Summary
Since 1935, the National Archives has been responsible for the acquisition, preservation, and public dissemination of the permanent records of the United States government. Select materials, culled from the millions of pieces making up the National Archives' popular holdings, have been assembled to produce War on the Homefront, a cinematic recounting of the stateside war effort waged by civilian men and women and the war measures - from gas rationing to Victory Gardens - instituted across the country. Features newsreel footage, government training films, dramatizations, and appearances by numerous Hollywood stars.Contents
Vol. 1: Civilian defense: Instructional film showing the operation of an air-raid control center and the duties of the air-raid warden. Includes household air-raid precautions and methods of extinguishing firesContainer (1942) (30 min.)
Big changeover: American industry converts from the production of commercial goods to the manufacture of war materials (1942) (8 min.)
Fellow Americans: This short film shows how the attack on Pearl Harbor touched four typical American cities (Garson Kanin, director ; James Stewart, narrator) (1942) (10 min.)
You, John Jones!: Hollywood production showing what family life in America would look like if the country were to suffer the same hardships and destruction suffered by families in Europe and China. (James Cagney, Margaret O'Brien, actors ; Mervyn LeRoy, director) (c.1943) (9 min.). Vol. 2. Trimbles of Main Street: Government film promoting the conservation of war materials such as metals and gasoline (1942) (15 min.)
Letter from Bataan: Dramatic featurette spotlighting the need to conserve food and goods for the war effort (Susan Hayward, Richard Arlen, actors) (1942) (14 min.)
Community at war: War Department film highlighting the nation's wartime shortage of manpower. Focuses on efforts of community leaders in Dayton, Ohio to alleviate that town's labor problems (1942) (20 min.)
Salvage: Chairman of the War Production Board urges Americans to salvage metal and rubber for the production of war material (1942) (7 min.)
Hands: Brief promotional spot for War Bonds, emphasizing that their purchase supports munitions production (1944) (3 min.). Vol. 3. Conquer by the clock: Links poor work habits on the homefront to the deaths of U.S. soldiers overseas (1943) (11 min.)
Gas racket: Dramatic film illustrating the consequences and penalties associated with the sale of stolen and counterfeit gasoline ration stamps
Container (1943) (19 min.)
What to do in a gas attack: Instructional film outlining precautions civilians can take against gas attacks. Demonstrates some first aid measures that can be employed in the event of exposure (1943) (14 min.)
Wartown: Government film showing the effects of increased employment and war production in Mobile, Alabama (1943) (11 min.)
Report from the front: Humphrey Bogart speaks about the various activities of the American Red Cross (Humphrey Bogart, actor) (1944) (3 min.). Vol. 4. Challenge for democracy: A color film examining the living conditions and facilities at Japanese-American relocation camps (1943) (20 min.)
Glamour girls of 1943: A short incentive film encouraging women to take war jobs in both industrial and non-industrial fields
Container (1943) (9min.)
Women in defense: An overview of what women are doing for the war effort in the fields of science, industry, and the home
Container (Katharine Hepburn, narrator) (1941) (11 min.)
It's up to you: Explains the need for food rationing as a way to ease the pressure on American farms so they can produce enough food for U.S. troops (1943) (10 min.)
America's hidden weapon: Extols the virtues of U.S. food production efforts, which reached record levels in 1943 (1944) (11 min.). Vol. 5. The Cummington story: The true story of a group of immigrants settling in a small New England town (Aaron Copland, music) (1945) (22 min.)
Steel town: A short film documenting the lives of a group of steel workers, descended from a variety of European backgrounds, in Youngstown, Ohio, as they contribute to war effort (1944) (17 min.)
Just for remembrance: Promotional film for War Bonds, emphasizing wartime tragedies that can be avoided by purchasing more bonds (1944) (3 min.)
Soldiers without guns: Government motion picture demonstrating that even seemingly mundane homefront occupations are important to the war effort (1944) (18 min.). Vol. 6. No exceptions: A film contrasting the war-related activities of community-minded women with selfish women who refuse to sacrifice any of their time for the war effort (1943) (10 min.)
Men of fire: A film about homefront forge workers; combines genuine war footage with dramatization (1944) (17 min.)
Skirmish on the homefront: Articulates American's responsibilities in preventing inflation (Alan Ladd, Betty Hutton, William Bendix, Susan Hayward, actors) (1943) (13 min.)
No alternative: A filmed public appeal for cooperation with the rationing of gasoline urging citizens to form carpools and eschew counterfeit stamps (1944) (7 min.)
Silence: War Bonds promotional film linking the failure to buy bonds with the deaths of U.S. soldiers (1944) (3 min.)
Furlough: Cinematic appeal to the citizenry to donate to the National War Fund (1945) (8 min.).