Van Johnson narrates this documentary about Hollywood during WWII. It's a decent overview of the period for the average viewer, however, for the serious film buff the film is severely lacking and COULD have been a lot better. First, although many of the stars in the MANY clips used were identified, many more were not. It was, at times, inexplicable--such as where Dane Clark (a relatively minor star but a very good actor) is identified but John Garfield (a HUGE star) isn't identified! Second, NONE of the movies shown are identified...NONE! So, clip after clip are shown but you might have no idea which movies they are! And, if you like a clip and want to see the entire film, you probably have no idea where to start!! Third, and I think this is a much lesser problem, some of the prints used were pretty poor. Also, as a history teacher I took great exception to Johnson saying that the first victor of the war for the US was Guadalcanal in 1943. What about the Battle of Midway in 1942? It was a HUGE victory--one of the most lopsided and important of the war! So, as a rabid film buff, I was not thrilled by the film at all. But, for most folks, it will be educational and reasonably enjoyable.
