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Author Yogerst, Chris, 1983- author.

Title Hollywood hates Hitler! : Jew-baiting, anti-Nazism, and the Senate investigation into warmongering in motion pictures / Chris Yogerst
Published Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2020]

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Description 1 online resource (xxi, 203 pages) : illustrations
Contents Introduction. Competing ideologies in dangerous times -- Part One: Prequel to the investigation. Hollywood, fascism, and Jew-baiting prior to 1939 ; Hollywood and anti-fascism, 1939-1940 ; Isolationists push back -- Part Two: Senators on the attack. Senator Nye "unloosed" on Hollywood ; Champ Clark doubles down -- Part Three: Disgruntled journalists. John T. Flynn, "nasty man" ; Fidler fiddles ; First recess, media frenzy -- Part Four: Hollywood's defense. Schenck stands strong ; Dietz delievers -- Part Five: Hollywood's victory. Warner's war ; Zanuck, Balaban, and the wild finish ; Second recess, national unity, and the end of the investigation ; Overshadowed by history
Summary "In September 1941, a handful of isolationist senators set out to tarnish Hollywood for warmongering. The United States was largely divided on the possibility of entering the European War, yet the immigrant moguls in Hollywood were acutely aware of the conditions in Europe. After Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass), the gloves came off. Warner Bros. released the first directly anti-Nazi film in 1939 with Confessions of a Nazi Spy. Other studios followed with such films as The Mortal Storm (MGM), Man Hunt (Fox), The Man I Married (Fox), and The Great Dictator (United Artists). While these films represented a small percentage of Hollywood's output, senators took aim at the Jews in Hollywood who were supposedly "agitating us for war" and launched an investigation that resulted in Senate Resolution 152. The resolution was aimed at both radio and movies that "have been extensively used for propaganda purposes designed to influence the public mind in the direction of participation in the European war." When the Senate approved a subcommittee to investigate the intentions of these films, studio bosses were ready and willing to stand up against the government to defend their beloved industry. What followed was a complete embarrassment of the United States Senate and a large victory for Hollywood as well as freedom of speech. Many works of American film history only skim the surface of the 1941 investigation of Hollywood. In Hollywood Hates Hitler! Jew-Baiting, Anti-Nazism, and the Senate Investigation into Warmongering in Motion Pictures, author Chris Yogerst examines the years leading up to and through the Senate Investigation into Motion Picture War Propaganda, detailing the isolationist senators' relationship with the America First movement. Through his use of primary documents and lengthy congressional records, Yogerst paints a picture of the investigation's daily events both on Capitol Hill and in the national press"-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references
Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on August 25, 2020)
Subject Motion pictures -- United States -- History
Motion pictures -- Censorship -- United States
Motion pictures -- Political aspects -- United States
Anti-Nazi movement in motion pictures.
PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / History & Criticism
Anti-Nazi movement in motion pictures
Motion pictures
Motion pictures -- Censorship
Motion pictures -- Political aspects
United States
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2020010608
ISBN 1496829808
9781496829771
1496829778
9781496829788
1496829786
9781496829795
1496829794
9781496829801