The Negro Soldier Full Movie

Ken S 01 Apr 2014

This propaganda film is yet another work from Frank Capra, though he didn't actually direct this one. It was initially made to entice African Americans to join the army during World War II, but surprisingly encouraged men of all races to join up. It is a solid propaganda picture, and helped change the way blacks were portrayed on screen, making them more dignified and less comical or subservient than they had previously been shown. It is clear that chunks of history have been glossed over, but if the plan is to encourage blacks to fight for their country, maybe glossing over, omitting, and rewriting aspects if what their country did to them seems like the way to go. Still the fact that this film showed the positives aspects of black history in a time when they were often overlooked should showcase this film's worth.

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STCENTERPRISE . 01 Sep 2015

For a film that was made in 1944 this film was actually very good I thought. I never realised that such a film had put African Americans in such a bright light. I find it interesting that for a war film the message was told inside a church. I learned some things about what African Americans activities in American History that I had never heard of before such as their involvement in the Revolutionary War or War of 1812. In some ways it did not seem realistic the way which they chose to tell the story such as the lady reading a long letter in the middle of a church service. This film also hardly touches on the Civil War. It practically skipped over the war. The footage was good.

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Christopher B 07 Aug 2010

Stifling and lame really, and it's disappointing, since the dramatized framework was interesting to start off with. It doesn't present any differences between the "Negro soldier" and any other soldier though, which is good, and in a historical context it might be important, but unlike the other film it feels quite redundant now. Which, again, is probably good.

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Grant S 20 Jun 2018

Well-made propaganda film. A US World War 2 propaganda film, showing how African-American soldiers are helping the Allied cause. A well-made propaganda film. Quite stirring in showing the contribution African-Americans had made to previous wars and were making to the current war, World War 2. Made to convince African-Americans to join up and help win the war it does well to paper over the race-based social divide that existed in the US at the time. Quite sad in the respect in that, while it was okay for African-Americans to fight and die for their country, they were treated as second class citizens at home, with less rights than whites. Just the fact that the film had to be made is a sad reflection of the times. This said, it is very effective in its purpose and is even quite emotional at times. Some good military footage too.

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Sean Axmaker 20 Apr 2017

... in an era when African Americans on the big screen were invariably subservient stereotypes or caricatured comic figures, it presented black men with dignity and respect as everyday Americans no different than white men.

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