Warner at War

Apparently Jack Warner and his brothers were patriotic Americans and wanted everyone to know it, producing a series of films at Warner Bros. that put the spotlight on the American spirit.

The viewer is treated to a number of clips from famous early Warner films like LITTLE CESAR, 42nd STREET, I WAS A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG and FOOTLIGHT SERENADE (which was obviously endorsing Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency).

But their bravest foray into taking a stand against the threat of World War II was CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY ('39), which told a compelling story about a man caught up in an espionage plot involving Nazis just shortly before America's involvement in WWII. It starred FRANCIS LEDERER as the spy and PAUL LUKAS as his Nazi mentor.

The documentary goes on to explain that Warner Bros. had many other films during the '40s with a war background, such as SERGEANT YORK, CASABLANCA, ACTION IN THE NORTH Atlantic, THIS IS THE ARMY, MISSION TO MOSCOW, DESTINATION TOKYO, EDGE OF DARKNESS, OBJECTIVE BURMA and PRIDE OF THE MARINES, all of which are represented by brief clips.

The commentary by Steven Spielberg is nothing special and overall the documentary is good but not great.