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{{italic title}}{{Infobox film
| name =The War for Men's Minds
| image =Screen Shot The War for Men's Minds.png
| image_size =
| caption =Title frame
| director =
| writer =[[Stuart Legg]]
| producer =Stuart Legg
| starring =
|narrator =[[Lorne Greene]]
| cinematography =
| editing =Stuart Legg
| music =[[Lucio Agostini]]
| studio =[[National Film Board of Canada]]
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
* [[National Film Board of Canada]]
* [[United Artists]]
}}
| released = {{Film date|1943}}
| runtime = 21 minutes, 39 seconds
| country = Canada
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}

'''''The War for Men's Minds''''' is a 21-minute 1943 Canadian [[documentary film]], made by the [[National Film Board of Canada]] (NFB) as part of the [[World War II|wartime]] ''[[The World in Action]]'' series. The film was produced by [[Stuart Legg]].<ref>Lerner 1987, p. 75.</ref> ''The War for Men's Minds'' describes the impact of [[propaganda]] from the [[Axis powers]] in 1943, during the [[World War II|Second World War]].<ref name="Welch p. 6">Welch 1993, p. 6.</ref><ref>Khouri 2007, pp. 132–133.</ref> The [[Canadian French|French]] version title of ''The War for Men's Minds'' is ''À la conquête de l'esprit humain''.{{TOC limit|limit=2}}

==Synopsis==
In 1943, [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces are confronting a sophisticated means of war, the propaganda campaign that the Axis powers employ. In Italy, the [[Italian Fascism|Fascist]] regime led by [[Benito Mussolini]] made use of propaganda, including pageantry and fiery speeches, to inspire the nation and lead the populace to war.

The [[Nazi Party]] in the years leading up to and during [[Adolf Hitler]]'s leadership of [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] also used propaganda to gain widespread support for Nazi policies and later, to maintain power. Both Hitler and [[Joseph Goebbels]], the head of the [[Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda]] were skillful masters of propaganda.

The Nazi Party's manipulation of all forms of media from newspaper, books and films became omnipresent and extended beyond Germany. Filmmaker [[Leni Riefenstahl]] created two epic propaganda films, ''[[Victory of Faith|Der Sieg des Glaubens]]'' or ''Victory of Faith'' (1933) and ''[[Triumph of the Will|Triumph des Willens]]'' or ''Triumph of the Will'' (1935) that depicted the fervent Nazi multitudes in the 1930s [[Nuremberg Rally|Nuremberg Rallies]].

Despite [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s passionate address in his 1941 State of the Union, articulating the [[Four Freedoms]]: [[Freedom of speech]], [[Freedom of worship]], [[Freedom from want]] and [[Freedom from fear]], a homegrown [[German American Bund]] was formed, espousing Nazi values. By the time they entered the global conflict, Americans rejected the politics of fear and hate.

Through the efforts of information bureaus and traditional media sources such as newspapers, radio and newsreel films, the Allies have attempted to counter the Axis propaganda. The universal principles of [[Liberté, égalité, fraternité|liberty, equality and fraternity]] along with the four freedoms have become the basis of the fight in which the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] nations are engaged. The war on information and propaganda fronts, and the hopes for the future are also founded on cooperation and common purpose of all the democracies.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Benito Mussolini]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Adolf Hitler]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Joseph Goebbels]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Hermann Göring]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Rudolf Hess]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Fritz Julius Kuhn]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Winston Churchill]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Josef Stalin]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Charles de Gaulle]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] as Himself (archival footage)
* [[Matthew Halton]] as Himself (archival footage)
{{Div col end}}

==Production==
''The War for Men's Minds'' was the part of the wartime ''The World in Action'' [[propaganda film|propaganda]] [[short film]] series.<ref>Aitken 2013, p. 880.</ref> The films were produced with financial backing from the [[Wartime Information Board]] for the Director of Public Information, Herbert Lash.<ref name="Tribune">[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/37352863/ "Recognize leadership of Winnipeg women."]''The Winnipeg Tribune'', April 18, 1941. Retrieved: March 22, 2016.</ref>

Typical of the NFB's series of morale-boosting films, ''The War for Men's Minds'' used the format of a [[compilation documentary]], relying heavily on [[newsreel]] material, including "enemy" footage, in order to provide the background to the dialogue.<ref>Reeves 2003, p. 107.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Enemy footage was provided care of the Alien Property Custodian.<ref name="CFE">Morris, Peter. [http://www.filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp?layid=44&csid1=615&navid=66 "Film Reference Library: Canada Carries On."]{{dead link|date=July 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''Canadian Film Encyclopedia''. Retrieved: March 22, 2016.</ref>|group=Note}}.

The striking images of cheering crowds in Nazi Germany that were featured in Leni Riefenstahl's films were used extensively.<ref name="Ohayon 1"/> U.S. [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] filmmaker [[Frank Capra]] also used scenes from her films, which he described partially as "the ominous prelude of Hitler's holocaust of hate", in many parts of the U.S. government's ''[[Why We Fight]]'' anti-Axis seven film series, to demonstrate what the personnel of the American military would be facing in the Second World War, and why the Axis had to be defeated.<ref>Capra 1971, p. 326.</ref>

The deep baritone voice of stage actor [[Lorne Greene]] was featured in the narration of ''The War for Men's Minds''. Greene, known for his work on both radio broadcasts as a news announcer at ''[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]'' as well as narrating many of the ''Canada Carries On'' series.<ref>Bennett 2004, p. 254.</ref> His sonorous recitation led to his nickname, "The Voice of Canada", and to some observers, the "voice-of-God".<ref name="Rist">Rist 2001, p. 84.</ref> When reading grim battle statistics or narrating a particularly serious topic, he was known as "The Voice of Doom".<ref>[https://tkmorin.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/bonanzas-canadian-lorne-greene/ "Bonanza's Canadian Lorne Greene."] ''Bite Size Canada''. Retrieved: March 22, 2016.</ref>

==Reception==
In early 1942, NFB head [[John Grierson]] through his [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] contacts, found a new outlet for NFB documentaries, especially his recently launched war-themed ''The World in Action'' series. After the success of selling ''[[Warclouds in the Pacific]]'', the NFB was able to make a further arrangement with [[United Artists]] for additional titles to be distributed in the United States.<ref name="Ellis">Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122.</ref><ref>Cox, Kierwan. [http://cinemacanada.athabascau.ca/index.php/cinema/article/viewFile/1832/1888 "The Grierson Files."] ''Cinema Canada'' Number 56, June/July 1979. Retrieved: March 22, 2016.</ref> With distribution in Canada and Great Britain, he now added the United States market.<ref name="Ohayon 1">Ohayon, Albert. [http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2009/09/30/propaganda-cinema-the-world-in-action/ "Propaganda Cinema at the NFB – The World in Action."] ''National Film Board of Canada'', September 30, 2009. Retrieved: March 22, 2016.</ref>

''The War for Men's Minds'' was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film in the wartime ''The World in Action'' and ''[[Canada Carries On]]'' series was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The NFB had an arrangement with [[Famous Players theatres]] to ensure that Canadians from coast-to-coast could see them, with further distribution by [[Columbia Pictures]].<ref name="Ellis"/>

After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on 16 mm to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. Continuing into the postwar era, a total of 199 films were produced in ''The World in Action'' series before it was canceled in 1959.<ref name="Ohayon 1"/>

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* Aitken, Iann. ''The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film''. London: Routedge, 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-4155-9642-8}}.
* Bennett, Linda Greene. ''My Father's Voice: The Biography of Lorne Greene''. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, Inc., 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-595-33283-0}}.
* Capra, Frank. ''The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography''. New York: Macmillan, 1971. {{ISBN|0-306-80771-8}}.
* Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. ''New History of Documentary Film''. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. {{ISBN|0-8264-1750-7}}.
* Khouri, Malek. ''Filming Politics: Communism and the Portrayal of the Working Class at the National Film Board of Canada, 1939-46.'' Calgary, Alberta, Canada: University of Calgary Press, 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-55238-199-1}}.
* Lerner, Loren. ''Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-8020-2988-1}}.
* Reeves, Nicholas. ''The Power of Film Propaganda: Myth or Reality?''. London: Continuum, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-8264-7390-5}}.
* Rist, Peter. ''Guide to the Cinema(s) of Canada''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-3132-9931-5}}.
* Welch, David. ''The Third Reich: Politics and Propaganda''. London: Routledge, 1993. {{ISBN|978-04152-7508-8}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=17504 ''The War for Men's Minds' at NFB Collections page]
* [https://www.nfb.ca/film/the_war_for_mens_minds Watch ''The War for Men's Minds'' at NFB.ca]
* {{IMDb title|id=0371389}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:War for Man's Minds, The}}
[[Category:1943 films]]
[[Category:Canadian films]]
[[Category:Canadian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Canadian short documentary films]]
[[Category:Quebec films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:National Film Board of Canada documentaries]]
[[Category:1943 documentary films]]
[[Category:Black-and-white documentary films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Stuart Legg]]
[[Category:Films about propaganda]]
[[Category:Films scored by Lucio Agostini]]
[[Category:The World in Action]]
[[Category:National Film Board of Canada short films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Stuart Legg]]

Moving Image:The War for Men's Minds - Revision history

JJR: 1 revision imported: fingers crossed

w>Bearcat: /* External links */duplicate categorization; already in subcat