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When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Department of Film THE WAR AS IT WAS: HISTORICAL RECEPTION OF THE GREAT WAR IN AMERICAN POPULAR CINEMA, 1918-1938 by Ryan R. Copping Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2016 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Film Studies Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy THE WAR AS IT WAS: HISTORICAL RECEPTION OF THE GREAT WAR IN AMERICAN POPULAR CINEMA, 1918-1938 Ryan R. Copping This thesis is an examination of the reception of selected films from the United States concerning the Great War during the interwar period. Despite the influential nature of these films at the time of their release, relatively few studies have been conducted on the response of contemporary audiences to these texts. Given the significance of the Great War as a critical event in modern history and culture, it is important to study the responses of audiences to works concerning the war during this period. Taking the war as a cinematic subject as opposed to a genre, I analyse both the content and reception of significant war-related films, using the movies themselves and contemporary newspaper and magazine articles and reviews, advertising and internal studio memoranda. I use this method in reference to the following films: The Heart of Humanity (1918), The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse (1921), The Big Parade (1925), What Price Glory (1926), Wings (1927), Hell’s Angels (1930), Journey’s End (1930), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Men Must Fight (1933), The Road Back (1937) and Three Comrades (1938). I argue that audiences often interpreted what they perceived to be honest portrayals of war trauma as ‘realistic’, there was no uniform definition as to what constituted an ‘anti-war’ film, Great War films from this period tended to blame Germany or humanity in general for the war, sometimes both, and that most war films performed a memorial function for audiences. Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents…………………………………………………………....………………...i List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………v DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP………………………………………………………ix Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………...xi Introduction…………………………………………………………...…………………….. xi I.1: Aims and Methodology: xiii I.2: Evidence Base: Newspapers: xx I.3: Evidence Base: Trade Publications: xxii I. 4: Evidence Base: Industry Records: xxiii I.5: Evidence Base: Literary Sources: xiv I.6: Historical Background: xxv I.7: Literature Review: xxvi I.8: Themes: xxix I.9: Theoretical Concerns: xxxi I.10: Summary of Chapters: xxxiii Chapter 1: The Heart of Humanity and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse…………..1 1.1 Introduction: 1 1.2 The Heart of Humanity: 4 1.3 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: 14 Chapter 2: “Ghastly Realism” and Lawrence Stallings……………………………..…….33 2.1 Introduction: 33 2.2 Plumes: 34 i 2.3 Laurence Stallings: 36 2.4 The Big Parade: 39 2.5 What Price Glory: 55 Chapter 3: The Dark Adventure……………………………………………………………67 3.2 The Experience of the Air War: 67 3.3 The Air War in Hollywood: 77 3.4 Origins of Wings: 74 3.5 A Successor to The Big Parade: 79 3.6 Marketing: 82 3.5 Hell’s Angels: 98 Chapter 4: The Black Void.……………………………..………………………………...98 4.1 Journey’s End : 98 4.2 The Play: 100 4.3 The Film Adaptation: 104 4.4 An Anti-War Film?: 107 4.5 All Quiet on the Western Front: 112 4.6 The Novel: 113 4.7 Production: 118 4.8 Trauma and Authenticity: 123 4.9 Politics: 125 Chapter V: Gender and Fears of a Second World War………………………………..130 5.1 Historical Background: 131 5.2 Women in War Films: 132 5.3 Pilgrimage: 133 5.4 Men Must Fight: 134 Chapter 6: The Universal Fraternity…...…………………………………………………146 6.2 Historical Background: 146 6.3 The Road Back: 147 6.4 Re-Release: 160 6.5 Three Comrades: 163 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….174 C.1 Research Findings: 174 C.2 Further Research Questions: 176 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………..179 Filmography………………………………………………………………………………..198 List of Figures List of Figures 1. Baseball and Spanish Flu……………………………………….……,………........…………...2 2. The Heart of Humanity German spider metaphor……………………,…………….………...6 3. US Anti-German Propaganda Poster………………….……………….………………….…...12 4. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse poster………………………………….……………..20 5. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse graveyard scene………………………………….......28 6. The Big Parade Poster………………………………………………...………………….……48 7. What Price Glory cast…………………………………………………,,,,………..…...……..60 6. Wings poster…………………………………………………………..…………..…...…...…83 8. Colin Clive as Stanhope…………………………….………..………………………………105 9. All Quiet on the Western Front battle scene…………………...……………………………..121 10. All Quiet butterfly finale……………………………………………………………………...122 11. All Quiet final shot………………………………………………………………………...….123 12. Phillips Holmes and Diana Wynyard..........……………………….…………………...…….141 13. The Road Back cast………………………………………………..………………………….154 14. The Road Back poster………………………………………………………………………...156 15. Three Comrades final shot………………………………………...……..…………………..167 16. Three Comrades cast……………………………………….……….………………………..168 Declaration of Authorship DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Ryan R. Copping declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. THE WAR AS IT WAS: HISTORICAL RECEPTION OF THE GREAT WAR IN AMERICAN AND BRITISH POPULAR CINEMA, 1918-1938 I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; 4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; 5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help; 6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; 7. Parts of this work have been published as: "If You Have No Men, You Have No War!”: A Critical Overview of Edgar Selwyn's Men Must Fight (1933) in the December 2014 issue of Cinesthesia: The Grand Valley Journal of Cinema. Signed: Ryan R. Copping Date: 04/04/2016 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Like any PhD thesis, I must acknowledge my indebtedness to my supervisors, Dr Michael Williams and Dr Michael Hammond. Both of ‘The Michaels,’ as I would refer to them on my calendar, have given me a great deal of wise commentary on my work, sage advice, and good humour in the four years of this thesis. I also need to thank Professor Lucy Mazdon, without whom it is doubtful I would have applied to the University of Southampton. Professor Mazdon has made herself available to me several times over the course of this thesis, for both personal and professional encouragement. Among my few regrets about this PhD was that I was unable to work with her more closely in film scholarship. In terms of my research, I need to thank my friend Kristen Gorlitz, who allowed me to stay at her apartment during my sojourn to the Margret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, a trip that I would have otherwise been unable to afford. Edward Comstock of the University of Southern California very helpfully allowed me electronic access to material concerning Men Must Fight and The Road Back while USC’s archive was physically closed for renovation during my visit. In terms of preparing this manuscript I must thank those who “offered” to proofread different chapters, and make sure they were written in British English: Lelia Ashard, James Barnes, Kate Cook, and Katherine Dantalus Hickey. Though he is not English, my father, Ronald Copping, also proofread a chapter as well as allowing me access to materials at Western Michigan University, which was enormously helpful. More generally, I want to acknowledge Dr Toni Perrine of Grand Valley State University, who helped guide my passion for film history as an undergraduate and encouraging me to continue on the postgraduate level. Too many people to name performed acts of kindness that helped me with this PhD over the years, but Carlene Metcalf and Laura Metcalf specifically come to mind for allowing me commandeer their kitchen for an entire day when a blizzard knocked out my internet access at my home and nearly caused me to miss a deadline. ix Acknowledgements Finally, it was impossible to research the Great War for four years and not become moved by the tremendous courage it must have taken for many of the veterans to share their painful and traumatic stories of their war experiences through the various memories, novels, plays, films and other media mentioned here. Their sacrifice allowed future generations to at least begin to understand the war experience, something as an observer in the early 21st century I am eternally grateful for. x xi Introduction Introduction At the end of Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Paul Baumer, the protagonist and last surviving member of his high school class, is shot dead by a French sniper while reaching for a butterfly, the first thing of beauty he has seen in months, perhaps years.