World War I Veterans in Pre-Code Film
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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School School of Humanities SPENT BULLETS: WORLD WAR I VETERANS IN PRE-CODE FILM A Dissertation in American Studies by Tiffany I. Weaver ©2018 Tiffany I. Weaver Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2018 The dissertation of Tiffany I. Weaver was reviewed and approved* by the following: Charles Kupfer Associate Professor of American Studies and History Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Simon J. Bronner Distinguished Professor of American Studies and Folklore Anthony Buccitelli Associate Professor of American Studies and Communications Robin Redmon Wright Associate Professor of Lifelong Learning and Adult Education John Haddad Professor of American Studies and Popular Culture Chair of the Graduate Program in American Studies *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii ABSTRACT Films depicting World War I and its aftermath began production almost as soon as the war began, although it would be roughly a decade before these films became more prevalent and popular. Many of these films were important in helping the public navigate the aftermath of the conflict and reflected the changing society of the 1920s and early 1930s. Studying these films can help provide a better understanding of the culture in the United States that emerged during the Interwar period and how society reacted to these changes. Of particular importance are the films depicting the experience of the solider upon returning home. Following World War I, veterans across the United States and Europe experienced issues with readjustment to civilian life, struggled with shell shock, and faced unemployment. These issues were reflected in the films featuring the life of the veteran. Veterans were used by society to re-write the war. In many of the films released after World War I, and particularly those from the pre-Code era of 1930-1934, the failures of the war were cast onto the body of the veteran, rather than using him to glorify the war effort and present his service in a heroic fashion. These characters became martyrs of a failed cause and lost hope. This dissertation explores some of the key World War I veteran films of the pre-Code era and how the veteran is used to cope with the changing post-War world. During this period, the United States saw drastic cultural changes including women’s suffrage, modernization of the workplace, and the Great Depression. By examining the roles played by World War I veterans, an understanding can be developed of both how cinema helped to mediate the changing world and how veterans helped with this. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………Page v Dedication………………………………………………………………………………….Page vi Introduction: “And We Sleep and Eat with Death” The World War I Veteran in Film………………………………………….………..Page 1 Chapter 1: “A Cost Assessed in Flesh:” Mechanized Workers on the Industrial Battlefield ……………………….……….Page 14 Chapter 2: “The Game of Killing:” Filming Mechanized Warfare……………………………………………….……..Page 45 Chapter 3: “War’s Waste Always Casts Long Shadows:” The Wounded Veteran on the Screen………………………………………………Page 77 Chapter 4: “We Came, We Marched Away, to Fight for USA, But Where Are We Today?” The Veteran as the Forgotten Man………………………………………………..Page 112 Conclusion: “Ye Shall Rebuild the Old Wastes:” World War I Veterans on the Eve of World War II………………...…...………..Page 142 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………..…….Page 158 iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank my committee, Dr. Charles Kupfer, Dr. Simon Bronner, Dr. Anthony Buccitelli, and Dr. Robin Redmon Wright, for all of their support and guidance on this journey. I would like to thank the Shippensburg University History Department, in particular, Dr. John Quist, Dr. Steven Burg, and Dr. Allen Dieterich-Ward, for believing in me during my time as a student and continuing to believe in me today. Without them, I would have never become the scholar I am. I would like to thank my friends for sticking with me through years and years of school work and for still being there at the end of each semester when I would emerge from a pile of finished papers and thoroughly read books. I would like to thank the staff of One Bean for keeping my pots of tea full as I would sit in the corner surrounded by research and sometimes talk to myself as I carefully crafted each chapter of this dissertation. And last, and most important of all, I would like to thank my family. My sister who spent her childhood watching me endlessingly research and write and knew just the right times to make me laugh to keep the stress away. My parents who gave me a place to live and allowed me to fill the kitchen with books (and the living room…and most of the basement…). Without their support this dissertation would never have been finished. There are not words that fully acknowledge how thankful I am for them. v Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to the Lost Generation of men and women of the Great War and to the stars of pre-Code Hollywood who helped to tell their stories. vi Spent Bullets: World War I Veterans in Pre-Code Film Introduction: “And We Sleep and Eat with Death” The scene opens with a desolate view of No Man’s Land and smoke rolling across the bare land. An artillery barrage mixes with the mournful sounds of a harmonica. The camera cuts to reveal men bailing water from the trenches. A young man sits at his watch post. He appears sad and weary. As he looks out of the small observation hole, a smile appears on his face. He slowly reaches his hand through the hole. The camera angle shifts, we are now viewing the young man from the other side of the trench and the safety it provides. The view pans down past his arm to reveal the object of his fascination—a butterfly sitting peacefully at the opening of a tin can. The young man attempts to reach the beautiful creature through the observation hole but it is too far away. Slowly he stands up. The film cuts to the enemy side and a sniper readies his gun against a fallen tree. He has noticed the movement of the young man on the other side. A cut back to the young man shows him standing and slowly moving over the top of the trench. As he extends his hand further the sniper steadies his aim. The scene cuts between a close-up of the young man’s hand reaching carefully towards the butterfly and the sniper aiming his rifle. A shot suddenly rings out and is followed by a deafening silence. The young man’s hand recoils, shakes for a few seconds, and then drops to the ground. The screen fades to an image of the young man marching with a long line of other soldiers transposed over a field of white crosses. As they silently march, each man turns his head and looks at the camera before moving forward. The screen fades to black and the film ends. The above is a description of the iconic ending to the World War I masterpiece All Quiet on the Western Front, released by Universal Pictures in 1930. These closing shots shut the door 1 on a film that put a voice to the disillusion and bewilderment caused by the Great War. Based on Erich Marie Remarque’s book of the same name, All Quiet on the Western Front, tells the story of Paul Baumer’s wartime experience from a German perspective. The tale begins as the call to arms goes out across the country. Paul is in school and his teacher delivers a passionate speech encouraging his students to join the army. They destroy the classroom and their books as they jovially run to the recruiting office to sign up. The rest of the film follows the unit to which Paul is assigned from training camp to front line. One by one each of the men that Paul connects with dies until he is the only one left. Shortly before the conclusion of the film, Paul is wounded and returns home on leave. As he walks through the village of his childhood, he witnesses the men too old to fight encouraging young boys to join the war. He speaks out against their urging. He has seen the true face of the war and knows what lies ahead for these boys. After he returns to the front, he and Kat, his last friend in the unit, go out in search for food. While on their search an artillery shell lands near them and Kat is hit in the leg. Paul carries him to the medic’s tent only to discover that he has died. Paul has lost his last friend and no longer understands why the war is being fought or for whom. He returns to his post, surrounded by replacements he does not recognize. As he gazes across No Man’s Land from his observation post and sees the butterfly, it is like he is seeing a last bit of beauty in a world with nothing left to offer. His desire for a connection with this creature brings about his own death. Paul loses his innocence, his passion, and ultimately his life.1 While not the first film to feature World War I combat, it was the most successful to that point and inspired the increased production of films with a pacifist angle. World War I films began production as soon as the war began but it would not be until roughly a decade after the 1 All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Lewis Milestone (1930; Universal City: Universal Studios Home Entertainment, 2007), DVD.