World War II Films:

World War II had started for the United States just at the time that Native Land [link] opened. A heart murmur kept Hurwitz  out of the army. Fresh from having completed a masterwork, he expected to have an easy time finding work in the war effort. He did not. The phrase, “premature anti-fascist” was attached to his name in government files, meaning that his stand against the Mussolini and Franco dictatorships in the late 30’s, when most of America was isolationist, labeled him a leftist. Finally he was able to direct a few films to do his part. These, long-vanished documentaries are what he, and Strand as well, were able to get approved.