1. My Japan (16:19)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. War Finance Division
Summary:
Presented as an authentic message from the Japanese people to the American people, this film is actually a fake newsreel designed to counter any views the American moviegoer might have had about the Japanese being a backwards nation. The film employs a white American in yellowface as the Japanese narrator who describes the modern, technological Japan capable of withstanding the American military's attacks. Uses captured feature films and documentaries from the Japanese, including a short sequence from the 1937 German/Japanese co-production "The Daughter of the Samurai" in a brief clip with the actress Setsuko Hara. The film concludes with a plea to buy U.S. war bonds.

2. Peace comes to America (10:46)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
Summary:
Asserts that although World War II is over, Americans still have responsibility for their government and veterans of the war. Features appearances by President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of the Treasury Fred M. Vinson, and Ted R. Gamble, national director of the War Finance Division.

3. Remember these faces (17:27)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. Navy
Summary:
World War II film showing the horror of the Pacific war with extensive coverage of the care and treatment of the wounded. Created in support of the 7th War Loan drive, the film encourages the general public to purchase war bonds to aid the recovery of wounded servicemen.

4. Secrets (07:11)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. Navy Department
Summary:
Discusses the importance of various secret weapons used throughout World War II, such as radar and the atomic bomb. The film emphasizes the development and use of these weapons as being critical to winning the war, thereby justifying their costs. Ends with a plea to purchase victory bonds to support research that will prevent future wars.

5. Target invisible (08:32)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
Kennedy, Arthur, 1914-1990
Summary:
Illustrates the use of radar on a bombing mission over Japan, and explains the work of the radar operator in the bomber's crew.

6. The enemy strikes (11:54)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. War Department
Summary:
Uses captured German footage to show the unexpected Nazi counter-attack at the Battle of Ardennes, begun on December 16, 1944. Extends a plea for the American people to remain in their war-time jobs.

7. Time for sale (02:57)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. War Finance Division
Summary:
Incorporates footage originally used for the Japanese-produced newsreel, New Philippines News to show the horrible conditions that American prisoners experienced in enemy camps in the Philippines as a way to raise money through the sale of War Bonds.

8. Voyage to recovery (05:09)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. Navy
Summary:
Wounded Americans, back from battlefields and task forces all over the world gave rise to the Navy's most important postwar mission--get them well and send them home.

9. Watchtower over tomorrow (13:19)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
Cromwell, John, 1888-1979
Summary:
"Beginning with a prologue by Secretary of State Stettinius, who points out that our Government under the leadership of President Roosevelt has been working to avoid future wars, the film proceeds to depict pictorially the incidents which culminated in the Dumbarton Oaks Conference and the San Francisco meeting and shows one way of avoiding a third World War."--Educational Screen, June, 1945, 248. Opens with footage from the 1936 film "Thing to Come" to warn against the destructive power of weapons in the near future. Presents a fictionalized account of the founding of the United Nations.

11. Battle wreckage (10:09)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army Pictorial Service
Summary:
Explains why large quantities of war materials, in particular steel, are needed for the war effort. Shows the sea battle and beachhead landing of the Normandy invasion.

12. Pincers on Japan (18:58)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
National Film Board of Canada
Summary:
"Canada's place in the strategy of Pacific warfare is the subject of this wartime film. Convoys, carrying the sinews of war, steam out from her ports, while along her western coast lookouts and patrol boats keep constant vigil. The close cooperation between the United States and Canada in the Pacific is illustrated."--NFB website.

13. RAF & 8th Air Force report from Britain (07:02)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army Pictorial Service
Summary:
"Includes a report from Britain showing the RAF and the 8th Air Force on a hedgehopping bomber flight over France and Germany, and the 5th Air Force report from New Guinea." ("News and Notes," Educational Screen, June, 1944, 266.) Shows a film clip claiming to be an "Official German Newsreel," with footage of American planes that have been shot down and have crashed onto German soil. Shows how Germans salvage metal from these American aircraft to use for their own war effort and explains that each crashed plane is indicative of loss of soldiers' lives.

14. Sicily, key to victory (20:48)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
Canada. National War Finance Committee
Summary:
"A record of the achievements of the Canadian Army's First Division in the Sicilian campaign of World War II, a campaign that breached the walls of Axis Europe. It also shows how this campaign was made possible by the efforts of farmers and factory workers in Canada."--NFB website.

15. Silence! (03:15)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army Pictorial Service
Summary:
Contrasts the silence and wreckage of a battlefield with the noise and action in a war production plant. Advocates buying more war bonds to end World War II more quickly.

16. Survival of the fittest (16:41)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
Grashin, Mauri
Summary:
Shows the function of the physical training program of the Army Air Forces during World War II. Starts by celebrating the exploits of Army Air Force war heroes. The main story is a fictional story about two American fighter pilots who are forced to parachute from disabled planes. The uninjured man brings his wounded comrade through water and knee-deep marshlands to safety. The excellent physical condition of both men is presented as largely responsible for their survival. Includes footage of Army Air Force soldiers engaging in physical exercise.

17. Target Berlin (17:14)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
Borneman, Ernest, 1915-
Summary:
"The story of the Lancaster airplane, the first large bomber built in Canada. Shown are the workers involved in its construction, and the crew who ferried it overseas, as well as the combat crew who took it on its first flight over Berlin."--National Film Board of Canada website.

18. The case of the tremendous trifle (20:01)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army. Signal Corps
Summary:
Shows to the men and women of American industry the vital importance to the war effort of all the little parts that they are making. Discusses the importance of ball bearings to the Nazi war effort and the Allied strategy of crippling the bearings industry. Shows the planning and intelligence gathering that led to the bombing of ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt.

19. The Earthmovers (14:07)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army. Signal Corps
Summary:
Shows heavy equipment of all types used by the Corps of Engineers and the Seabees during World War II. Describes how the "work power" of military construction units clears beaches of mines, constructs new roads, builds bridges and airstrips, and sets up water purification systems. Contrasts the pre-technological building techniques of China, India, and Africa with the technological might of the U.S. military.

20. Three cities (10:44)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
How workers in three American cities solved wartime living problems in 1944.

21. What makes a battle (13:57)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army Pictorial Service
Summary:
Warning: contains graphic footage. Shows the planning and execution of the invasion of the Marshall Islands by the combined U.S. armed forces during World War II. Starts with praise for the American people for their efforts at building military machinery to be used in the war in the Pacific. Includes combat footage from the American assault on the Marshall Islands.

22. Our enemy-- the Japanese (20:53)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
"Stridently anti-Japanese film that attempts to convey an understanding of Japanese life and philosophy so that the U.S. may more readily defeat its enemy. Depicts the Japanese as "primitive, murderous and fanatical." With many images of 1930s and 1940s Japan, and a portentious [sic] and highly negative narration by Joseph C. Grew, former U.S. ambassador to Japan."--Internet Archive.

23. Our enemy-- the Japanese (20:08)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Grew, Joseph C. (Joseph Clark), 1880-1965
Summary:
"Stridently anti-Japanese film that attempts to convey an understanding of Japanese life and philosophy so that the U.S. may more readily defeat its enemy. Depicts the Japanese as "primitive, murderous and fanatical." With many images of 1930s and 1940s Japan, and a portentious [sic] and highly negative narration by Joseph C. Grew, former U.S. ambassador to Japan."--Internet Archive.

24. Paratroops (09:00)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
"A quick overview of the weeks spent in learning to jump, tumble, and fall, in practice jumping from a tower and from a dummy plane, in packing the parachute one's life depends on, in learning to jump from a plane in half a second, to guide a chute by working the shroud cords, to land without splintering a leg, to disengage the chute and come up fighting."--War Films, Bulletin of the Extension Division, Indiana University, February, 1943.

25. Right of way (07:35)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Eastman, Joseph B. (Joseph Bartlett), 1882-1944
Summary:
Follows a troop train, a freight train, and a truck rushing to deliver men and supplies to a ship convoy in 1943. Explains the reasons for transportation delays and the shortage of goods in wartime. This film was intended to promote understanding and support of the war effort despite inconveniences on the home front.

26. Road to Berlin (18:48)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Army. Signal Corps.
Summary:
Using dramatized events and newsreels, this film shows the organizing done during World War II to ship war supplies to the military. Shows the work of the Army Transportation Corps in providing ship convoys, as well as the work done by supply depots.

27. Suggestion box (09:04)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Indiana University, Bloomington. Audio-Visual Center
Summary:
Explains how seemingly minor ideas can improve wartime production. Encourages workers to provide resourceful suggestions that, if tested and approved, can be circulated to factories around the country.

28. The silent village : the story of the men of Lidice who lit in fascist darkness a lamp that shall... (33:00)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Jennings, Humphrey
Summary:
Made as a warning to the English people, this film re-enacts, in a Welsh mining town, the events that took place in the Czechoslovakian mining town of Lidice, which resisted the Nazis in subversive ways and was eventually wiped out. Jennings gives a romantic portrait of town life which is interrupted by the arrival of the Nazis who remain anonymous enemies.

29. These are the men (12:16)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Osbiston, Alan
Summary:
Takes Leni Riefenstahl's footage from the Nüremberg speeches of the Nazi Leaders and superimposes English "translations" over a set of orations in English "in which Hitler, Goebbels, Göering, Streicher and Hess report their sins and mistakes as frankly as if they were victims of one of those notorious 'confession drugs'." (Documentary News Letter, March 1943, 195).

30. They deliver the goods (16:14)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Army. Signal Corps
Summary:
"How our fighting equipment gets through to our fighting men in quantity and on time. The mountains of supplies for combat loaded at ports of embarkation are unloaded under combat conditions and under fire in the South Pacific. From behind-the-lines General Supply Depots they are moved through jungle swamps to advance bases, to the firing lines. The never-ending battle of supply is graphically told in these pictures."--Supplement to Visual Aids Catalog, Indiana University Extension Division, May 1945.

31. War on wheels (21:13)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Army. Signal Corps
Summary:
The story of an American truck convoy ambushed by German tanks and rescued by a group of United States medium tanks. Graphically illustrates the importance of war production during World War II. Billed as a confidential industrial film bulletin from Under Secretary of War, Robert Patterson to the men and women of the American automotive industry.

32. When work is done (09:04)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
Tells how Sylacauga, Alabama, a small town crowded with war plant workers, solved its housing and recreation problems.

33. Wings up (21:33)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Army Air Forces. Motion Picture Unit, 1st
Summary:
The story of the twelve weeks of discipline, concentrated study and hard work leading to graduation from the Officers' Candidate School of the U.S. Army Air Forces and the rank of second lieutenant.

34. A letter from Bataan (14:21)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Shane, Maxwell, 1905-1983
Summary:
A Hollywood short aiding the war effort, emphasizing the need for preparedness and conservation of materials, i.e. rubber, metal, shellac. An American soldier writes home from Bataan, and while his family reads the letter, the soldier's ghostly apparition interjects statistics about food and equipment shortages.

35. Know your enemy--Japan! (14:47)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Knox, Gordon, 1906-1992
Summary:
"Produced in cooperation with the Institute of Pacific Relations, this film answers such vital questions as: How large in the Japanese Empire? Is Japan self-sufficient in food? What is Japan's naval and military strength? What are the living standards of the Japanese people? What are Japan's vital weaknesses? How can Japan be defeated?"--War Films Bulletin of the Extension Division Indiana University, February, 1943.

36. Report from Russia (08:00)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures.
Summary:
Tells of the energy, the courage, and the efforts of the Russians behind the front lines in World War II. Shows the holding and striking power of Russia.

37. Salvage (07:15)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Nelson, Donald Marr, 1888-1959
Summary:
A message from Donald M. Nelson, chairman of the War Production Board, urging Americans to save metals, rubber, and greases for the World War II effort.

38. The price of freedom (14:52)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Keech, Kelvin, 1895-1977
Summary:
This film "outlines the role that industry is playing in our war effort. Production of munitions and the operation of the payroll withdrawal plan for War Bonds are among the subjects treated." (Free Film Reviews, Movie Makers, January, 1943, 34.) Includes footage from a number of International Harvester factories and how the company's workers save money from their paycheck to help the war effort through a company-wide payroll savings plan.

39. View of the Soviet world. (11:59)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Caldwell, Erskine, 1903-1987
Summary:
Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and reporter, interviewed before leaving Moscow, briefly tells of the civilian defense work he witnessed. Scenes showing how the Russians are carrying out their pledge of "All for Victory!" including efforts in huge metallurgical plants, the oil industry, the rapid harvest, nurses drilling, and Red Cross work.

40. Western front (20:22)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Wilding Picture Productions
Summary:
Begins with a short summary of American attitudes to the War in Europe and how the U.S. underestimated the militaristic tendencies of the Japanese. Argues that the Chinese have been fighting World War II longer than any other allied nation and should be considered one of America's chief allies. Describes America's effort to supply allied nations in the Pacific with war materials. The desperate need of the Chinese people is stressed. Scenes include the carrying of supplies over the Burma Road and the bombing of Chinese cities.

41. Winning your wings (18:32)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Stewart, James, 1908-1997
Summary:
Starring Lt. James Stewart, this WWII recruitment film shows jobs, training and education provided to men between the ages of 18 and 26 who enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

42. Youth farm volunteers (04:57)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
Shows how the Extension Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture helped recruit and place young people from towns and cities on farms during World War II to combat farm labor shortage.

43. A few ounces a day (06:39)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
Alexander, Donald, 1913-1993
Summary:
This film uses diagrams to illustrate the importance of salvaging common everyday items in an effort to reuse important raw materials for building ships. The film asserts that one day's salvage by the whole British people counteracts the loss of one ship. An emphasis is put on "The importance of salvage to the flow of goods; [and] various examples of useful materials commonly thrown away."--War Films, Bulletin of the Extension Division, Indiana University, February, 1943.

44. It's up to us (10:39)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
General Motors Corporation
Summary:
Focuses on the conservation of important natural elements such as rubber, oil and metal needed to support the U.S. Victory Program. Viewers are shown various ways in which they can change daily habits to get the most out of these materials.

45. Words for battle (07:54)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
Olivier, Laurence, 1907-1989
Summary:
Laurence Olivier's reading of passages from Milton, William Blake, Robert Browning, Rudyard Kipling and Abraham Lincoln accompany scenes of daily life in wartime Britain. The texts selected emphasize national identity and heritage, patriotism, and the justness of the Allied cause.

46. They also serve (07:48)

Date:
1940
Main contributors:
Grierson, Ruby, 1904-1940
Summary:
"Story of an average wartime housewife whose dawn to dusk activities provide support for the duties of soldiers and defence workers."--BFI website.