Warner at War

Just watched this documentary of Warner Bros. Pictures' effort to get Americans in the spirit of achieving victory during World War II and of keeping Homefront viewers entertained with plenty of All-Star musicals made in that period. Among those musicals represented was Irving Berlin's This is the Army which is where this 48-minute special film was presented in its DVD disc in a three disc set called "Warner Bros. and the Homefront Collection". Narrated by Steven Spielberg, he provided enough information about the studio's founding siblings, especially Jack and Harry, of some of the controversy they were willing to risk when making Confessions of a Nazi Spy-which came out just before the battle started with the Poland attack-and Mission to Moscow-which was a propaganda piece made to sell Communist country Russia as a necessary ally. Not every clip was represented by the studio. In fact, clips from United Artists' The Great Dictator and Germany's Triumph of the Will were also shown. Add in some scathing Hitler parodies in Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons and the many war films of the leading men of the studio roster and you've got a pretty balanced overview of Warners' impact on cur country's morale. So on that note, Warner at War comes highly recommended.