still mourning the death of his wife, actress Carole Lombard, who was killed in a January 1942 plane crash on her way home from a war bond rally. It was a blow from which Gable never recovered.
Not all the stars who served did so on a battlefield. There are stories of the creation by Bette Davis and John Garfield of the Hollywood Canteen, a star-studded hangout for soldiers of all races and nationalities on leave. On any night, Rita Hayworth might be checking coats, Spencer Tracy carving a turkey, Marlene Dietrich hitting the dance floor and Hedy Lamarr washing dishes.
Of course, Blauvelt looks at the bumper crop of flag-waving films that packed in theaters back then including sentimental favorites ("Going My Way," "Mrs. Miniver"), musical extravaganzas ("Yankee Doodle Dandy"), propaganda fare (the infamous "Mission to Moscow") and timeless classics ("Casablanca"). Even Sherlock Holmes and Lassie took on the war effort.
Also on view are dozens of photos including shots of pinup girls ("Peek-a-Boo Blonde" Veronica Lake and box-office queen Betty Grable), guys in uniform (actors Tyrone Power and Robert Taylor), Bob Hope entertaining the troops and plenty of film stills.
Not everything about Hollywood's role during wartime was pretty. Blauvelt tackles racial issues that had been all too well glossed over in the past. "Gone With the Wind" Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel raised millions for the troops and served as chairwoman of the Negro division of the Hollywood Victory Committee, a group of performers who entertained soldiers in hospitals. The studios, however, failed to take note and after 1945 she was barely able to find work in films. It was no easier for Asian actors: Anna May Wong, whose war efforts including writing a Chinese cookbook to benefit United China Relief, could only find work in Hollywood's low-grade Poverty Row studios during the war.
Blauvelt has done a seamless job of weaving all of these vignettes of Hollywood history into a cohesive and informative package. Or to put it in 1940s lingo, this book is just swell.
