The Negro Soldier (1944): Film Propanganda in Black and White Author(S): Thomas Cripps and David Culbert Source: American Quarterly, Vol

The Negro Soldier (1944): Film Propanganda in Black and White Author(s): Thomas Cripps and David Culbert Source: American Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 5, Special Issue: Film and American Studies (Winter, 1979), pp. 616-640 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2712429 Accessed: 02/07/2010 10:39

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http://www.jstor.org THE NEGRO SOLDIER (1944): FILM PROPANGANDA IN BLACK AND WHITE THOMAS CRIPPS MorganState University AND DAVID CULBERT LouisianaState University

AFTER YEARS DURING WHICH BLACKS AND POLICE ENGAGED IN PITCHED battlesin smallSouthern towns and largeNorthern cities, Nicholas Kat- zenbach,Attorney General under Lyndon B. Johnson,termed television "the centralmeans of making a privatemoral conviction public, of impel- lingpeople all overto see and confrontideas theyotherwise would turn awayfrom." Black activistsconsidered television, in thewords of a net- workproducer, "the choseninstrument of the black revolution."1 But televisionwas not the firstelectronic medium used to furthersocial change.The UnitedStates Army's orientation film, The NegroSoldier, releasedin January1944, is one ofthose rare instances which allows the historianof mass mediato speak confidentlyabout conception, execu- tion, and-to a degree-results both intendedand unintended,of a specificcontroversial film. The uses eventuallymade of the Army's motionpicture illustrate the difficultyof gaugingin advancethe impactof mass communicationon social change. DuringWorld War II theArmy was officiallycommitted to maintaining existingpatterns of segregation.But the liberalrhetoric of officialwar aims provedfatal to thoughtsof maintainingthe status quo at home. By inducting875,000 Negroes into a fightingforce of sometwelve million, the Armydiscovered that it was operatinga social relationslaboratory.2

I Quoted in Thomas Cripps, "The Noble Black Savage: A Problem in the Politics of Television Art," Journalof Popular Culture, 8 (Spring 1975), 687-95. 2 See Ulysses Lee, The Employmentof Negro Troops: Special Studies (Washington,D. C.: Office of Chief of MilitaryHistory, U.S. Army, G.P.O., 1966), a volume in the official series, The UnitedStates Armyin WorldWar II; see also RichardM. Dalfiume,Desegrega- tion of the United States Armed Forces: Fightingon Two Fronts, 1939-1953 (Columbia, Mo.: Univ. of Missouri Press, 1969); and Alan M. Osur, Blacks in the ArmyAir Forces During World War II: The Problem of Race Relations (Washington,D. C.: Officeof Air Force History,G.P.O., 1977). The Negro Soldier 617

In spite of the wishes of manywhites, the Armybecame a half-wayhouse for those who believed that wartime should bring substantial racial progress. The relationshipbetween racial tensionsand filmcan best be explained by a metaphor.The biologistdefines symbiosis as an association of two differentorganisms which live attached to each other and contributeto each other's support.This article will describe the makingand distribution of The Negro Soldier as an example of social symbiosis,for the idea did not come fromone person, but emergedfrom a coalition of fourwary interestgroups which came togetherin antagonisticcooperation. The film offeredimportant lessons to those who made post-warHollywood "message" films,while black pressuregroups discovered a new way to further social change throughthe distributionof motionpictures. In retrospect,the four groups and theiraims are easy to identify.First is the Armyitself. By the time of Pearl Harbor both civilian and military leaders in Americarecognized motion pictures as a significantpropaganda medium; they believed filmcould instillin citizens a spiritof patriotism and a will to fight.3Chief of StaffGeorge C. Marshall believed thatfilm should play a major militaryrole in wartime.4Convinced that lectures about patriotismand recenthistory generally made no impacton draftees, he concluded that filmcould present serious materialin a lively and in- terestingfashion. Thanks to Marshall, the Army chose Hollywood's Frank Capra to head an elite filmunit assigned to make feature-length morale filmsintended to build enthusiasmfor official war aims. To Mar- shall the key to morale forthe educated soldier was to give a reason for fighting.5Capra's Why We Fight series, mandatoryviewing for every

I Roger Manvell, Films and the Second World War (South Brunswick, N. J.: A. S. Barnes, 1974); David Ctilbert,"Walt Disney's Private Snafu: The Use of Humor in World War II Army Film," in Jack Salzman, ed., Prospects: An Annual Journal of American CulturalStudies, 1 (Dec. 1975), 80-96, and Richard Dyer MacCann, The People's Films: A Political Historyof U.S. GovernmentMotion Pictures (New York: Hastings House, 1973). 4 For an introductionsee Richard Griffith,"The Use of Films by the U.S. Armed Forces," in Paul Rotha, DocumentaryFilm (3d ed.; London: Faber and Faber, 1952), 344-58; on Marshallsee ForrestC. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Organizerof Victory1 943- 1945 (New York: Viking, 1975), 91-92; Frank Capra, The Name Above the Title: An Au- tobiography(New York: Macmillan, 1971), 325-70; and three officialhistories from The United States in World War II: Dulany Terrett,The Signal Corps: The Emergency(To December 1941) (Washington,D. C.: Officeof the Chief of MilitaryHistory, U.S. Army, G.P.O., 1956), 78-82, 223-30; George RaynorThompson et al., The Signal Corps: The Test (December 1941 to July 1943) (Washington,D. C., 1957), 387-426; and George Raynor Thompson and Dixie R. Harris, The Signal Corps: The Outcome (Mid-1943 Through1945) (Washington,D. C., 1966), 540-79. 5 There is a vast literatureabout moraleand its importance.See Wesley Frank Craven and JamesLea Cate, eds., Services Aroundthe World,vol. VII of The ArmyAir Forces in World War II (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1958), 431-76, for a good introductionto the 618 American Quarterly soldier,defined official war aims in a way no othermedium could match. Marshall hoped that a Capra-unitfilm about the Negro would provide a reason why racial tolerance was necessary to a unifiedmilitary effort. Capra's credentialsfor his assignmentwere considerable. A Sicilian immigrant,he began his Hollywood career by workingon comic short subjects. Every filmhe made in the 1930s showed the "little guy" as eventuallytriumphant, a message bound to finda sympatheticreception in hard times.Above all, Capra's name became synonymouswith the box office:no other Hollywood directorcould match his unbrokenstring of hits:It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(1939), and Meet John Doe (1941). Capra was livingproof that the American Dream did come true; to him patriotismwas a high calling,though he masked his ardorwith a deftcomic touch. Capra's War Departmentfilm unit quickly attractedmany of Hollywood's most tal- ented cutters,scriptwriters, and directors.When the unit's firstWhy We Fight film,Prelude to War, appeared in November 1942, Capra's preemi- nentposition in militaryfilmmaking was assured.6 The second groupis the blacks themselves,who saw World War II as a time to bringan end to longstandingdiscrimination. To black America, FranklinD. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms-freedom of speech, freedomof religion,freedom from fear, and freedomfrom want-were totallyincom- patible withsegregation. The desires of black America mustnot be meas- ured by the standardof today's activistrhetoric. In World War II most Negroes sought"racial tolerance" as a firststep. Though therewas vio- lence, particularlyrace riotsin Detroitand Harlem, the National Associ- ation forthe Advancementof Colored People (NAACP), headed by Wal- ter White, looked to the courts, and to white liberals, to bring about gradual change. Earlier governmentfilms relating to blacks suggested progress more glacial than gradual. In World War I officialSignal Corps footage used

problem.The scientificstudy of morale was an outgrowthof World War I. See Edward L. Munson, The Management of Men: A Handbook on the SystematicDevelopment of Morale and the Control of Human Behavior (New York: H. Holtand Co. 1921); Munson's son became Capra's superior in I&E; he too wrote a widely used guide to morale: Colonel Edward Lyman Munson, Jr., Leadership for American ArmyLeaders, in The Fighting Forces Series (rev. ed.; Washington,D. C.: The InfantryJournal, 1944). 6 Productionfiles for "Prelude to War" are located in 062.2 ocsigo, Box 1, Records of the Chief Signal Officer,RG 111, Film Section, National Archives, where a viewingprint may also be found [hereafterFS-NA]. See also 062.2 ocsigo, Box 12, A52-248, Washington National Records Center,Suitland, Maryland, for additional production material [hereafter WNRC-Suitland]. Concerningthe optimismof Capra's filmssee RobertSklar, Movie-Made America:A CulturalHistory of AmericanMovies (New York: VintageBooks, 1976),205-14. The Negro Soldier 619

Negroes for comic relief. During the 1930s, Pare Lorentz's conser- vationistfilms, The Plow That Broke the Plains and The River, contained only a few black faces. The firsttwo years of the war saw littlechange. Blacks were patronized in the few filmswith specific Negro themes released by federal agencies, either by overpraisingJim Crow schools (Negro Colleges in Wartime),or by celebrating"safe" heroes such as George WashingtonCarver. Henry Browne, Farmer, a Departmentof Agriculturefilm, failed to convince anyone that racial tolerance was desirable. Browne was the perfectobedient Negro: possessor of fortyacres, some chickens,a son in the black 99th PursuitSquadron, and a willingnessto grow peanuts because his countryneeded theiroil. To make mattersworse, a low budget made the entire enterpriselook second-rate. The Negro journalist who originallysuggested the idea termedthe finishedproduct "an insipidlittle storyfar fromour originalpurpose.' 7 Somethingmore substantialwas needed because the 1940 Selective Service Act prohibitedracial discrimination.The Armylooked to Negro manpower.At the same time,military compliance withsegregation some- how did not, as the approved Army manual phrased it, "endorse any theoryof racial superiorityor inferiority."8 The resultingsituation was made worse by a pervasive hostilitytoward Negro soldiers,who tendedto score lowest on the ArmyGeneral ClassificationTests. Deputy Chief of StaffJoseph T. McNarney voiced a prevalentArmy attitude: "there is no use having colored troops standingby and eating theirheads offif their lack of aptitudeis such thatthey can never be used overseas." 9

7Claude A. Barnett,head of the Associated Negro Press, to Victor Roudin, copy, March 26, 1953, in Barnett MSS, Chicago Historical Society, Chicago, Ill. As one black critic suggested,"Is thereonly one Negro familyin the war and is the only thingthey are doing farming?"William Ashby, Springfield[Ill.] Urban League, to Elmer Davis, Box 1431, entry 264, RG 208. Printsof both filmsare located in FS-NA. An officialOWI analysis of Negro Colleges in Wartimeis located in Box 1490, entry271, RG 208; the scriptis in Box 1569, entry302, RG 208; Box 1571, entry302, RG 208, has nearlyfifty photographs "taken for Negro Colleges but scenes not included in film"; stillsfrom Henry Browne, Farmer are in Box 1569,entry 302, RG 208; thelack of appeal ofNegro Colleges in Wartimeis discussed in "Distributionof and Use of OWI Non-theatricalFilms in April 1943," Box 1483,entry 268, RG 208, where only one filmof all in OWI distributionhad fewerbookings per print.All in WNRC-Suitland. 8 [Donald Young], Leadership and the Negro Soldier, Manual M5 (Oct. 1944), 4. In keepingwith wartime practice the author'sname is not given. Culbertinterview with Donald Young, Macungie, Pa., February 13, 1977. A copy of Manual M5 is located in Box 1011, Records of the Assistant Secretaryof Defense, Manpower Personnel & Reserve, Record Group 330, Modern MilitaryRecords, National Archives, Washington,D. C. [hereafter MMR-NA]. 9 Secret Minutes, Meetingof General Council, May 31, 1943, 3-4, 334 cos, Box 30, Rec- ords of the Officeof Chief of Staff,RG 165, MMR-NA. 620 American Quarterly

Bitterracial prejudice did not distinguish among aptitude scores. Lack- ingan effectivemeans of mass persuasion,the Armycould onlyplace "excessive faithin the effectivenessof hortatives"as a meansof en- couragingblack and whitesoldiers to fighttogether for democracy. This approachwas notenough. Secretary of WarHenry L. Stimson'sCivilian Aide forNegro Affairs,William Hastie, collecteda fileof outrageous racialincidents in whichblack soldiers,trained for the mostpart in the South,had been beaten by local rednecks.Such incidents,reported in the black press,offered a compellingreason for Negroes to rejectofficial pleas forwartime unity.10 A groupof leadingsocial scientistsemployed by theArmy's Informa- tionand EducationDivision (I&E) feltthat scientific research could iden- tifyprecisely what kind of filmmight bring white and black America closertogether; these civilians made up thethird group, and theywanted a documentaryfilm about the Negro.1" The idea forusing motion pictures forpersuasion was greatlyaided by the factthat Capra's unitand the ResearchBranch worked side-by-side in I&E. BrigadierGeneral Frederick H. Osbornheaded the Division. A wealthy New Yorkerwithout prior military service, Osborn had familyconnec- tionsand a flairfor administration. His fatherwas one of Stimson'sclose friends,and an uncle,Henry Fairfield Osborn, had beenlargely responsible forbringing New York's Museumof NaturalHistory to international prominence.Osborn, a board memberof the Social Science Research Council(SSRC), had a scholarlystudy of eugenics to hiscredit. He came to the Armypersuaded that morale could be determinedby scientific means,and thattraditional morale boosters-sports, camp songfests, "decks of cards and dice and tonettes"-belongedto a bygoneera.12 Osborn'sadvocacy, together with the support of both Marshall and Stim- son, provedcrucial to the military'sadoption of bothfilm and social scienceresearch. Osbornwas in an ambivalentposition. Personally interested in statisti- cal research,he headeda divisionconcerned more with practical education and morale services withinthe Armythan mattersof sampling technique.I&E representedan unstablealliance between Capra's faithin filmas entertainment,and faithin filmas pedagogicaltool, the latter the

10 Lee, Employmentof Negro Troops, 330. 11For a fine discussion of I&E see Neil Minihan, "A History of the Informationand Education Division," manuscriptloaned to Culbert. Also helpfulis "Study of I&E Ac- tivitiesin World War II," typewritten,copy in Box 1, Francis Spaulding MSS, Archivesof Harvard University,Cambridge, Mass. 12 Interviewwith Donald Young, February 13, 1977; telephone interviewwith Frederick Osborn, November 5, 1976; telephone interviewwith Paul Horgan, November 10, 1976; Osborn, Preface to Eugenics (New York: Harper, 1940). The Negro Soldier 621

attitudeof Samuel Stouffer,the Universityof Chicagosociologist who headedthe professional staff of theResearch Branch.'3 Atthe same time, everyone in I&E sharedan ardentbelief in salesman- ship.Wartime was no timefor recondite speculation. Ideas weremeas- ured by theirpractical value. Capra needed no instructionin sales techniques: since the days of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(1939) he hadbeen selling democracy in his feature films. Less familiar,however, is thehucksterism of the social scientists.The ResearchBranch published itsfindings in What the Soldier Thinks, where numerous graphs and charts promotedthe technique of "scientific"sampling along with practical re- sultsassured by askingquestions incapable of complexanswers.'4 The socialscientists realized that a moralefilm about race relations was a perfectplace to testideas aboutsocial engineering.'5 This outgrowth of behaviorialpsychology argued that human behavior could be manipulated towardssocially desirable goals. Criticsof industrialsocieties had long complainedthat as technologyspread its benefits,it also erodedtradi- tionalvalues. Stouffer and DonaldYoung, the War Department's official experton race relations,believed that a "humane" or "liberal" use of filmcould reaffirmthe values of a democraticsociety.'6 They also ac- cepteda doctrineemployed by mostAmerican propagandists in World War II-the "strategyof truth"or "propagandaof fact."9i 17 One was scrupulousabout that which supported one's side whilepassing over the

13 Culbertinterview with Donald Young, February 13, 1977; letterof Young to Culbert, December 27, 1976. 14 Stoufferpublicized his attitudesurveys in Whatthe Soldier Thinks,complete copies of whichare foundin RG 330, MMR-NA, along withsupporting unpublished data. In summary formthey appear in Samuel A. Stouffer,et al., Studies in Social Psychologyin WorldWar II: Vol. I, The American Soldier: AdjustmentDuring ArmyLife; Vol. II, Combat and Its Aftermath;Vol. III, Experimentson Mass Communication; Vol. IV, Measurement and Prediction (Princeton,N. J.: PrincetonUniv. Press, 1949-50). The methodologyof these surveys is brilliantlyattacked in Jacques Ellul, Propaganda: The Formation of Men's At- titudes(New York: Vintage, 1973), in particular259-302. 15 A good discussion of social engineeringis found in Robert K. Merton,Social Theory and Social Structure(rev. ed; Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 1957), in particularchapter 16, "Science and Democratic Social Structure." See also Alvin M. Weinberg,"Can Technol- ogy Replace Social Engineering,"in AlbertH. Teich, ed., Technologyand Man's Future (New York: St. Martins, 1972), 27-35. For the originof the termsee H. S. Person, "En- gineering,"in Edwin R. A. Seligman, et al., eds., Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, volume V-VI (New York, 1931), 542. 16 For Young's pre-war work see his Motion Pictures: A Study in Social Legislation (Philadelphia: Westbrook, 1922); he also edited two special issues of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science: The American Negro, 90 (1928) and MinorityPeoples in a Nation at War, 223 (1942). 17 For a good discussion of the problem see Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Robert K. Merton, "The PsychologicalAnalysis of Propaganda," in Writers'Congress. The Proceedings of the ConferenceHeld in October 1943 underthe Sponsorshipof the Hollywood Writers'Mobili- zation and the Universityof California(Berkeley, Cal., 1944), 362-80. 622 American Quarterly

restin silence. The resultoften sounded like a lawyer'sbrief pretending to objectivity. The fourthgroup was the Hollywoodfilm community. The factthat Capra'sunit was staffedwith regulars from the major studios, and that the filmswere actually made in Hollywood,meant that military filmmaking was followedon a dailybasis. TheNegro Soldier played a significantpart in furtheringa dramatic shift in the kindsof roles blacks receivedin featurefilms; after 1945 the era ofthe "message" filmwas at hand.Only TheNegro Soldier, of all wartimefilms depicting blacks, actually tried to weavethe Negro into the fabric of American life; this characteristic made the Army'sfilm a modelfor filmmakers wishing to breakthrough in- grainedindustry stereotypes. Before1939, virtually every black role was intendedas comicrelief.18 The War Department'sofficer's training manual, Leadership and the Negro Soldier,described this stock figure vividly: "When theNegro is portrayedin the movies, or elsewhere,as a lazy,shiftless, no-good, slew- footed,happy-go-lucky, razor-toting, tap-dancing vagrant, a step has beentaken in the direction of fixing this mental picture of the Negro in the mindsof whites.'19 The NAACP's WalterWhite went to Hollywood twicein 1942to urgea betterfuture for blacks in featurefilms.20 White, accordingto producerDarryl F. Zanuck of TwentiethCentury-Fox, wantedNegroes "used as oftenas possiblein themore heroic roles-in thepositions which they occupy in reallife." 21 In Sahara (1943),a black evenacted as spokesmanfor democratic values. But suchroles, however well-intentioned,were but more sophisticated versions of earlier attempts whichoverpraised Negro colleges. To understandThe Negro Soldier as a productof Hollywood technique and social scienceprescriptions, itis necessaryto followthe evolution of thescript. In March1942 Frank Capra asked the Research Branch to draw up a listof "do's anddon'ts" regarding the cinematic depiction of blacks. SociologistDonald Young,who had devotedhis pre-warcareer to the studyof racialminorities and theimpact of motionpictures, prepared a memorandumfilled with well-meaning cautions, the ideas ofa liberalwho above all soughtracial tolerance: avoid stereotypessuch as theNegroes' allegedaffinity for watermelon or pork;also avoidstrong images of racial identity("play downcolored soldiers most Negroid in appearance"and

18 Thomas Cripps, Slow Fade to Black: The Negro in American Film, 1900-1942 (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1977). 19Leadership and the Negro Soldier, 4. 20 Cripps, Slow Fade to Black, 375-76. 21 Zanuck to screenwriterEric Knight,July 22, 1942, Eric Knight MSS, Quakertown, Penna. The Negro Soldier 623

omit "Lincoln, emancipation,or any race leaders or friendsof the Negro"). Young also favoredintraracial politesse: "Show coloredoffi- cersin commandof troops, but don't play them up too much.The Negro masseshave learnedthat colored men who get commissions tend to look downon themasses." 22 The firstscript for The Negro Soldier was preparedby MarcConnelly. As writerfor Green Pastures (1930) he had a reputationfor sympathetic treatmentof Negrothemes.23 Connelly began working in Washingtonin May 1942and followed Capra to Hollywoodwhen the unit moved there in June.The script,which has disappeared,was deemed"too dramatic"for theArmy's tastes. A seconddraft, prepared by Ben Hechtand Jo Swer- ling,was also rejectedbecause I&E continuedto insistthat the Negro film be "documentary"-i.e.,an exampleof the"propaganda of fact."24 Duringscript revisions, Capra gave littleattention to the project;in fact,he plannedto assignthe film to his friendWilliam Wyler, but the latter"got a betteroffer from the Air Force." In thefall of 1942Capra chose StuartHeisler, a comparativelyyoung director (see Figure1).25 Heisler alreadyhad extensiveexperience as a studiotechnician and seemedknowledgeable about racial matters after having made The Biscuit Eater, a 1940film shot on locationin Georgiawith an interracialcast. Heislerimmediately accepted the offer,asking only that Capra provide himwith "somebody that really knows the background of the Negro." 26 As a result,Carlton Moss, a black writer,was pressedinto service. Moss had attendedColumbia University and had workedfor the Federal TheaterProject under John Houseman, who in turnrecommended him to Capra. Accordingto both Heisler and Moss the two "hit it offlike magic." Moss remembersworking on his version of the scriptin Washingtonat theLibrary of Congress,but not because it puthim near the books he needed. It was hardto writeabout racial harmony while eatingin JimCrow restaurants;the Library'scafeteria was an unsegre- gated"oasis." 27

22 "Suggested Motion Pictureof the Negro in the U.S. Army," n.d. [Mar. 1942],copy in Young to Culbert,December 27, 1976; the finalmemorandum is discussed in Lee, Employ- mentof Negro Troops, 387; Culbertinterview with Donald Young, February 13, 1977. 23 Capra, Name Above the Title, 337. 24 CarltonMoss to Donald Young, August26, 1942; Box 224, Records of the CivilianAide to the Secretaryof War (Hastie File), RG 107, MMR-NA. 25 Crippsinterview with Frank Capra, La Quinta, Cal., December 31, 1976; Axel Madsen, WilliamWyler: The AuthorizedBiography (New York: Crowell. 1973), 224-25. 26 Cripps telephone interviewwith StuartHeisler, February 17, 1977. 27 Cripps interviewswith Carlton Moss, Hollywood, Cal., June 1970; Boston, Mass., April 1973; Iowa City, Iowa, July,1974. Moss attended Morgan State College and wrote radio scriptsfor Dr. ChanningTobias, head of the black YMCA. 624 American Quarterly

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Shootingbegan in January1943. Heisler, Moss, ResearchBranch rep- resentativeCharles Dollard, and a camera crew travelledthe United States,visiting nineteen Army posts, virtually every location where black troopstrained in largenumbers. In Philadelphia,Donald Young arranged foradded scenesto be shotat thehomes of prominent Negroes. Heisler prepareda numberof sequences in whichblack officersdirected the trainingof soldiers. Most of this footage never appeared because the final versionrelied more on a docudramathan a documentarystyle. The finishedfilm, 43 minuteslong, received official approval in January 1944.28 The Negro Soldier (OF 51) unfoldedin classicstudio style, with a narrativespinning out a flashbackdevice, flawless lighting, and techni- cally perfectoptical effects punctuating the sequences.To black audiences, in particular,this technicalquality was especiallysignificant. Never before had a filmpurporting to documentblack American achievementbeen made with such professional competence. At the same time,the movie served the Army as propagandafor both black and white troopsand as a teacherof comradelyregard across raciallines without explicitlyviolating Army policy toward racial segregation. A summaryof the film's visual contentshows how this was ac- complished.Neat, clean, orderly,responsible, patriotic: these are the middle-classvalues which the film presents in imageafter image. Follow- ingthe opening credits, a wideestablishing shot places us in a splendid stoneGothic church. From the point of view of the congregation we see a black soldier,in uniform,singing a solo; we heara chorusof extraordi- naryability. As the last notesfade away a handsomeyoung preacher (playedby Carlton Moss) turnsfrom his prepared text to introducerepre- sentativesoldiers in the pews.29The cameracuts to a sailor,a soldier, evena beautifullight-skinned WAC, "PrivateParks, First Class." "First class, indeed,"says thepreacher with undisguised pride. The well-dressed,attentive congregation, full of servicemen in uniform, inspiresMoss to reflecton theachievements of blackAmericans: newsreel clips show Joe Louis with his "Americanfist" recoveringthe heavyweightchampionship from Max Schmeling;black athletesdefeat Nazi Germany'sbest at the 1936Berlin Olympic games. It seems that blackAmerica is showingthe world what democratic competition can do, and whathappens when a Negrogets a fairchance to competeon equal terms.Moss remindshis congregationthat the war is beingfought to

28 A copyof theoriginal version of OF 51 is foundin FS-NA. 29 A completecopy of the finalphotographic scenario, May 31, 1943,plus an earlier versiondated September17, 1942,may be foundin proj. 6022,062.2 ocsigo,Box 12, A52-248,WNRC-Suitland. Moss ended up playing the preacher himself only after rejecting a successionof HollywoodNegroes who seemed tied to traditionalblack acting styles. 626 American Quarterly

defendthe American way of life.A Nazi trainingfilm shows Schmeling learningto be a parachutist;more newsreel footage shows Joe Louis, in uniform,going through Army basic training.Moss producesa copy of MeinKampf and readsa passagein whichHitler describes the futility of teachinga "half-ape"to be a doctoror lawyer.The congregationlooks appropriatelyshocked to learnwhat the Nazis reallythink about Negroes (see Figure2). Moss thenreflects upon the heroism of blacks in earlier American wars. To recreatehistoric battles, Heisler used neithercomplete reenactment nor mere reproductionof old paintingsand engravings.The shooting scriptcalled for transparencies or "glass shots"made from contemporary illustrativematerials, while black and whiteactors dressed as soldiers passedin the foreground carrying powder and shotto theircannons.30 The "glass shots,"intercut with interracial closeups for emphasis, illuminated theblack role in earlierwars, along with the settlementof theWest. To Negroesthe very idea of any blackpast otherthan slavery was forthe mostpart a completesurprise. Here was visualproof that America owed its freedomto its entirepopulation. This lesson in race pridemade an indelibleimpression on those whose educationincluded virtually no mentionof blackhistory. For eventsafter 1898, it was possibleto use newsreelfootage. Flicker- ingimages drawn from archival film allowed audiences to see documen- taryevidence of Negroes in Cuba and laborersdigging the Panama Canal. A wonderfulcharacter ("Hi, I'm Jim"-who looks old enoughto have foughtin 1898)is superimposedover the documentary footage. He tellsus about "cleaning up" in Cuba and diggingthe canal. He sounds so matter-of-factthat we are sweptalong into accepting the unspoken message: patriotic,dependable blacks have been workingto keep America safe all along. For WorldWar I thereis footageof the 369thNational Guardin theuniform of the FrenchArmy. The historicalaccount ends witha stagedsequence featuring a black sailor, sure to be takenfor Dorie Miller,a stewardin thesegregated Navy who had takenup a fallengun- ner'sweapon at PearlHarbor and becamethe first black in WorldWar II

30 The script'sshooting instructions for achieving this result are instructive:"(NOTE: Thisscene will be usedas a transparencyto workin two or threeNegro soldiers with white soldierspassing in the foregroundcarrying shot and powderfor cannons.)"; "(NOTE: Beginningwith the Revolutionary period, down through all thewars, including World War I IMPRESSIONISTIC CLOSEUPS-white and Negro-mostlyrecognizable Negro faces-will be shotfor dressing up andemphasizing that there were Negro soldiers in all ofthese wars.)" Script,May 31, 1943,p. 12,A52-248, WNRC-Suitland. The official production budget under theheading "Bits andExtras" called for "Battle of New Orleans.5 Negroes1 dayat $10.50 a day." Copyin 333.9,ig, Box 1160,Records of theInspector General, RG 159,WNRC- Suitland. The Negro Soldier 627

FigureKampAf 2. Calton Moss. holdinga copy ofMein Moss not only wrotethe script but also starredas the minister. to fireat theenemy. The Japanese attackprovides Moss withan opportu- nityto make anotherpoint: "'And thereare those who will still tell you thatJapan is the saviour of the colored races," therebysuggesting the opposite-neither Hitler nor Hirohito have anythingbut contemptfor Negroes. The filmnow makes an abrupt transitionfrom past performanceto presentopportunities. Mrs. Bronson, a handsome middle-agedwoman wearinga suit and small fur stole (a scrupulous middle-class image in keepingwith Donald Young's prescription),stands up in churchto read a letterfrom her son who has just become an Armyofficer. As she reads the letter,the film cuts to scenes of basic training.Young Bronson is the very pictureof lightskinned, muscular leadership. He drillsin the snow, goes to a segregateddance, meets a nice younggirl, and back at camp, is intro- duced to the poetryof Langston Hughes. Aftersoldiering all week Bron- son heads for church on Sunday. The camp chaplain offersa pep talk describingimprobably broad opportunitiesfor blacks to get into Officer CandidatesSchool and even West Point: Armyunits are shown as eager to 628 American Quarterly

acceptblack recruits (see Figure3). Thefilm ends back in Mrs. Bronson's churchas the congregationrises to sing "OnwardChristian Soldiers" whichsegues into "Joshua Fit' de Battleob Jericho,"over which we see a montageof marching men and women.The songsand imagescombine in a finalemotional appeal forwartime unity. At first,The Negro Soldier was intendedsolely for black troops. Donald Young wrote an officialmanual, Leadership of Negro Troops, to be used by thewhite officers who commanded black units in WorldWar 11.31 But even beforethe film was released,two of thefour groups, the social scientistsand the blacks,began to agitatefor wider military and civiliandistribution. Such talkresulted in an extraordinaryamount of officialdebate. The film'sdirector, Stuart Heisler, remembers representatives of morethan fiftyfederal offices screening the rough cut and readingrevisions of the script.32Nobody seemed sure what the impactof the filmmight be on black soldiers.To learn if the filmwould encouragerioting by Negro troops,Heisler, Moss, and CharlesDollard, the Research Branch repre- sentative,took their product to a "Negro campoutside of San Diego." The commander,who "knew" his men,insisted that the film would pro- vokeviolence. He broughtin a specialunit of nearly one hundredmilitary police to preventtrouble. The resultwas hardlywhat the commander expected.Enthusiastic black recruits threatened to riotunless all Negro troopson thepost saw thefilm.33 Whitesoldiers offered a differentproblem. Here anothergroup, the Armyleadership, took a directhand to ensurethat the final product would be safeenough to appealto thewidest possible audience. Anatole Litvak, Heisler'ssuperior in theCapra unit, hand-carried the completed "answer print"of TheNegro Soldier to thePentagon in October1943. Marshall, Stimson,Osborn, the head of the Army'sBureau of PublicRelations, GeneralA. D. Surles,and AssistantSecretary of War JohnJ. McCloy

31 Osur,Blacks in the ArmyAir Forces, 80-81, notesopposition within the Armyto issuing Manual M5. The forewordto Leadership and the Negro Soldier, p. iv, specifically suggeststhat The Negro Soldier be shownas partof the course of instruction, "preferably thesecond meeting," and also suggests,p. 64, thatone ofthe Capra Why We Fight films, Divideand Conquer,be shownto combatracial "hate" rumorswithin the United States. Gunnar Myrdal's An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (New York:Harper, 1944), is givenparticular emphasis in themanual's list of suggested readings,p. 101. 32 Crippstelephone interview with Heisler, February 17, 1977;The National Film Board News Letter,February 4, 1944,2, reportedthat "in Washingtonthere are about sixty differentbureaus or sub-bureausof the U.S. Governmentconcerned with either the production,distribution, or utilization of films."Copy in Box 1486,entry 269, RG 208, WNRC- Suitland. 33 Crippsinterview with Heisler, February 17, 1977. The Negro Soldier 629

'N. ~ ~ .

Figure 3. Location footage of black troops revealed a wide range of militaryspecial- tiesand roles of blacks along withcontinuing segregation. (Courtesy of Film Stills Archive, Museumof Modern Art.)

personallyviewed the film.On November 1, aftermuch discussion, Lit- vak receiveda detailed memorandumoutlining specific changes intended to makethe film more factually accurate and to mollifyracial sensibilities ofaudiences.34 Heisler had already been orderedto cut the footage showing men "under the command of Negro officers."'35War Department officialsinsisted that a section of the filmdealing with World War I in- clude "'a small amount of footage which would show that Negroes did somethingother than engage in combat in the frontline." Emphasis on blackcombat experience in the currentwar also had to be "toned down" since it "would give an erroneous conception of the overall job of the Army." Finally, every nicety of customaryracial etiquette was to be preserved. For example: "The sequence showing a [white] nurse or physiotherapyattendant massaging the [black] soldier's back will be eliminated."36 This momentaryvisual breach of racial and sexual taboos

34 Munsonto Litvak, November 1, 1943,062.2 cos, Box 304, Records of the Chiefof Staff, Troop Information& Education, RG 319, MMR-NA. "' Crippstelephone interview with Heisler, Feb. 17, 1977. :36Munson to Litvak,Nov. 1, 1943,Box 304, RG 319, MMR-NA. 630 American Quarterly

couldnot be shownthough the Army did use whitestaff to treatinjured blacksoldiers. In January1944 the Army agreed to use thefilm in basic orientationfor Negrotroops, while continuing to debatefurther distribution.37 The Re- search Branchconducted a "scientific"survey to see what statistics mightsay aboutwider reception. This was thewartime pattern: what indi- vidualcommander's prejudice could compete with the scientifically meas- uredopinion of theentire Army? The surveyreported that almost ninety percentof black soldiers questioned wanted the film shown to whitesol- diersas wellas black.Almost eighty percent thought civilians should see it. The surprisecame in thewhite response, for almost eighty percent of thosequestioned favored showing the film to bothblack and white troops; nearlyeighty percent wanted the filmshown to whitecivilians.38 Still, some militaryleaders insisted that the filmbe accompaniedby printed materialdesigned to bluntthe message of racial tolerance. The Research Branch,particularly through the effortsof Donald Young, successfully insistedthat the film stand alone.39 In spiteof itself,and in oppositionto thewishes of some militaryleaders, the United States Army had a film based on social engineeringprecepts to teachracial brotherhood. In theend, OF 51 became "mandatory"viewing for all troopsat re- placementcenters within the United States.40 Between February 1944 and August1945, when the orderwas rescinded,almost every black in the Armyand Air Corps saw thisfilm; millions of white soldiers also viewedit as partof I&E's standardorientation program.41 Though overseas combat zones couldnot enforce mandatory viewing for all soldiers,the Army still used the filmlate in 1946. HarryTruman's 1948 desegregationorder markedthe end of OF 5I's officialusefulness.42 The filmhad been made for military audiences. What would happen if it joinedthe ranks of a fewother Army orientation films (including Prelude to War and The Battle of Russia fromthe WhyWe Fight series) and found

37 Karl Marks to JohnHubbell, Jan. 12, 1944,copy in OF 51 productionfiles, 062.2 ocsigo, Box 14, RG 111, FS-NA. 38 Report B-102, "Reactions of Negro and White Soldiers to the filmThe Negro Soldier, April 17, 1944. 439 blacks and 510 whitesat Camp Pickett,Virginia, previewed the film.In additionalmost 91 percentof the whitesdescribed it as "very good." Copy in Box 992, RG 330, MMR-NA. 39 Memorandum,Maj. Gen. Ray Porter,Assistant Chief of StaffG-3, to Osborn, May 4, 1944,413.53 ag, Box 3241, Records of the AdjutantGeneral, RG 407, MMR-NA; Karl Marks to ocsigo, Apr. 15, 1944,062.2 ocsigo, Box 44, A45-196,WNRC-Suitland. 40 War DepartmentCircular 208, May 25, 1944,413.56 ag, Box 3241, RG 407, MMR-NA. 41 War DepartmentCircular 283, September 19, 1945, 413.53 ag, Box 3237, RG 407, MMR-NA. 42 Brig. Gen. C. T. Lanham, Director,I&E Div., to Karl Korter,June 6, 1946,062.2 cos, Box 374, RG 319, MMR-NA. The Negro Soldier 631 commercialdistribution to movietheaters all over the UnitedStates? Wouldwhite patrons pay regularadmission to see a filmabout racial tolerance?Distributors felt sure the answer was no. Blacks thought otherwise;they recognized that the official nature of the film would make itan effectiveweapon in thestruggle for civil rights if it were widely seen by civilians. The firststep was officialapproval from Elmer Davis, head of the Officeof WarInformation (OWI).43 He and severalmembers of his staff screenedThe Negro Soldierand demandedyet a fewfurther changes. Davis concludedthat the film "probably would be perfectlypassable in anytheatres whatever in theNorth; and thatthe only risks . .. wouldbe attendantupon showingit in, say, Atlanta,or some such Southern center." One memberof his staffintroduced a new area of possible opposition-whetheror not "the Negropress" mightconsider the film "just icing."44 OWI fearsled in January1944 to a privateshowing at thePentagon for nearlytwo hundred black journalists. Frank Capra, though he hadlittle to do withthe film, arrived in Washingtonto show"his" production.Most of the audiencewrote favorable-even glowing-reviews, passing over theomission of slavery and the realities of discrimination. Activist groups such as the NAACP and the NationalNegro Congress praised the film as "the best ever done" and calledfor its widespreaddistribution.45 In April1944 the Army officially released the film to civilianaudiences. It was one thingto makethe film available to civilians,another to have it seen. From April 1944,the fate of The Negro Soldier increasingly turnedon theactivities of blacks, in particularCarlton Moss andTruman K. Gibson,now Stimson'sCivilian Aide forNegro Affairs. Both proved adeptat rallyingHollywood opinion in the film's favor, and overcoming a mixedcritical response. Bosley Crowther of the New YorkTimes thought thefilm "questionable" because it "sugarcoats" and "discreetlyavoids themore realistic race problems." James Agee, the Southerner who cov- ered cinemafor the liberal Nation, termed the film "pitifully, painfully mild"although he recognizedthat blandness made it moresaleable. Few whitecritics shared Agee's insightinto black attitudestoward the film. "Straightand decent as faras itgoes," he wrote,it "meansa gooddeal, I

43A good introductionto the OW1 is Allan M. Winkler,The Politics of Propaganda: The Officeof War Information,1942-1945 (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1978); for Davis' pre-war radio experience see David Holbrook Culbert, News for Everyman: Radio and Foreign Affairsin ThirtiesAmerica (Westport,Ct.: Greenwood, 1976), 125-52. 44 Paul Horgan to Lyman Munson, Nov. 6, 1943,062.2 cos, Box 304, RG 319, MMR-NA. 45 Capra, Name Above the Title,358-62. Mabel R. Staupers, NAACP, to Maj. Gen. A. D. Surles, February25, 1944; and telegram,National Negro Congress to Surles, February 19, 1944, RG 107, MMR-NA. 632 American Quarterly gatherto mostof the Negrosoldiers who have seen it." Moss agreed, tellinga Timereporter that the movie would "mean more to Negroesthan mostwhite men could imagine."46 Civiliandistribution depended on resolvinga longstandingdebate be- tweenthe Armyand the War ActivitiesCommittee (WAC), the group representingcommercial distributors in negotiationsfor circulationof governmentfilms.47 The Negro Soldier, at 43 minutes,or roughlyhalf of normalfeature length, would remain unpopular with bookers because no matterwhat its merits, the film required a changein the standard length of programs.48To combinean educationalfilm of "excessive" lengthwith OF 51's subjectseemingly restricted viewing to black theaters.49But Armyenthusiasm prevailed over WAC opposition.The Negro Soldier was releasedto thosetheaters which requested it froma nationaltotal of 16,203"pledged" commercial houses. Accurate attendance records, kept in partto staveoff possible government regulation, revealed that in calen- dar year 1944the filmwas a commercialbust. It playedin only 1,819 theatersin contrastto mostOWI shortswhich played in more than 13,000 theaters,or theAir Corpscombat film Memphis Belle (in Technicolor), seen in over 12,000theaters the same year.50Because of its awkward length,fears of resentmentof its specialpleading, and thenormally low grossesgenerated by slack summerattendance, OF 51 in its firstrun seems to have done morepoorly than any otherfilm released by the governmentfor commercial distribution. LeadingHollywood producers, urged on by Moss and Gibson,tried anotherway of beefing up attendance.Litvak and Heislerre-cut the film to a 20-minutetwo-reeler, enabling the Armyto offertwo lengthsof

46 The New York Times, Apr. 22, 1944; Nation, March 11, 1944, 316; Time, March 27, 1944,94, 96. 47 For an excellentdiscussion of how the WAC functioned see mimeographedanalysis of theaterbooking practices prepared for War ManpowerCommission, n.d. [July1944] in TaylorMills to FrancisHarmon, July 22, 1944,Box 1488,entry 269, RG 208; see also Mills to TrumanGibson, May 1, 1944,Box 1484,entry 268, RG 208,both in WNRC-Suitland. 48 WarActivities Committee, Movies at War1945 (New York:War Activity Committee, 1945),42, copyenclosed in FrancisHarmon to Culbert,January 26, 1977;information about exactbookings of OF 51 ineach of thirty-one exchanges is foundin Box 1485,entry 269, RG 208,WNRC-Suitland. 49 PeterNoble. The Negro in Films (New York: Arno Press, 1970), 99- 100lists numbers of blacktheaters by state. 50 Telegram,Lehman Katz to LymanMunson, n.d. [June19, 1944];unsigned memorandum,n.d. [June28, 1944],both in proj. 6024,062.2 ocsigo,Box 12, A52-248,WNRC- Suitland.The shortand longversions were both made available to commercialdistributors in July1944. Publicity release WAC, July21, 1944,copy in Box 1, AlbertDeane MSS, Museumof Modern Art Film Library, New York, N. Y. A printof Of 24 is availablefrom the ArmyTraining Support Center, Tobyhanna, Pa. The Negro Soldier 633 thesame film to civilians,beginning in July 1944.51 As OF 24,but with the same title,the filmis virtuallyidentical to OF 51, thoughomitting en- tirelyMrs. Bronson and her son's experience at OfficerCandidates School. At the end a few added shotsof black pilotsand black construction workersin India helped give a widervisual sense of Negro involvement in the war. OnlyThe Negro Soldier,of all filmsproduced by the military duringthe war, was availablein two versionsat the same time.Moss estimatedthat possibly 5,000 theaterseventually showed the shorter version. Civiliandistribution still faced one last hurdle,a lawsuitfrom a white Jewishfilmmaker who had also made a movieabout race pride.Jack Goldberg,president of The NegroMarches On, Inc., foryears had produced "race movies,"a genreof cheaplymounted productions for dis- tributionin Negroneighborhood houses. He sued in federalcourt to re- strainthe WAC frombooking The Negro Soldier,claiming that it com- peted unfairlywith his own film,We've Come a Long, Long Way, which dealtwith roughly the same subject(see Figure4). Goldberg'sfilm pos- sessed a certaincredibility in black circlesowing to its sponsorshipby Elder Solomon LightfootMichaux, a radio evangelistwell-known to Negrolisteners.52 Atthis point the NAACP enteredthe controversy. Roy Wilkinshelped TrumanGibson assemble a "confidential"list of white liberals to "assist distribution,"including Nelson Rockfeller, Fiorello La Guardia,Cardinal Spellman,and theNew Yorker'sHarold Ross. NAACP specialcounsel ThurgoodMarshall joined Gibson in filing an amicuscuriae brief, insisting thatthe WAC provided "the only available medium" for circulating a film that"proceeded on thepremise that racial prejudices which divide our populationwill have their effect minimized by the dissemination of facts." Marshalland WalterWhite then prodded the liberal Hollywood Writers' Mobilizationinto endorsing the film as a "real contributionto national unity"and a repudiationof "racist lies."53 Gibson and Moss arrangedfor

51 "Weekly Reporton Film ProductionActivities," Lehman Katz to Paul Horgan, May 3, 1944, 319.1 cos, Box 370, RG 319, MMR-NA. Specific suggestionsfrom the producersare quoted in Gibson to Anatole Litvak, Apr. 14, 1944, proj. 6024, 062.2 ocsigo, Box 12, A52- 248, WNRC-Suitland. 52 The Goldberg film was based on the OWI pamphlet Negroes and the War. Jack Goldbergto Francis Harmon, February28, 1944, Box 1488, entry269, RG 208. 53 Wilkinsto Gibson, January3, 14, 15; February 1, 3, 1944; Wilkinsto Maj. Homer B. Roberts, February9, 1944; United States DistrictCourt, SouthernDistrict of New York, Negro Marches On, Plaintiff,v. War ActivitiesCommittee, Defendants, copy, n.d.; Gib- son, amicus curiae brief,2 pages, n.d.; Thurgood Marshall to Pauline Lauber, executive secretary,Hollywood Writers'Mobilization, May 2, 1944; Robert Rossen to Frank Capra, March 30, 1944,all in Box 277, Records of the National Associationfor the Advancementof Colored People, ManuscriptDivision, Libraryof Congress, Washington,D. C. [hereafter NAACP Records]. 634 American Quarterly

NEGROCAN 33~~? yif-;L BEPROUD OF.'

THEDRAMATIC' EPIC OF 7hE NEGROPEOPLE, SHOWING -1 r X FisonsS ET14FIR-AMAZINGPROGRESS INTHE LAST 75 YEARS - IN SCIENCE,ART, ).Soi~~2 t0 \MEVIIN~ NE.ETC.

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Figure 4. The Negro Soldier divertedattention away fromJack Goldberg and Elder LightfootSoloman Michaux's We've Come a Long, Long Way, one of the last "race Holyoo reeton a bnMy an 8un 944Tto rmupsporfo movies"gala~ that~ seriously~~~ challenged Hollywood's version of the Negro. (Advertisementin NAACP Records, Libraryof Congress.)

gala Hollywood receptionsin May and June 1944 to drumup supportfor both versions of "their" film.Black actress Lena Horne praised the film and major Hollywood producersprovided blurbs, most more convincing than thatoffered by Columbia's Harry Cohn: "the greatestWar Depart- mentPicture ever made." 54 The NAACP, which had nothingto do withthe makingof OF 51, now promotedthe filmas if it were its own. "NAACP Deplores Legal Action Against Film The Negro Soldier," declared a press release which claimed that Goldberg's filmwas "insultingto Negroes," in contrastto The Negro Soldier's "enormous potentialitiesfor good in stimulatingthe morale of AmericanNegroes and in educatingwhite Americans." White also persuadedliberal Jewish groups to repudiateGoldberg, thereby avoid-

54 Quoted in Gibson to Anatole Litvak, April 14, 1944, proj. 6024, 062.2 ocsigo, Box 12, A52-248, WNRC-Suitland. The Negro Soldier 635 ing the appearance of a "Jewish vs. Negro situation." Goldberg was termeda longtimeexploiter of black audiences. In the end Goldberglost in courtand settledfor a few days' "clearance" to allow his filma briefrun and give him a chance to get back part of his investment.55 The Negro press continuedits campaign to gain wider distribution.It urged the National Council of Negro Women "to rally the public and force the special film,The Negro Soldier, to be released in fullto audiences of bothraces." In Los Angeles press supportled to a previewunder the auspices of the mayor's Civic Unity Committeeat a leading hotel.56 Educators invokedthe argumentsof the scientificsample to promotethe film.They tested OF 51 as a tool forteaching "inter-cultural education" and "living together,"and ranked it thirdin effectivenessout of seven- teen filmsstudied.57 The campaign soon included plans for distributingthe filmto civilian audiences outside the commercialcircuit. The coming of age of 16 mil- limeterfilm (at the time still called "substandard" film)proved a major means forspreading government information throughout the country.In- deed World War II markedthe apogee of non-commercialdistribution of filmsin the United States.58The OWI and the Army's Public Relations Bureau waged a tedious administrativebattle over distribution.In April 1944 the OWI won the rightto distributethe long version (OF 51) non- theatricallyto a networkof filmdepartments in public libraries,schools, and colleges in every state.59The Film Libraryof the Museum of Modem Art in New York, which developed educational distributionof "classic" filmsin the late 1930s, helped promoteThe Negro Soldier by includingit

55 Goldbergto CongressmanAndrew J., May, April 1, 1944; Goldbergto White,May 25, 1944; Ralph Cooper to White,June 8, 1944; JuliaE. Baxter to Wilkins,November 4, 1943; press release dated April27, 1944; Whiteto Marshall, May 4, 1944; all in Box 277, NAACP Records. 56 Clippingsfrom black press; and invitationsto Moss fromthe Civic Unity Committee and Charles U. Shellenberg,Los Angeles YMCA, April 24, 1944, in personal filesof Moss, copies sent to Cripps; trade paper clippingsin Stuart Heisler MSS, Theater Arts Library, UCLA. 57 Discussed in Leonard Bloom, CaliforniaEagle, March 16, 1944; and Esther L. Berg, "Films to Better Human Relations," reprintedfrom High Points (New York: Brooklyn JewishCommunity Council, n.d. [1945]), copies frompersonal files of Moss sentto Cripps. 58 RG 208 has the extensive records of OWI's Non-theatricalDivision of the Motion PictureBranch. See also Film Council of America,Sixty Years of 16mmFilm 1923-1983: A Symposium(Evanston, Ill., 1954), 148-59. 59 CurtissMitchell to StantonGriffis, April 12, 1944, Box 1484, entry268; Taylor Mills to Edgar Baker, June8, 1944,Box 1486,entry 269; methodsof distributionare discussed in C. R. Reagan to CongressmanLouis Ludlow, June10, 1944,Box 1581,entry 305; all in RG 208, WNRC-Suitland. 636 American Quarterly in a special seriesof Capra-unitfilms shown in New York to capacity audiences in July1944.60 Black groupsthroughout the countrywere soon enthusiasticover "their"film and eagerlybooked it forchurch and civicfunctions.61 The Educational Film Guide for 1945, a standard guidebook for users of documentaryfilm, praised OF 51's technicalquality: "good photographs, a nice varietyof scene, some flashesof humorand excellentmusical background."62 The film'ssuperb technical quality made it thehit of the season in nontheatricaldistribution. The filmbureau of the Cleveland PublicLibrary, for example, indicated frequent requests for the film in its monthlyreports to the OWI, listingsuch groupsas the "Woodbridge School & PTA" and the "Zion MethodistChurch."63 Not everyreport indicates attendance figures-nor are such figures capable of verification-butyearly estimated attendance at OWI filmsdistributed nontheatricallynumbered over 7.5 million,and that representsonly domesticdistribution. The filmwas also used extensivelyin Latin America,particularly in Haiti,with its predominantly black population.65 Withthe release of OF 51, Moss lobbiedfor a secondfilm, eventually calledTeamwork (OF 14),a moreself-conscious advocate for racial integration.The motionpicture shows blacks in combatagainst the Nazis. A sequenceshot on a Hollywoodback lot has Nazi cannoneersshell black troopswith a flurryof leaflets reminding them of the "lousiest" jobs and housingawaiting them at thewar's end. The blackstoss aside theflyers, as theyadvance under fire. The narratorgrants that "nobody thinks the United States is perfect."66 Joe Louis is quoted as saying"there's

60 Iris Barry, Curator, Museum of Modern Art Film Library, to Rudolph Montgelas, Bureau of Public Relations, n.d. [Aug. 1944], War Dept. folder,Central Files, Museum of Modern Art Film Library, New York, N. Y. 3,250 persons saw OF 51 (fromJuly 24-30, 1944). 61 Not every group had a choice: "Mr. E. J. Welch, D. C. Reformatory,Lorton, Va., is anxious to obtain the film, THE NEGRO SOLDIER, for a showing at the reformatory." CatherinePreston, to JosephBrechsteen, September 13, 1944,Box 1483,entry 268, RG 208, WNRC-Suitland. 62 Dorothy E. Cook and Eva Rahbek-Smith,compilers, Educational Film Guide (New York, W. W. Wilson, Co., 1945), 152. This annual compilationfirst appeared in 1936. 63 "OWI MonthlyReport of GovernmentFilm Showings for October 1944," Cleveland Public Library, Box 1640, entry362, RG 208, WNRC-Suitland. Boxes 1624-1647 cover every state withvarying degrees of completenesson a monthlybasis. 64 C. R. Reagan statedthat he distributed138 of his 150 16mmprints for 15,600 showings withan estimatedtotal audience of 3,220,000 between June 15, 1944 and January1, 1945. Reagan to Gibson, January4, 1945, Box 224, RG 107 (Hastie File), MMR-NA. 65 In June 1945 OF51 had been shown 69 times to 43,025 persons in Haiti. See monthly "16mm Films-LatinAmerican Program-Summary by Title," Copy in Box 218, centralfiles 3, Records of the Coordinatorfor Inter-American Affairs, RG 229, WNRC-Suitland. 66 There is a printin FS-NA. The Scriptand productionrecords are foundin proj. 11, 015, 062.2 ocsigo, Box 19, A52-248, WNRC-Suitland. The Negro Soldier 637 nothingwrong with America that Hitler could fix! " A timid,much less elaborateproduction than OF 51, Teamwork'smodest "message" about integrationnevertheless alarmed some in the Army.The filmreceived belatedmilitary release only in January 1946, thanks in partto theefforts of the NAACP. Roy Wilkinsattended a sneak previewof the filmat the SignalCorps PhotographicCenter on Long Island. Wilkinslobbied for releaseand the NAACP feltthe film could "do muchto promoteracial unitynow and for thefuture." By the summerof 1946, Teamworkalso wentinto civilian distribution.67 Whatin retrospectcan be concludedabout the direct and indirectim- pact of The NegroSoldier on postwarAmerican race relations?We be- lievethis film represented a watershed in the use offilm to promoteracial tolerance.The Negro Soldier's influencecan be seen in threeareas: promotion,production, and thedemise of "race films." 1) Promotion. Black pressuregroups learned that film was a toolfor socialchange. The Armydid not recognize how much the technical quality ofthe film suggested to viewersa militarycommitment to equality of opportunity.The existenceof sucha filmindicated change within the Army- whynot also inthe civilian world? Carlton Moss, handsome and eloquent, was theeducated preacher who moved his listeners with facts and force of logic. Mrs. Bronson,in her suitand fur,seemed to provethat a black motherwas the same as othermiddle-class women, save fora slightly darkerskin color. Moreover, the Army considered Mrs. Bronson's son a valuableasset and trainedhim thoroughly. His hardwork paid offin an officer'scommission. Was notthis visual evidence of equality of opportunity?How aboutPrivate Parks, First Class-wasn't she attractiveand competentno matterwhat her racial background? And thatfine church and all those well-dressedpeople who took theircivic responsibilities seriously-allAmerica could see thesewere valuable citizens. Such images providedvisual proof of why racial equality was notjust morallybut logicallyjustified. Why not everywhere?As Moss put it, he set out to "ignore what's wrongwith the armyand tell what's rightwith my

67 Wilkinsto Surles, August 22, 1945; White to Marshall, Harringtonand Wilkins,April 17, 1946; White to ArthurMayer, May 21, 1946; White to Robert Patterson,May 9, 1946; JeannetteE. Samuelson, public relations director, Arthur Mayer and Juseph Burstyn Theatres, to "Friend," mimeographed,July 11, 1946; Ida Long, 20th-CenturyFox to Fred S. Hall, December 27, 1944; Hall to White,December 29, 1944; Wilkinsto Maj. Homer B. Roberts,January 2, 1945, all in Box 277; Whiteto Wilkins,Marshall and Harrington,April 24, 1946; Wilkinsto JuliaE. Baxter and Harrington,October 21, 1946; Whiteto Patterson, April24, May 9, 1946,all in Box 274; all in NAACP Records. Samuelson to W. W. Lindsay, Army Pictorial Service, June 12, 1946, proj. 11, 015, ocsigo, Box 19, A52-248, WNRC- Suitland. 638 American Quarterly

. 1 -

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Figure5. Goadedby NAACPpressur~e in supportof wartime calls for "unity," "tolerance," and "brotherhood,"Hollywood movies sometimes included blacks in theranks of the peoplesfighting against fascism, as herein the case of AlfredHitchcock's Lifeboat (1944),featuring Canada Lee. (Copyright,Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.) people," which,he hoped,would cause whitesto ask "whatright have we to hold back a people of thatcalibre? The NAACP now understoodhow potentindirect messages in films could be. It produceda brochurepromoting "audio-visual aids" for "teachingdemocracy."' It formeda new nationalcomumittee -o deal with mattersof filmpropaganda and encouragedfilm distributors to circulate inventoriesof filmsurging "tolerance"' and "brotherhood"'such as Teamwork and Americans All, producedby The March of Time. The NationalConference of Christians and Jews joined what promised to be a newmovement, discussed injournals with titles like the 16mm Reporter.69 Gettingfilms off of shelves and beforecommercial' and mmno-conmmerial audienceswas a specificgoal capable of fulfillmentby, any iAumberof blackpressure groups. The NAACP couldecho the setntiment of'an earlier enthusiastfor social experimentation: "I have seen teftr and it works."

I Moss clippingfile, March 1944, in personalfiles of Moss,copies sent to Cripps. 89 Pressclippings in Box 274,NAACP Records. The Negro Soldier 639

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Figure6. The trendof wartimeliberalism exemplified by TheNegro Soldier persisted intothe era ofthe so-called "message movie" such as Elia Kazan's Pinky(1949), a storyof "passing"from black to white,starring Ethel Waters and Jeanne Crain. (Copyright, Twen- tiethCentury-Fox Film Corporation.)

2) Productionof "message films." A blackjournal's headline at thetime ofOF 51's releasemakes the point: "Army Shows Hollywood the Way." 70 Thepostwar era of feature films with "messages" about racial liberalism can be traceddirectly to thehumane, natural realism of The NegroSoldier, thoughit would be simplisticto insistthat a singlefilm was thesole cause of every"message" motionpicture produced after 1945. A numberof examplesdemonstrate the connection.7 JesterHairston arranged the choralparts for The Negro Soldier. After1945, DimitriTiomkin, who wroteOF 51's score, used Hairstonfor entire films, a startlingchange from"before the war [when]the studiosonly called us whenthey had 'Negromusic' to be sung.""72 StuartHeisler, director of The NegroSol- dier,went on to makeStorm Warning (1950), a harshindictment of the Ku Klux Klan. Ben Maddowcame from a backgroundin wartimedocumen-

70Negro, II (Sept., 1944),94, JohnsonMSS. 71 The tendencyis describedin SamuelGoldwyn, "How I BecameInterested in Social Justice,"Opportunity, 26 (Summer_1948),100-01. 72 "Movie Choir,"Ebony, 4 (Oct. 1949),25-27. 640 American Quarterly taryfilm to writethe screenplayfor Faulkner'sIntruder in the Dust (1949),an urgentplea formutual respect across racial lines in theSouth. CarlForeman, who began the war by writing the Dead End Kids' Spooks Run Wild,worked for Frank Capra's filmunit. Afterwardshe wrote Home of theBrave (1949),in whichthe black hero was named"Mossy" as a tributeto a wartimefriendship with Carleton Moss. StanleyKramer, the producerof Home of the Brave, had workedat the Signal Corps PhotographicUnit on Long Island duringthe war. His entirepostwar career was devotedto "message" films,including The DefiantOnes (1958) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967), both vehicles for SidneyPoitier and racialliberalism (see Figure6). 3) The demiseof "race movies." The failureof Jack Goldberg's suit signalledan endfor the "race movie."When feature films began to depict blacksas humanbeings, there was no longera need forthird-rate films designedespecially for Negro audiences. After 1945 it was soon hardfor anyone, black or white,to rememberwhen as a matterof course separate-but-unequal"race movies"were a stapleof the American scene. The humanityof The NegroSoldier had done its workwell. The historianis alwaysinterested in cause and effect,but perhapsa sense of ironyis essentialin understandingthe impactof The Negro Soldier.Who would have thoughtthat the Army, officially committed to segregation,would end up witha filmwhich symbolically promoted the logicof integration? Who would have predictedthat a documentary-style filmabout black historyand opportunitiesfor militaryadvancement would spawna generationof featurefilms calling for racial tolerance? Who would have thoughtthat a militaryorientation film would make black civiliansglow withpride? Minority pressure groups cannot help appreciatingsuch ironies. Merely to showa filmis no guaranteeof any- thing,but screeninga "message" filmfor a varietyof audiencesclearly can achieveresults not originally conceived of. Thisis arguablythe sym- bioticpotential of all massmedia, a potentialrealized in themidst of total war, when the Armyused filmto show not just Hollywoodbut all Americathat civil rights was notonly a moralbut also a logicalnecessity. Such conclusionsled WalterFisher, one of a handfulof black officers assignedto I&E, to rememberthis pioneering film a thirdof a century later. Although"we knew . . . the day of jubilee had not arrived," he considersThe Negro Soldier "one ofthe finest things that ever happened to America."74*

73 Cripps telephoneinterview with Carlton Moss, July8, 1977; Cripps telephoneinterview withStanley Kramer, July 11, 1977; Cripps telephoneinterview with Carl Foreman,July 12, 1977. 74 Culbertand Cripps interviewwith Walter Fisher, Washington,D. C., July12, 1977. * We would like to thankthe Woodrow Wilson InternationalCenter for Scholars, Smith- sonian Institution,Washington, D. C., for supportin preparingthis essay.