Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Admirable film.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Prelude to War (1942) *** (out of 4)Walter Houston narrates this documentary, which was the first of seven in Frank Capra's "Why We Fight" series. The series was produced by the U.S. Government to explain WWII people who might not understand why we were going to war.When viewing these films today it's important to remember that they were propaganda movies that were meant to gain support for WWII. I'm sure many people could look at these movies today and see various flaws and issues with them but when reviewing them I keep in mind when and why they were made.This documentary starts off talking about what it was that made America get into the war. Obviously Pearl Harbor is mentioned and we also learn about what is going on overseas. From here we learn about the enemies that we are fighting and we also ehar from some Americans on their thoughts about the war.There's certainly nothing ground-breaking about this film or any others in the series but for the most part this here was entertaining enough to make it worth watching. It will probably appeal to history buffs more than film buffs but it's still a good start to the series.

The official World War II US Government film statement defining the various enemies of the Allies and why they must be fought.In the two decades following World War I and the failure of the League of Nations, a spirit of isolationism became prevalent throughout the United States that persisted up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The government needed to combat this feeling, and thus the birth of the modern American propaganda film.The film examines the differences between the U.S. and the fascist states of Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler and Yamamoto, portraying the latter countries working together as gangsters to conquer the world. In order to do this, Capra made use of footage from "Triumph of the Will", but with different narration designed to support the Allied cause.Although the goal was to get Americans unified for the war effort, it actually does this in a very welcoming way. Early on we see an appeal to people of different faiths -- including Muslims and Confucians -- that would seem very out of place today (2016). So, although this was a pro-war film, it was also very much a pro-melting pot film in its own way.

*Spoiler/plot- 1942, A film showing and speaking of the conditions that made WW2 to many perceptive folks, inevitable. This film is often called- "Why We Fight, Part 1" *Special Stars- Narrator: Walter Huston *Theme- War comes to a country when it's least prepared.*Trivia/location/goofs- Public domain film, no copyrights left, never renewed. Free.*Emotion- An enjoyable documentary made up of live action combat or newsreel footage. But it is extremely educational and does what a narrative simulated war film can do.

I found this short film fascinating. It very clearly lays out to the "common man" the argument in favor of getting involved in WW II. Yes, the animation is crude by today's standards and the voice-over is melodramatic, but considering most people of fifty-odd years ago never got anywhere near a college campus and their lives stopped at the city limits of their hometowns, this film does a good job of spelling out what was going on around the world and what was at stake. The earnestness with which it is presented may be seen as campy today, but just imagine what it must have been like, trying to understand it all and trying to guess what it would mean to you and your family.