Real to Reel: Hollywood and World War II
April 10 - August 31 at the National World War II Museum

With war clouds gathering on the horizon and the bombing of Pearl Harbor imminent, Sgt. Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) and his captain's wife, Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr), share an illicit love affair on a Hawaiian beach in From Here to Eternity. With Europe under Nazi occupation and underground freedom fighters on the run, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and his old flame, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), reunite briefly and memorably in Casablanca. These and hundreds of other classic films, documentaries and newsreels magically captured the symbiosis between the motion picture world of Hollywood and the victorious American effort in World War II.

"Real to Reel: World War II in Film, Newsreels and Documentaries" is the theme of The National World War II Museum's Second International Conference on World War II, April 10 – 12. The special exhibition "Real to Reel: Hollywood will be on display at the Museum between April 10 and August 31. Both the conference and the exhibition will focus on "how the films of World War II informed and inspired a nation."

The conference, "World War II in Film, Newsreels and Documentaries," will run from April 10-12 at the Marriott Hotel on Convention Center Boulevard, and the exhibition will be at the World War II Museum, 945 Magazine Street at Andrew Higgins Drive. Both the conference and the exhibition will focus on "how the films of World War II informed and inspired a nation." Featured guests will include filmmakers, authors, historians, veterans and other special guests who will discuss the Hollywood-WWII connection.

Presenters and panelists who have confirmed for the conference include renowned filmmakers James Moll and Catherine Wyler; screenwriter John Orloff and actors Michael Cudlitz and Ron Livingston from the HBO Miniseries "Band of Brothers". Also scheduled are World War II authors Carlo D'Este and James McBride; Marine combat photographer Norm Hatch; historians Donald L. Miller, Gerhard L. Weinberg, Antony Beevor and Hugh Ambrose, son of the late bestselling author Stephen Ambrose, who was one of the museum's founders. Also appearing will be Benjamin Patton, grandson of General George S. Patton.

The exhibit will highlight the roles played by pre-war superstars from the battlefront to the Home Front, the relationship between the studios and the Office of War Information and the story of how the war gave many future stars their big break.

Many of Hollywood's greatest matinee idols traded their on-screen wardrobes for real-life military fatigues and served on the front lines. Many others like Rita Hayworth, Humphrey Bogart and Lena Horne devoted their time to the war effort on the home front, helping to sell war bonds or heading up scrap drives. Some of them appeared in patriotic propaganda film productions and training films, produced and directed by top-name producers and directors who donated their time as well. Scriptwriters did their part, also, drafting copy aimed at glorifying and promoting the Allies' cause. Female stars visited and entertained the troops abroad and did their part to boost morale. And, while many of Hollywood's luminaries were doing their patriotic duty, the war was also creating heroes like Audie Murphy who later became a big-name film star himself.

Following the war, the GI Bill sent many veterans to acting and film schools to learn the skills needed to act in, direct and produce films. This was the Golden Age of Hollywood and the U.S. armed forces played a vital role in the emergence and development of new cinematographic and audio technologies.

Among the featured artifacts will be war-era movie posters, photos of stars in uniform (many of them on loan from the National Archives), newsreels and other audiovisual elements including clips from war-era movies, cartoons and shorts. Other artifacts on loan from the American Leadership Foundation will include parts of uniforms worn by Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. There will be a series of lectures and panel discussions on the connection between Hollywood and the war over a two-day period at the beginning of the exhibition.

The conference, "Real to Reel: World War II in Film, Newsreels and Documentaries," will run from April 10-12 at the Marriott Hotel on Convention Center Boulevard, and the exhibition will be at the World War II Museum, 945 Magazine Street at Andrew Higgins Drive.

The museum is also inviting the public to share their war-era movie stories with them. Those who have special memories of movies they saw during that time, either here in this country or while serving abroad, can send their stories to Movie Memories, The National World War II Museum, 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130.

Tickets for the conference are available at various price levels and can be ordered online at http://warmovies.nationalww2museum.org or by calling 877-813-3329 ext. 257. Special hotel packages are available through the Museum. Call 877-813-3329 x 257 for more information.