The world at war has provided
numerous plots for the novelist, biographer, playwright, and screenplay
writers alike, providing some of the greatest films of all time.
Let’s hope the abundance of new material dries up. Please refer to
the subject page on Aviation
for further military images related to the World Wars.
War certainly became more
topical with the advent of WW1 and the emergence of aviation, tanks,
mustard gas, trench warfare, submarines and the pathos created was ample
fodder for films and books. The 1920s were boom years for wartime
scenarios along with the stock market. Many soldiers picked up a
pen or typewriter and chronicled their wartime experiences (A
counterpart for WW2 would look at Audie Murphy).
In 1929, Erich Maria Remarque
wrote All Quiet on the Western Front,
which became a worldwide bestseller. The novel was a brutal account of
the horrors of trench warfare, written from his perspective as a German
infantryman. This writer is aware of only a couple of film tie-ins
for this novel, perhaps there is a wraparound band for the Grosset and
Dunlop novel reprinted circa 1930, yet to be found. The
novelization and production study booklet by Alamore Press is difficult
to find and all 86 pages have a film still along with some text.
Other WW1 film books of merit
include Sergeant York played
by Gary Cooper in 1941. The Grand
Illusion (1937) gave us a Prisoner of War perspective and the
planning for escape. The screenplay by Jean Renoir and Charles
Spaak had to wait until the 1960s to see a book publication. Submarine Patrol (1938 The
Splinter Fleet by Ray Millholland) looked at Naval ships
designed to hunt submarines, and Hell
Below (1933 from
Pigboats) also provided submarine action.
Additional examples include The Patent Leather Kid (1927), She Goes to War (1929), Journey’s End (1930) and The
Case of Sergeant Grischa (1930). Paths
of Glory (1957) by Humphrey Cobb is another excellent novel
of the horrors of trench warfare.
WW2 seemed to explode (pun
intended) the book and film connections. It became patriotic to be
informed and involved in the wartime effort. Reading and viewing
newsreels or films provided vicarious opportunities for the young and
old alike, in addition to inspiring volunteers for the military.
There was a consortium of American book publishers that produced Armed
Services Edition paperbacks in the mid-1940 with an oblong shape to fit
into the G.I.’s pocket. Thousands of titles were published
including some movie tie-ins. Contemporary WW2 film editions
include The Pied Piper (1942),
First Comes Courage (1943 from
The Commandos), Edge
of Darkness (1943), Salute
to the Marines (1943), The
North Star (1943), The Moon
is Down (1943), The
Immortal Sergeant (1943), They
Were Expendable (1945), The
Story of G. I. Joe (1945), and The
Best Years of Our Lives (1946 wartime aftermath).
The films of the 50s and 60s
provided continued themes of war with some more historical depictions of
specific military campaigns. Some nice film editions include the
following: From Here to Eternity
(1953), To Hell and Back
(1955), The Bridge on the River Kwai,
(1957), Run Silent, Run Deep
(1958 submarine action), The Longest
Day (1962), Hell is for
Heroes (1962), Dr.
Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
(1964 worries of WW3), Battle of the
Bulge (1965), The Hill
(1965), None but the Brave
(1965), The Dirty Dozen
(1967), How I Won the War
(1967), Tobruk (1967), Anzio (1968), The
Bridge at Remagen (1969) and Where
Eagles Dare (1969).
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