The old adage states that "crime does not pay," well this apparently does not apply to war. In 1940's Hollywood, World War II would pay big dividends at the box office. For those not serving in the Armed Forces there was plenty of work and less ways to spend the earnings.

Gas rationing minimized the use of the automobile making long-distance vacation driving out of the question. Television had not yet hit its prime and was a faint flicker on the entertainment horizon. Baseball, America's national pastime, turned the night lights out for the duration of the war. The bright lights of Broadway were dimmed and the American public was looking for something to satisfy their thirst for entertainment.

The answer to this problem came from the studio's of Hollywood. Box office numbers soared as the public sought a break from the news of war and cherished a couple of hours of brief reprieve. Although Hollywood and theater owners were making substantial profits a couple of problems began to arise.

A great many of the established stars of the day, anxious to demonstrate their patriotism, enlisted in the Armed Services. Those who did not enlist worked to support the troops in any way they could. With them went large numbers of writers, cameramen, and virtually every necessary human component to film production.

Finding replacements for these losses became an absolute necessity. To help fill this void came Van Johnson, Lauren Bacall, 12 year old Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Esther Williams, Jennifer Jones, June Allyson, Margaret O'Brien, Danny Kaye, Frank Sinatra, and the return, after an absence of twenty years, of popular actor Clifton Webb.

Another problem, not so easily solved, involved the quality of motion picture being produced. The enormous profit potential during 1940's wartime Hollywood caused the film studio's to replace quality with quantity. Story and performance suffered under these conditions as Hollywood learned again that it had to offer more than just mass produced filmmaking.

As badly as the public wanted an emotional release from the war they also demanded to see, and not only read, about what was actually taking place. Hollywood, with the indispensable help of military film-makers and combat cameramen, provided a front-row seat to the American people with World War II newsreels and documentaries.

But, again Hollywood excess would come into play. The widespread showing of the horrors of war would cause the postwar public to turn their back on these films and once again look to the movies as a way to escape the difficulties of life.

However, history had been made with this type of film as 1940's Hollywood proved that cinema was destined to become the history book of the future.