When America went to war, Hollywood changed its movie scenery to also portray wartime America. During the years of World War II, Hollywood films portrayed an America unified in cause and morals as the harsh realities of the war would unfold in many a plotline. Film characters were soon personifications of the American people facing the war, featuring average men sent off to fight, the girls next door left behind, patriots and heroines, and individuals grieving the losses of those they held dear.

Bernard F. Dick’s The Star-Spangled Screen: The American World War II Film explores the films released during this period and the context in which they were made. Dick also checks the validity of these films, discussing to what extent they accurately portray wartime America and World War II itself. Though it includes analyses of films released during the war years, the influence of the war continues with the discussion and inclusion of postwar films.

This special updated and expanded edition goes on to include material about more contemporary films that portray World War II, many decades after the war ended. Dick includes classics such as The Last Train From Madrid (1937), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), The Desert Song (1943), and more, in addition to modern films like Pearl Harbor (2001), Dunkirk (2017), and JoJo Rabbit (2019).

The Star-Spangled Screen: The American World War II Film is sure to be enjoyed by fans of wartime films and World War II history.

The Star-Spangled Screen: The American World War II Film is available for purchase via the University Press of Kentucky.