Frank Capra was already an established Hollywood director known for enduring morality tales Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1934) and It’s a Wonderful Life (1939) when he enlisted in the Army after the Pearl Harbor attack. Capra was tasked with producing documentary and propaganda films for the U.S. Department of War. A response to Leni Riefenstahl’s 1935 German propaganda film, Triumph of the Will, the main objective of this seventh and final installment of his Why We Fight series was to persuade audiences to support U.S. involvement in World War II, although this title came out shortly before the war ended. Even with the non-fiction subject matter and newsreel footage, there’s much to see of Capra’s style in these films. The fast, seamless editing, use of music and voiceover, and theme of integrity and self-sacrifice make it clear that this is propaganda produced by a Hollywood cinematic master. — Lisa Elliott
