Lectures in history, with top College Professor developing into americas past. And our new series, real america, featuring archival government and educational films from the 1930s through the 70s. Cspan3, created by the cable tv industry and funded by your local cable or satellite provider. Watch us in hd like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. During this Holiday Season we are showing you American History programs. Today, we are focusing on our series, reel america. Next, the first of two profiles of american film directors and the Second World War. We will start with a look at frank capras work and focus on George Stevens. Later, its director john ford and his movie the battle of midway. Each week, American History tvs reel america brings you archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century. In the first of a fivepart look at hollywood directors who made films for the u. S. Government during world war ii we feature frank capra who made and supervised dozens of films
He actually came up doing laurel and hardy silent shorts and then once sound came in he did everything from swing time, one of the best fred astaire and Ginger Rogers movies to wochlt year with Katherine Hepburn and spencer tracy. Each of these movies had reasons for directors going in. For stevens, who like all of the directors was old enough so he could have gotten a civilian exemption from the war, really wanted what he called a seat on the 50 yard line of history. He felt that it was a patriotic duty to go. He had been chafing in hollywood because he felt pigeonholed into making these very light movies when he had wanted to make some films with more contemporary or warrelated content. And when he was wasnt able to do it at rko or columbia, he jumped at the chance to do it in the army and for the army. Interestingly, of the five directors, stevens is the only one who never made a sort of freestanding documentary during the war that was shown to civilian audiences, but his work in th
He had been a director of some of the most successful like comedies and escapist movies in hollywood throughout the 1930s. He came up doing laurel and hardy silent shorts and when sound came in, he did everything from swing time, a fred astaireginger rogers musical and woman of the year, Katharine Hepburn and spencer tracy. Each of these directors had Different Reasons for going in. For stevens, who, like all of the directors, was old enough that he couldve gotten a civilian exemption from the war, he really wanted what he called a seat on the 50 yard line of history. He felt it was a patriotic duty to go. He had been chafing in hollywood because he felt pigeonholed into making these very light movies when he had wanted to make some films with more contemporary or war related content, and when he was not able to do it at rko or columbia, he jumped at the chance to do it in the army and for the army. Interestingly, of the five directors, stevens is the only one who never made a freestan
Choices. Getting to the point where you can make peace is never easy because you dont make peace with your friends. You make it with people who are your adversaries. Who have killed those you care about. Your own people or those who you are trying to protect. Its a psychological drama. You have to get into the heads of those on the other side because we have to change their calculation enough to get them to the table. Talk about what we did in iran. Wed to put a lot of economic pressure to get them to the table. That has to be the first step. What we did in pakistan and for getting them at the table for a comprehensive discussion. In iraq today, i think what we have to understand is that it is primarily a political problem that has to be addressed. T the rise of the sunni extremist group, isis is taking advantage of the break down of the political dialogue and lack of trust between the maliki government, the sunni leaders and the kurdish leaders. More with Hillary Clinton saturday at 7
Enter the camps after they were liberated and his films there actually provided evidence for the neuremberg trials. His work on the war was the most wide ranging and in some ways historically significant in terms of the camp footage of any directors during the war. Let me follow up on that point because he was a member of the u. S. Army signal corps under the leadership of general eisenhower who was responsible for the historic invasion on dday 70 years ago this year. Where was George Stevens during that time in june of 1944 . Stevens was right there at dday. You know, just as john ford was at dday supervising the filming effort made by the navy, stevens was there overseeing the shooting done by the army and of all the major battles and turning points in the war, dday was the one that allied film makers had the longest and best opportunity to prepare for. This was a filming effort that involved hundreds of cameras, both stationary and manned, and dozens of cameramen. And stevens, you k