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Prelude to War

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Prelude to War

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1942 film by Frank Capra, Anatole Litvak

OverviewAI-generated

Prelude to War, also known as Why We Fight: Prelude to War, is a 1942 documentary film directed by Frank Capra. Produced by the War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry and the U.S. War Department, the work was released in the United States of America on May 27, 1942. It runs for 53 minutes and serves as an entry in the Why We Fight collection. The film focuses on World War II, with a tagline describing how the US government identifies the enemies of the United Nations.

The documentary has received a vote average of 6.479 and is recognized in the Academy Award Best Documentary collection. It is available through various providers, including fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus, and Philo. The status of the release is listed as Released.

Synthesized by Vinony from 14 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film · TMDB

6.5

Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.

Released: 1942-05-2753 minDir: Frank CapraDocumentary, WarPart of: Why We Fight

Cast

  • Walter Huston as Self - Narrator (voice)
  • Max Schmeling as Self - German paratrooper (archive footage)
  • Adolf Hitler as Self

Themes

  • world war ii

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Wikidata facts

Instance of
short film
Country of origin
United States
Original language
English language
Followed by
The Nazis Strike
Main subject
World War II
Screenwriter
Albert Maltz
Cast member
Wendell Willkie
Composer
Arthur Lange
Producer
Frank Capra
Cinematographer
Robert J. Flaherty
Duration
52
Distribution format
video on demand
Show 8 more facts
publication date
1942-01-01
title
Prelude to War
film editor
William Hornbeck
distributed by
Netflix
Commons category
Prelude to War
copyright status
public domain
Sources (13)

via Wikidata · CC0

Gallery (3)