It is much too easy to fall into the post-World War Two media trap that the war was a man's war, and that women were just incidental to the effort. Thank goodness there are movies like this to remind Americans that the war was a total effort by almost everyone. In a real sense, women have not yet received full honor for their contribution to the war effort, whether they were ferrying planes, tending wounded, of carrying intelligence. In this film, one finds the horrors of war go beyond the battle lines into the minds of those who faced the reality of a world weary and frightened of war. This movie is also a reminder that most Americans during the war saw the fall of Bataan and the Phillippines as the major tragedy of the time. Pearl Harbor was frightening enough, but the very magnitude of defeat in the Pacific brought home the reality that there would be more casualties--if they could get off the island. It is difficult to find a Colbert movie of this period where she did not excel as a actress. This movie is no exception, she is extraordinary. Also, the evacuation scene is spectacular. If this movie did not inspire the Homefront to greater effort, what could? World War Two was everyone's war, and the peace would be everyone's peace.
Review of So Proudly We Hail!
