The Negro Soldier

The Negro Soldier is a 1944 documentary created by the United States Army during World War II. The film was produced by Frank Capra as a follow up to his successful film series Why We Fight. The army used this film as propaganda to convince Black Americans to enlist in the army and fight in the war. Most people regarded the film very highly, some going as far as to say that The Negro Soldier was one of the finest things that ever happened to America. Due to both high reviews and great cinematography, The Negro Soldier proved to be a breakout film influencing army members and civilians of all races. In 2011, it was chosen to be preserved in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

The army selected Frank Capra to head the effort to create morale films that were designed to build enthusiasm for war purposes. Capra was an immigrant from Sicily, who began his career in Hollywood working on humorous short films. However, he went on to create many wellknown films that made it big in the box office. In March 1942, Capra began brainstorming The Negro Soldier. He asked different researchers to inform him about what was okay and not okay when it came to creating a cinematic depiction of African Americans. These researchers came up with a list of cautions, some of which included avoid stereotypes such as the Negroes alleged affinity for watermelon or pork also avoid strong images of racial identity play down colored soldiers more Negroid in appearance and omit Lincoln, emancipation, or any race leaders or friends of the Negro. With these cautions in mind, the writer Marc Connelly created the first script for The Negro Soldier, with the same sympathetic treatment for Negro themes that he had used in his earlier work, The Green Pastures. Connellys first script ended up being too dramatic for the Armys tastes. In response, Ben Hecht and Jo Swerling prepared a second draft of the movie however, it too was rejected because the Army insisted the movie be more of a documentary. Ultimately, Carlton Moss was hired to write the movie and Stuart Heisler became director. Moss attended Columbia University and worked for the Federal Theater Project. Both Moss and Heisler worked very well together.citation needed The film began shooting in 1943. The movie crew traveled the United States, visiting overdifferent army posts. The final movie totaled 43 minutes long and received official support in 1944. At first, The Negro Soldier was intended for only African American troops however, the creators of the film decided that they wanted to distribute the film to a wider military and civil audience. Nobody was certain what the impact of the film would have on view

Source: Wikipedia