When Hollywood Loved Britain: The Hollywood 'British' Film 1939-1945

This work examines the Hollywood "British" film - ie American features that were set in Britain, based on British history or literature and included the work of British producers, directors, writers and actors. "British" films include many of most popular and memorable films of the 1930s and 1940s, yet they have received very little individual attention from film historians and even less attention as a body of films. This work seeks to redress this by considering "British" films made during World War II, when Hollywood's interest in Britain was at a peak and "British" films were more numerous than every before or since. While this book is centered on wartime "British" films, it also investigates wider issues: the influence of censorship and propaganda agencies during Hollywood's studio era, studio finances, the isolationist campaign in the United States between 1939 and 1941, and American perceptions of Britain at war. The book is based upon research conducted in the film industry and government archives, and utilizes a wealth of documents that have only recently become available. These includes records of the Hays Office, the United States Office of War Information, the British Ministry of Information and the major Hollywood studios.