Q&A with Brandeis University Professor Thomas Doherty, Author Hollywood & Hitler and Interviewee in the Film

During WWII, the U.S. government enlisted Hollywood’s best talent to rally the troops, galvanize the public, and thwart Hitler’s sophisticated propaganda machine. This fascinating new documentary focuses on the wartime films of five acclaimed Hollywood directors, three of whom were Jewish émigrés. William Wyler (Ben-Hur, The Best Years of Our Lives), Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity, Some Like it Hot), Frank Capra (It Happened One Night, It’s a Wonderful Life), George Stevens (A Place in the Sun, Giant), and Anatole Litvak (Confessions of Nazi Spy) understood the power of cinema and its capacity to effectively reach the masses. Working for the US Office of War Information, Capra and Litvak created the influential film series Why We Fight, others documented the ground war and aerial battles from the front lines in Germany and Italy, and later, the liberation of the concentration camps. Jascha Hannover’s meticulously crafted film is chock full of rare film clips and interviews with an a-list cast of discussants, including Brandeis University film historian Tom Doherty.

Director: Jascha Hannover | Germany | 2019 | 90m | English

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