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3. Foxhole Prayers (1939– 1945)

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God on the Big Screen
This chapter is in the book God on the Big Screen
623Foxhole Prayers (1939–1945)Many Americans eschewed foreign entanglements in the late 1930s; the isolationist bloc, represented by such notables as Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford, thwarted active intervention against the policies of Nazi Germany and its Axis allies. Some film studio executives, especially MGM’s Mayer, stayed away from war subjects, hoping to keep their lucrative markets in Germany and the rest of Europe open. Profits dic-tated film content. Not so for the Warner Bros. studio. As a vanguard of moral forces, it was itching for a fight, and it would make it a holy propaganda war.1As Germany invaded neighboring nations, it supplied the symbolic villain for the allegorical melodrama Strange Cargo (Frank Borzage, 1940), with the coldhearted and cynical German, Hessler (Paul Lukas), as one of the escapees from a Devil’s Island prison. Hessler would be the only fugitive who does not ultimately accept the film’s Christ figure, Cambreau (Ian Hunter). Sinners Verne (Clark Gable), a fugitive convict, and Julie (Joan Crawford), a saloon “entertainer,” are seeking to escape the penal colony on Devil’s Island (using a getaway map tucked inside a Bible—the film flaunts its symbols with unabashed chutzpah). At one point of respite in the jungle trek, Verne opens the Bible at random and starts reading from the Song of Solomon for a moving, comic, and poignant effect. He has dragged Julie through the jungle brush, as she loses her high-heeled shoes and hat, gets mud on her legs, and has her hair mussed. Around a campfire, he reclines among the vines and ferns, amidst jungle animal sounds, as Julie peers into a tin can top, primping with no makeup. Then he begins to read from the Song of Solomon, with the words becoming both a pickup line and a prayer:Behold, thou art fair, my love, behold, thou art fair. Thine eyes are as doves behind thy veil. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet and thy mouth is comely. . . . Thou art all fair, my love, and there is no spot in thee.
© 2020 New York University Press, New York, USA

623Foxhole Prayers (1939–1945)Many Americans eschewed foreign entanglements in the late 1930s; the isolationist bloc, represented by such notables as Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford, thwarted active intervention against the policies of Nazi Germany and its Axis allies. Some film studio executives, especially MGM’s Mayer, stayed away from war subjects, hoping to keep their lucrative markets in Germany and the rest of Europe open. Profits dic-tated film content. Not so for the Warner Bros. studio. As a vanguard of moral forces, it was itching for a fight, and it would make it a holy propaganda war.1As Germany invaded neighboring nations, it supplied the symbolic villain for the allegorical melodrama Strange Cargo (Frank Borzage, 1940), with the coldhearted and cynical German, Hessler (Paul Lukas), as one of the escapees from a Devil’s Island prison. Hessler would be the only fugitive who does not ultimately accept the film’s Christ figure, Cambreau (Ian Hunter). Sinners Verne (Clark Gable), a fugitive convict, and Julie (Joan Crawford), a saloon “entertainer,” are seeking to escape the penal colony on Devil’s Island (using a getaway map tucked inside a Bible—the film flaunts its symbols with unabashed chutzpah). At one point of respite in the jungle trek, Verne opens the Bible at random and starts reading from the Song of Solomon for a moving, comic, and poignant effect. He has dragged Julie through the jungle brush, as she loses her high-heeled shoes and hat, gets mud on her legs, and has her hair mussed. Around a campfire, he reclines among the vines and ferns, amidst jungle animal sounds, as Julie peers into a tin can top, primping with no makeup. Then he begins to read from the Song of Solomon, with the words becoming both a pickup line and a prayer:Behold, thou art fair, my love, behold, thou art fair. Thine eyes are as doves behind thy veil. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet and thy mouth is comely. . . . Thou art all fair, my love, and there is no spot in thee.
© 2020 New York University Press, New York, USA

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. 1. Silent Prayers (1902– 1927) 7
  5. 2. Censored Prayers (1927– 1939) 33
  6. 3. Foxhole Prayers (1939– 1945) 62
  7. 4. Postwar Secular Prayers (1946– 1963) 97
  8. 5. Cynical Prayers (1964– 1976) 158
  9. 6. Revival of Prayer (1976– 1988) 200
  10. 7. Postmodern Prayers (1989– 2000) 241
  11. 8. Millennial Prayers (2000– 2017) 273
  12. Conclusion 325
  13. Acknowledgments 329
  14. Notes 331
  15. Filmography 343
  16. Selected Bibliography 357
  17. Index 361
  18. About the Author 367
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https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479875641.003.0007

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. 1. Silent Prayers (1902– 1927) 7
  5. 2. Censored Prayers (1927– 1939) 33
  6. 3. Foxhole Prayers (1939– 1945) 62
  7. 4. Postwar Secular Prayers (1946– 1963) 97
  8. 5. Cynical Prayers (1964– 1976) 158
  9. 6. Revival of Prayer (1976– 1988) 200
  10. 7. Postmodern Prayers (1989– 2000) 241
  11. 8. Millennial Prayers (2000– 2017) 273
  12. Conclusion 325
  13. Acknowledgments 329
  14. Notes 331
  15. Filmography 343
  16. Selected Bibliography 357
  17. Index 361
  18. About the Author 367
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