This amazing film 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 a means of propaganda to convince African Americans to enlist in the army and fight in the war. Most people regarded the film very highly, some going as far 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 that influenced 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. During World War II, Nazi Germany threatened to take over Europe, North Africa and the Near East. The United States Army was looking for men to enlist. Although the U.S. army was officially committed to practicing segregation, they looked to African Americans to add manpower to the group. Social scientists of the time argued that films and television were the best method of instilling a message within people and pushing them to act towards a common goal. 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 well-known 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. Connelly's first script ended up being too dramatic for the Army's 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. The film began shooting in 1943. The movie crew traveled the United States, visiting over 19 different 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 viewers, and many people feared that African Americans would have a negative response to the film. However, when the first African American troops saw the film, they insisted that all African American troops should see it. Furthermore, after both African Americans and whites were surveyed about their response to the film, the filmmakers were shocked when over 80% of the white population thought the film should be shown to both black and white troops, as well as white civilians. Eventually, replacement centers all over the United States required their troops to watch The Negro Soldier. Almost all black Army members and Air Corps members saw the film, and many white soldiers watched the film during orientation programs. Although the film had been made solely for a military audience, Capra and the rest of the film crew wanted to distribute the film commercially all over the United States as well. Many people gave the film great reviews and praised the film very highly; however, the film did not do well commercially as shown in theatres. The 43-minute length of the film made it awkward to show alongside typical films of the time that were longer than one hour. All the while, a filmmaker named Jack Goldberg was suing Capra and The Negro Soldier because he believed that the film "competed unfairly" with his own film that dealt with the same race issues. Although Goldberg ended up losing this lawsuit, The Negro Soldier was never successful in theaters. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com

• published: 29 May 2014
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