Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 17:36:56 -0400
Subj: WWII Women and Film
From: Elizabeth Ann Penn-Grove
I am going to be expanding my senior thesis which was regarding Women Who Served in the Military during WWII to include the depiction of military women in films which were made during the WWII era ... would members of the list please suggest films I may watch in order to bring this subject into my research ... I know that most films depicted women who served as "looking for a husband", but from my previous research I find that in "real life" this was not true ... I want to dispel the myths of the WWII movies that depicted military women as sluts and whores. Also, do any of you know of movies that depicted women in a positive light? Any help you can give is appreciated!!
Liz Penn-Grove
egrove@sun1.iusb.edu
Indiana University-South Bend
I don't know if it would be in the scope of your thesis, but I could recommend a movie made *after* the war, "Operation Pacific," which is a fairly accurate view of the "Silent Service" (the submarine service in the Pacific). Patricia Neal plays a military nurse whose ex-husband (John Wayne) is a subber. It was made in 1951, with memories of the war still very fresh. Very positive portrayal of a strong woman in the military.
Eons ago, I seem to recall seeing a film in which Katherine Hepburn played a nurse captured by the Japanese, who kills her captors (and herself) with a grenade, allowing the other nurses to escape. Does anyone else recall this film and its title, or am I hallucinating, since I recall seeing it on late night TV about 30 years ago?
Jane Beckman
>>>>I want to dispel the myths of the WWII movies that depicted military women as sluts and whores. Also, do any of you know of movies that depicted women in a positive light?
How about South Pacific?
While they were hardly major characters, the nurses in Bridge on the River
Kwai . (Oh, God. Now you have me whistling the march - I was in military
school when that was released and it was a very favorite march for the band.)
Gene Moser
It isn't clear from your post whether you are interested only in fiction films, but if not, WWII recruiting films are interesting. The NFB of Canada produced a package of archival films about 15 years ago which includes several the NFB made in its early days encouraging women to enlist. I think the present title of the package is "Women of the 40's & 50's. In any event, it should be readily available from the National Film Board.
Best, Yvonne Klein
There is a movie about nurses who served in Battan and Corridor. I believe it ends with one of the nurses throwing herself on a hand grenade and the rest being marched off to a POW camp.
Sharon Wildwind
Calgary, Alberta
Liz Penn-Grove wrote "I am going to be expanding my senior thesis...to include the depiction of military women in films which were made during the WWII era ... do any of you know of movies that depicted women in a positive light?"
Liz,
I don't know if you want to include this type of film, but, the various
propaganda and recruitment films put out by the Armed Forces during
WWII are quite positive towards women's military aspirations. Some
training films for WACs also exist, I believe. If you want more info.,
contact me at deanne.blanton@arch1.nara.gov
DeAnne Blanton
I think the film about nurses that Sharon Wildwind mentions is called "So
Proudly We Hail."
I think it stars Claudette Colbert, Veronica Lake, and others --definitely
worth watching.
There's certainly plenty in there to think about in terms of portrayal of
military women.
Good luck.
Jane Rosenzweig
Jane Beckman wrote>>>>Eons ago, I seem to recall seeing a film in which Katherine Hepburn played a nurse captured by the Japanese, who kills her captors (and herself) with a grenade, allowing the other nurses to escape. Does anyone else recall this film and its title, or am I hallucinating, since I recall seeing it on late night TV about 30 years ago?
Jane Beckman
You weren't - I've seen it too. Was it The Inn of the Seventh Happiness ?
Gene Moser
Yes, the film about nurses in Phlippines is "So Proudly We Hail" and Veronica Lake gives her all by walking into the crowd of Jap. soldiers with a live grenade. A movie I have only read about but would like to find a copy of is "Ladies Courageous" about the WAFS, the WASP forerunners. Thomas Doherty wrote "Projections of War" in 1992 and includes a very good chapter about the depiction of women in movies made during the war. He deals with civilian as well as military but gives good mention to the military. Still, there are some typical Hollywood flagwavers like "Skirts Ahoy" "Here Come The Waves" and "Keep Your Powder Dry" which all supposedly show all the reasons a girl joins up (in short, watch out for the one married girl in the group who's making plans for when her pilot husband comes home - he won't). Also, some standard farce made after the war like "I Was A Male War Bride" and "Francis Joins the WAC". It's an interesting subject and I'd like to see how your project comes out. Good luck.
Vickie Riggan
Thought the list might be interested in the following, which is a series of records in the Bureau of Public Relations of the Office of the Secretary of War (Record Group 107) [Each File usually contains a copy of the script, and correspondence between the War Department and the studio about various aspects of the film]:
RG 107
RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR
Entry 354
Bureau of Public Relations
Correspondence Relating to Motion Pictures With MilitaryThemes
Motion Picture Scripts, 1942-1946
390/10/13/2
Box Files
5 Advance Agent to Africa
Adventures of a Rookie
The Adventure of Smilin Jack
Adventures of the Flying Cadets
Aerial Gunner
The Affairs of Susan
African Victory
6 Air Force
Air Raid
Alaskan Highway
Alcan Highway
Allison-Indianapolis, Indiana
All Out
America Can Give It
America
America - The Magic Land
7 Army Champions
Army, Navy and Marines
Army Show
Army Surgeon
Army Wives
Around the World
Assembly Lines of Victory
Bataan Patrol
8 The Beginning of the End (The Life and Times of Dr. Lise
Milner)
A Bell for Adano
The Bell Telephone Co
Back from the Sword
The Best Years of Our Lives
9 Betrayal from the East
Beyond the Line of Duty
Blood and Salvation
Bombardier
10 Boomtown, DC
The Buck Private?s Return
The Bugle Sounds
Bursting Out at the Seams
Bride By Mistake (That Hunter Girl)
By the People
The Cab Driver and the Gentleman
Cadet Girl
Call of Duty
Canal Zone
Candy Cane
Canterville Ghost
Captain Midnight
11 Children of Tragedy
China?s Little Devils
Christmas Holiday
Cinderella Jones
The Clock
12 Condors of the Sky
Connecticut Answers
Cocktails for Two
Convict Battalion
Corpus Christi Bandits
Cowboy in Manhattan
Corregidor
13 Crimson Curtain
Cry Havoc
Days of Glory
Dead Reckoning
Deadline
Dear Mr. Private
Defense in Dixie
Destination Tokyo
Don Winslow of the Coast Guard
Doughboys in Ireland
Dragon Seed
The Enchanted Cottage
14 The Eve of St Mark
Escape in the Desert (Strangers in Our Midst)
Eyes Aloft
Eyes in the Night
Fall In
The Fighting Engineers
Fighting General
The Fighting Quartermaster
Five Graves to Cairo
Flight Surgeon
Flying Fortress
Flying G-Men
Flying Tigers
For the Defense of the America?s
Forward for Freedom
Forward March
15 Four Jills in a Jeep
Future Atomic War and the End of the World
GI Honeymoon
GI Joe
GI War Brides
God is My Co-Pilot
16 Go Forth
Gone with the Draft
The Great Highway
Ground Crew
Ground Pilots
17 Gung Ho
Gunner, Man Those Guns
A Guy Named Joe
18 The Guys From Lake Chad
Hands of Victory
Happy Land
The Heat?s On (Tropicana)
Heavenly Days
Heller Brothers Film - Manufacture of Files
Here Comes Trouble
Hey Rookie
19 Hi Beautiful
Hi Buddy
High Barbaree
Hitler Dead or Alive
Hold Your Horses
Hollywood Canteen
Homesick Angel
How to Weld Aluminum
The Human Comedy
20 Identity Unknown (Johnny March)
I Love a Soldier
I?ll Be Coming Back
I Love That Guy
I?ll Be Seeing You
International Forum
The Impatient Years
In Our Own American Way
In the Meantime, Darling
21 The Imposter
The Iron Major
Is Everybody Happy?
It Happened in Brooklyn
It?s Smart to Enlist
Jack London
Janie
22 Jive Junction
Johnny Doughboy
Journey to Yesterday
Keep Em Flying
Keep Em Rolling
Keeper of the Bees
Keep Your Powder Dry
The Kid in Upper Four
23 Killer Patrol
Ladies Courageous (Looking for Trouble)
When Ladies Fly
Ladybirds (The Blonde Bomber)
Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith
Left at the Post
A Letter From Bataan
Let?s Face It
24 Little Mr. Jim
Lone Star Moonlight
The Long Grey Line
Love Em On Leave
Machines of War
Maisie Goes to Reno
25 The Man From Washington
Man Power
Man the Guns
Marine Raiders
March of Time
March of Music (Ode to Victory)
Marching On
Marriage is a Private Affair
26 The Master Race
Mechanikettes (Petticoat Army)
A Medal for Benny
Men of the Sky
The Miracle of Morgan?s Creek
Mr. M and the Pigeons
Mr. Winkle Goes to War
Billy Mitchell
Music for Millions
My Empty Heart
27 My Favorite Spy
My Reputation
Mountain Fighters
Mug Town
Music in Manhattan
McLeod?s Folly
New Jersey Shows the Way
No Exception
Nostrademus IV
Now is the Time
28 Now That April?s Here
Now We Are Twenty One
Objective Burma
Odds On Your Uncle Sam
Of These Our People
29 The Old Army Game
Old Bag of Bolts
On Parade
One Man?s War
P-38
Panama Hattie
Parachute Athletes
30 Passage to Marseilles
Pillow to Post
Pilot #5
Pleased to Meet You
31 Prelude to War
Private Buckaroo
The Private Letters of Private Dobbs
Private Nobody
Private Miss Jones
Professional Model
The Purple Heart
32 Radio Bugs
Rationing
Ready on the Home Front
Rear Gunner
Return of Rin Tin Tin
Remember Pearl Harbor
Return of Rusty
33 Reveille with Beverly
Right About Face
Right Guy
The Risen Soldier
Road to Hollywood
Roll on Columbia
Rookie #3
Rookie Trouble
Rookies in Burma
34 Rough, Tough and Ready
Sahara
35 Salute to a Lady
Salute to Courage (Army Chaplain)
Scatterwood Swings It
Secret Agent
The Secret Code
Secret Service in Darkest Africa
See Here, Private Hargrove
36 Seargent Mike
Sheppherd of the Ozarks
She?s a Sweetheart
Shoe Shine Boy
Since You Went Away
Sign of the Cross
Sinclair Motion Picture
37 Snap It Up Again
Slightly Scandalous
Six Girls and a Pilot
Sniffer Soldiers
Stage Door Canteen
So Proudly We Hail
Soldiers in White
Soldiers Never Die
38 The Southwest Speech Defense
Special Delivery
Stand By to Die
Steel Cavalry
Something for the Boys
The Story of Dr Wassell
39 Strictly English
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier
Sweet and Hot
Suzy Que
Swing Shift Maisie
Target for Tonight
Task Force
Tender Comrade
The Tennessee Tornado
There Shall Be Freedom
40 There?s Something About a Soldier
They Shall Have Faith
They Shall Not March Alone
41 13 Rue Madelaine
This is America (Private Smith of the USA)
Thoroughbreds
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
42 Those Endearing Young Charms
The Thrill of Romance
Three Stooge Comedy
Through Toil and Tears
Thunderbirds
Three Hearts for Julia
Three Little Sisters
43 Tips on Trips
To Each His Own
To Greater Vision
To Help, Aid and Assist
A Tommy in the USA
Top Seargent
Tragic Symphony
Trip to Greenland
Til We Meet Again
44 Trombone From Heaven
Twenty-One Guns For Cookie
Two Sisters and a Sailor
The Underdog
Under Those Wings
Union Station
Up in Arms
45 The Very Thought of You
Walk Away From Em
Vickie and Her Eagles
Wanted
The War Against Mrs. Hadley
War Boots
War Dogs
A Wave. a Wac and a Marine
46 West Point Comedy
We?ve Never Been Licked
When a Man?s a Man
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
What About Air Raids?
The White Cliffs of Dover
Wilson
Winged Victory
47 Wings for the Eagle
We Work for Victory - And We Plan For Peace
Winter Soldier
Mr. Winkle Goes to War
Without Love
Without Notice
A Woman of My Own
Women at Arms
Women in Uniform (Six Girls in Uniform)
Women at War
Ken
Schlessinger
Archives II
Textual Reference Branch
National Archives at College Park
8601 Adelphi Rd
College Park, MD 20740-6001
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