Don't Be a Sucker

Somewhat confusing Hollywood made propaganda film-with the help of the US Defense Department-about the danger and horrors of an United States takeover by an un-named fascist group using patriotism as its way to split the population apart and against each other in order to achieve its ignoble gains. We get to see this loud mouth giving a speech on a soapbox about how foreigners and minorities are taking over the country and turning it into, even though he doesn't mention it, a third world backwater 12th century economy.

There's Mike-young healthy and with a job-swallowing every word that this big mouth utters until this wise old professor or recent Hungarian immigrant enlighten him about what's really going on behind the scenes. Being a Freemason-Like most if not all of the Founding Fathers including George Washington- Mike who at first thought he was an all American realizes that he himself,in being a Freemason,is also on the chopping block if big mouth-played by Richard Lane-ends up getting his way. We get to see in a number of flashbacks in how the Nazis took over Germany some 15 years ago using the same tactics that this fire brand speaker is using now. The way the film plays out you don't quite know if this takes place-it was made in 1943 and re-released with new scenes added in 1947-since you can't figure out if WWII was over or still in progress.

Using a number of outtakes of old WWII movies the wise old professor makes his point to the very confused and not really with it, in not having any sense of modern history, Mike what the speaker is all about. And in the end he finally sees the light in tearing up a what looked like literature about how great it would be if we, the American people, would follow the line of BS what the speaker tells us to do.

Released during or right after the end of WWII this 20 some minute so-called educational short made it look as if the US population were asleep or unconscious in what happened over the last four years when the USA was in a life and death struggle with Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan Germany's allies in the war were never mentioned once, that cost the lives of over 400,000 US servicemen. And even worse it had the professor who just became a naturalized American citizen as the only person in the film who had any idea of what Nazi Germany and the jerk, who you would have expected to be chased off the stage and forced to run for his life, giving the speech really stood for.

Lloyd Nolan narrates this short film and a few famous Hollywood actors (Paul Lukas and Felix Bressart) appeared in it. It was made for the war department and is a film anticipating the sort of racist crap that the Nazis were peddling being spread in America after the war.

The film consists of some ordinary boob listening to a speech by a Neo- Nazi type and agreeing with almost all of it. However, when the hate- filled diatribe also attacks him, indirectly, he's not so sure of the America first/non-whites suck message. Then an immigrant observing the speech (Lukas) talks about the many, many ways the speech is abhorrent to any decent American and why. While it could have come off as preachy and silly, the short film was handled well and is a lovely appeal for tolerance and decency.

This spells it out, the case against racism and xenophobia. This short film is an excellent reminder, in clear language, about how we are all minorities. America is a melting pot, and we need reminded about that sometimes. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of old films, but this one drew me in with its clear message of tolerance. If we want others to be tolerant of us, we must be tolerant of them. I don't think the message is condescending, but it IS simple. It is so simple that some might feel a little put off by the message at the end. Yes, we are all minorities, even us white western European mutts that are lots and lots of generations Americans.

The short film "Don't Be a Sucker!" (17 min) is a tidy argument against fascist racism and it is an eye-opening study in philosophical pragmatism. I was surprised to learn that the US War Department was so explicitly anti-racism in 1943 even before the end of the second world war.

This simple film celebrates American diversity and immigration by showing the evils of racism and persecuting minorities. The film plot outlines how a society gradually accepts ostracizing "outsiders" as told by a Hungarian who witnessed this in the lead-up to World War II. The film speaks to us now in 2017 just as urgently as it did in 1943 & when it was re-released in 1946. Should be required viewing for middle and high school students. Propaganda with heart & soul.