Hollywood Goes to War

Hollywood Goes to War
When we read that the White House met recently with 40 Hollywood executives and stars to talk about how they can help with the new war effort, we couldn't help thinking of the famous last line of the 1942 classic "Casablanca": "Louis," Humphrey Bogart informs Claude Raines, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

War, like politics, makes for strange bedfellows. And in the context of contemporary American culture, there are few things stranger than the budding amity between Washington and Hollywood, especially with a Republican in the White House. After decades of movies in which the U.S. government and military have shown up so often as the forces of evil that the idea has become a cliché, it looks like they're about to become the good guys. Now there's an original idea.

No specific proposals have emerged yet. But reports of the mogul meeting say that the model under discussion is the industry's contribution in World War II. And what a model it is. Some of the best pictures ever made came out of the drama of that war.


Such good friends -- in the fight on terrorism
Frank Capra directed powerful "Why We Fight" documentaries for the War Department that traced the rise of fascism and were shown to soldiers before they were shipped overseas. Combat dramas depicted the U.S. entry into the war in heroic terms. Films about struggles on the homefront helped shore up morale. No less a critic than Winston Churchill opined that the 1942 hit "Mrs. Miniver" was "more powerful to the war effort than the combined work of six military divisions."

The stars played their personal parts too. James Stewart, having just won an Academy Award for "The Philadelphia Story," sent his Oscar home to his dad's hardware store in Indiana, Pa., and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He served as a bomber pilot, flying hundreds of missions over Germany during the course of the war. Clark Gable was also a bomber pilot. Ronald Reagan, too nearsighted for combat, starred in military training films.

Among the possible collaborations discussed at the recent meeting between Hollywood executives and White House officials were public-service announcements and documentaries. Hollywood has already lent a helping hand on one occasion. At the request of the White House, Fox recently devoted its prime-time show "America's Most Wanted" to the terrorists suspected in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Hollywood, like all of America, has been profoundly affected by recent events. As we contemplate the film industry's change of heart and its genuine outpouring of support for the U.S. effort in the new war on terrorism, another line from "Casablanca" springs to mind. It's the one that Victor Laszlo delivers to Rick at the end of the film: "Welcome back to the fight."