History of the World According to the Movies: Part 77 – The Space Race

Posted by historymaniacmegan on June 10, 2014

The Right Stuff is a 1983 film about the breaking of the sound barrier as well as the original astronauts of the Mercury 7. The film isn’t entirely historically accurate and does get a lot of stuff wrong but it’s among the great movies featured on Roger Ebert’s list. Still, while it has an almost all-star cast, the guys they portrayed were much shorter in real life since NASA height limit was 5’11.”

One of the key events in the Cold War was the Space Race in which the United States and Russia competed to put the first artificial satellite (Russia), the first manned spaceflight (Russia), and the first man on the moon (US). Of course, if there was a more constructive way to channel Cold War aggression and competitiveness, then the race to Space Exploration was it. After all, the race for nuclear weapons kind of scared the hell out of people while the Space Race gave everyone a way to boast about one’s national technological marvels while not having to worry about being blown to oblivion. Thus, when US President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced the national desire to launch an artificial satellite in 1955, the Space Race was on. Then the Soviets beat the US in the first round in 1957 with Sputnik 1 which basically sent the US freaking. Then the Russians launched Sputnik 2 which carried a dog named Laika into space who died five to seven hours after launch due to stress and overheating (well, the satellite was never intended to bring her back alive, though Moscow said she was euthanized but her death was kept secret for over 40 years). In 1958, the US launched Explorer 1 that discovered the Van Allen belt. Then you have the race for manned spaceflight in 1961 with Soviet Yuri Gagarin being the first man in space on Vostok 1 and the Russians would launch the first woman Valentina Tereshkova two years later (though the US would launch the first LGBT person in space in the 1980s if you know what I mean). Later in 1961, the US would launch Alan Shepard as their first man in space followed by John Glenn in 1962 as the first man to orbit the earth. Yet, even later that year, US President John F. Kennedy announced the US’ intent to land on the moon by the end of the decade. However, the US would beat the Soviets on this one and put a man on the moon by the end of the decade mostly because the Soviet manned moon program was beset with problems from the start, though they did send a probe there before Neil Armstrong made his one small step for man. Nevertheless, movies made pertaining to the Space Race do have their share of inaccuracies which I shall list.

Yuri Gagarin:

Yuri Gagarin lifted off into space at night. (He lifted off at 9:07AM Moscow time.)

Werner Von Braun:

Werner Von Braun was involved in the failed attempt to launch the Vanguard rocket. (Sorry, Homer Hickam, but you had no need to send your condolences to him since he wasn’t involved in the project and wouldn’t have been upset at all. You should’ve sent them to the Navy, much to Von Braun’s disliking.)

NASA:

NASA astronauts were over 6 feet tall. (Let’s just say the maximum height limit NASA is 5’11” thus, anyone over that would be considered ineligible. But astronauts in movies are always played by taller people.)

NASA scientists were bumbling idiots who needed design tips from the astronauts to even make the spaceships. (Contrary to The Right Stuff, it was the NASA scientists who designed the spaceships that put the astronauts into space and brought them right back. Also, NASA scientists were among the best and the brightest minds in the nation. Heck, at the time there were German scientists from WWII like Werner von Braun who were able to duck war crimes indictments because the US needed to compete with the Russians. These guys deserve their own movie, too.)

President John F. Kennedy inspired the US space program. (NASA was established during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency in 1958 contrary to Apollo 13.)

The Mercury 7:

Virgil “Gus” Grissom was 5’10.” (Contrary to Fred Ward’s portrayal of him in The Right Stuff, he was 5’5.” Also, his full name was Virgil Ivan Grissom, with the first he found personally embarrassing and the middle a propaganda embarrassment in itself. It’s no wonder why they called him, “Gus.” Also, the first guy to be launched into space twice as well as the first one of the Mercury 7 to die when he met his end during a launch pad test for the Apollo 1 mission.)

All the Mercury 7 astronauts all raised their hands when asked “Which one of you will be the first into space?” (Contrary to The Right Stuff, the question was actually about whether they were confident they would return from space.)

Gordon Cooper was a Korean War veteran. (Contrary to The Right Stuff, he was the only astronaut of the Mercury 7 who wasn’t a combat veteran. He was also the only nonsmoker and managed to hold his breath longer than John Glenn or Scott Carpenter unlike in the movie.)

Though John Glenn was planned to go on seven orbits on Friendship 7, he only landed after three. (He was always planned to land after 3 orbits and did so though the ground did tell him that he was to go for 7 it was to inform him that he was in a stable orbit. Also, he was the oldest man in space then since he was the oldest astronaut of the Mercury 7 and he’s the only one of that group still living at the age of 93 as of 2014.)

NASA chose Alan Shepard to be the first American man in space. (Actually while this is implied in The Right Stuff, Shepard was actually chosen by his peers.)

Gordon Cooper was the last American to go into space alone. (As of 1982 when The Right Stuff came out and as an astronaut of NASA. However in 2004 two guys on Scale Composite’s SpaceShipOne named Mike Mevill and Brian Binnie have the latter on the day when Gordon Cooper died.)

John Glenn traveled 17,500 miles per hour on Friendship 7. (No Mercury spacecraft had a guidance system that permitted to measure its velocity.)

Gordon Cooper was the only person of the Mercury 7 not to fly a Mercury mission. (Deke Slayton was due to a heart condition but he’ll go into space in 1975 during the Apollo-Soyuz test project as a docking module pilot. As for Gordon Cooper, he went into space in 1963 on Faith 7 and was the first American to spend more than a day in space. He would also be the commander on Gemini 5 two years later.)

Deke Slayton could swim. (Despite the pool scene in The Right Stuff, he could not and never told anyone. Also, during underwater training, Slayton sank to the bottom and had to be rescued. He subsequently practiced holding his breath in the kitchen sink according to his wife Marge.)

Gus Grissom panicked when his Liberty 7 sank in a splashdown landing that he caused the premature detonation of the hatch’s explosive bolts. (Actually contrary to The Right Stuff, the premature detonation was due to mechanical failure, not human error. Yet, it took a long time to find that out.)

Gus Grissom was an incompetent pilot as well as a womanizer. (He was neither contrary to his portrayal in The Right Stuff. Besides, NASA didn’t see him as an idiot since he flew on a Gemini mission and was selected to command the Apollo 1 mission before a fire during practice killed everyone on the launch pad. Not to mention, neither did his fellow astronauts on the Mercury 7 either. By contrast, Scott Carpenter had a little controversy with his mission in the realm of fuel management and never flew again.)
John Glenn hummed “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” during his potentially fatal re-entry. (Contrary to The Right Stuff, he didn’t do this.)

John Glenn was threatened of being replaced by another astronaut when he got into a shouting match with a NASA official who ordered him to get on the phone with his wife Annie and tell her to let Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson in. (Contrary to The Right Stuff, Glenn did confirm the incident but didn’t mention other astronauts, “I saw red. I said that if they wanted to do that, they’d have a press conference to announce their decision and I’d have one to announce mine, and if they wanted to talk about it anymore, they’d have to wait until I took a shower. When I came back, they were gone and I never heard any more about it.”)

All John Glenn did during his flight on Friendship 7 was gaze at the star and talked about the so-called “fireflies” outside his spacecraft (“They were droplets of frozen water vapor from the capsule’s heat exchanger system, but their fireflylike glow remains a mystery” as John Glenn wrote). (Contrary to The Right Stuff, Glenn said he did more than that including taking his blood pressure, taking pictures of the Canary Islands and the Sahara, testing his vision, and doing exercises with bungee cords to compare his readings to previous ones taken on the ground.)

Apollo 13:

The glitch on Apollo 13 sent the crew into total chaos. (Actually contrary to Apollo 13, NASA had already simulated many of the faults that would occur on the actual Apollo 13. Not to mention, the astronauts remained with cool heads at all times than what the film implies with the emotional tensions being played up for drama.)

Jim Lovell and Fred Haise were a bit mistrustful of Jack Swigert who replaced Ken Mattingly when the latter had to pull out due to rubella. They were also worried about his competence with docking the Command Module. (Contrary to Apollo 13, Swigert was an expert on the Apollo command module who literally wrote the book on emergency procedures, many of which were actually used on the mission. Yes, there was a little apprehension when he replaced Mattingly but it was short-lived and had more to do with the fact he was a last-minute inclusion they had to bunk with for the duration than with his abilities, especially after what happened. Also, if he couldn’t dock the Command Modules, his cremates could’ve done it.)

Ken Mattingly was bumped off from the Apollo 13 mission for rubella. (Yes, he was yet though the film gets this correct as well as the fact he never contracted it. Yet, viewers may have a hard time wondering why Mattingly was grounded despite never contracting the disease. The answer is that a week prior to the launch, one of the backup crew members named Charles Duke contracted rubella from his kids and everyone else on both the prime and backup crew was exposed since they trained together. Aside from the obvious exception of Duke, Mattingly was the only one of both crews who didn’t have rubella as a child, and thus, wasn’t immune. So three days before the launch, Mattingly was out and Swigert was in.)

Ken Mattingly was rewarded for not nobly going into space and saving his stricken crewmembers from the control center. (Contrary to Apollo 13, the tasks Mattingly performed were down to a whole team operating more closely on the lines of existing procedures.)
Commander James Lovell said, “Houston we have a problem.” (Actually he said, “Houston, we’ve had a problem” though he probably should’ve said that. Also, the real Jim Lovell looked more like an older Edward Norton than Tom Hanks.)

Ken Mattingly was at home drinking when the Apollo 13 accident occurred and only knew from watching the TV. (Contrary to the film, he was at Mission Control at the time. Also, Gary Sinise was much more attractive than he was in real life.)

A team of engineers devised a solution to the Command Module on Apollo 13 by making its air filters fit the incompatible slots of the Lunar Module’s filters. (Contrary to Apollo 13, this was devised by a single NASA engineer while driving to work.)

Marilyn Lovell’s wedding ring went down the drain while she was taking a shower before her husband’s Apollo 13 mission. (Unlike in Apollo 13, her ring was too big to fall through the drain cover and Marilyn was able to retrieve it.)

Alan Shepard was bumped to Apollo 14 because of inner ear problems. (Contrary to Apollo 13, it was his lack of training and the relatively short time until launch. Bumping his crew up to Apollo 14 would give his crew more time to train. Still, Alan Shepard would get to be on the moon and use his own golf clubs, too.)

Miscellaneous:

The launches of Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin took place in Star City, Russia. (They took place in Baikonur Cosmodrome which is in present-day Kazakhstan. Still, it’s worth noting that Yuri Gagarin was mistaken for an alien when he landed in a Russian village and asked them for a phone. I’m sure being 5’2” in an orange jumpsuit didn’t help.)

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 76 – The Cold War

Posted by historymaniacmegan on June 10, 2014

Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 Dr. Strangelove: or How I Stopped Worrying and Love the Bomb is one of the great Cold War satires that perfectly captures the historical mood of the time. Peter Sellers’ titular character shown here is based off of guys like Henry Kissinger, Edward Teller, and Werner Von Braun. Sellers also plays the President of the United States and a British Lieutenant stuck with General Ripper. Yet, one of the most surprising things in this movie is the presence of James Earl Jones as an Air Force pilot (yes, that James Earl Jones).

The problem with doing a movie history of the Cold War is that for many years there are so many movies that use it as a contemporary setting, particularly spy films. Thus, it makes the idea particularly hard to separate the history from the fantasy, well, maybe not that hard but close enough. Still, Hollywood had plenty of material to go by with the Cold War and it shows, even today with every James Bond movie or Tom Clancy or John LeCarre film adaptation. Nevertheless, from 1945 to 1991, the Western societies and Communist countries were locked in a war of influence with The United States and the Soviet Union being the two major superpowers involved. It was a time of arms races with building doomsday weapons and scrambling to get to outer space (which I’ll get to later). It was time in which indirect conflicts would be backed by one or the other. And it was a time of paranoia and scares in which people were afraid of nuclear annihilation and suspicious of opposing spies. You also had the Berlin Wall. Yet, it would all come down in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, which made many bummed out of their minds. Nevertheless, there were plenty of movies made pertaining to this era which have their share of inaccuracies I shall list.

Red Scare:

Senator Joseph R. McCarthy was an upstart member of the US Senate who just went a little too crazy over the Red Scare of the 1950s as well as well-liked figure in the Republican Party. (Actually, by 1948, McCarthy was in a career crisis mode by that time after allegations of bribery arose in 1948 which might have brought him impeachment or at the very least censure. Either way, his political career was on the way out and by this point, even the Republicans felt that he was an embarrassment so they sent him to do a speech in Wheeling where McCarthy made his famous anti-Communist stump speech that led to seven years of witch-hunts as well as made him politically bulletproof until 1954. Though Hollywood may make it seem otherwise, the Republican Party at the time didn’t intend to make Senator McCarthy a major political sensation. Rather, they were just trying to make him quietly go away.)

Senator Joseph McCarthy’s influence was at its height by 1953. (It was already on the wane by the time Edward R. Murrow’s show about him aired due to years of investigative reporting by other journalists by Drew Pearson. As Murrow said in Newsweek, “It’s a sad state of affairs when people think I was courageous” in presenting his show. Still, having Joseph McCarthy on See It Now certainly helped Americans everywhere to see how batshit insane this guy really was. Oh, and the Joe McCarthy footage in Good Night and Good Luck, well, it’s actually him despite some people complaining that the actor playing him hammed too much.)

The McCarthy era was one of the worst Red Scare eras in American history. (The notorious Palmer Raids of 1919-1920 would make the McCarthy hearings look like a picnic.)

McCarthyism made the job of finding Soviet spies easier. (It made the job harder. Not only that but accusing people of being Communist Party members actually allowed many bonafide Soviet spies to escape prosecution like Mary Jane Keeney who worked for the GRU and she was the only one of McCarthy’s accusations who was anything close to guilty. You could say that McCarthy was kind of a godsend to Soviet spies operating in the US.)

J. Edgar Hoover had little involvement in McCarthyism. (If it wasn’t for J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, then the McCarthy witch-hunt would’ve been written off akin to the bullshit you’d typically hear on Fox News that nobody should take seriously. J. Edgar Hoover and his FBI were the muscle behind the McCarthy witch-hunts and the reason why the Red Scare of the 1950s ruined so many lives.)

American Communists were cynical opportunists as well as racists only interested in seizing power in the US on behalf of the Soviets and not improving social and labor conditions in the country. (The movie I Was a Communist for the FBI portrays American Communists as this. However, the reality was {mostly} the opposite in regards to people like Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson, or a lot of other folk singers as well as others. One critic was especially critical of the 1951 film writing, “In many respects, this heated item bears comparison to the hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee—which, incidentally, it extols. … For instance, in glibly detailing how the Communists foment racial hate and labor unrest in this country … [it] hint[s] that most Negroes and most laborers are ‘pinks’. It raises suspicion of school teachers … [and] that people who embrace liberal causes, such as the Scottsboro trial defense, are Communist dupes … and the film itself glows with patriotism. But it plays a bit recklessly with fire.”)

The K-19 Submarine Accident:

K-19 was the Soviet Union’s first nuclear submarine. (It was actually the Russians’ first nuclear missile submarine. The first nuclear Russian submarine was K-3 {an attack sub} which wasn’t as prone to serious nuclear accidents as K-19 was though similarly “reliable.” Also, contrary to the titular film K-19: The Widowmaker, the sub was actually much roomier than it’s depicted since it’s being played by a diesel sub. Of course, Kathryn Bigelow and the other filmmakers did try to secure the boat as a production set but the Russian Navy declined {for obvious reasons since it had a service life marred by a large number of accidents. The Russian Navy probably was worried about the film crew’s safety or thought filming there would be nuts}. As of 2014, the submarine is said to be preserved in a submarine graveyard after it was bought by one of the members of the original crew. Still, it’s worth mentioning that its first submarine commander did look a lot like Harrison Ford though {though his character’s name was changed out respect for the real life counterpart’s family}, which partly explains why his performance was praised by the remaining survivors.)

Seven men died as a result of radiation exposure during the K-19 nuclear accident. (Contrary to the 2002 film, 8 did that included all 7 members of the engineering team along with their divisional officer, within the next month from July 4, 1961. However, 15 would die from the after-effects of radiation exposure within the next two years.)

The K-19 was nicknamed: “The Widowmaker.” (It was never nicknamed “The Widowmaker” though it would’ve been an appropriate one since it did create a lot of widows and quite a few widowers during its construction and service. Rather its nickname was “Hiroshima” but after the accident. It would have a lot more accidents in its subsequent years of service with some resulting in fatalities {yes, it was put back into service after the meltdown}. Incidents include a 1972 fire that would kill 30 people and an electrical short circuit in 1982 that would kill one. Still, “The Widowmaker” is a lot more badass name than “Hiroshima.”)

There was an actual mutiny on the K-19 during the 1961 accident. (Contrary to the movie, the Captain was savvy enough to throw almost all the submarine’s small arms overboard out of concern of the possibility of mutiny.)

The Bay of Pigs Invasion:

The New York Times didn’t publish a story on the Bay of Pigs Invasion and regretted it. (This is a widely believed myth that’s depicted in Thirteen Days. The paper published a front-page story on the Bay of Pigs Invasion preparations two weeks before the event occurred, but it didn’t address any CIA involvement and that invasion was imminent.)

The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the political fallout that followed may have been the first strike that eventually became a conspiracy to assassinate John F. Kennedy. (Contrary to JFK, there’s no proof of this.)

Cuban Missile Crisis:

Kenneth O’ Donnell was the chief agent in preventing the Cuban Missile Crisis from escalating. (It was really, Ted Sorensen. As former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara said, “For God’s sakes, Kenny O’Donnell didn’t have any role whatsoever in the missile crisis; he was a political appointment secretary to the President; that’s absurd.” I wonder why they put Kenny O’Donnell in Thirteen Days because he’s played by Kevin Costner {who looks nothing like the real guy at all} and Ted Sorensen’s not. Yet, almost everyone in the Kennedy Executive Committee of National Security was more important than Kenneth O’Donnell. Shame Thirteen Days didn’t have the guts or funding to keep Kevin Costner out of the film.)

John F. Kennedy was worried about the prospect of millions of people dying in a nuclear holocaust around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. (Yes, he certainly was and so was almost everyone in the Kennedy White House during that time. Yet, contrary to Thirteen Days, it wasn’t the only thing on his mind since his first comment to the real Kenneth O’Donnell when the crisis broke out was about how two militant Anti-Castro Republicans would do in the polls: “We’ve just elected [Homer] Capehart in Indiana, and Ken Keating will probably be the next president of the United States.” Yet, let’s just say that a president worrying about his electoral prospects in such a crisis may be understandable. Still, while Thirteen Days was criticized for not devoting much time to Cuba and Russia, this is understandable since it’s based on memoirs from various Kennedy officials. Khrushchev had to get to Kennedy through Radio Moscow to talk to him during this time. Then again, perhaps Khrushchev should’ve been more worried about his job because he’d lose it after the Cuban Missile Crisis {which he kind of started}, though he got off pretty easy compared to other Soviet leaders.)

Kenneth O’Donnell made phone calls to Commander Ecker and Adlai Stevenson during the Cuban Missile Crisis. (O’Donnell played almost no part at all in the Cuban Missile Crisis despite his Kevin Costner portrayal in Thirteen Days. Thus, these phone calls never occurred.)

The secret deal with the Soviets over the Turkish missiles was shared with the members of the Executive Committee of National Security in the Kennedy Administration. (Contrary to Thirteen Days, it was only known to very few people such as JFK, RFK, Dean Rusk, Ted Sorensen, and perhaps McNamara. Robert F. Kennedy vaguely hinted at this deal in his 1968 memoir Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The secret deal wasn’t known to the public until 1989 when it was officially confirmed by Ted Sorensen.)

President John F. Kennedy didn’t wear a hat when he left Chicago during the Cuban Missile Crisis. (Contrary to Thirteen Days, he did, supposedly with a cold, since the White House Press Corps certainly would’ve noticed it for JFK almost never wore one.)

Nikita Khrushchev’s acceptance of peace contained the lines, “you and I should not now pull on the ends of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the harder you and I pull, the tighter the knot will become…”(Contrary to Thirteen Days, this quote appeared in Khrushchev’s first letter from October 26, 1962, not October 27.)

The Cuban Missile Crisis took place in November 1962. (It took place in October.)

Soviet-Afghan War:

Representative Charlie Wilson greeted Pakistani president General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in Islamabad in a smart suit. (Unlike in Charlie Wilson’s War, he was in a Stetson hat and heeled cowboy boots almost making him look 7ft tall. Also, the conversation was about India, not fighting the Soviets. Not to mention, Pakistan was developing a nuclear bomb at this time, but you wouldn’t know it from the film. Then again, Wilson denied in front of congressional subcommittees. At the same time it’s said he told Zia at a state dinner, “Mr. President, as far as I’m concerned you can make all the bombs you want because you are our friends and they, the Indians, are our enemies.” {Actually the bit about the Indians isn’t exactly true for they weren’t US enemies}.)

Representative Charlie Wilson was a womanizing booze hound. (His exploits weren’t just limited to women and booze. He was also said to be a drug user.)

Charlie Wilson and General Zia were willing to help the Afghans so they could improve the lives of refugees. (Sure the refugee bit as a main motivation was more to make Wilson and Zia sympathetic characters in the Aaron Sorkin film though the refugee bit wasn’t even the half of it as far as motivations were concerned. It had more to do with Cold War politics and an enemy infidel invasion next door as far as the US and Pakistan were concerned. Yet, the story is far too complex for 1 ½ hour film.)

Charlie Wilson was willing to build a few schools in Afghanistan after the Soviets were defeated. (I’m not sure about this. Still, Charlie Wilson’s War leaves out actions by the ISI, MI6, CIA, and Saudi Arabia as well as the various factions in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Also, he had no remorse or regret over arming the Afghan rebels despite the consequences.)

Charlie Wilson was the only American politician involved with the Soviet War in Afghanistan. (Contrary to Charlie Wilson’s War, Ronald Reagan actually gave the order to provide the Mujahadeen with Stinger missiles that denied the Soviets air supremacy and turn the momentum of battle after 1986. And remember that many of the Mujahadeen would later become Islamic warriors and form the Taliban so, yeah, he did negotiate with terrorists. Still, Charlie Wilson didn’t carry out his operation without the government’s knowledge but with the government’s approval.)

All of Charlie Wilson’s aides were gorgeous women. (His chief aide was a man named Charlie Schnabel.)

Robert Hanssen:

Robert Hanssen’s wife Bonnie didn’t know that he was a spy for the Russians. (Contrary to Breach, she knew since 1969 when she found $10,000 in cash at their home. Yet, by Hanssen’s capture in 2001, she was living in denial. Still, despite all the shit he had her put up with, Bonnie still wouldn’t want to divorce him. Yet, judging by the fact that Hanssen was a member of Opus Dei who videotaped himself having sex with his wife he’d watch with a high school buddy, he probably did it for the money.)

Miscellaneous:

Everything in the USSR was terrible, or technically backward, and that life was worse for them in every way, compared to the “democratic West.” (While the citizens of the Soviet Union certainly lacked civil rights compared to us, there were many aspects of their country that was advanced. For example, they were landing their cosmonauts on land, while ours had to fall into the sea. Their literacy rate was higher than the US, and their public education system superior. There was very little crime and doctors were making house calls right up to the bitter end – of communism, that is.)

The Soviets had the ability to nuke the US to oblivion. (Contrary to most movies that gives us the impression that the Soviets had thousands of nukes ready to unleash a fiery death on American cities, they only had 200 strategic bombers in all, tops. Their missiles weren’t much better. Yet, let’s just say, in the nuclear capabilities department, the Soviet Union was behind at least in the 1950s. If the Soviet Union had a chance to nuke the US into oblivion, it would’ve been in the 1980s.)

All Russians were Caucasian. (Russians came from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities as well as cultures.)

All Communist countries were Soviet puppets. (Maybe Poland and East Germany though their relations with the USSR weren’t entirely smooth. As for the rest of the Iron Curtain, they tried to gain more autonomy from the Soviet Union even though they were Communist. As for the Asian Communist states, China was at odds with Russian and tried to invade Vietnam, the Korean War was Kim Il-Sung’s idea, and Vietnam actually thwarted the Chinese invasion. Oh, and Vietnam wouldn’t put up with China invading them either.)

Communist banned religion in their countries. (Officially atheist, sure, but many religious traditions in those countries did survive to this day. Not to mention, many Chinese religions actually don’t require belief in a god and tend to have characteristics that resemble philosophy. Also, explain to me how John Paul II was able to become Pope? I mean John Paul II spent most of his life before pope as a Catholic priest/bishop in a Communist country. Not to mention, though the Soviet Union did persecute clergymen and tried to dismantle religious institutions, the laity was mostly tolerated {same goes for other Eastern Bloc nations} since persecuting a group that made up the majority of Russia’s population was a bad idea. Not to mention, Josef Stalin would actually revive the Russian Orthodox Church to drum up support for Russia’s entry into WWII and never bothered to persecute the Georgian Orthodox Church because he was afraid of angering his mother. There would be a time when the anti-religious policies would be revived under Khrushchev , they’d be considerably relaxed under Brezhnev onward.)

Some East German Stasi agents would betray their agency and help those they had under surveillance. (The plot to The Lives of Others revolves around this but unfortunately, no Stasi agent has publically regretted their actions, let alone help their victims. Also, the Stasi agents watching were also under surveillance so they wouldn’t get away with what Wiesler did. Ironically, they guy who played Wiesler was also under surveillance and later found out that his then wife was a registered informant on him.)

Russia was a US ally in 1947. (A more accurate term would be frenemy since they still kept ambassadors {enemy nations don’t send ambassadors to each other} but Russia and the US weren’t exactly friends.)

At least one woman was awarded the “Hero of the Soviet Union” twice. (This is the Soviet equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor. 92 Soviet women were awarded this once {50 posthumously} yet there’s no record of any woman being awarded it twice.)

The Soviets had the power to launch nuclear missiles with a push of a button. (Contrary to Dr. Strangelove {which is a great satire by the way}, unless the Russians were planning an offensive on the US in which use of nukes was imminent, the Soviet premier couldn’t just press a button to start off a nuke. The Soviets used a particularly toxic and rather corrosive blend of rocket fuel for their missiles and since they didn’t have the kind of metallurgy the US did; Russian missiles could only be fueled for a limited time before they’d have to be unfueled, maintained, and refueled. As a result unless an offensive posture was needed in the event of a nuclear war, the Soviet missiles were kept empty of rocket fuel until they were set to be launched. And the fueling process of Soviet nuke missiles usually took up to four hours, which would’ve made launching preparations very problematic. Oh, and the Soviets had a mostly train-based missile launch system under an impression that it would be more difficult to destroy a mobile target than one at a stationary reinforced location. Yet, such train-based missile launch system made US intelligence agencies very good at finding things with the increasingly ubiquitous spy satellites that were more or less developed to spy on the Soviet Union. Let’s just say if Nikita Khrushchev was able to cause a nuclear holocaust with a push of a red button, there probably would’ve been no Cuban Missile Crisis since he was only willing to deploy Soviet missiles at Cuba after the US has had deployed their missiles in Turkey which could hit Moscow within 16 minutes to launch. Yet, problems arose when it became uncertain of whether Cuba had any authority to launch them or whether Cuba would launch them anyway as well as the United States finding out. Maybe the Russians should’ve stuck to making assault weapons since the AK-47 is the most widely used and popular assault rifle on earth and has killed far more people than nukes.)

Soviet officers wore beards. (Facial hair was prohibited in the Soviet Union’s armed forces.)

Russian soldiers were equipped with Swedish Gustav M45 submachine gun. (Look, unless this is a WWII movie of the Eastern Front or any time before 1946, it would be best if Russian soldiers during the Cold War would be equipped with AK-47s since it’s the most recognized Soviet Union weapon on earth and is made all over the world. Not to mention, everyone practically knows what they look like and can be found anywhere.)

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 75 – The Post-War World

Posted by historymaniacmegan on June 6, 2014

Nowhere Boy is a 2009 film that tells the story of John Lennon’s early life in Liverpool from his broken childhood, his relationships with his mother and aunt, and his friendships with Paul McCartney and George Harrison who’d later help form the Beatles in the 1960s. Sure it does have its share of artistic license but it does ring true.

While Post-WWII America is covered a lot in movies, there are a lot of other things that happened in the world as well. Of course, you have the Cold War with Josef Stalin setting up his Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe (but I’ll get to it later) as well as the spread of Communism to China and parts of Asia like Vietnam. Since World War II basically cost a lot for countries like Britain and France and other colonial nations, they started granting their colonies independence such as India, Iceland, Indonesia, Burma, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, Syria, and The Philippines. Let’s just say the Post-War Era would see surge in geographical media since the political boundaries were changing. Some countries would part on more peaceful terms than others with British willing to grant independence to India and Pakistan with barely any fuss while Algeria and Vietnam basically had to fight France. You have the rebuilding of war zones under the Marshall Plan but Hollywood doesn’t pay attention to that since many Europeans don’t remember the late 1940s fondly since it involved being occupied, having to return to rubble or other hardships. In the early 1950s, you have the Korean War in which North Korea under Kim Il Sung launched an invasion on South Korea. With the help of UN forces, South Korea managed to retain independence while other countries were able to get out with an armistice in 1953, neither side really won. Nevertheless, while there are some movies made in this time, they do have their share of errors which I shall list.

Great Britain:

The Quarrymen:

John Lennon was taller than Paul McCartney when they were teenagers. (Actually they were about the same height. Yet, the real Paul McCartney didn’t like his portrayal in Nowhere Boy since the actor playing him was substantially shorter than the one playing John Lennon telling the Telegraph “Put John in a trench! Or put me in platforms!” However, the kid did look a bit younger, which is okay since Paul was about two years younger than John and it would’ve been very difficult to find a taller actor to pass for 14 {which was how old Paul was when he met John}. George Harrison was a year younger than Paul.)

John Lennon’s Uncle George died in front of him. (Contrary to Nowhere Boy, John’s uncle died when he was away.)

John Lennon and his Aunt Mimi didn’t get along. (While Nowhere Boy depicts John Lennon’s aunt as a total bitch, Mimi was a kind woman and obviously loved John. Heck, she raised him and gave him a stable home but Mimi never cut John’s contact with his mom. He’d also try to call her every day for the rest of their lives. Then again, John was said by many people who knew him as a rude and difficult person.)

Paul McCartney was right handed. (He was left-handed for he played guitars upside down during his teenage years {especially if they weren’t his}. Nowhere Boy doesn’t contain such scene.)

“In Spite of All The Danger” was recorded after John Lennon’s mother died. (Contrary to Nowhere Boy, it was recorded three days before.)

John Lennon received his first guitar from his Aunt Mimi. (He received it from his mother for his birthday I think.)

John Lennon punched Paul McCartney in the face at his mother’s funeral. (Paul McCartney claims this didn’t happen, though it’s depicted in Nowhere Boy. Yet, John was devastated of his mother’s death like that.)

John Lennon had blue eyes. (He had brown but the actor playing him in Nowhere Boy does. The only Beatles member not to have brown eyes was Ringo.)

Paul McCartney first saw John Lennon, when the latter played “Maggie Mae.” (The song was “Come and Go with Me.”)

Colin Clark:

Colin Clark was starstruck when he saw Marilyn Monroe for the first time during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl. (Actually, Clark wrote upon first seeing her as “Nasty complexion, a lot of facial hair, shapeless figure and, when the glasses came off, a very vague look in her eye.” As for The Prince and the Showgirl, it’s actually a pretty good movie. Still, Clark probably wasn’t the kind of gentleman as seen in My Week with Marilyn.)

Colin Clark enjoyed a week long fling with Marilyn Monroe. (Well, according to his diary he did as depicted in My Week with Marilyn. Yet, his account could’ve just been a self-serving fantasy, since a lot of it can’t be verified. Either way, his story about Marilyn Monroe is kind of creepy, not romantic.)

Sylvia Plath:

Sylvia Plath’s sister Aurelia didn’t meet Ted Hughes until after Plath married him. (Contrary to Sylvia, she attended their wedding.)

C. S. Lewis:

C. S. Lewis had one stepson. (He had two but you wouldn’t know it from Shadowlands.)

C.S. Lewis knew how to drive. (He never learned how despite numerous attempts.)

C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham didn’t leave England after their wedding and went to the “Golden Valley” for their honeymoon. (They actually spent their honeymoon in Greece contrary to Shadowlands. However, aside from his WWI Army stint, Lewis had never left England before and was afraid Greece wouldn’t live up to what he had imagined and read Homer and Aristotle {in Greek} to build up a mental image. He wasn’t disappointed.)

During the 1950s, C. S. Lewis taught at Magdalen College at Oxford University. (Contrary to Shadowlands, in 1954, Lewis would accept a professorship of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University but he did so on the condition he’d be able to return to his home in Oxford for vacations and long weekends during the university term. Guess Cambridge was desperate.)

Joy Gresham:

Joy Gresham broke her leg while answering a call from C. S. Lewis in her London home. (Contrary to Shadowlands, she broke her leg while answering a call from a friend while she was in Oxford. Also, she was treated in an Oxford hospital for cancer.)

France:

The buildings in late 1940s Paris buildings were all in lovely and in tan sandstone. (Actually until the cleaning project of by Culture minister Andre Malreaux in the late 1960s, the buildings of Paris were black after centuries from pollution. Though this would’ve been what Julie Powell would’ve imagined 1949 Paris in Julie & Julia.)

Kon-Tiki Expedition:

During the Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947, the rafts’s parrot was eaten by a shark. (Contrary to the 2012 Norwegian film, it simply washed overboard by a large wave though it might’ve been eaten by a shark later.)

The Kon-Tiki’s crew got access to valuable US military equipment once they landed in Peru. (Thor Heyerdahl actually arranged for the equipment during a visit to the Pentagon before traveling to Peru.)

The Kon-Tiki’s crew was worried about the Galapagos Maelstrom. (The maelstrom was taken from an Edgar Allan Poe story which is in the 2012 film. However, Heyerdahl was actually more worried about strong ocean currents that could sweep the raft back towards Central America.)

Herman Watzinger was a pudgy, unathletic, and difficult man. (In Norway the portrayal of Thor Heyerdahl’s first mate was the source of controversy. The guy who played him admitted, “Watzinger was tall, dark, and Norwegian Youth Champion in the 100 meter. He was everything I’m not.”)

Herman Watzinger disobeyed Thor Heyerdahl’s direct order and threw a harpoon at a whale shark under the Kon-Tiki raft. (Actually Erik Hesselburg harpooned the whale shark with the rest of the crew cheering him on.)

Herman Watzinger and Thor Heyerdahl argued about the hemp ropes to hold the balsa logs together for the entire voyaged in which Watzinger begged Heyerdahl at sea to add steel cables he smuggled abroad. (According to Heyerdahl’s account and many of the crew’s relatives, this didn’t happen. The balsa wood was soft enough that the rope ate through the wood and it was eventually protected by the space that had been created around it. Also, there are a lot of made up scenarios in the 2012 Kon-Tiki film as critic Andrew Barker says, “It’s frustratingly ironic that Kon-Tiki’s most outrageously fantastical sequences are completely verifiable, and its most predictable, workaday conflicts are completely made up.”)

The crew of the Kon-Tiki waited for a 13th wave to carry them over the reef. (According to the documentary, they just waited for a wave big enough to do so.)

Thor Heyerdahl believed that Polynesia was populated by people from Peru. (Maybe but he also believed that the original Kon-Tiki voyage was undertaken by tall white redheaded men with beards. He also though that the Pre-Columbian American civilization like the Aztecs, Incas, or Mayas only arose with the help of advanced technical knowledge brought by early European voyagers and these white people were driven out of Peru and fled westward on rafts.)

The Korean War:

South Korea was ruled under the better government than North Korea. (Actually the South Korean government was almost just as authoritarian as the North Korean one minus the obsessive personality cult and the Communist political system. It was only after the Korean War that South Korea would gradually become more democratic {sort of} while North Korea would be ruled by three generations of dictators.)

Male US military personnel in the Korean War all had regular haircuts. (Actually you were bald or have been away for a long time from civilization, most guys in the armed forces could only get crewcuts for it was the only men’s hairstyle available for them {as well as for male military brats like my dad while my Grandpa C was stationed in New Mexico}. Yet, you wouldn’t know it from any adaptation of M*A*S*H.)

Only the US, North Korea, and South Korea were involved in the Korean War. (Actually, the Korean War could very well be considered a last world war. On the North Korean side, you had North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union. On the South Korean side, you had South Korea and the UN forces, mostly comprised of Americans but there were people from 16 other countries participating. Yet, it’s because of the TV M*A*S*H that anyone knows anything about it at all.)

General Douglas MacArthur:

General Douglas MacArthur’s tactics in the Korean War were working and was quite capable of winning the war if only President Harry S. Truman would only allow him to utilize the full military might of the United States. (While MacArthur implies this, it’s said that MacArthur wanted to nuke China and was willing to ignore Truman’s orders not to. Then again, he may have said this just to get Truman to fire his ass so he could leave the war with dignity intact, for they both knew that he wouldn’t be returning to head the UN Forces when they two met that fateful day. Besides, by that time, MacArthur was in his 70s and had been in the military longer than Eisenhower at this point. Actually, Eisenhower once worked for him for seven years as a young officer or “studied dramatics” as he called it.)

General Douglas MacArthur was upset that President Truman fired him. (Actually according to many historians, MacArthur might’ve been asking for Truman to do so for he accepted the president’s action without resistance and parted on amicable terms {though it did lead to Truman’s approval ratings taking a record nosedive, which led him to have one of the lowest of any sitting president before or since. Yet, this had much to do with MacArthur being a darling of the media and the American people at the time}. Because of the Korean War, Mac Arthur felt that he couldn’t resign and refused to be removed from command. Because MacArthur was a WWII hero, Truman felt he couldn’t ask MacArthur for his resignation but couldn’t allow him to resume his command. Firing MacArthur was his only option. Thus, Truman would conduct the war in a sane way as well as have MacArthur leave the war with his dignity intact.)

Miscellaneous:

The hotline telephone between Moscow and Washington DC was in use in 1953. (It wasn’t installed until 1963.)

No homes had television antennae in 1959. (Most of them did in developed countries because most people owned a TV.)

The UN existed in at the end of WWII. (It wasn’t formed until three months later in October of 1945.)

Stargazer lilies were around in 1953. (They weren’t created until 1974.)

Plastic bags existed in 1953. (They didn’t.)

Razor ribbon was used in prisons in the 1950s. (It wasn’t invented until the late 1960s.)

Ketchup and mustard were in plastic containers in the 1950s. (They were stored in glass bottles.)

Scented candles were around in 1958. (Unless they were DIY. Factory made ones, no.)

Movie theaters had one projector with reels being unchanged. (At this time, movie theaters always had two projectors that alternated and changed reels every 20 minutes.)

Dry cleaning was a new technology and business idea in 1949. (Dry cleaning had been around since the early 20th century and the process was discovered in the mid-19th century by a French inventor. Contrary to The Man Who Wasn’t There, a town like Santa Rosa, CA would’ve had at least 10 dry cleaners by 1949. So it wasn’t a new idea. Maybe John Polito’s character should’ve been a TV salesman instead of a dry cleaner.)

Bubble wrap envelopes existed at this time. (Bubble wrap didn’t exist until 1964 and bubble wrap envelopes wouldn’t appear until the late 1970s.)

3D movies were popular in 1957. (It was a passing fad of 1953-1954. No 3D movies were made after 1954 until the 2000s, well, at least when it came to showing movies in 3D.)

Teflon pans were available in 1949. (While Teflon was accidentally invented in 1938, Teflon pans weren’t sold until 1956. Before then, only Teflon pots were available.)

1949 beer bottles had screw tops. (They didn’t.)

Cubicles were around in 1955. (They were introduced in the mid-1960s.)

CPR was mouth to mouth in the 1950s. (It wasn’t mouth to mouth until the 1970s after a promotion by the Red Cross. CPR at the time involved the raising and lowering of the victim’s arms like you see in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.)

Etch-a-Sketch was available during this time period. (It wasn’t sold in the US until 1960.)

Women were allowed to apply for Rhodes scholarships in the 1950s. (Not until the 1970s.)

TVs came on immediately. (Actually TVs at the time used vacuum tubes that it took a couple of minutes for them to warm up once switched on. “Instant on” TVs didn’t come out until the late 1960s.)

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 74 – Music of Post-War America

Posted by historymaniacmegan on June 6, 2014

The 2004 biopic Ray tells the early life story of Ray Charles whose music would influence music for decades starring Jamie Foxx in his Academy Award winning performance. His music ranged from genres like jazz, R&B (fusing R&B and Gospel into Soul music), pop, rock n’ roll, and country. He was called “the only true genius” by none other than Frank Sinatra. Billy Joel said, “This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley.” Not to mention, the Beatles all expressed admiration for his achievements with Paul McCartney crediting him as the as the reason for getting into music. This film was released a few months after the man’s death but regardless of accuracy, it’s a fitting tribute that will let people know who this man really was. Not only that, but Jamie Foxx isn’t just playing Ray Charles in this movie, he is Ray Charles.

Whether they believed that the Post-WWII Era in America was a very good time or a very bad time, everyone has to concede the fact that the music was awesome. In this time, you have a great treasure trove of music that has become not only influential but also is still listened to today whether it be folk, big band, jazz, pop, R&B, country, blues, or the new genre of rock n’ roll. But of course, some people in my area may remember that time for doo wop since they play those specials on my PBS affiliate station during pledge drives. Still, this is the time of the popular singers like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Mitch Miller, and others. You have folk artists like Pete Seeger and the Kingston Trio. You have jazz musicians like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie “Bird” Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk as well as singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Sarah Vaughn. You have R&B artists like Little Richard, Ray Charles, Etta James, and others. You have country stars like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Tex Ritter, Frankie Laine, Patsy Cline, and others. Finally, you have rock n’ roll with artists like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Carl Perkins, and others. Oh, and you have Harry Belafonte, Les Paul, and plenty of crossovers and I mean, plenty. And this is just a sampling of those who had record hits. A lot of musicals and biopics are set in this era because of how the music and those who made them became legendary. Yet, many of these movies have their share of errors which I shall list accordingly.

Etta James:
Etta James never recorded before signing at Chess Records. (She recorded “Wallflower” for Modern Records before signing with Chess.)

Chuck Berry:

When arrested for violating the Mann Act, Chuck Berry angrily pointed out the resemblance between the Beach Boys “Surfin’ USA” and his “Sweet Little Sixteen.” (He was arrested in 1959 when nobody heard about the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys released “Surfin’ USA” in 1963 when he was still in prison and after Elvis entered the Army in 1958. Alan Freed didn’t introduce the song either since he was out of the radio business by then. Yet, you wouldn’t know it from Cadillac Records.)

Chuck Berry didn’t write “Johnny B. Goode.” (You may think this after seeing the first Back to the Future with Michael J. Fox playing the song while one the members called his cousin Chuck Berry up. However, Chuck Berry actually wrote the song himself and did the duck walk, too. The song is also partly autobiographical as well. Still, despite that Chuck Berry was in Cadillac Records, I can’t find “Johnny B. Goode” on the movie’s soundtrack album.)

Chuck Berry recorded “No Particular Place”, “Nadine”, and “Promised Land” in the mid-1950s. (Contrary to Cadillac Records, Berry recorded these songs in 1964. Yet, he did record “Johnny B. Goode” in 1955 which was his breakout hit but it’s not included in Cadillac Records. In many ways, to exclude “Johnny B. Goode” in a movie about Chess Records that Chuck Berry was a part of is a capital crime of the filmmakers and not just because I played that song in high school marching band.)

Frank Sinatra:

Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly with Me” was a hit in 1956. (It was released in 1957.)

Frank Sinatra enlisted the help of the Mafia to get the part of Private Maggio in From Here to Eternity. (Sorry, Godfather fans, but no horses were harmed in Sinatra’s pursuit to get the part of Maggio in From Here to Eternity, though it’s alleged he did have ties to the mob. Then again, most historians say that it was considered a package deal in those days to work in Vegas and rub elbows with guys named “Bugsy.” The horse’s head bit was probably something Mario Puzo just made up. It’s more likely his then-wife Ava Gardner persuaded the wife of Columbia’s studio head Harry Cohn to use her influence on him. Still, his performance in that movie not only won him an Oscar but also revived his career after years of decline. And, yes, he really could act.)

Buddy Holly:

Buddy Holly recorded “Crying, Waiting, Hoping” with his band in a recording studio. (Actually contrary to the 1987 La Bamba, he never performed this song with his band. He actually recorded it playing his own guitar on a home tape recorder. Only after his death, it was made into studio release after musical overdubs.)

The Crickets disbanded after Buddy Holly died. (Actually though you may think this they’re still around today.)

Buddy Holly toured with a full orchestra during his final concert. (Contrary to The Buddy Holly Story, he actually toured with a small unnamed band that consisted of Waylon Jennings on bass {yes, that Waylon Jennings}, Carl Bunch on drums, and Tommy Allsup on lead guitar.)

Buddy Holly was musically literate. (While there’s a scene of him writing a score in The Buddy Holly Story, the real Buddy Holly couldn’t read or write music.)

Buddy Holly was born with the last name of Holly. (His family’s name was Holley and he got his stage name from a misprint on a record label. He adopted the revised spelling.)

Buddy Holly toured with Same Cooke. (He never did.)

Buddy Holly’s fellow Crickets members were Jesse and Ray Bob. (Their names were Jerry Allison and Joe B. Mauldin.)

Buddy Holly’s parents were against him being a rock musician. (Actually contrary to The Buddy Holly Story, they were more supportive than a lot of parents were. His mother even helped him write the lyrics to “Maybe Baby.”)

Buddy Holly’s pastor was opposed to his musical projects. (You’d think that Holly’s pastor and family would’ve been opposed to his music projects since they were Baptists, but not so. In fact, it’s said that Holly regularly tithed his to church.)

Buddy Holly’s final concert was at the Clear Lake Auditorium and he traveled on his Winter Party 59’ tour on Greyhound buses. (It was at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa and his Winter Party 59’ tour traveled on unheated school buses. They probably were dreaming of touring on a Greyhound.)

Buddy Holly’s front teeth were knocked out before a performance on US television. (They were knocked out before his performance in the UK.)

Cindy Lou was the name of Buddy Holly’s girlfriend when he wrote “Peggy Sue.” (Cindy Lou was Buddy’s niece but it was renamed after the name of a girlfriend of one of his bandmates from the Crickets.)

Buddy Holly and the Crickets performed “Maybe Baby” on the Ed Sullivan Show. (The songs the performed were “Peggy Sue,” “That’ll Be the Day,” and “Oh, Boy.”)

Buddy Holly produced his own songs. (His producer Norman Petty did.)

Ritchie Valens:

Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales were in love with the same girl. (Contrary to the 1987 La Bamba, there was no such love triangle between Ritchie, Bob, or Rosie. I’m not sure if there ever was a Rosie. However, this poetic license was based on the director’s personal experience in which he and his brother were vying over the same girl.)

Ritchie Valens was right handed. (He was left-handed.)

Ritchie Valens played “Donna” on American Bandstand in October 1958. (Actually he sang, “Come on, Let’s Go” contrary to La Bamba.)

Jerry Lee Lewis:

Jerry Lee Lewis was in his thirties when he married his 13-year old cousin Myra. (Actually he was only 22 but he’s played by a 35 year old Dennis Quaid in Great Balls of Fire!, which makes it seem very creepy. Yet, even a guy in his twenties marrying his 13 year old cousin is disgusting enough.)

Jerry Lee Lewis snuck into a dance hall to hear Big Maybelle sing “Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” which he would later cover. (Contrary to Great Balls of Fire!, this didn’t happen, but that scene does reveal that a lot of early rock n’roll songs were originally performed by black singers and a lot of white performers would appropriate black music, usually without their credit. A more famous example would be “Hound Dog” which was originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton before Elvis came along. Yes, early rock n’roll did consist of white people stealing black people’s songs.)

Jerry Lee Lewis proposed to Myra Gale Brown minutes before they got married while on the road to Mississippi. (Actually according to Brown, he proposed to her two days before they were on the road. However, it’s understandable that they got married in Mississippi since the minimal age there in 1957 was 14 for men and 12 for women but it would be changed later that year. However, Lewis’ marriage to Brown was illegal but not because Myra was 13 years old {though Lewis said she was 15}. In fact, despite being in his early 20s, Lewis’ marriage to Myra was his third and it began before his second divorce was made final. Thus, it was illegal on grounds of bigamy, not age of consent laws. Actually, this was a second time he married someone while divorcing another.)

Jerry Lee Lewis performed “I’m on Fire” in 1958. (He recorded it in 1964.)

Jerry Lee Lewis was a household name around Johnny Cash’s first show. (He wasn’t famous at the time and only had one hit. Also, he wasn’t used to the stage contrary to Walk the Line.)

“Great Balls of Fire” was No. 1 on the Billboard charts. (It only made No. 2 at the highest.)

Jerry Lee Lewis and Myra Gale Brown lived happily ever after they were exposed by the British press that made him cut his tour short and the scandal that erupted effectively killed the superstar phase of his career.(Though Jerry and Myra were married for 13 years and had 2 kids before their 1970 divorce, Myra wrote, “The good ol’ days, of which there were exactly 569, were over.” Not to mention, for those not familiar with Jerry Lee Lewis, he led a dark and driven life shadowed with drugs, booze, scandal, and the ends of two of his seven wives as well as one of his six kids. Also, he was said to be violently abusive to his wives as well.)

Johnny Cash:

Johnny Cash’s first wife Vivian was a total bitch who was disapproved of his early attempts to break into the music scene as well as urged him to give it up and focus on getting a better job from her father. (According to Johnny Cash’s autobiography, his first wife was extremely supportive and their marital problems didn’t start until after career took off. Their marriage also lasted for about a decade {though he pretty much abandoned his staunch Catholic first wife to force her into seeking a divorce}. Yet, in Walk the Line, you want Johnny to end up with June and not make him look like such a total drug addled jerk. Then again, his daughter Roseanne did have a good relationship with her stepmother. His dad is also shown as a dick as well in Walk the Line, but he was really a distant and silent type according to Cash yet this had more to do with him not speaking publicly against his old man. But Ray Cash wasn’t a nice man who constantly belittled Johnny and his siblings as well as openly blamed Johnny for his brother’s death on circular saw accident. Yet, it is true that his parents named him J.R {and his family always referred to him by this} but he had to change it to John when he enlisted in the Air Force.)

Johnny Cash had no facial scars. (He actually had a scar on the side of his chin. Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t.)

Johnny Cash only had one brother. (He had three brothers and three sisters. Yet, his brother Jack did die that way as in Walk the Line, which wracked John with guilt.)

“I Still Miss Someone” was about his brother Jack while “Walk the Line” was about June. (Actually, “I Still Miss Someone” was about June while “Walk the Line” was about Vivian and his relationship with her didn’t last.)

Johnny Cash smashed the footlights in Las Vegas during a concert. (He actually smashed the footlights at the Grand Ole Oprey.)

During an audition, Johnny Cash’s first choice to play gospel music was challenged by the studio owner as insincere. (Contrary to Walk the Line, this didn’t happen. Cash just played “Folsom Prison Blues” at his audition and Sam Philips signed him up on a Sun Records contract right away.)

Bobby Darin:

Bobby Darin was an aged and decrepit man in the late 1950s. (Actually despite having life long health problems that would claim his life at 37 {and he knew he wasn’t going to live long either}, Darin actually looked pretty much what you’d expect a guy in his twenties and aged much more gracefully, even if it was premature. Let’s just say casting 45 year old Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin probably makes the guy look more aged and decrepit even than he really was.)

Bobby Darin was wholly self-absorbed and selfish performer. (He was also a producer who worked to further careers of other talented performers though you wouldn’t know it in Beyond the Sea. One of the performers he helped was Richard Pryor.)

Elvis Presley:

Elvis Presley’s career was basically over by 1958 when he was drafted into the military. (Actually, his career as a teen sensation probably was or at least on a temporary sabbatical but remember, he ended his career wearing white rhinestone costumes over his overweight frame while performing in Las Vegas followed by his 1977 death on the floor of his bathroom. Still, there’s probably no one watching Great Balls of Fire! Who doesn’t know anything about Elvis. Not to mention, Johnny Cash also was a recording artist at Sun Records at this time, too, and there’s a photo of him with Elvis in the studio.)

Elvis Presley had black hair. (He was a natural blond and dyed it black starting in 1957. Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball were both natural brunettes by contrast, yet that’s not how we remember them hair color wise.)

Elvis Presley was left handed. (He was right handed.)

Elvis Presley had a drummer in his band during his years at Sun Records. (He had a bass guitarist and a lead guitarist while he played rhythm. Yet, he didn’t have a drummer join his band until he worked for RCA.)

Elvis Presley’s controversial appearance on The Milton Berle Show was during December 1956. (The episode aired in June and wouldn’t rerun in December because it was live.)

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” was a hit in 1957. (It was released in 1961.)

Ray Charles:

Ray Charles was from Florida. (He was born in Georgia but he did spend most of his childhood there.)

Ray Charles wasn’t sexually active until his musical career. (He said he had his first sexual experience at 13 with a 19 year old girl while still in blind school. But you wouldn’t know it from Ray.)

Ray Charles was only married once. (He was married twice. He was first married to a woman named Eileen Williams from 1951 to 1952. She’s not shown in Ray nor the fact that his first child was born in 1950. His marriage to Della Beatrice Howard {known as “Bea”} was his second which took place in 1955 and their first son Ray Charles Robinson Jr. would be born the same year. They would later have two other children.)

Ray Charles only had one illegitimate child to Margie Hendricks named Charles Ray in 1959. (Contrary to Ray, the boy’s name was Charles Wayne. Actually during the course of his life, Ray Charles would have 12 kids to 10 different women putting many sports figures and rappers to shame. Aside from the three sons he had with Bea and Charles Wayne to Margie Hendricks, he had a kid name Evelyn to girlfriend Louise Mitchell in 1950, a daughter Raenee to Mae Mosely Lyles in 1961, a daughter named Shelia Raye Charles Robinson to Sandra Jean Betts in 1963, a daughter Alicia in 1966 to a woman who remains unidentified to this day, a daughter named Alexandra to Chantal Bertrand, a son named Vincent to Arlette Kotchounian in 1977, a daughter named Robyn to Gloria Moffett in 1978, and a son named Ryan Corey to Mary Anne den Bok in 1987. And this is all coming from his Wikipedia page.)

Ray Charles met Quincy Jones at while auditioning for a club the night he arrived in Seattle. (Contrary to Ray, they met a few days later.)

The death of his brother led Ray Charles to use drugs. (Yes, he was traumatized about his brother’s drowning despite being five but the biggest heartbreak in his early life was the loss of his mother when he was 15. Yet, he never claimed that he started using drugs other than that he wanted to, though drug use was part of the jazz and R&B culture at the time. Still, he was never that apologetic as he’s depicted in Ray for his heroin addiction. And though he’d kick his heroin habit in 1964 which was mostly more out of avoiding to avoid going to prison after his arrest for possession, he continued to smoke pot for the rest of his life. He also drank gin almost every day. Still, he was hardly a spokesman for sobriety.)

Ray Charles pushed Margie Hendricks to have an abortion when he found out she was pregnant with his child. (He never did contrary to Ray. On the contrary, he was willing to acknowledge and welcome all his children and there were many. Also, his womanizing is far more downplayed in the movie and he said he had no capacity or any desire to stay faithful to one woman.)

Miscellaneous:

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and Jim “the Big Bopper” Richardson died in a 1958 plane crash. (They died in 1959. American Hot Wax has it take place before the 1958 riot that ended Alan Freed’s career.)

“Mannish Boy” was a popular song in 1948. (It was released in 1955.)

“Mack the Knife” was a popular song in 1958. (It was released in 1959, but it’s a great theme song for Quiz Show which is about people doing very bad things for money and fame.)

The riot at the live Rock n’Roll show in 1958 was started by DJ Alan Freed which was held at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, NY. (Actually contrary to American Hot Wax, the riot happened at the Boston Arena and Freed was eventually cleared of all charges. Yet, he was fired from his job at the WINS Radio in New York and forced into bankruptcy.)

Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, June Carter, and Elvis Presley toured together for Sun Records. (Unfortunately, contrary to Walk the Line, this couldn’t have happened. By the time Jerry Lee Lewis was signed to Sun Records, Elvis had moved to RCA and toured on his own.)

Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” was popular in 1958. (It was released in 1962.)

“Tutti Frutti” was a song on the radio in the early 1950s. (It was released in November 1955.)

Saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman was a little more than a loudmouth junkie. (Yes, he was into drugs but he and Ray Charles were friends for over a decade. Contrary to Ray, he was a soft-spoken, gentle man of few words. Both were brought up on bebop though Ray ignores this. To Ray Charles, jazz was the center of his soul.)

Mary Ann Fisher was a manipulative tart. (Contrary to Ray, she’s said to be sometimes infuriating and sometimes endearing as well as engaging.)

Record executive Ahmet Ertegun spoke with a thick Turkish accent. (He spoke with hardly any accent as in Ray, not with a thick one as in Beyond the Sea.)

Surf music was popular in the 1950s. (Actually there were few surf music hits at this time and they sounded like doo wop more than anything.)

Leonard Chess opened Chess Studios in the mid-1950s. (Contrary to Cadillac Records, Chess Studios opened in 1957. At the time, he would’ve recorded exclusively at Universal Recording. Also, I find it hard believe that he’d look like Adrien Brody.)

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 73 – The Post-War American West

Posted by historymaniacmegan on June 5, 2014

Warren Beatty and Annette Bening star in the 1991 film of Bugsy where they portray the famed gangster Bugsy Siegel and “queen of the gangster molls” Virginia Hill. While their relationship was very accurately depicted in the film, their personalities weren’t. Bugsy Siegel was a notorious hitman who enjoyed killing and torturing people but did cultivate himself as an extravagant playboy. Virginia Hill was also an experience foul-mouthed criminal who had been involved with a string of gangsters and earned her way to the top through that and blackmailing thousands of dollars. Still, while this film says that Bugsy helped found Las Vegas, he was better known for making it the city it is today as a city of tacky glamor if you know what I mean. Still, we don’t know who killed him.

The American West seems to be a popular destination of post-WWII films set in the United States but it’s mostly different from the place we were accustomed to in the 19th century. Instead of the cowboys and Indian wilderness fare you see in the Old West movies, you have a much more cosmopolitan atmosphere with skyscrapers, fancy cars, glamor, luxury, gangsters, femme fatales, private eyes, fedoras, and Hollywood celebrities. Settings in Post-War films of the American West are usually set in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas or other swanky place. And many a time they usually revolve around crime and violence which would send people to flee to the suburbs if they could afford to do so. Yet, instead of the American idealism you see in westerns, these movies more or less portray the dark side of the American Dream in many respects with very few people you could trust if any since backstabbing is a common occurrence. Oh, and almost anyone could kill or be killed. Thus, many post-war era gangster and film noir movies are set in this location. Yes, Hollywood is still up and running yet the Old Hollywood Era as we know is about to decline due to TV as well as the end of the Studio System and Hays Code that will just be around the corner in the 1960s but RKO will get bought be a tire company before the 1940s are over. You also have many East Coast mobsters on a mass exodus to LA and Vegas where they will invest in new gambling enterprises as well as ritzy buildings but there will be killing. Then you have the Los Angeles Police Department, which is infamous for its corruption and violence against minorities. Nevertheless, there are movies set in this era that contain their share of inaccuracies which I shall list accordingly.

Gangsters and Criminals:

Mickey Cohen:

Gangster Mickey Cohen was taken down by the LAPD’s Gangster Squad trying to avenge the murder of one of their beloved wire tapper, Conwell Keeler during a shootout at the crime boss’s hotel with dozens of gangsters getting mowed down. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, the real Gangster Squad had no need to avenge the death of their beloved wire tapper since he was very much alive at the time and would actually outlive Cohen as well as most of the members on the original squad. Oh, and he did not have a porn stache either. As for Mickey Cohen, his capture didn’t happen in the way and he was arrested on tax evasion. The scene of his capture actually played out with cops simply confronting Cohen on some evidence that they found while digging into his incinerator. They also asked him how he could afford $50,000 to decorate his house all while shooting bullets. Also, unlike the movie, Jack O’Mara didn’t beat up Mickey or play any part of his capture since it happened in 1961, when he was retired {though he did watch Cohen’s trial as a civilian}.)

Mickey Cohen lived in a mansion. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, he didn’t. Rather he and his wife lived in a Brentwood house despite being wiretapped by police who listened to their conversations. The Cohens didn’t notice the wires until their gardener discovered them in 1948. The Vice Squad did this to blackmail him and the scheme ended in a public messy scandal.)

Mickey Cohen organized the murder of opponent Jack Dragna. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, Dragna died of a heart attack in 1956 so there’s no evidence Mickey ever organized the guy’s murder unless it was with through a regular diet of fried chicken or something else that’s bad for the arteries.)

Mickey Cohen murdered Jack Walen at his house. (While it’s possible he killed the guy, Whalen wasn’t killed at his home. He was shot in 1959 during a dinner with Cohen and his associates. Cohen wasn’t accused or convicted of the murder himself.)

Mickey Cohen was sent to Alcatraz for murder in 1949. (He was imprisoned in 1951 in which he was sentenced for four years and 1961 both times for tax evasion. He was sent to Alcatraz on his second arrest but he was later transferred to a federal facility in Atlanta, where he’d be released in 1972.)

Mickey Cohen often fired at cops. (Most organized syndicate mobsters would never try use violence on cops or other law enforcement because they knew shooting one would mean serious trouble. Also, the Gangster Squad often harassed Cohen’s organization to make it more difficult for him to conduct business.)

Mickey Cohen was killed with a lead pipe in prison. (He was hit with one, but he died in 1976 of stomach cancer and he was out of prison by then.)

Mickey Cohen was a violent sociopath. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, Sean Penn’s portrayal makes him a cardboard cutout. The real Mickey Cohen was a far more interesting man who hung out with celebrities like Errol Flynn and Robert Mitchum. He even had Billy Graham try to convert him. He was also seen as a suave gentleman beyond reproach as well as viewed by many as a real-life celebrity with his violent tendencies seen by few {with his shooting rampage after Bugsy Siegel’s death being one of them}. Those who made Gangster Squad seemed to use video games as source material.)

Mickey Cohen was slim and wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. (Cohen had a great fondness for ice cream that he considered as one of the four essential food groups which he ate every meal and a pathological fear of germs. He was also rather short. A more accurate Cohen would be a short, chubby, and frowning man who was endlessly washing his hands. Definitely not Sean Penn. Perhaps Jonah Hill.)

Mickey Cohen was recruited by Bugsy Siegel after the latter saw him rip off one of his operations. (Actually contrary to Bugsy, Cohen was sent from Cleveland to help Siegel and become his #2. Yet, they did admire and respect each other. When Bugsy was murdered, Cohen was so angry he stormed to the Hotel Roosevelt where he believed the killers were staying and shot up his gun to the ceiling demanding they show themselves.)

Mickey Cohen never married and had a mistress named Grace Faraday who he was very possessive of. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, though he was a philanderer, he had been married since 1940. His wife was LaVonne Weaver who was a petite model and dance instructor who put up with his affairs. They split in 1951.)

After Mickey Cohen’s arrest, leaders of the LAPD tried to take over his operations. (While the LAPD had a notorious reputation for corruption, I highly doubt that police officers would be involved with taking over Mickey Cohen’s organization like in L. A. Confidential since they just wanted to dissolve the organization. But there was some sort of power struggle among his lieutenants that did result in a lot of violence.)

Bugsy Siegel:

Despite being a murderer and a philanderer, deep down Bugsy Siegel was a charmer, romantic, and doting dad who baked cakes for his little girl’s birthday. (Sorry, Warren Beatty, but I understand you played him this way. Yet, the philandering and murdering bit are pretty much true. Still, the real Bugsy Siegel was arrested various times for rape, drug possession, carrying concealed weapons, and a string of murders, though he usually got off. Witnesses were beaten up, and in some cases, mysteriously died. When his old pal Bo Weinberg got on Bugsy’s bad side, Bugsy pistol whipped him, stabbed him in the neck, and repeatedly stabbed him in the stomach while Weinberg was gasping his way to an agonizing death. After his death, Bugsy repeatedly punctured Weinberg’s gut before throwing him into the East River just to get rid of the intestinal gases that make human bodies float after death. Yeah, he was that kind of guy.)

Bugsy Siegel was reluctant to kill Hank Greenberg. (Contrary to Bugsy, Bugsy and Greenberg were more like colleagues of the Jewish mob hit squad Murder Inc. than friends. Also, Greenberg was a much smarter man than his Elliot Gould portrayal. Sure he would threaten to turn in fellow mobsters for cash, but he never visited Bugsy and lived in LA because he was almost killed while hiding out with his former gang in Detroit. As for his murder, the New York mob establishment had already viewed Greenberg as a stool pigeon when he sent a letter he’d narc them out unless they gave him money to survive since he had been on the lam for several months thus making him a marked man. Furthermore Bugsy killed Greenberg with 3 other mobsters including Siegel’s brother-in-law and Virginia Hill wasn’t waiting in the car. Not only that, but Bugsy was too happy to kill Greenberg that he was advised by his other posse members to stay away from the slaying. His gang was too scared of him to get him to change his mind or suggest a smarter way to kill Greenberg that the murder was sloppily handled. The ensuing trial would reveal Bugsy’s true image to the West Coast for the first time.)

When Bugsy Siegel arrived in Las Vegas, the place was just a barren strip of Nevada desert and the first guy to envision it as a resort city it is today. (Except that contrary to Bugsy, Bugsy Siegel didn’t really personally hew Las Vegas out of untouched sand. Las Vegas had been inhabited since the 1930s during the Hoover Dam construction and by the time Bugsy is set in 1946, it already had a casino as well as become a kind of tourist destination {except that it was a nuclear testing site}. As a matter of fact, Bugsy Siegel actually bought into an existing casino development headed by Bill Wilkerson, who’s not in the film. With that he brought the idea of a pampered and exclusive hotel on the Vegas strip at a time when most of the city’s lodgings had a cowboy theme. It’s through the Flamingo’s construction that Siegel laid the groundwork of some of the ritzy hotels that are seen everywhere in the Vegas strip today.)

The Mafia was reluctant to grasp Bugsy Siegel’s ideas about Las Vegas. (Contrary to Bugsy, they were happy about looking for ways to extend their gambling operations in havens like Vegas and Havanna. In fact, Bugsy had run several offshore gambling operations in California and Nevada was just an extension of that. What the Mafia wasn’t sold on was the cost. Still, even after Bugsy was killed, organized crime syndicates would move in to build several high end hotels in the 1950s. If it weren’t for the mob, Las Vegas would just consist of a bunch of cowboy joints.)

Bugsy Siegel launched a surprise attack against Chicago mob boss Joey Epstein for the latter’s comments on Virginia Hill. (Contrary to Bugsy, this didn’t happen.)

Bugsy Siegel went to California to try to claim the state’s rackets for the East Coast bosses. (Yes, but Bugsy didn’t tell you that he also went there to flee from the New York authorities who were cracking down on organized crime hard.)

Bugsy Siegel was duped by Virginia Hill for millions in the construction and running of the Flamingo. (Contrary to Bugsy, both might’ve been involved in the skimmings with Siegel controlling most of the money while Hill was his henchman. Yet, Hill might’ve informed on him to the Chicago bosses which might’ve led to Bugsy’s murder. Not to mention, construction materials weren’t cheap at the end of World War II and the hotel had opened too soon. Yet, it would make a profit but Bugsy wouldn’t be around to enjoy it.)

Bugsy Siegel was killed right after the Flamingo’s failure. (He lived on for another year but most historians say that he knew his time was coming. Yet, his death had more to do with cutting too many powerful interests {particularly those who sent him in the first place} out of his West Coast revenues. In other words, he had taken his famous cavalier attitude too far and failed to check himself. By the time of his death the mob families out east had grown tired of his losses and rebellion and sent someone to take him out.)

Bugsy Siegel met his end being shot in the chest while he was watching a showreel by himself seeing himself doing a Hollywood screen test. (Actually though Bugsy was watching showreels at the time of this death, he was in a conversation with another gangster during that time. And he wasn’t shot in the chest but in the head with such force that his eye was blown out and later found by some unfortunate person 15ft away from his body. Still, I can see why Barry Levinson would clean Bugsy’s death scene up.)

Bugsy Siegel wanted to kill Axis leaders. (Actually he wanted to sell explosives to Mussolini in order to prevent Jewish persecution. However, he didn’t meet any Nazis during his European trip. Wish he would though for he would’ve made a great Inglourious Basterd.)

Esta Siegel:

Esta Siegel was forced to stay back East while her husband set out to build his empire out West. (Actually contrary to Bugsy, she went with him and resided in their Los Angeles mansion which they rented at way more than $40,000. Also, Esta’s brother was involved in some of Bugsy’s criminal activities who was a well-known Mafia hitman in his own right, too. She probably knew more than the movie implies. She divorced Bugsy in 1946.)

Jack Dragna:

Jack Dragna was a pathetic mobster who let Bugsy intimidate him. (Actually contrary to Bugsy, he was just as scary mobster as they come and smart enough to know when he was outgunned.)

Jack Dragna was Mickey Cohen’s boss. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, they were equals in Bugsy Siegel’s organization. When Cohen succeeded Bugsy, Dragna resented it so much that he tried to have him killed several times. However, Cohen just refused to believe that Dragna wanted him dead.)

Johnny Stompanato:

Johnny Stompanato was shot in the head in 1949. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, he was stabbed with scissors in 1958 by Cheryl Crane, the daughter of his girlfriend Lana Turner. It’s said she did it due to how Stompanato was treating her mother bit the official motive was self-defense {and despite suspicion, it’s certainly not true that Cheryl had a crush on Stompanato because she’s a lesbian}. Still, Stompanato and Turner had a relationship filled with violent arguments, physical abuse, and repeated reconciliations. Stompanato also pulled a gun at Sean Connery on suspicion that the Scotsman was having an affair with Turner while they were filming a movie together in England. Connery grabbed the gun out of Stompanato’s hand and twisted the gangster’s wrist, causing the crook to run sheepishly off the set.)

Johnny Stompanato and Lana Turner dated in 1953. (They didn’t meet until 1957. But having Guy Pearce mistake Lana Turner for a Lana Turner lookalike hooker was just too funny to resist on L. A. Confidential.)

Meyer Lansky:

Meyer Lansky admired Virginia Hill. (Maybe in Bugsy, but in real life, he would’ve saw her for what she was but he may have had some respect and admired her for her ability to earn money. Still, Ben Kingsley’s portray in Bugsy is mostly accurate to the real guy.)

Virginia Hill:

Virginia Hill was a regular gangster’s moll. (Contrary to Bugsy, she was not. Rather she was an experienced criminal as well as a foul mouthed viper and it was this nature that actually drew Bugsy to her in the first place. Though she started out as a prostitute, she did move up as a co-conspirator in several Mafia operations as well as represented Chicago mob interests in Vegas. In 1951, she was known as “queen of the gangster molls.”)

Virginia Hill was linked to Chicago mob boss Joey Epstein. (Yes, but he wasn’t the only one for she was involved with several high ranked mobsters like Frank Costello, Joe Adonis and others before meeting Bugsy. In Hollywood, she took her lessons in her mobster affairs and was known to blackmail several actors for thousands of dollars under threat that she’d reveal vices that could ruin their careers. She also had enough money to rent two mansions which Bugsy frequented since his family lived in Los Angeles. Bugsy didn’t need to be her sugar daddy.)

Virginia Hill was in Las Vegas when Bugsy Siegel was murdered. (She was out of the country taking a flight to Paris four days before. Yet, Bugsy was killed at one of her mansions.)

Virginia Hill was so devastated by Bugsy Siegel’s death that she committed suicide. (Actually, while she kills herself in Bugsy, the real Virginia Hill wouldn’t do the deed until 20 years later when she was living in Austria, though it may have been under suspicious circumstances since it’s said Joe Adonis was in the same village she was. By that time, she already married and had a child. Also, she might’ve been involved in Bugsy’s murder in the first place.)

Barbara Graham:

Barbara Graham had one infant son by the time of her murder conviction. (She had 2 sons from her first marriage who aren’t seen in I Want to Live! who were at least school age. But their father had custody and she probably never saw them again. Also, her youngest son was named Tommy, not Bobby, yet his name was probably changed for legal reasons. Still, she was married 4 times.)

Barbara Graham was faithful to her husband Henry. (She had an affair with Emmet Perkins who was a bit player for Mickey Cohen. Not to mention, she was frequently associated with men with records of violent crime.)

Barbara Graham wasn’t addicted to drugs. (She was a heroin addict.)

Barbara Graham didn’t kill Mabel Monahan. (Contrary to I Want to Live!, we can never be sure because her credibility was destroyed since she offered $25,000 to a fellow inmate to pose as a friend to provide an alibi. However, she was an undercover informer who wanted to reduce her own manslaughter sentence. Not to mention, she had already served time for perjury. Jack Santo and Emmet Perkins were certainly guilty though. However, Barbara was at the Monahan house during Mabel’s murder, which we can’t dispute. Still, she may not have been completely innocent but there’s reasonable doubt on the murder charge. Nevertheless, she probably should’ve received life in prison instead because the prosecutor’s case was flimsy. The papers also failed to cover the Monahan case objectively because she was a pretty woman, opting for sensationalism and speculation over substance and significant developments. She got way more coverage than he co-defendants Jack Santo and Emmet Perkins and the media tended to assume her guilt even before the trial. You can say she was more or less convicted because her checkered past and good looks basically made her tabloid fodder and proven guilty by public opinion. Thus, this got her legally screwed over. Nevertheless, even if Graham did pistol whip Monahan, this doesn’t necessarily make her guilty of murder since Monahan’s cause of death was asphyxiation {a.k.a. strangled}. Also, she had no record of violent crime prior to the Monahan incident and there was no physical evidence linking her to Monahan’s murder.)

Barbara Graham was the last person to approach the Monahan House. (According to John True and Baxter Shorter, she was the first. But when it comes to their accounts, Shorter and True’s stories about the Mabel Monahan murder tend to diverge aside from the pistol whipping and search for valuables. For instance, in Shorter’s account Emmet Perkins and John True struck Monahan {with Perkins pistol whipping her} while Jack Santo and Perkins tied her up and dragged her into the hall closet. True’s account has Graham pistol whipping Monahan and slipping a pillow case on her but has Santo and Perkins tying her up and fastening a strap around Monahan’s neck. Nevertheless, if you take the coroner’s report which states that Monahan was strangled and both these guys’ accounts, the filmmakers of I Want to Live! could’ve made a very convincing case of Barbara Graham’s innocence.)

John True implicated Barbara Graham for murdering Mabel Monahan. (Contrary to I Want to Live!, while it seems True would’ve done this {though legalities have his name changed to Bruce King}, he only implicated her for beating Monahan up, possibly so he won’t have to spend a day in prison. He might’ve thought Graham’s pistol whipping killed her, but Monahan didn’t die that way. So at worst, True’s account only implicates Graham of robbery and assault {or possibly attempted murder}, but not actual murder. Baxter Shorter didn’t implicate her for murder either. In fact, the last two guys Monahan’s even seen with in both their stories are Emmet Perkins and Jack Santo with both of them tying and dragging her away. Not to mention, it’s possible Shorter and True may not have seen or heard the actual murder take place {since Monahan was probably knocked out by then}. Still, it’s probably fair to say that the prosecutor screwed up somewhere.)

Barbara Graham, Emmet Perkins, and Jack Santo were caught with their clothes on. (They were all caught naked. Santo even sported an erection. Also, the guy accompanying them was John True not Bruce King. But True would later be released after he agreed to testify against Santo, Perkins, and Graham, especially after informant Baxter Shorter’s kidnapping. In short, John True was in fear of his life and quite possibly incriminated Graham to save his own ass. He also had no criminal record, prior to the Monahan episode so he made a more reliable witness. Not to mention, it took a couple of months for them to get caught for there was a reward of $5,000 for information on Mabel Monahan’s death. And they were all on the run as soon as True identified them as his crime partners.)

Barbara Graham was clothed in a scarlet outfit on her execution and a medal of Saint Jude. (According to Row Diva she wore, “a champagne wool suit with matching covered buttons, brown high-heel shoes, small, gold, drop earrings, and a crucifix around her neck, but no underwear and a stethoscope in her cleavage. It was a tight fitting suit for her slender 120 pounds body.“)

All Barbara Graham wanted was a normal life as a wife and mother. (While she might’ve wanted this, being married 4 times as well as a mother of 3 didn’t stop her from committing petty crimes and engaging in drug addiction and prostitution.Still, her husbands were probably as bad as you’d expect.)

Barbara Graham was straight. (She went both ways and might’ve been more than friends with in Donna Prow, an inmate she tried to bribe for a false alibi that she spent the night of the Monahan murder with undercover cop Sam Sirianni whom Prow was working for. Nevertheless, Sirianni played these tapes of their conversations in court but he was a cop just doing his job. Still, his was one of the most damning testimonies at Graham’s trial.)

Barbara Graham was telling the truth during her murder trial. (Actually, while she did admit to bribing Donna Prow due to desperation, she testified that she was home with her husband and son on the night of the murder, which definitely wasn’t the case. Thus, she committed perjury again. But I suspect she was probably desperate. Nevertheless, while Graham was certainly guilty of robbery, perjury, as well as breaking and entering {and possibly attempted murder or assault}, she shouldn’t have been convicted of murder.)

Edward Montgomery worked on Barbara Graham’s case before she was arrested. (He didn’t meet her until the latter part of her trial.)

Law Enforcement:

The Los Angeles Police Department Bloody Christmas incident was a short brawl. (This is seen in L. A. Confidential though the officers in the real 1951 incident had different names pertaining to the suspects and the victims {changed for legal reasons, no doubt}, but it was actually a 95 minute no holds barred beat down on seven guys {5 Hispanic, 2 white} by drunken cops during the LAPD Christmas party on Christmas Eve. And this incident wasn’t properly investigated until the LAPD was pressured to by the Mexican American community. This incident would eventually result in 8 indictments, 54 transfers, and 39 suspensions without pay. As with the indictments, only 5 were convicted and only one served more than a year in prison. Still, as many as 50 LAPD offers were said to participate in the ordeal as well were known and/or witnessed by at least 100 people. So the LAPD’s reputation for police brutality {particularly to minorities} even existed in the 1950s as well.)

The Gangster Squad:

The formation of the Gangster Squad was due to the fact that Los Angeles was a defenseless against a crime lord like Mickey Cohen. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, the main reason why the Gangster Squad was formed was because gang violence threatened LA’s image, not the city itself.)

Police officer William H. Parker was a no-nonsense Christian in his 70s. (Despite his Nick Nolte portrayal in Gangster Squad, Parker was far more controversial and was only 45 in 1949. During his tenure as chief, he faced accusations of police brutality and racial animosity toward Los Angeles’ black and Latino residents which led to the Watts riots of 1965. Yet, he did desegregate the police force during the Civil Rights movement.)

There were black and Latino members in the Gangster Squad. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, there weren’t. In fact, the LAPD isn’t known to be one of the most minority friendly organizations, to put it mildly. L. A. Confidential‘s LAPD is much closer to the norm, at least when it comes to minorities.)

Police officer William H. Parker created the Gangster Squad. (It was created by Chief Clemence B. Horrall in 1946.)

There were only 6 members of the Gangster Squad. (There were 18 but it would later expand to include 37.)

Conwell Keeler was the first to die on the Gangster Squad. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, he was the last of the original to die which was of a stroke in 2012, not shot in the line of duty. Max Kennard was the first of the squad to die.)

Max Kennard was shot in the line of duty. (Contrary to Gangster Squad, he died in a car crash in 1952 after he had retired.)

The Gangster Squad was responsible for Mickey Cohen’s arrest. (The IRS and the LAPD were since Cohen got nailed for tax evasion.)

Police officer John O’Mara had a son during his time in the Gangster Squad. (He had a daughter. Also, he died in 2003.)

Daryl Gates was Chief William Parker’s driver in 1949. (He didn’t enter the LAPD until September of that year and didn’t become Parker’s driver until many years later.)

The Black Dahlia Murder:

Everyone knew Elizabeth Short as “Betty.” (Contrary to The Black Dahlia, she was usually called “Betty” during her childhood but preferred to be called “Beth.” Nobody in LA knew her as “Betty.”)

Elizabeth Short’s organs were removed during her murder. (Contrary to The Black Dahlia, her autopsy didn’t say this.)

Elizabeth Short was a prostitute and made at least one porno movie. (Contrary to The Black Dahlia, she was an aspiring actress who was involved with quite a few men.)

Elizabeth Short dabbled in lesbianism. (I’m sure this is something Brian DePalma just made up as fetish fuel or something. Sure Short was no saint but I don’t think having her dabble in lesbianism is going a bit too far.)

Elizabeth Short was a young woman looking for trouble. (Contrary to The Black Dahlia, this probably isn’t true. She just wanted to make it into movies. Her childhood friend Mary Pacios said, “Elizabeth Short is one of the most maligned victims in the history of this country.”)

Hollywood:

Rock Hudson starred in North by Northwest. (Cary Grant did, not Rock Hudson.)

George Reeves:

All of George Reeves’ scenes were cut from the film From Here to Eternity. (Actually the finished film includes all of his scenes, contrary to Hollywoodland. You probably wouldn’t notice him though since he wasn’t part of the main cast. The test screening scene in the film was inspired by urban legend.)

George Reeves burned his costume to celebrate the cancellation of his Superman series. (He’s said to burn his costume at the end of each season contrary to Hollywoodland.)

George Reeves’ fiancée Leonore Lemmon attended the reading of his last will and testament and was shocked to get nothing. (She knew she wasn’t getting anything from him after he died and wasn’t invited to the reading contrary to Hollywoodland. Still, it’s no surprise that he left his estate to Toni who gave him his house, car, and paid many of his bills during their relationship. As to Reeves’ death, we’re not sure what happened since Leonore Lemmon proved to be an unreliable witness while most of the people there were drunk.)

George Reeves’ murder investigation was conducted by detective Louis Simo. (Adrien Brody’s character in Hollywoodland is fictional but he’s based on actual detectives Reeves’ mother hired. Yet, contrary to the film, George Reeves mother never accepted the police verdict of suicide and continued to agitate for a fuller investigation after her son’s death.)

George Reeves got the role of Superman as Eddie Mannix’s way to please his wife Toni. (Contrary to Hollywoodland, they didn’t know each other before Mole Men since they met on the set when Reeves was already playing Superman. Also, while Toni did a lot for him as a sugar mama such as buy him a house, he got the Superman job on his own.)

George Reeves dumped Toni Mannix for Leonore Lemmon. (Actually he and Toni broke up before he even met Leonore. Rather Reeves wanted Toni to leave Eddie and marry him but she refused.)

George Reeves was dissatisfied with being typecast as Superman. (Contrary to Hollywoodland, Reeves might’ve hated the job but not enough that he would take his own life over it. Also, he was said to be scheduled to do two more seasons of Superman and was given a pay raise. Also, he was scheduled to go on tour as Superman and box the former light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore which he had been excited about. Still, he may have hated the job but he loved some of the perks.)

George Reeves did all his own stunts in the Superman series. (Except he didn’t do most of them as implied by Hollywoodland. Yet, he did do a few cable aided takeoffs and did fall once.)

George Reeves was murdered before Toni and Eddie Mannix’s wedding anniversary. (Eddie and Toni were married on May 31 and George was killed on June 16.)

Toni Mannix:

Toni Mannix was pissed when George Reeves dumped her for Leonore Lemmon. (Actually contrary to Hollywoodland, she was furious that she’s said to have made constant harassing calls to his house, threatened to tell the press he was gay, and talked to friends about killing him. Even worse, she even possibly stole his beloved schnauzer and had him put to sleep. As for her husband Eddie Mannix, he was more disturbed that George deserted his wife than the whole affair and for good reason.)

Alfred Hitchcock:

Alfred Hitchcock was offered to direct The Diary of Anne Frank during the premiere of North by Northwest. (Contrary to Hitchcock, Hitch would’ve been the worst choice to direct that movie. Besides, the movie version came out four months before North by Northwest.)

Alfred Hitcock’s sign off on his show was “Good Evening.” (It was his greeting at the beginning of every episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He’d always sign off with “Good Night.” Why did Hitchcock get this wrong?)

Charlie Chaplin:

While still in New York Harbor on a steamer liner, Charlie Chaplin was barred from reentering the United States during the 1950s on account of his suspect politics. (He was actually barred from reentry when he was half way across the Atlantic. Of course, Richard Attenborough wanted to show the Statue of Liberty.)

Charlie Chaplin didn’t make any movies during his exile in Switzerland. (He continued to make films though his career wasn’t the same.)

Rita Hayworth:

Rita Hayworth was pregnant in 1951. (Contrary to Hollywoodland, she wasn’t. In fact, she had her last child in 1949.)

Joan Crawford:

Joan Crawford was an abusive mother who beat her children with wire hangers. (Even Christina Crawford admitted that Joan never beaten her kids with a wire hanger ever. In fact, she hated them that she didn’t want to use them on her clothes or her kids.’ Yet, the wire hanger scene is famous in Mommie Dearest and Joan Crawford has been associated with them ever since. As for the abusive part, when Christina Crawford’s Mommie Dearest came out, it met objections from a number of people who knew her including ex-husband Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Bette Davis, Myrna Loy, Van Johnson, colleagues, friends, and even her twin daughters Cathy and Cynthia who had fond memories of their adoptive mother. Sure Joan Crawford may not have been a perfect parent but just because she didn’t have a good relationship with two of her children, doesn’t mean she was a terrible parent. It’s been suggested that Christina Crawford wrote Mommie Dearest because she either had been left out of her mom’s will or that her mother replaced Christina on a soap opera she was a regular on while undertaking major surgery.)

Joan Crawford was fired from MGM. (She wasn’t contrary to Mommie Dearest. She actually paid MGM to be released so she could work for Warner Brothers.)

Marilyn Monroe:

Marilyn Monroe was a famous actress in 1951. (She was still a small-time player then.)

Bela Lugosi:

By the time he worked for Ed Wood, Bela Lugosi hadn’t made a film in four years. (Actually the year before Wood and Lugosi had done Glen or Glenda in 1953, Bela Lugosi did the 1952 “classic” Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. Never heard of it? Neither did I. He also did The Black Sheep in 1956. Probably never heard of that one either.)

During the time he was working for Ed Wood, Bela Lugosi had been living an isolated existence at his suburban bungalow Hollywood with his ex-wife’s two Chihuahuas. (Actually by this time, he was living with his fifth wife Hope Lininger, saw his teenage son Bela George Lugosi, and enjoyed visits by his biggest fan Frank Sinatra {yes, that Frank Sinatra}. When Lugosi entered rehab for his morphine addiction, Sinatra would send him either a $1,000 check or a lavish gift hamper {depending on the biography} with a note: “Thank you so much for many, many wonderful hours of entertainment.” Not only that, but Lugosi would die at 72.)

Bela Lugosi was prone to fits of swearing. (He wasn’t, especially in front of women.)

Bela Lugosi did his own water stunts in Bride of the Monster. (He didn’t.)

The Bela Lugosi’s scenes in Plan 9 from Outer Space were filmed outside his own house. (No, but they were filmed outside Tor Johnson’s house though.)

Ed Wood:

In order to appease his backers the Southern Baptist Church, the entire cast for Plan 9 from Outer Space was baptized at a Beverly Hills swimming pool. (Contrary to the movie Ed Wood, only Ed Wood and Swedish wrestler Tor Johnson were baptized by the Southern Baptists. 412lb Johnson crashed through the preacher’s hands and lay there at the bottom of the pool like a rock while the minister struggled vainly to heave him out. Wood would remember Johnson affectionately as “Always the showman, Tor allowed the suspense long enough for the drama to build, then swam away.” Still, at least Ed Wood looked more or less like Johnny Depp. Yet, he did get the Southern Baptist Church to fund his movie by lying them into thinking he was going to make a religious film.)

Chained Girls was made before Glen or Glenda. (It was made after Glen or Glenda, which was Wood’s first film and based on the life of one of the first transsexuals. And yes, Wood played the title role since crossdressing was one of his hobbies.)

Ed Wood was a closet alcoholic. (Everyone who worked with Wood knew he was a womanizing drunk.)

Ed Wood’s transvestite tendencies and strange friendships led to his break up with his longtime girlfriend Dolores Fuller. (Contrary to Ed Wood, his drinking did. Apparently, Dolores was perfectly fine with him putting on women’s clothing, wearing high heels, suspenders, and a bra, just not hanging around in bars.)

Ed Wood hooked up with Kathy O’Hara shortly after his break up with Dolores Fuller. (Contrary to Ed Wood, Wood had a short and impulsive first marriage to Norma McCarty in between his relationships with Fuller and O’Hara. “It only lasted for days and minutes,” remarked Kathy O’Hara, “ending as soon as he put on a nightgown.”)

Ed Wood met his idol Orson Welles. (He never met Welles, contrary to Ed Wood.)

Dolores Fuller:

Dolores Fuller was a moron who was a judgmental and wholly unpleasant person. (Burton biographer Ken Hanke criticized Sarah Jessica Parker’s portrayal of Dolores Fuller saying that she was a savvy and humorous woman. During her relationship with Ed Wood, she had regular TV jobs on programs like Queen for a Day and The Dinah Shore Show. She was also a successful songwriter for Elvis Presley. Yes, that Elvis Presley. Still, she didn’t like her depiction in Ed Wood either. Still, she was better off dumping Ed Wood since he drank himself to death at 54 and ended his career writing for porn. Not only that, but prior to his death, Wood and his wife were so poor that they were evicted from their flophouse apartment. His wife Kathy would be left destitute.)

Dolores Fuller was an unsupportive girlfriend to Ed Wood. (Contrary to Ed Wood, she did try to be supportive to Ed. For instance, in Glen or Glenda, she not only acted in the film, but also helped raise money, scout locations, and pick the wardrobe for Wood’s character {that included some of her own clothes.} And no, he didn’t make a woman hotter than her. She also adored Bela Lugosi for she was also of Hungarian descent herself and even cooked him goulash the way he liked it.)

Dolores Fuller smoked. (The real Dolores Fuller said she never did.)

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 72 – Post-War America

Posted by historymaniacmegan on June 5, 2014

Joan Allen and William H. Macy are seen here in the 1998 Pleasantville about a community that lives in a 1950s TV sitcom with a plot that goes along the same lines as The Purple Rose of Cairo in reverse meets The Giver. Here are these two presented in 1950s caricatures. Joan Allen is seen here as the perfect mom who can make rice crispy treats and still look fabulous. William H. Macy is the standard 1950s dad who knows everything and always does the right thing but needs a martini after going through a typical day at the office. Yet, this kind of picture shows post war America as many would remember it with a picture of a perfect American home as a cover of burgeoning anxieties over social change.

The few posts I’m going to focus more on the post-war world between the end of World War II in 1945 to 1960. And right now I’m happy that I don’t have to do any more World War II posts anymore because I had to to eight. Many people tend to remember this time as the good old days (at least in America) with suburban houses, white picket fences, manicured lawns, wholesomeness, and fancy cars. Yet, underneath that fancy world of stability and consumerism is a deep underbelly of social anxiety. It was also a time of great change with a higher rate of consumerism, new styles of living like the suburbs of the urban sprawl, decolonization, and highway infrastructure. And then there’s the advent of television which will find its way in the homes across the world of anyone who could afford one. It is a new media outlet for communication and entertainment as well as of great influence. Oh, and there’s the Cold War and the potential threat of nuclear annihilation that could come at any time. And they call these time the good old days and make nostalgic movies about them. Good grief.

The United States emerged from World War II with relative ease compared to other nations since it was one of the few major countries to come out of the conflict with its infrastructure intact. It was a time of great prosperity and stability with the baby boom, suburban explosion, highway expansion, and other things. However, it was also a time of great anxiety in the United States since World War II changed so much even as Americans tried to revert to what everything was supposed to be. Except it wasn’t. Dad would sometimes have PTSD induced nightmares while Mom would daydream about her days working in a munitions factory when she had a real job and nobody cared about whether she looked like crap. Uncle Arthur would sometimes come to visit from Greenwich Village with his “roommate” Rodney while Mom and Dad asked him why he’s not yet married and would try to fix him up with a nice girl he’d have absolutely no interest in. Then you have Susie who wants to be a doctor which the family doesn’t want to encourage or Elsie’s painting that’s seen as a selfish hobby. I mean after all, aren’t girls supposed to be more concerned with finding a husband than anything? Next you have Uncle Gary who’s in trouble for being a Communist Party membership in his college days and is being forced to name names and Aunt Gertrude’s “free-spirited” attitude doesn’t seem to be helping. Then there’s Little Bobby and Betty Lou who don’t understand why they can’t invite the black kids down the road to Little Mindy’s birthday party. I mean nobody else in inviting the black family to their social events for some reason. And the black family is thinking about suing the local nearby school so their kids don’t have to attend the one farther away. Nevertheless, while there are plenty of movies made in this era, there are a share of inaccuracies I shall list accordingly.

Juan Trippe:

Juan Trippe was a smarmy airline vulture plotting with meretricious politicians to take over the world’s air routes. (Yes, he was a schemer but he was as concerned with long term survival as with achieving a monopoly. He knew that Pan Am needed domestic feeder routes and that his airline would be in a competitive disadvantage if limited to overseas operations. Trippe’s attempt to use political pressure to force Howard Hughes to sell TWA was perfectly rational in a business sense. Had Trippe had gotten his way Pan Am would still be flying and 2001: A Space Odyssey wouldn’t really look so unrealistic with the Pan Am spaceships.)

Howard Hughes:

In 1947, Howard Hughes’ Hercules plane managed to fly over boats and newsreel cameras for over a minute. (The real Hercules was airborne for only 20 seconds and was never more than 70 feet above the water. Also, unlike in The Aviator Odie wasn’t with him during the flight because Hughes wanted there be no doubt that he was at the controls. Those on board with him were: Radio Operator Merle Coffee, Flight Engineer Don Smith, Flight Mechanic John Glen, James McNamara, and various reporters. Oh, and witnesses weren’t seated and separated from Hughes when he was at the controls either since newsreel footage reveals people actually standing in the cockpit with James McNamara steps away from the rich eccentric.)

Howard Hughes loaned Donald Nixon {brother of Richard Nixon} $250,000 in 1956 to secure a Pentagon contract, which would’ve brought Richard Nixon down if made public. (Contrary to The Hoax, the money was to help Donald Nixon save his restaurant chain, which was public knowledge by the 1960 presidential race. So, no, it wouldn’t have brought Nixon down.)

J. Edgar Hoover:

J. Edgar Hoover was a visionary vigilante who stood alone against the reds with all American protests movements as indicative of communism. (Hoover himself believe this but he wasn’t since his red scare targets went beyond communists and anarchists to include prominent and unprominent liberals, federal judges, senators, anyone belonging to any union, the ACLU, black nationalists like Marcus Garvey, and others. His investigation created files on more than 200,000 people and organizations.)

Eugene Allen:

Eugene Allen got the job as the White House butler by getting caught stealing cake in a hotel, getting hired as a waiter and later impressing a White House who happened to be there. (Sorry, Lee Daniels, while it makes for an interesting story, Eugene Allen became the White House butler simply by applying for the job like a normal person would.)

Chuck Yeager:

Chuck Yeager’s NF-104 flight was an unplanned, spur of the moment thing. (Contrary to The Right Stuff, it was well planned as referenced in the book and his autobiography.)

Chuck Yeager was asked to break the sound barrier on October 13, 1947. (Contrary to The Right Stuff, he wasn’t. He had been flying the Bell X-1 since August of that year and made 8 previous powered flights. When he actually did break the sound barrier, it was by accident for he was aiming at Mach .97 but at speeds just under Mach 1, a shock wave made the Machmeter read low.)

When Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, people thought that his plane had exploded. (Unlike in The Right Stuff, a scientist actually predicted a sonic boom would happen, which was expected.)

There were fatal accidents on the Bell X-1 before Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. (There weren’t any.)

Chuck Yeager’s wife was there when her husband broke the sound barrier. (Actually she wasn’t. Also, she didn’t know about the first supersonic flight until three months later because Yeager’s Bell X-1 supersonic flight was conducted in complete secrecy.)

Chuck Yeager became a major general. (He retired at brigadier.)

Bettie Page:

Bettie Page was a model in 1946. (She didn’t begin modeling until 1950.)

Bettie Page and her husband Billy didn’t attend Hume-Fogg High School in Nashville, TN. (Contrary to The Notorious Bettie Page, they did.)

Bettie Page was totally OK with her job in fetish/costume/modeling and was quite naïve as to the erotic uses of such photos of her. (Actually while The Notorious Bettie Page shows her like this, she wasn’t necessarily naive. Her attitude basically was “God made us nude, so how bad could it be?” but the more extreme fetish posing fostered sexual deviant desires. Numerous fully nude shoots she did for amateur camera clubs bears this out. Eventually she became fed up with this kind of modeling and became a born-again Christian in 1959, but I wouldn’t blame her.)

William Shawn:

New Yorker editor William Shawn arranged for Richard Avedon to take pictures of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, arranged Truman Capote’s reading, and accompanied Capote to Kansas for the executions. (Contrary to Capote, Shawn’s sons say he didn’t do any of that and actually felt squeamish about Capote’s reading project.)

Writers:

Ayn Rand:
Ayn Rand’s original title for Atlas Shrugged was Atlas Shrugged. (It was called The Strike when she was working on it contrary to The Passion of Ayn Rand. She didn’t change it to Atlas Shrugged until her husband suggested it. Yet, it’s true she did have an affair with a man 25 years younger than her.)

Truman Capote:

Truman Capote bribed the warden in order to visit Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. (It’s more likely he engaged in a legal firm named Saffels and Hope to negotiate his access deal with the Governor of Kansas no less. So, no, he probably didn’t bribe a warden under the table as Capote implies, but what would you rather see?)

Truman Capote promised to help Dick Hickock and Perry Smith find adequate legal representation. (Contrary to Capote, the real Truman Capote never offered to find a proper lawyer for Hickock and Smith.)

Truman Capote visited Perry Smith a lot from his prison cell. (They mostly communicated by letter but you sort of need to see Truman Capote visit Perry Smith in prison in Capote since you don’t get the suspenseful effect if Capote and Smith were just pen pals.)

During his trip to Holcomb, Kansas, Truman Capote saw the bloodied mattresses during his visit to the scene of the crime at the Clutter house. (Contrary to Infamous, by the time Capote arrived at Holcomb, the mattresses, bedclothes, sofa, and other bloodstained items were burned on November 16 by four friends of Herb Clutter volunteering to clean up the house.)

Truman Capote attended the Clutter family’s viewing at the funeral home. (Contrary to Capote, he arrived in Holcomb, Kansas several days after the funeral had taken place. Also, from Imdb: “According to “In Cold Blood”, the detail about the heads of the deceased being wrapped in gauze was related to Capote by Nancy Clutter’s friend, Susan Kidwell, who visited the funeral parlor with Nancy’s boyfriend Bobby Rupp, while the caskets remained open.”)

Truman Capote witnessed Dick Hickock and Perry Smith’s hanging. (He only witnessed Dick Hickock’s hanging. He couldn’t stand the thought of watching Smith die so he left before it happened.)

Truman Capote wrote with a typewriter. (Contrary to his Philip Seymour Hoffman portrayal, he wrote everything in longhand.)

Truman Capote’s hair was parted on the right side and he wore his watch on his left wrist. (Photos of him show his hair parted on the left side and wearing his watch on his right wrist.)

Julia Child:

Julia and Paul Child had a spat with Julia’s father about Joseph McCarthy during her sister’s wedding reception. (Yes, Julia and Paul were critics of Joe McCarthy but while Dorothy McWilliams got married in 1951, McCarthy was a relative unknown outside Wisconsin and wouldn’t have the kind of pull that would send Paul for questioning in Washington. So the argument in the wedding reception of Julie & Julia is fictional. However, Mr. McWilliams was a supporter of Richard Nixon, who did have a name for himself then.)

The original boeuf bourguignon recipe included carrots. (It didn’t, yet Julia uses carrots in the stew in Julie & Julia.)

Julia and Paul Child moved to Paris in 1949. (They moved in 1948.)

Julia Child’s father didn’t approve of either of his daughters’ marriages. (Julia and Paul’s marriage, yes. Dorothy’s marriage to Ivan Cousins, there’s no evidence he did though it’s implied in Julie & Julia. Nevertheless, despite being tiny, Paul Child was kind of a badass since he was a black belt in judo while he and Julia met each other in the OSS during World War II.)

Scientists:

Dr. John Nash:

John Nash’s hallucinations were visual and auditory. (Actually, Nash was just a schizophrenic who just heard voices in his head, though since film is a visual medium, depicting his illness more accurately in A Beautiful Mind wouldn’t be very helpful to viewers {and the real Nash was perfectly fine with this}. Also, he didn’t develop schizophrenic symptoms until some years after graduate school. )

Between his years at Princeton and MIT, John Nash worked for the Pentagon. (He actually worked for the RAND Corporation as a consultant but he did do work in decoding Soviet communications. Also, he didn’t work for the Wheeler Lab while at MIT because it doesn’t exist and there’s no such pen ceremony at Princeton either.)

Through his wife’s love and devotion, John Nash was able to reduce incidence of frequent hallucinations by committing to a medication regiment and learning over time to ignore them just in time to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. (That’s a nice story, Ron Howard, but it’s full of shit. John and Alicia actually divorced in 1963 {though she did help him and they did renew their relationship when he won the Nobel Prize [which he wasn’t allowed to accept due to being off his meds as well as for fear that he’d whip out his dick and scream racial slurs at imaginary Jews] as well as remarry in 2001}. However, Alicia’s reason for divorcing John had more to do with him getting caught picking up young men at public toilets and not things like schizophrenia, fathering a kid out of wedlock and not paying child support {though this happened before he may have met his wife}, anti-Semitism, throwing his wife to the ground and placing his foot on her neck in front of his own students at a picnic, and you name it. Yeah, somehow boning dudes at men’s rooms was a deal breaker for Alicia. As for the medication, he hadn’t been on anything since 1970 and he recovered despite refusing treatment, which actually might’ve been a better decision in the long run even if he wasn’t allowed to receive his Nobel Prize out of fear of making a TMZ worthy spectacle of himself. But Ron Howard put it in anyway because he didn’t want to encourage potentially mentally ill movie goers to stop therapy, which may not have been available for Nash.)

Dr. Alfred Kinsey:

Dr. Alfred Kinsey was a skinny average looking guy. (Contrary to Kinsey, he looked less like Liam Neeson and more like a slightly overweight William H. Macy. Oh, and he was in his fifties at the time when Sexual Behavior of the Human Male was published.)

Dr. Alfred Kinsey was a passive partner during his affairs with men. (He actually wasn’t, particularly during his affair with Clyde Martin in 1939 and he wasn’t the only one.)

Those who objected to Dr. Kinsey’s research on human sexuality were either anti-sex prudes or conservatives. (Yes, there were people who objected to Kinsey’s research as in the man’s biopic. Yet, some of his methods would’ve been pretty controversial even by our standards. Kinsey was known to persuade many of the male researchers who worked with him to try gay sex, often with him and insisted he was “happily married” to avoid scandal. He also made secret films of his subjects having sex, joining in, gathering unusual data on children’s sexual responses from a pedophile, and presenting them as a product of a wider study.)

Dr. Alfred Kinsey was a professor at Indiana University. (He was a professor of the University of Indiana.)

Dr. Alfred Kinsey’s parents were still together when he was working on his sexual research books. (Actually, his parents divorced in 1931 when Kinsey was 37 and he never saw or contacted his father again after that. Yet, in Kinsey, family and friends are visiting Alfred Sr. at home after Alfred Jr.’s mother Sara was just buried.)

Albert Einstein:

Albert Einstein accepted Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle as a fundamental physical law. (He never did saying, “Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the ‘old one’. I, at any rate, am convinced that He (God)does not throw dice.” [Quantum Mechanics is based on laws of probability … hence the reference to dice.])

Albert Einstein had a niece named Catherine Boyd. (I.Q.’s plot has Einstein’s niece as a main character. However, she probably didn’t exist since Einstein had one sister who didn’t have children. Thus, he was nobody’s uncle, at least in a biological sense.)

Kurt Godel:

Kurt Godel was mischievous and gregarious. (He was famously shy and reclusive. Also, along with Boris Podolsky, he was between 17 and 30 years younger than Einstein. In I. Q. they’re about the same age.)

Sports:

The Houston Astros existed in the late 1940s. (They didn’t.)

Brooklyn Dodgers sportscaster Ray Barber broadcasted the away games for his team in Philadelphia and Cincinnati. (Contrary to 42, no team broadcaster ever went with his team during an away game. Also, at that time, away game broadcasting consisted of recreating the came back in the studio from a pitch by pitch summary transmitted over telegraph wire from the stadium where the game was played.)

Wendell Smith was the first black member of the Baseball Writers Association of America. (Contrary to 42, Sam Lacy was in 1948.)

Brooklyn Dodgers player Dixie Walker was traded for signing a petition over Jackie Robinson. (While he certainly did sign a petition, he only did so under pressure from his teammates but he was more civil to Jackie Robinson by the end of the season and gained much respect for him. As for his trading, it had more to do with him being in his late thirties and nearing the end of his career.)

Brooklyn Dodgers GM Leo Durocher was suspended by team commissioner Happy Chandler over his affair with an Actress Larraine Day. (Though he was suspended and did have an affair with Larraine Day, Durocher was actually suspended by Chandler due to allegations of gambling.)

Pee Wee Reese put his arm around Jackie Robinson during the 1947 game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers. (Contrary to 42, this happened in 1948.)

Boxer Billy Fox was undefeated by November 1947. (He had lost a professional match a few months earlier in February against Gus Lesnevich.)

Jake LaMotta:

Boxer Jake LaMotta beat up his brother Joey on the vaguest suspicion that he might’ve slept with his second wife Vicki. (Contrary to Raging Bull, the victim was Jake’s friend and eventual co-author of his autobiography Peter Savage. Somehow they managed to bury the hatchet judging by hindsight but a fight scene between Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci is probably mandatory in a Martin Scorsese film, particularly if it’s about boxing.)

Jake LaMotta would often perform Marlon Brando’s scene from On the Waterfront during his club routines in the ring. (He actually did Shakespeare, but you wouldn’t expect a famous boxer to be into him. As with the fight with Marcel Cerdan, while LaMotta said it was the happiest moment of his life, Cerdan would die 4 months later in a transatlantic plane crash after agreeing to a rematch with him. What makes it sadder is that Cerdan was on his way to see his girlfriend, the singer Edith Piaf who was devastated.)

Jackie Robinson:

Jackie Robinson proposed to his girlfriend Rachel after he signed up with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. (Actually they were engaged in 1943 while he was still in the Army unlike what 42 implies. And the Dodgers spring training wasn’t held in Panama City, Panama but Havanna, Cuba, but you can understand why the makers of 42 changed that.)

Jackie Robinson broke a bat in the dugout tunnel. (He never did.)

When he was up to bat, Jackie Robinson was hit in the head by racist Pirates Pitcher Fritz Ostermueller which resulted in a fight between the two on the mound. (Actually, Ostermueller was a left handed pitcher whose pitch hit Robinson on the left wrist which he claimed was a brushback pitch without racist intent. There was no fight on the mound afterwards, though I would’ve preferred that over watching baseball.)

Jackie Robinson stole 27 bases without getting caught in his 1947 season. (The number of bases he stole during his rookie year is unknown since caught stealing wasn’t an officially recorded baseball statistic at the time and wouldn’t be until 1951.)

Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play Major League Baseball. (He wasn’t for the first one was Moses Fleetwood Walker, catcher for the Toronto Blue Stockings from 1884 to 1889, when the MLB officially erected its color barrier. Yet, Robinson was the guy who’d break the color barrier in Major League baseball in 1947.)

The Quiz Show Scandals:

Herbert Stempel’s time on Twenty-One was over when he answered On the Waterfront instead of Marty as the 1955 Oscar winner for Best Picture on the insistence of the show’s producers during his match against Charles Van Doren. (Yes, he did give the wrong answer on the Marty question despite that he watched the movie three times because he mistakenly believed that NBC would give him a TV job afterwards. However, Stempel and Van Doren would go on for another tie game before the latter won.)

Twenty-One’s host Jack Barry, Geritol, and NBC were all involved in the show’s rigging. (Contrary to Quiz Show they weren’t. Barry didn’t know anything about the rigging but covered it up when he found out. All the involvement NBC and Geritol had with the Twenty-One scandal is asking Barry and producer Dan Enright to change the show after the disastrous first episode. Without Barry’s knowledge, Enright opted to rig the show.)

Charles Van Doren was single during his time on Twenty-One and never taught again after the scandal. (According to a 2008 article, he said he had a regular girlfriend {not present in Quiz Show} and he actually did continue to teach after the scandal though is career wasn’t the same.)

Congressional lawyer Dick Goodwin met Charles Van Doren while the latter was teaching at Columbia University. (They actually met at the NBC canteen, but the outcome was the same as in Quiz Show.)

Charles Van Doren was a contestant on Twenty-One before the Soviet launch of Sputnik I. (Sputnik’s launched happened in October 1957. Van Doren was on Twenty-One from November 1956 to March 1957.)

Charles Van Doren weaseled his way out of Twenty-One by answering a question wrong live on air during the show as the game show rigging congressional investigation was underway. (Van Doren had already left the show by the time the rigging investigation began. However, Van Doren did throw a question but it was more of NBC’s choice according to him and show producer Al Freedman for they had already chosen his replacement.)

Twenty-One was the only show implicated in the quiz show scandals which lasted for a year. (It lasted for three years and Twenty-One wasn’t the only show that was implicated in rigging nor was it the first, though you wouldn’t know it from Quiz Show. Shows that were also rigged were Tic-Tac-Dough, The $64,000 Question, The $64,000 Challenge, and Dotto which actually set off the 1958 investigations. Nevertheless, the reputations of the key contestants on these shows were ruined and quiz shows virtually disappeared from prime time American TV for decades.)

Dick Goodwin played a pivotal role in the investigation of the quiz show scandals. (Though Goodwin co-produced Quiz Show, which was an adaptation of his Remembering America, he actually had relatively little to do with the investigations.)

Miscellaneous:

Homer Hickam’s dad was named John. (Contrary to October Sky, Homer was named after his father.)

The 1950s was a great wholesome time to grow up. (Despite racism, sexism, McCarthyism, homophobia, smoking and drinking, lead in paint, gasoline, and food cans, pesticides, pollution, conservatism, and threat of nuclear war.)

All adults smoked during the 1950s and had no idea it would lead to further health problems. (Actually only half of adult men in the US did as well as a third of women. Andy Rooney never smoked, for example. Also, doctors were well aware of the effects of smoking at the time.)

CBS producer Fred W. Friendly was a smoker. (Contrary to Goodnight and Good Luck, Friendly actually didn’t smoke and lived to be 82 though many of his peers did. Unfortunately, being smoke free didn’t make him as good looking as George Clooney.)

NBC’s Today Show studio was set in Studio 1A in 1958. (It wouldn’t move to its present day location until 1994 and was actually located further down but in the same building. Still, at that time, there would’ve been no windowed corner or a view of Rockefeller Plaza.)

The Reuben Sandwich was the only invented sandwich entered in a sandwich contest by Reuben Kay. (Well, some claim it was invented by a wholesale grocer named Reuben Kulakofsky at Omaha’s Blackstone Hotel in 1925. However, it was actually invented by one of Blackstone’s waitresses named Fern Snider who entered the recipe in the national sandwich competition in 1956 and won. So maybe we should just call it a Fern Sandwich then.)

Americans in the 1950s were prudes who didn’t talk about sex and didn’t experience until they were married. (Actually Americans in the 1950s enjoyed sex as much as they do now, they just didn’t talk about it nor were they as open to discussing sexual matters as later generations. And, no, unlike what you see on old sitcoms, most married couples didn’t sleep in twin beds {censorship regulations prohibited married couples in the same bed or the word “pregnant”}. Not to mention, after WWII, the Sexual Revolution was well under way with Kinsey’s books on sexual behavior {both which became bestsellers}, Masters and Johnson, the beginnings of the gay community, and the invention of the pill. As for premarital sex, it wasn’t uncommon for many women to be pregnant on their wedding day and the 1950s had the highest rate of teen pregnancy on record. Still, as for teen sex, it wasn’t very common since the prospect of a shotgun wedding was a deterrent for either gender but it did happen.)

You could buy drinks in Kansas in the 1950s. (Kansas was a dry state until the mid-1980s.)

The George Washington Bridge had 2 levels in 1952. (It just had one level then.)

Louis Bamberger was still alive in the 1950s. (He died in 1944 but he’s in I. Q. for some reason.)

Families with disabled children would often have them institutionalized because they didn’t want them to be seen. (Actually families that had a disabled child would often institutionalize them because conditions like Down Syndrome were so poorly understood and the necessary education and facilities for caring one in-home were few. A mentally disabled child simply had a better chance of getting the services he or she needed at an institution. It wasn’t that disabled kids were looked down upon, though that was true and some parents did tell their other children that the disabled kid in question had died.)

Suburban American homes often had sleek modern furniture. (Actually most of the average American family furniture in suburbia mostly consisted of heirlooms and antiques for furniture was comparatively more expensive than it is now. Not to mention, most Americans couldn’t afford to replace a lot of second-hand stuff they already had, even if they did qualify on the installment plan. Besides, there was no IKEA in the US yet.)

Laura Kinney found the Clutter family dead that fateful Sunday morning after the murder in November 1959. (It was actually Nancy Clutter’s two friends Nancy and Susan who found the Clutter family dead at their Holcomb, Kansas home.)

The 1950s era was a decade of conservatism. (Social conservatism, absolutely, especially in regards to sex and sexual orientation as well as the rights of nonsmokers. Yet, views on racial politics and gender roles varied by demographic but the status quo was largely in force in social mores and law books. However, the 1950s wasn’t a good decade for political conservatism in the modern sense, especially since it had been tarred by association by the McCarthy era early on. While we do see the 1950s as a decade of conservatism, most Americans at the time wouldn’t have approved the right wing antics of Fox News or the state of the Republican Party today, regardless of how much they would agree with them. Still, the 1950s was a decade of consensus where right-wing looneyness wouldn’t be tolerated. Both Democrats and Republicans usually elected moderate and bipartisan politicians like Eisenhower. Ironically many people on the political right today have a lot of nostalgia for this decade despite that 1950s American politics would’ve had no place for them, even among Republicans.)

Being drafted in the 1950s was an unpleasant experience. (If you were Elvis, but not everyone. The reason why the US government didn’t get rid of the draft in the 1950s America was more due to the fact many poor men saw it as a godsend, especially those who lived in areas where the only way out was a football scholarship. For a poor 18-year-old boy in the 1950s, the draft was something that gave him a guaranteed employment for 5 years with a reward for a college education under the G. I. Bill at little or no cost. Hundreds of thousands of men would’ve never had the chance to go to community college or attend good universities if it weren’t for the G. I. Bill. Many guys would sign up before they could be drafted so they could choose which branch they wanted to serve in. It was only during the Vietnam War when the draft would become unpopular enough to abolish. Yet, at this time, a military draft could be one poor boy’s ticket to the middle class and economic mobility, which was mostly true.)

Diesel locomotives went through Grand Central Station in the 1950s. (Actually Grand Central Station had only allowed electric locomotives long before then.)

Federal income taxes were due on April 15th at this time. (They were actually due on March 15th.)

Alvin Dewey learned of the arrests of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith while he was having Christmas dinner with his family. (He actually learned about the arrests on December 30, 1959.)

Perry Smith was substantially taller than Dick Hickock. (Contrary to Infamous, they were about the same height.)

TV personality Arthur Godfrey had brown hair. (He was famous for having red hair with his nickname being “Old Redhead.”)

The Interstate highway system was around in 1947. (It began in 1956.)

Americans in the 1950s were a lot more religious than they are now. (Actually while most people were members of a church, they didn’t necessarily go every Sunday. Even if they did, they were much more quiet about religion than churchgoers today and saw proselytizing as intrusive and unpleasant. Jehovah’s Witnesses weren’t well liked because of their efforts to seek more followers. Oh, and Christians did define themselves by denomination and would never have said, “just Christian.” Yet, many people on the Religious Right have nostalgia for this decade despite that most 1950s Americans would view such nuts as one notch above the KKK. Fanaticism of any kind didn’t have any place in 1950s America.)

Gay bars were quite out in the open in this time period. (They were extremely clandestine places since homophobia was rife in the US at the time.)

Frank Lucas began his life of crime when he saw his twelve year old cousin killed by the police when he was six. (This is entirely plausible as told in American Gangster but it was inspired by a story about his cousin being murdered by members of the Klu Klux Klan, which there is very little evidence to support it.)

California used an electric chair to execute criminals in the late 1940s. (It never has used the electric chair as a means of execution.)

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 71 – World War II: POWs, Resistance Fighters, and Other Things

Posted by historymaniacmegan on June 1, 2014

1963’s The Great Escape famous for starring Steve McQueen in that iconic motorcycle scene where he’s chasing himself. Yet, it’s also known for it’s famous depiction of a great POW camp escape in which three tunnels were dug in the prisoners’ bunkers that were named Tom, Dick, and Harry. While it kind of does take liberties with the truth, I’m sure this film will be loved by generations. Nevertheless, POW camp prisoners in Germany considered escaping as a duty and would come up with a lot of creative ways to do so, some of those not shown in film.

I mainly did my movie history blog posts around World War II based on location but there are some aspects in which it isn’t possible, yet there are plenty of movies made pertaining to them nevertheless. In some ways, World War II movies don’t just have to be war movies. You can have prison movies set in POW Camps like Bridge on the River Kwai or The Great Escape with Nazi commandants and such. A lot of times you’ll always have at least one person who wants to escape but some may not have the kind of bad luck William Holden did. You have movies with Resistance (mostly French) freedom fighters who’ve had enough with Hitler’s occupation and if Hitler was in a theater, they wouldn’t hesitate to blow it up to bits. Then you have spy stuff with internationally assembled crack teams of soldiers played by some of the most famous names in cinema also possibly trying to blow something up. Or possibly stealing some secrets from the Nazis. Either way, there would have to be a Nazi uniform change at some point in the plot. Still, while there are plenty of movies about these things, there are plenty of stuff they tend to get wrong, which I shall make note of accordingly.

Resistance Movements:

Everyone in France supported the French resistance and the Free French movement. (The truth is most French mostly remained neutral at least in the beginning up to D-Day even though they certainly didn’t like being occupied. Also, the French Resistance mostly consisted of young people.)

Else Gebel was a political anti-fascist prisoner who was sympathetic to Sophie Scholl’s plight. (Unlike the German movie Sophie Scholl, it’s plausible that Gebel was a Gestapo mole. Then again Sophie probably wouldn’t have known that.)

Resistance movements were only on the Allied side. (Actually there were people who did have resistance movements but joined the Axis powers. People like Indian Independence leader Chandra Bose for instance. You can see why he isn’t remembered. Also, you have the White Russians.)

Resistance movements were all united in a common goal and seldom fought amongst each other. (Some countries actually had more than one movement and it wasn’t unusual for them to end up fighting each other as well. According to TTI: “China had so many turncoats-turned-resistance fighters-turned-bandits that the historical community generally wrings its hands and splits it up into local and regional warlords, nationalist guerrillas, communist guerrillas and Chinese Communist Party guerrillas, with some room for overlap.”)

Norwegian “limpet mines” gave off big explosions on German ships. (Contrary to Max Manus, according to Imdb: “Such mines contained only a small amount (4 kg) of explosives and were placed on a target ship’s hull beneath the water line. In that position, even a small hole can do a lot of damage (in part due to the water pressure surrounding the hull).” But filmmakers can’t be satisfied with a small amount of explosives so if it doesn’t blow up spectacularly, it’s not worth seeing.)

Jens Christian Hauge was in the Norwegian resistance in 1940. (He joined the resistance later because he was in jail in 1940.)

The Oslo harbor was brightly lit to help Norwegian resistance members sabotage German ships. (Unlike in Max Manus, Oslo had a blackout enforced in case of long awaited Allied bombing raids. Max and his friends probably had to work in the dark.)

POW Camps:

World War II prisoners were treated in accords with the Geneva Conventions or at least had a right to. (The Japanese weren’t subject to the Geneva Convention and POWs until the 1950s and treated their prisoners horrifically {though this had more to do with them being under a fascist military dictatorship}. As for Japanese POWs, they didn’t expect to be treated as anything other than shit to begin with though the Japanese government at the time couldn’t care less about their fates. Still, treatment of them varied by country, though no Japanese POW wouldn’t want to be held in captivity by the Chinese or Soviets.

As for the Germans, while they generally kept to the Geneva Convention when it came to US, UK, French prisoners or what not until perhaps close to the end though treatment did vary from camp to camp. Yet, the Nazis didn’t believe the Geneva Convention applied to Eastern Europeans so captured Red Army soldiers usually ended up as slaves or starved in death camps at best {this is why they’re considered Holocaust victims. Also, while 5 million Soviet POWs were taken, only 2 million were liberated by the end of the war}. Those who were liberated were sent to filtration camps that were effectively high security prisons until they were cleared or condemned. Those who were cleared were cleared {consisting of more than 90% of Soviet POWs}, were freed and sometimes re-drafted. Those who were condemned could be executed, sent to a Siberian gulag, or stripped of rank and sent to a penal regiment {which was for mid-rate crimes like surrendering or retreating when fully capable to fight}. Those in penal regiments had hard, dirty, and dangerous jobs with a high death rate. This would entail penal tank crews being sent out with their hatches shut to prevent them surrendering again while penal infantries were tasked with playing a deadly game of minesweeper. Maybe the Japanese had the right idea with committing suicide as far as the Russians were concerned. Italian POWs in German custody were also treated poorly. Soviet prison camps were unsurprisingly harsh to Axis prisoners that many would try to surrender to other Allied countries like Britain or the US. Their treatment of Axis POWs consists of basically what you’d expect in Stalinist Russia. Then you have the Katyn Massacre of Poles that happened while Russia was allied with Nazi Germany.)

The three guys who got away in the great escape were from the British Commonwealth. (Contrary to The Great Escape, the guys who got away were Dutch and Norwegian. Most were killed, executed, or sent back though.)

The great escape happened during the summer months. (The actual escape actually occurred in March when there was still snow on the ground. Most of the escapees trying to run across country were forced by deep snow to leave the fields and go onto the roads as well as into the hands of German patrols. Oops!)

Escapees during the great escape were all shot in a common space at one time. (50 were shot in many different places, sometimes alone or in groups.)

Executions of great escapees were conducted by uniformed German troops using a Spandau machine gun. (Actually contrary to The Great Escape, they were conducted by Gestapo agents using pistols at close range not with a machine gun in Ramboesque fashion.)
It wasn’t unusual for Allied prisoners to assault German guards during an escape. (Contrary to The Great Escape, Allied prisoners actually avoided doing this at all costs since such actions would be tantamount for inviting execution or at least some time in a highly unpleasant German military prison like Colditz if lucky.)

Italian prisoners in Allied POW camps were considered civilians once Italy joined the Allies. (Sorry, Major Battiagila, but your country’s allegiance doesn’t exempt you from being tried for war crimes as you said in Von Ryan’s Express.)

POWs in German prison camps always wanted to escape for some reason. (Actually it was their duty to try to escape and would go through many creative ways to pull it off. Believe me, I’ve seen Nova episodes on this.)

Officers and enlisted men would be in mixed quarters in every German POW camp. (The Germans always segregated officers and enlisted men in separate POW camps.)

A group of Allied prisoners at a German POW camp formed their own soccer team that won against Germans for respect. (Well, there’s a movie about this called Victory, but there wasn’t an Allied soccer team and to my knowledge I don’t think Pele served in World War II, let alone do time at a German prison camp {seriously why?}. Yet, there was a Ukranian POW soccer team but they beat their resident Nazi captors miserably and repeatedly that they ended up arrested, tortured, and executed by the Gestapo as well as taken to work camps.)

Espionage:

Ian Fleming was a WWI vet by the time he joined the 30 Commando Unit. (Though Fleming is seen wearing ribbons of the 1914-1918 War Medal and Victory Medal in Age of Heroes, he was born in 1908 and would’ve been too young to fight since he was only 10 when the war ended.)

British spy Violette Szabo was tall blonde. (She was a brunette who was less than 5’5.” But she’s played by British actress Virginia McKenna {the woman from Born Free} in a biopic about her. She was a widow of a French soldier as well as a British spy who underwent two missions in occupied France. She was captured by the Germans on her second mission who interrogated, tortured, and deported her to a concentration camp in Germany. Still, the film Carve Her Name with Pride doesn’t show her fate in Ravensbrueck concentration camp which was execution by firing squad at the age of twenty-three but it was made in the 1950s. Her companions were gassed.)

A Polish spy at Bletchley Park passed crucial secrets to the Soviet Union during the Enigma decryption. (Actually contrary to the 2001 Enigma, the traitor was actually a guy named John Cairncross who’s British.)

The OSS was around before Pearl Harbor. (It was founded in 1942.)

MI6 was a reliable intelligence agency during WWII. (Actually in 1939, the Nazis had already exposed MI6’s networks in Europe and the Special Operations Executive took over functions in wartime. Thus, you wouldn’t want to report secrets to MI6 but the SOE.)

Ulysses Diello was a valet to the British ambassador in Turkey who passed secrets to the Germans as Agent Cicero. (Yes, there was an Agent Cicero who was a valet to the British Ambassador to Turkey and was an immensely successful spy. Yet, unlike what 5 Fingers suggests, he was actually Kosovo born Albanian Elyeza Bazna who spoke very poor English and was far from the perfect facsimile of an English gentleman as James Mason’s portrayal. Also, that part about the pursuit after Agent Cicero flees the British Ambassador’s residence is pure fiction.)

War Crimes Trials:

German soldiers were executed for the Malmedy massacre during the Battle of the Bulge. (Actually while there were Germans found guilty as well as sentenced to death, no death sentence was carried out so Marlene Dietrich wouldn’t have to worry so much in Judgment at Nuremberg.)

Wehrmacht officers would disguise themselves as SS officials during the Nuremberg trials. (Actually SS officers would try to disguise themselves as Wehrmacht officials to hide their involvement. At Nuremberg, you’d rather be an ordinary soldier than an SS official.)

Miscellaneous:

World War II soldiers lit their cigarettes with butane lighters. (Butane lighters weren’t invented until the 1950s.)

Air raid sirens always gave a continuously constant sound. (Most of the sirens were hand cranked and gave variable sound when cranked hard 5 times and slacked off 5 times.)

Nazi sympathizers were fans of Chopin’s music. (Contrary to Shining Through, most Nazi supporters would’ve detested Chopin for his Polish and French ethnicity alone.)

WWII bombing crews always stood at a good chance of surviving. (If it’s World War II and you find yourself on a bombing crew, make sure you get your affairs in order and make your peace with the Almighty because less than 50% of them managed to survive their tour.)

German soldiers used night vision scopes in World War II. (Well, not exactly though they were around in Nazi Germany at the time. Still, these infrared scopes were clumsy, very heavy, rare, and reserved for special ops. Also, it’s inconceivable any would’ve been stationed near a glorified officer’s brothel.)

Combat squads could travel in broad daylight and allow enlisted men to talk a lot. (Unlike the journey in Saving Private Ryan, squads would never be allowed to travel during the day time because they’d risk exposing themselves to the enemy. They usually would travel at night in order to go unprotected by the enemy. Also, arguing with your captain during such a mission would’ve resulted in you getting court-martialed.)

World War II military vehicles had radial tires. (Radial tires were patented in 1915 but they weren’t used on vehicles until the 1960s.)

Monopolization of the radio during combat was always a good idea. (Radio nets were shared with the entire squadron during combat and were only to be used in emergencies or by a commanding officer. To describe everything you’re doing while crowding out what others in your squadron are doing, would lead to your squad mates beating the living crap out of you back at the base.)

Aerial torpedoes were designed to attack airfields. (They were made to attack ships and were launched at low-level waters, not to attack land based targets.)

Military nurses had long flowing hairstyles during the war. (They weren’t permitted to have long flowing hair styles while in uniform. Rather the permitted length of hair had to be just above their collars. Thus, they either had to wear it up or cut it. As for makeup, they either were allowed to wear skin tone cosmetics or none at all.)

Nobody smoked during World War II. (Contrary to Pearl Harbor, most people smoked during the 1940s. The only people who didn’t smoke in 1940s movies, were those who hadn’t yet entered puberty. To have nobody smoke in a World War II film is perhaps one of the greatest historical sins a filmmaker could commit. Yes, I know smoking is bad for you, but still.)

Mistreating civilians was a violation of the Geneva Convention at this time. (No, the revision of the Geneva Convention in regard to civilians wasn’t adopted until 1949, unfortunately.)

Soldiers always wore their helmets buckled. (It was common for soldiers to leave their helmets unbuckled due to the common belief that the helmet would break a soldier’s neck when it reacted to a concussion due to a nearby explosion.)
During the war, people rode on bicycles with rubber tires. (By a certain point in the war, only wooden tires would be available, especially in Europe.)

You could easily pick out a Gestapo. (Gestapo usually wore civilian clothes so, no.)

Foreign girls always went for American GIs, particularly if he’s the white protagonist.

During special operations, an Allied soldier could always find a Nazi uniform to fit him perfectly as a disguise.

Special operations always consisted of a group of people from different countries played by big named actors so no Allied country’s participation in the war goes unrecognized.

Despite being bombed, buildings would always have electricity and running water.

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 70 – World War II: The American Home Front

Posted by historymaniacmegan on June 1, 2014

The 1989 film Fat Man and Little Boy is about the story of the Manhattan Project and the development of the Atomic Bomb. Paul Newman is seen here playing General Leslie Groves while a guy named Dwight Schultz plays the legendary Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. Nevertheless, while Richard Joffe does get some things right, the story is more suited for his political viewpoints and it’s far from the historic truth. For one, it was Oppenheimer’s dream job to work in the Manhattan Project (while Groves would rather be leading combat troops) and he and Groves got along famously, despite being polar opposites in personality for they both wanted the same thing. Also, Oppenheimer and many of his fellow scientists didn’t have any second thoughts about dropping the atom bombs until after they found out about the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Also, Paul Newman was way too handsome to be General Groves.

Of course, while there wasn’t much attacking on US soil besides Pearl Harbor, it didn’t mean that there wasn’t much going on in the home front. Like the British, Americans did experience rationing, air raid drills, sending bacon grease and scrap metal to the war effort, women working in munitions factories as well as families waiting for their loved ones to come home from the war. Yet, in other ways, it was unique with WWII propaganda films as well as movies from Hollywood, the USO, the role of racial minorities, and other things. You have Japanese American internment camps that were filled with a group of people who were displaced mostly due to ethnicity, culture, and they or their ancestors came from an enemy of the US at the time. Oh, and racism as well of suspicion of disloyalty did have a lot to do with it, too. Yet, the disloyalty of Japanese Americans was somehow put to rest since 20,000 of them fought in the war. You have the Tuskegee Airmen who were an elite unit aerial African American fighters whose overcoming of racism and adversity greatly contributed to their success. Then there’s the Manhattan Project which would be famous for developing one of the most deadly weapons in human history and usher in the atomic age. Nevertheless, while there are plenty of movies made about the American home front, there are plenty of inaccuracies in them as well, which I shall list.

Japanese American Internment:

Japanese Americans were the only group in America to be rounded to internment camps. (Actually, they were the only group to be interred who were mostly American born. German and Italian Americans were also interred but these numbers were small and only pertained to first generation or legal aliens.)

Almost all Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps during World War II. (Actually you may think this is true but not really. Most of the Japanese Americans interned were living on the West Coast, particularly in California where interment was popular among white farmers who resented their Japanese American counterparts {most Japanese Americans there at the time were farmers}. Not to mention, California wasn’t a state known by its friendliness toward Japanese Americans, just the opposite. Anti-Japanese bias on the West Coast was prevalent at this time. By contrast, Hawaii only sent a very small portion of their Japanese American population to internment camps {mostly prominent politicians and community leaders} since the area had been on martial law already and the risk of sabotage and espionage by Japanese residents on the islands was low. Not to mention, 35% of their population had Japanese ancestry and they were active in almost every sector of its economy. Had Hawaii had most of their Japanese American population interred, the then-territory would’ve had its economy crippled. Over 50,000 Japanese Americans on Hawaii remained undisturbed during the course of the war mostly due to being too economically viable to evict.)

The AAGPBL:

The AAGPBL played regulation baseball. (Contrary to A League of Their Own, they actually played a baseball/softball hybrid game. In its first years it was closer to softball.)

Racine won the 1943 World Series in a 7 game series against the Rockford Peaches. (It was in a 5 game series against the Kenosha Comets.)

The Tuskegee Airmen:

Not a single Tuskegee Airman was shot down by enemy fire. (66 Tuskegee Airmen were killed in action and they didn’t have an official flying ace even though one may have had enough unregistered kills to qualify. 25 of their bombers were lost to enemy fire.)

The Tuskegee Airmen was created to prove that blacks could effectively fly a plane. (They were trained by racist instructors who washed trainees out for the smallest mistakes to prove that African Americans were unsuitable to be fighter pilots. The result was hand-picked elite that wiped the floor with everything they met as well as were provided the best protection of all US Army Air Force fighter groups in Europe. Thus, contrary to Red Tails, their status as an elite fighting unit was almost purely accidental and as a result of training from hell.)

The Manhattan Project:

Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Reed Flutes” was played during the countdown of the Trinity atomic test in Alamogordo, New Mexico. (Actually it was Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade of Strings” but this is a minor error in Fat Man and Little Boy.)

Frenzied nuclear weapon expansion had been driven from the outset by pigheaded militarists intimidating morally sensitive scientists into doing what they knew to be wrong. (Sorry, Richard Joffe, but this is wrong. Nuclear expansion served the best interests of the military and the Manhattan Project scientists. Maybe they knew designing the bomb was wrong, but they greatly underestimated the bomb’s potential for wiping humanity which came to haunt them after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki.)

General Leslie R. Groves was a warmongering jerk and strutting martinet. (Yes, he was a jerk as Major General Kenneth Nichols called him “the biggest son of a bitch I’ve ever met in my life. I hated his guts and so did everyone.” He was known to be arrogant, socially awkward, as well extremely sarcastic. Yet, even he said that his commander was one of the “most capable individuals” he ever met. He’s said to be an organizer without equal as well as a tireless leader who held together the far-flung elements of the Manhattan Project, which employed 125,000 workers at facilities nationwide. Not to mention, he was the guy in charge of building the Pentagon which was the reason he was picked to lead the Manhattan Project in the first place. He was also a student of MIT before transferring to West Point, where he graduated 4th in his class. Then again, his security measures weren’t the most adequate since Los Alamos employees named Klaus Fuchs and David Greenglass {brother-in-law to Julius Rosenberg} were still able to smuggle atom bomb details to the Soviets, which Fat Man and Little Boy doesn’t address.)

General Leslie Groves was happy leading the Manhattan Project. (Groves actually didn’t want to lead the Manhattan Project, which he called, “Oh, that thing” and later chafed at being a taskmaster to “the largest collection of eggheads in the world.” He had longed to lead combat troops into war but his career had languished in the corps of engineers and his leadership of the Pentagon’s construction was a success, that he was the most likely candidate. He only changed his mind about the job when he saw that the Manhattan Project was his opportunity for glory and worked unceasingly to the end.)

Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and his fellow scientists were against the idea of the atom bomb and felt guilty about being a part of the Manhattan Project for the rest of their lives. (Well, yes, many Manhattan Project scientists did regret their roles in the Manhattan Project but only after the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were known, unlike in Fat Man and Little Boy. He would become a vocal opponent of the development of the even more powerful H-bomb though. But during the atomic bomb’s designing phase, Oppenheimer craved a job at Los Alamos so badly that he’d even be interested in obtaining an army commission to curry favor with General Groves. Once hired in 1942, Oppenheimer worked on the Manhattan Project with appropriate martial zeal as well as gave an idea of poisoning the Germans’ food with radiation. Most of his fellow scientists supported nuking Japan as well and had a big celebration after the bombs were dropped and Japan surrendered.)

Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer was a quiet, moralistic, and easy going man. (Actually though kind of bohemian and witty, this was a guy who stole chemicals and tried to kill his own tutor for making him attend classes on experimental physics which he hated {he preferred theoretical}. This was while he was studying for his doctorate in physics at Cambridge University. He also betrayed his friend Haakon Chevalier, a literature professor at Berkeley, as someone who had contacted him about sharing secrets with the Russians when asked by the FBI to name names during his time at Los Alamos {though he’d later regret this and said he invented this “cock and bull” story but Chaevalier’s career was ruined because of him, though Oppenheimer might’ve named him to protect his brother who was a known Communist Party member}. Also, contrary to Fat Man and Little Boy, he was a much more outgoing man than portrayed in the film. Interestingly, the said tutor was Patrick Blackett who’d go on to win a Nobel Prize. Oppenheimer also had a humongous ego to boot despite having a voice like Mr. Rogers. And yes, he was associated with Communist politics in the 1930s as were both his wife and ex-girlfriend. His past association with leftist politics would later hurt him during the Red Scare as he opposed the Cold War arms race.)

Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie R. Groves didn’t get along. (Contrary to Fat Man and Little Boy, despite their personality differences, they got along fine because they both wanted the same thing. Groves even praised him on his work in the Manhattan Project saying, “I was reproachfully told that only a Nobel prize-winner or at least a somewhat older man would be able to exercise sufficient authority over the many ‘prima donnas’ concerned. But I stuck to Oppenheimer and his success proved that I was right. No one else could have done what that man achieved.” Groves also got along well with the other scientists save Hungarian Leo Szilard.)

Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer came up with the idea of implosion. (It was actually fellow scientist Seth Neddermayer who proposed the theory and his formulation came gradually.)

The experiment with the two hemispheres of beryllium surrounding a core of plutonium and held apart with a screwdriver was called the “drop” experiment. (It was called “tickling the dragon’s tail” but it’s by the expy for Canadian physicist Louis Slotin from Fat Man and Little Boy. Yet, though he died from an experiment relating to radioactivity, his death didn’t provide any cautionary warning for Oppenheimer since it happened on May 30, 1946.)

General Leslie Groves was a fit man. (Actually he weighed between 250-300 pounds in contrast to Paul Newman’s fit figure in Fat Man and Little Boy. Oppenheimer by contrast, weighed 116 pounds during the Trinity Test.)

J. Robert Oppenheimer’s ex-girlfriend Dr. Jean Tatlock committed suicide on January 1945. (She killed herself in January of 1944. Interestingly, she was Oppenheimer’s first love and the first person he ever dated but she suffered from depression {he married his wife Kitty a year after he broke up with Jean}. Still, it’s said he had an affair with her during his time in the Manhattan Project while some say that he only spent the night with her once in mid-June of 1943 after he was picked as head of the laboratory in Los Alamos. It’s highly disputed. We could say that he certainly cared about her and may have felt guilty on breaking up with her despite knowing that she certainly wasn’t relationship material. Still, while we can’t really confirm whether Oppenheimer and Tatlock were romantically involved during his time at Los Alamos, he did have an extramarital affair but it was with Kitty when she was married to her third husband, a physician named Richard Harrison. And it wasn’t until Kitty found out she was pregnant to Oppenheimer when she divorced Harrison and Robert became her fourth
husband in November of 1940. Still, despite only dating two women throughout his entire earthly existence, Oppenheimer certainly had an interesting love life.)

General Leslie Groves was a recipient for the Good Conduct Ribbon. (To qualify for the Good Conduct Ribbon, a soldier must be an enlisted man for at least 36 months. Groves was a West Point graduate and thus ineligible.)

General Leslie Groves met Dr. Leo Szilard in his hotel bathroom while the latter was in a bathtub and the former was on the toilet. (They actually met at the Metallurgy Laboratory at the University of Chicago along with the rest of the scientists. They had an antagonistic relation and Groves tried to fire him.)

The Trinity explosion took 2-3 seconds. (It actually took 40 seconds.)

Kitty Oppenheimer was an adoring wife who thought her husband Robert was the greatest man who deserved anything he wants. (Oppenheimer would’ve probably wished his wife to be like this since he kind of thought he was God’s gift to humanity who deserved anything he wanted. Still, she was known to drink and make catty remarks about her husband.)

Miscellaneous:

America had the best artillery, tanks, tacticians, or generals in World War II. (America had the most money, the highest rate of productivity, and perhaps the most adaptive and self-reliant rank and file of all the fighting armies.)

USAAF bombing crews usually survived with no ill effects. (Since the USAAF bombed German targets by day, they had a monstrously high casualty rate in the bomber department. There’s a reason why the policy for USAAF airmen was “25 and out” for most of the war. Once most airmen completed 25 missions, their war was over but the average crewman only had a 1 in 4 chance of actually completing his tour of duty. Yet, as the war progressed, 25 got upped to 30 and then 35. The average bombing crew got shot down in its 20th mission. American bomber crews were known to be notoriously fatalistic, having determined that after reaching the half-way point on their tours of duty, they were living on borrowed time.)

“Little Brown Jug” was recorded after Glenn Miller’s death. (Actually contrary to The Glenn Miller Story, it was one of his first bonafide hits in 1939, but the movie makes it clear where he got it from.)

WWII was a universally supported one in the US. (The US only went into the war at around Pearl Harbor and even then there were Americans who opposed the war either because they were pacifists or Nazi sympathizers. And yes, World War II did have its share of draft dodgers even in the United States.)

A PT boat’s main function was “to harass the enemy and buy time for a navy that was still on the drawing boards.” (This is sort of accurate but as Washington lawyer and WWII veteran Leonard Nikoloric said, “Let me be honest. Motor torpedo boats were no good. You couldn’t get close to anything without being spotted. I suppose we [Squadron Three] attacked capital ships maybe forty times. I think we hit a bunch of them, but whether we sank anything is questionable. The PT brass were the greatest con artists of all time. They got everything they wanted-the cream of everything, especially the personnel. But the only thing the PTs were effective at was raising War Bonds.”)

The United States military was integrated at this time. (Actually it was still segregated and would be desegregated shortly after World War II. However, many of World War II movies were made after that time and with the assistance of the US military like The Glenn Miller Story. However, such errors could be forgiven since the war was fought by Americans of all races and creeds anyway even if they didn’t fight in integrated units.)

Female cadets were in attendance at West Point at this time. (West Point didn’t start admitting women until 1962.)

There were no gays in the US military during World War II. (Actually the US military effort during World War II was one of the reasons why the gay community became a more prominent force in later years. Sure there was a Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy but the war effort brought so many people away from their homes and into contact with people they wouldn’t have met otherwise, sometimes these were people like them. Also, gay US WWII vets include Rock Hudson, Gore Vidal, and others.)

The US Navy made a petty fuss about shirts. (Actually Mister Roberts is right about the US Navy’s fuss about shirts but it wasn’t out of pettiness. The navy’s medical branch actually found that shirts provide protection against burns in case of explosion.)

US soldiers would leave their sweethearts behind who faithfully waited for them to return home, while their men didn’t mess around. (This wasn’t 100% the case since there were soldiers who did cheat on their sweethearts {sometimes wives} or sometimes abandoned them altogether. Not to mention, sometimes the sweethearts weren’t so devoted either as you understand the concept of a “Dear John” letter. Then there’s the fact that 1946 saw a jump of divorces in the United States.)

“Fouled up” was a common phrase of American soldiers during World War II. (Contrary to Saving Private Ryan, I believe the correct terminology is “fucked up.” For God’s sake, Spielberg, were you aiming for a PG-13 audience? I mean what’s wrong with including swearing in a rated R movie, especially if the main reason for it is violence.)

During combat jumps, US paratroopers jumped out of planes one by one with the jumpmaster commanding, “Go! Go!” (The jumpmaster was always the first off the plane while the rest of the paratroopers immediately followed behind him exiting the plane as fast as they could in order to land as close together as possible. I know the one by one combat jump is always done in movies but paratrooping has never worked that way since it would result in the whole unit being spread out in various locations. Try locating the rest of your unit using that method.)

American soldiers used “thunder” as a challenge word to identify friendlies while “flash” was used as a response. (Contrary to Saving Private Ryan, it’s the other way around with “flash” as the challenge word and “thunder” as the response. The reason why “thunder” was chosen as a response word for identifying friendlies was because of the “th” sound which is nonexistent in German. Thus, if a German were to say, “thunder” to “flash” he wouldn’t be able to hide his accent.)

The US Army had a 113th Tank Division during this time. (There was never a US 113th Tank Division in WWII.)

The Pentagon was completed by 1942. (It wasn’t completed until 1943.)

Women factory workers in the US home front were treated decently by their bosses. (While the average US serviceman was paid $54.65 weekly, factory women were paid $31.50. Also, if they were working among men, there’s a possibility that sexual harassment was frequent in some places. I mean there were no laws against it.)

World War II was the first time when housewives took up work outside the home as their husbands went to war. (Despite the fact that women were expected to be housewives throughout most of human history, this wasn’t always the case, even in America. Even before World War II, many women worked outside the home, especially in times under financial ruin like the Great Depression or death in the family like a spouse. If you’ve seen Mildred Pierce, you know what I mean. It was just that more women were doing the more important jobs that would be normally reserved for men. Not to mention, before that time, many didn’t really consider women’s work as anything of relative importance.)

“Little Orphan Annie” was a 1940s radio show sponsored by Ovaltine. (Ovaltine dropped “Little Orphan Annie” and switched to “Captain Midnight” in 1940. That year “Little Orphan Annie” would be sponsored by Quaker Puff Wheat. Announcer Pierre Andre would also go to “Captain Midnight” in early 1940 since audiences identified him too much with Ovaltine. This detail would help set A Christmas Story to 1939 since The Wizard of Oz came out that year and there’s no mention of Pearl Harbor.)

Bing Crosby’s “Merry Christmas” album was released at around 1940. (It wasn’t released until 1945 and reissued in 1947.)

The Red Ryder BB gun had a sundial and a compass among its features. (The screenwriter for A Christmas Story confused the Red Ryder with another kind of BB gun that had these features. Thus, guns had to specially made for the film. Yet, the Red Ryder BB gun was real but it doesn’t have a sundial and compass.)

Indiana schools were integrated in 1939. (They weren’t until 1949 yet there are three black kids in Ralphie’s class.)

Window air conditioners were widely available at this time in the US. (Contrary to Lost in Yonkers, while window air conditioners were sold as early as 1938, they weren’t mass produced until after World War II.)

US Navy seamen were experienced swimmers. (US Navy seamen weren’t required to know how to swim and many didn’t during this time.)

Movies during this time were seen in a wide screen format. (Not until the 1950s.)

All American aircraft carriers had angled decks. (Not in World War II they didn’t. But there aren’t that many straight decked carriers left as attempts to preserver the USS Enterprise {most decorated warship in US history} into a museum as a museum all ended in failure.)

June Carter was 10 in 1944. (By this time, she would’ve been 14 or 15.)

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 69 – World War II: The British Home Front

Posted by historymaniacmegan on May 30, 2014

1942’s Mrs. Miniver is perhaps one of the best known movies set in the British home front during World War II that portrays people having to deal with the conflict at home and abroad. It is part news story and part propaganda so it’s not 100% accurate. Though they didn’t have the worst of it, the British had to deal with nighttime air raids or the possibility of having their house bombed. Still, this scene with Greer Garson and the German soldier is pretty relevant for such instances probably did happen. Also, the German pilot probably wasn’t going to fight again since he ended up a POW for the rest of the war.

World War II brought war in the homes of more people than any other conflict has before or since. Sometimes this consisted of having to dodge bombs and fire or having to deal with being occupied by Germany which presents horrors in of it itself. Of course, the British didn’t have to face the latter (save those in Jersey, and no, not that Jersey) but they still had to fight a war at home with having to adjust to a lifestyle accommodating wartime standards. Everyone had to do their part for the war effort whether it be serving in the armed forces, working in a factory or farm, serving in the Home Guard or other methods. Supplies were rationed, air raid drills were a part of life, sometimes kids were evacuated to the country, and there was always the risk a family could lose everything in a blink of an eye, even their lives, especially during the Battle of Britain. Britain was never more in danger than in the Battle of Britain when the German Luftwaffe tried to invade the country but were ultimately thwarted by the RAF. Later in the war, the RAF would go on regular bombing raids to Germany along with the USAAF forces, which would also bunk in Britain as a home away from home. It was also the time of Winston Churchill who was prime minister at time many would call it’s finest hour. Nevertheless, movies set in WWII Britain do present some inaccuracies which I shall list.

Winston Churchill:

Prime Minister Winston Churchill was a universally beloved leader of the good guys. (Yes, he was a great orator and an effective cheerleader but his popularity didn’t extend beyond a psychological concept like the “rally around the flag” effect that significantly reduces criticism of a character/government post-crisis. It didn’t last since he was kicked out of office months after Germany surrendered. He was also a racist and a staunch opponent of Indian independence or any kind of Indian autonomy {you don’t want to hear what he said about Gandhi}. He also had a militarist streak comparably to an unusually avid Tom Clancy fan to keep fighting WWII as long as he felt like it which made him unpopular with the British military. After Germany surrendered, Churchill ordered the British General Staff to work out a plan to rearm the German forces and launch an invasion on Russia which his terrified subordinates named “Operation Unthinkable.” Even his closest supporters thought this was insane. He also called his Labour opponents, “Gestapo” despite some of them serving key posts in his war cabinet.)

Barnes Wallis:

Barnes Wallis faced bureaucratic opposition in the creation of the Vickers Wellington bombs. (Contrary to The Dam Busters, Wallis never said he had. Also, the targets for Vickers Wellington bombs were already selected by this time. Not to mention, contrary to the film, there’s never been any truth whether bouncing cannonballs were the idea of Admiral Nelson, yet the ideal might’ve originated in the 16th and 17th centuries as the real Wallis once mentioned.)

Barnes Wallis was the chief designer of the Vickers Wellington bombs. (Contrary to The Dam Busters, while he was heavily involved with the bomb’s design which used his geodesic construction method, he wasn’t the chief designer.)

Wing Commander Guy Gibson:

Wing Commander Guy Gibson’s entire crew at 106 Squadron volunteered to follow him at his new command when it came to the Vickers Wellington bomb. (Actually only his wireless operator Hutchinson went with him to 617 Squadron.)

Guy Gibson was congenial, friendly, and gregarious. (Contrary to the Richard Todd portrayal, air crews and ground staff who worked with Gibson said he was a loner, strict disciplinarian, and having little personality. In other words, they saw him nothing more than a pain in the ass.)

Wing Commander Guy Gibson devised a “spotlights altimeter” after visiting a theater. (This devise had been used by RAF Coastal Command aircraft for some time back in the World War II era. Also, the idea for spotlights altimeter was suggested by a guy named Benjamin Lockspeiser when Gibson requested they solve a problem.)

Douglas Bader:

Douglas Bader was a stoic and cheerful man. (Reach for the Sky leaves out that he was regularly accused of being a reactionary racist who thought he should be Prime Minister. Yet, as a man with no legs, he’s a teddy bear compared to Oscar Pistorius.)

Dylan Thomas:

During the war, while his friend William Killick was away in Greece, Dylan Thomas took up an affair with his soldier friend’s wife Vera Philips, who Thomas had known since childhood. (While The Edge of Love implies this, there’s scant evidence on whether there was an affair between Thomas and Vera. Still, Thomas had been best man in Killick’s wedding and their wives were quite close to each other so having Vera move in with the Thomases wasn’t a big deal. Also, Killick returned from the war with PTSD and probably suspected the worst. Still, Dylan Thomas was an alcoholic.)

After William Killick’s violent rampage, Vera Philips persuaded Dylan Thomas not to testify against her husband. Yet, Thomas did so anyway. (Thomas didn’t testify against William. Also, William was acquitted by the jury on the advice of the judge not in defiance of him.)

Vera Philips:

Vera Philips was a glamorous night club singer. (Contrary to The Edge of Love, she was an eccentric sculptor who was trained by Henry Moore. As the real Dylan Thomas said, “Vera lives on cocoa, and reads books about the technique of third-century brass work, and gets up only once a day to boil the cat an egg, which it detests.”)

Battle of Britain:

RAF pilots were mostly British. (Actually, some of the RAF pilots actually were American, Canadian, Polish, Australian, New Zelander, Indian, and Czech.)

British pilots were well trained and experienced. (During the Battle of Britain since Great Britain was in a life-or-death situation, the training course for RAF pilots was repeatedly shortened as constant fighting took a death toll on the squadrons. New inexperienced pilots had a reduced life expectancy.)

British pilots usually survived most of their missions. (Most pilots were considered lucky if they survived at least 5 missions. As for bombers, well, the RAF only went on night bombing missions which were very dangerous for British airmen. Out of 100 British airmen sent on bombing raids, 55 usually ended up dead on average.)

It was the fast and maneuverable British Spitfires that won the Battle of Britain. (This is a popular notion you see in movies, recent statistics say that it was actually the Hurricanes that won the Battle of Britain since they were more durable, comprised of 55% of RAF fighters {Spitfires only made up 31%}, easier to land, and simpler to maintain and repair. Despite being slower and less aesthetically pleasing, the Hurricanes managed to shoot down 656 German aircraft while Spitfires shot down 529.)

The Battle of Britain actually swung into favor for the Allies because of the skill of RAF pilots. (Actually it had more to do with German miscalculation at command level than anything. The Luftwaffe already had a disadvantage flying far from home when its pilots were already tired. Also, while British could reload on fuel and ammunition when running low on either or have pit crews to fix their planes, German pilots had to return home, which limited their capacity for engagement. They also had to fly without escort protection. Not to mention, while RAF pilots could bail out or crash land if they were hit, they didn’t have much to worry about since they could be picked up from the sea by the British Coastal Command or could walk or take a train to the airfields. This resulted in a survival rate of 60% of RAF pilots and only 443 lives lost despite 1,220 crashes. Germans had to land on enemy lands and may risk having to surrender even to British civilian housewives like in Mrs. Miniver. The RAF also had radar while the Luftwaffe didn’t. Still, this proves that having home field advantage has significant benefits in this case.)

There was an Israeli RAF pilot. (Israel wouldn’t be a country until 1947 but there was a pilot from Egypt and one from Austria as well as two from Jamaica.)

The RAF No. 188 Squadron existed during World War II. (There was never a No. 188 RAF Squadron at this time, but there has been one in WWI but it has never been re-activated.)

London was bombed in August 1940. (It was bombed in September. Also, aerial battles were often fought in the countryside away from London to stop the German bombers before they hit the city.)

Most of the Battle of Britain was conducted during the night. (It was actually conducted during the day because the planes weren’t able to navigate at night yet. Also, their most likely targets were airfields, since coastal airfields were among the most hammered sites during the Battle of Britain.)

Evacuee Children:

British evacuee children weren’t afraid of farm animals and actually enjoyed the countryside.

If sent overseas, many British evacuee children were sent to the US or Australia. (Most overseas evacuees from Britain were sent to Canada whose contribution to the Allied effort during World War II is usually ignored. Besides, the Blitz occurred during a time when the US was trying to remain neutral and Australia was farther away and near danger itself. Also, there were a lot of things in Australia that could kill you.)

All British evacuee children returned to their parents by the end of the war. (Actually 40,000 British children went unclaimed by the end of the war. It’s possible that a British child may return home and find that Mom and Dad have been killed in an air raid or upped and left. Some who reached adulthood overseas decided never to return themselves.)

The Battle of Britain saw the end of German bombing in Great Britain. (Actually no, but the German bombings were less frequent after that time.)

Miscellaneous:

The SIG stood for Special Identification Group which had German Jews serving with the British. (This is what the SIG was in Tobruk. It was a real organization in Britain but we’re not sure what this group did. In fact, we’re not sure what the initials in SIG stand for.)

US military personnel were executed by US MPs on British soil during World War II. (Yes, there were US servicemen executed on British soil yet contrary to The Dirty Dozen, US MPs weren’t legally allowed to conduct them. Yet, American servicemen could act as witnesses while executions of US servicemen were carried out by British executioners.)

Vickers Wellington bombs were highly effective weapons. (Yes, but unlike its depiction in The Dam Busters, they were almost suicidally dangerous to deploy because they not only required a heavy bomber to fly in a perfectly straight line at treetop height, which would make such planes painfully easy targets for anti-aircraft guns or passing fighters. The British were never able to develop a strong enough casing to withstand ground impact yet light enough to be carried by an aircraft like the Lancaster. Not to mention, the bombs had a nasty habit of rebounding unpredictably when used over even mildly choppy water. Thus, they were only really used for just one specific job of busting dams.)

British women put makeup on their legs when they couldn’t get any nylons. (Sometimes they used gravy.)

British houses were usually destroyed by bombs during this time. (Sometimes they were destroyed by some things like regular fires.)

Wooden “coat hanger” bomb sights were mostly successful. (Actually though the wooden “coat hanger” bomb sights were intended to enable crews to release Wellington Vickers bombs at the right distance from target, it wasn’t totally successful. Besides, while some crews used it, others came up with their own solutions, such as pieces of string in the bomb-aimer’s position and/or markings on the blister.)

The RAF had a 633 Squadron. (Contrary that there’s a movie called 633 Squadron, it didn’t exist, but there was a 613 Squadron though.)

There was a General Mountbatten. (No, but there was an Admiral Louis Mountbatten of the Royal Navy.)

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 68 – World War II: The Western Front

Posted by historymaniacmegan on May 29, 2014

Stephen Spielberg perhaps tries to recreate the famous D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy in his 1998 Saving Private Ryan. Though he went through great pains to recreate it as the veterans remember it, he couldn’t really film on the actual beaches since that would’ve been impossible and had to settle for the Irish coast instead. Still, while Spielberg tries to go to great lengths to get out his war is hell message, some of the movies fans don’t actually see it that way and actually delight in the carnage and war scenes giving it a feel of an army recruitment commercial. Nevertheless, if the scene at Omaha Beach doesn’t convince you that war is hell, then nothing will. Nevertheless, this movie has gotten a lot of praise from vets who were there which is good enough.

The Western Front during World War II is perhaps one of the familiar images we usually see in movies, particularly if they tend to consist of the landings on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day as well as the liberation of German occupied countries as well as the actions that help bring an end to the war. There’s a very good reason for this since it takes place in a safer part of the world unlike the action in North Africa, the 1944-45 part of the war was one in which the Allies were actually winning, and it includes Americans. Still, the Western Front also saw some action early in the war as well with the Maginot Line, Dunkirk, and the Germans taking over Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, and France. These aren’t nice things to remember and take place early in the war so they are rarely film but are seen on occasion like in Atonement or Mrs. Miniver. Also, you don’t have Americans and 1940 witnesses the Battle of Britain which the Brits would rather remember. Still, personalities in the Western Front would consists of favorites like Rommel, Patton, Montgomery as well as Omar Bradley and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Battles would include D-Day, the Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, the Liberation of Paris, and the final battle of Berlin. Nevertheless, movies set in the Western Front do have their share of inaccuracies which I shall list accordingly.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel:

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel carried his Field Marshal’s baton with him on the beaches of Normandy which he used to help review the beach defenses. (Yes, he was there but he didn’t carry his baton or use it to review beach defenses unlike what we see in The Longest Day, which is your grandpa’s Saving Private Ryan back in the 1960s.)

Field Marshal Gerd von Runstedt:

It was Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt’s idea to suggest sending Bittrich’s panzers to Arnhem. (Actually it was Field Marshal Walter Model’s idea as far as the book A Bridge Too Far says.)

Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt refused to ask Adolf Hitler permission to release the Wehrmacht’s reserves and declared he wouldn’t “bow” to “that Bohemian corporal.” (Actually, Hitler had it set up so only he could order the reserve Panzer divisions to move. However, he was asleep during most of D-Day and his guards were too afraid to wake him up, so Runstedt’s basically screwed no matter what contrary to The Longest Day.)

General George S. Patton:

General George S. Patton’s controversy over his Knutsford speech pertained to him having insulted the Russians. (He did mention Russia in his speech but reporters left it out of their articles, which whipped a scandal on totally fictitious grounds. Still, it actually had more to do with Patton talking of “ruling the world,” after the war, in which members of Congress said he had no business commenting on post-war world political affairs. Others just objected to the notion of the US, Britain, or any other country “ruling the world.” However, to be fair, he wasn’t too fond of Russians or Jews for that matter. Ironically, Stalin may have admired him saying that the Red Army could neither have planned nor executed Patton’s rapid armored advance across France.)

General George S. Patton’s 3rd Army was situated to the south during the Battle of the Bulge. (Yes, but it was also one of 4 armies under the command of General Omar Bradley’s 12th Army Group.)

The prayer for good weather came from the words from General George S. Patton’s chaplain who said them before the Battle of the Bulge. (Actually those words came from the back of a small Christmas card that was printed for the troops on December 11th, 1944, 5 days before the Battle of the Bulge.)

General Omar Bradley:

General Omar Bradley foresaw the Battle of the Bulge. (Sorry, Patton, but Bradley dismissed the German operation at Ardennes as a “spoiling attack.” This resulted in his command to be virtually annihilated by the German attack. Eisenhower would transfer the remnants to General Montgomery’s 21st Army Group while quietly sidelining Bradley and giving him a fourth star for compensation {well, he did lead the first invasion of D-Day}.)

General Dwight D. Eisenhower:

General Dwight D. Eisenhower wasn’t present at the meeting when General George S. Patton to volunteer his army during the Battle of the Bulge, though other leaders present did discuss Ike’s decision. (Actually Eisenhower was present at the meeting. But he’s not in Patton at all.)

The Monuments Men:

Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man was burned by the SS. (It’s very likely to still exist, though it was stolen by the Nazis. Still, the Nazis weren’t ordered to destroy art unless it was considered “degenerate” like Picasso’s. Raphael paintings wouldn’t’ be in this category. Also, the mines weren’t destroying centers for art, but places to keep them so they could put them in German museums.)

Though the Monuments Men stumbled on Nazi gold, it wasn’t seen as relevant to their mission. (Maybe in The Monuments Men, but this accidental discovery did more to end World War II than almost any soldiering on the part of the Allies since the world was still on the gold standard at the time. When word got out there was nothing backing the Deutschmark, the Third Reich had no way to fund their war effort anymore. This is why you see Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley getting their picture taken.)

Jan and Hubert van Eyck’s Ghent altarpiece and Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges were recovered in haste before the Soviets arrived in Germany. (Actually they were recovered with leisure Altaussee salt mine, which was under American occupation.)

There were 8 Monuments Men. (There were actually 400 but it wouldn’t make an entertaining movie.)

Leonardo Da Vinci was referred to as “Da Vinci” during this time. (He was simply known as “Leonardo” even today by art historians because “Da Vinci” simply means “from Vinci.”)

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery:

General Bernard Montgomery was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff around the same time as General Patton was relieved of his command in Germany. (Montgomery became head of the CIGS in 1946, after Patton had died in December 1945.)

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s Force during the Battle of the Bulge was the 8th Army. (He was in command of the 21st Army Group. Also, during the Battle of the Bulge, the British 8th Army was stationed in Italy at the time.)

Dunkirk:

Tiger tanks were present at Dunkirk. (Dunkirk happened in 1940 while the first Tiger tanks saw action in 1942.)

The evacuation of Dunkirk was a last-minute effort with a huge fleet of little ships bringing the soldiers home. (Actually unlike what Mrs. Miniver depicts, most of the men evacuated at Dunkirk were brought home by destroyers, not a bunch of little boats. Also, the evacuation lasted more than a week. However, the British government deliberately created the myth of the little ships to boost morale after the disaster in France.)

Occupation of France:

The Gestapo ordered Parisians not to act when the German trucks arrived the next day. (Contrary to Casablanca, Paris issued absolutely no warning about the German advance at all. The German blitzkrieg overwhelmed the French so completely that all communications were either stymied or went astray.)

D-Day:

The US Marines stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. (It was the US Army, yet The Desert Fox has the storming of the Normandy beaches to the tune of “The Marine Hymn” when it should be “The Caisson Song.”)

Germans Colonel Josef “Pips” Priller and Sergeant Heinz Wodarczyk attacked the Allies at Gold and Juno Beaches during D-Day. (They were both at Sword Beach at the time yet the attacked the Allies by themselves and were both badly hungover at the time.)

The Germans’ 159mm guns on Pointe du Hoc were gone by the time Colonel Rudder’s Rangers got there. (Yes, but The Longest Day doesn’t show that Rudder’s Rangers continued inland, found the guns, and destroyed them.)

During the Normandy invasion, the men from the Higgins boats leapt from their watercraft into the water, rushed through the waves, threw themselves behind the sea wall, and started firing on the enemy. (This is a scene from The Longest Day that distresses veterans of D-Day the most since it seems like a scene out of Rambo or some other action movie. In reality, the soldiers actually plunged in over their heads, inflated their life jackets, struggled to shore, hid behind the beach obstacles, crawled toward to the sea wall, and exhaustively threw themselves down. Sorry, Darryl Zanuck, but the landings at the Normandy beaches didn’t play out like Rambo.)

Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt III made the decision to attack from Utah Beach. (It was Colonel James van Fleet who actually made the decision. Yet, General Roosevelt was the highest ranking officer on Utah Beach that day. Interestingly, he’s also the son and namesake of President Teddy Roosevelt, too so badassery was in the blood. Still, he knew that the improvised landing was a better idea than the planned one and even reconned the area with minimal cover, risking his life as well as insisted on leading the landing himself. Sadly, he wasn’t in the best of health then and would die a month later.)

The dummy paratroopers on D-Day were highly elaborate and lifelike. (Yes, they did drop dummies at the Normandy beaches. A total of 500 of them by the SAS in fact, for Operation Titanic. They also played recordings of battle noise, set off smoke grenades, and used their weapons to further enhance deception. But the dummies didn’t look as realistic like you’d see in The Longest Day. According to Imdb: “The actual dummies were fabricated from sackcloth or burlap stuffed with straw or sand and were only crude representations of a human figure. They only appeared human from a distance during the descent and were equipped with an explosive charge that burned away the cloth after landing to prevent the immediate discovery of their true nature.” )

British Captain Colin Maud spurred his advancing soldiers up the beaches of Normandy accompanied by his bulldog “Winston.” (This incident took place on the “Canadian” Juno Beach. Also, his dog was a German shepherd.)

General Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat carried a Mannlicher Schoenauer Model 1903 carbine on D-Day. (Contrary to The Longest Day, he always carried his old Winchester rifle into battle, and D-Day was no exception. It was one of his well-known quirks.)

The Ouistreham casino was destroyed by the Allies during the landings at Normandy. (It had already been destroyed and replaced with a bunker by the Germans before that.)

British pathfinders landed on the headquarters of the German General von Salmuth, commander of the 15th Army. (Contrary to The Longest Day, they landed on the headquarters of General Reichert who was commander of the 711 division at Normandy. Von Salmuth and his 15th Army were at the Pais de Calais at the time, perhaps waiting for Patton’s fake invasion {the guy was basically the only general whom Hitler ever feared}.)

French civilians assisted the Allied troops during D-Day. (Sorry, but The Longest Day gets it wrong. For one, it’s unlikely that the Germans would allow any civilians to live to such close proximity to the ocean where it would be possible to signal to passing ships. Second, the bombings and other action at the Normandy beaches would’ve severely damaged if not, demolished any house there which would result in civilians getting killed on impact. Third, I’m sure that French civilians were more likely heading for the hills than assisting the Allied troops at Normandy mostly because they’d have to be complete idiots to do the latter.)

The USS Fremont was at the Normandy beaches during D-Day. (Actually it was in the Pacific during this time and would be involved with the Battle of Saipan 10 days later.)

During D-Day, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Vandervoort and Brigadier General James Gavin were both in their 50s. (Actually Vandervoort was only 27 while Gavin was in his mid-30s. Yet, in The Longest Day, they’re played by 50ish John Wayne and Robert Ryan respectively. Also, John Wayne was twice the age of his own character so what the hell casting agency? Seriously, my negative bias of John Wayne aside, the casting director for The Longest Day could’ve certainly have selected a much younger actor to play a 27-year-old like Paul Newman for instance.)

German machine gunners fired continuous rounds from their MG42s on D-Day. (Actually they were trained to fire at shorter bursts to avoid overheating their guns. To fire continuously would’ve resulted in their barrels to melt. Yet, you see this in Saving Private Ryan.)

Before D-Day, World War II was still going Hitler’s way. (Mr. Attenborough, by the time D-Day rolled around; the Germans have already had their asses beaten by the Allies. By June 6, 1944, the Germans had already suffered crushing defeats by the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front like Stalingrad and they’ve also been kicked out of Africa and later Italy. Furthermore, by this time Mussolini had been deposed by his own people and Italy had joined the allies. Thus, by mid-1943, the Germans were already on the road to inevitable defeat and D-Day was just going to make it a whole lot worse.)

The Normandy Invasion:

The “whack the mortar shell to initiate the fuse and throw it like a football” scheme happened on the beaches of Normandy. (There are two incidents of this but they were in Italy and Okinawa, not in Normandy.)

All but one of the Niland brothers died in World War II. (Though Private James Ryan was loosely based on Sergeant Frederick “Fritz” Niland, two Niland brothers actually survived the war and died in the 1980s. The other brother was Edward who was in a Japanese prison camp in Burma during the Normandy invasion and he died a year after “Fritz” {but at the time Edward wasn’t expected to make it knowing what POWs in Japanese custody faced and was deemed as missing and presumably dead}. However, contrary to Saving Private Ryan, “Fritz” Niland didn’t need to be rescued by Tom Hanks because he had gone to the 82nd Airborne Division several days following the Normandy invasion to see his brother Bob and found out Bob had been killed on D-Day when he arrived. He was shipped back to England and later to New York where he served as an MP during the rest of the war. However, the notion that Edward Niland died during the war is even in Stephen Ambrose’s books as well as by other WWII scholars.)

The HMS Repulse was among the bombarding ships at the Normandy beaches prior to the D-Day landings. (The ship was sunk in December 1941 and D-Day took place in 1944.)

The Germans used Tiger tanks on the American front during the Normandy invasion. (There were no Tiger tanks at Utah or Omaha Beach. There were Tigers used at Juno Beach but it was the one with Canadians and Brits.)

During the invasion of Normandy, 2 British paratroopers landed by mistake in a courtyard and chateau where a German general was staying. They were later captured and overwhelmed by 2 dozen German guards. (This actually happened but instead of a squad of guards it was one of the General’s middle-aged staff officers who successfully rounded up the British paratroopers only armed with a pistol, contrary to The Longest Day.)

US troops from the 82nd Airborne F Company were all mowed down as they parachuted into a village square surrounded by German troops during the Normandy invasion. (Actually contrary to The Longest Day where everyone from that company is wiped out as if they were fish in a barrel, 30 paratroopers from the 82 F Company managed to successfully land in or around the square with less than a dozen killed or wounded.)

French nuns treated the French wounded at Ouistreham during the Normandy invasion. (Actually contrary to The Longest Day, this didn’t happen in real life. Also, Ouistreham’s hotel and casino were already destroyed and converted to German bunker use.)

Colonel Vandervoort had a compound fracture on his ankle during the Normandy invasion. (Contrary to The Longest Day, he didn’t because he was a healthy 27 year old man unlike his John Wayne portrayal. Sorry, but a 54 man like John Wayne at the time is way too old to play a guy who was only 27 at the time. Interestingly, British actor Richard Todd played his own commanding officer Major John Howard in The Longest Day and there’s a scene where he’s next to a guy who’s playing him as a soldier.)

“Crickets” frog like devices that were used by the 82nd Airborne during the Normandy invasion. (It was only issued to the 101st Division at the insistence of General Maxwell D. Taylor after his experience of the assault on Sicily. Still, as Movie Mistakes states, “It should also be noted that the cricket was not shaped like a frog but was made mainly from brass by the Birmingham based THE ACME company, founded by the maker of the original London Police Force’s whistle manufacturer, and they did a special run of over 7500 for the order. This makes telling original D-Day crickets from fakes easier due to die marks and press marks.” Also, it’s unlikely that John Wayne’s character in The Longest Day would know the code.)

The Liberation of Paris:

German soldiers set conventional explosives on Paris bridges. (It’s seen like this on Is Paris Burning? but the Germans used surplus naval torpedoes under the Paris bridges to burn them up.)

After the liberation of Paris, Lieutenant Henri Karcher called his father on the phone to tell him he’s just captured a general. (Unlike Is Paris Burning?, the real Karcher would more likely to have called his father using a Ouija board because his dad had been dead since 1914.)

Liberated Paris didn’t have any blackouts. (The city still did and so would Bruges.)

Operation Market Garden:

Lieutenant General Frederick Browning was mostly responsible for the failure of Operation Market Garden. (There could be a number of things why Operation Market Garden failed, but unlike in A Bridge Too Far, if there was anyone to blame, it would probably be Montgomery.)

The tower of Sint Stevenschurch in Nijmegen was standing tall during Operation Market Garden. (It was destroyed by American bombing in February 1944 and wouldn’t be rebuilt until the late 1960s. Of course, A Bridge Too Far was made in the 1970s.)

The Battle of the Bulge:

The Malmedy massacre happened on a snowy day. (There was no snow during the Malmedy massacre. The snow came later which covered the bodies of 80 American POWs that were killed.)

The Malmedy massacre was carried out by specially prepared machine guns hidden in the back of trucks. (This is how it’s portrayed in Battle of the Bulge, but the Malmedy massacre was actually conducted by guards surrounding the prisoners.)

The Battle of the Bulge was fought on semi-arid mountainous land that was devoid of trees. (It was fought among the thickly forested and hilly Ardennes Forest. The 1965 depiction of the Battle of the Bulge makes it clear that the movie was filmed in Spain. Still, the 1965 Battle of the Bulge was a film former President Eisenhower hated so much he denounced it during a press conference. Also, WWII buffs, model makers, and historians hate this movie for the inaccurate tank designs, which are painted wrong.)

The Battle of the Bulge took place during a mild winter in Belgium. (Actually it took place during a bitterly cold Belgian winter. Yet, the filmmakers made a half-hearted attempt at recreating what would’ve been seen as a bitterly cold winter if the Battle of the Bulge had taken place in Florida! Heck, the terrible wintry weather during the battle was what actually allowed the Germans to operate while it negatively affected Allied air superiority. A historical reenactment of the Battle of the Bulge would’ve been more accurate in the form of a snowball fight in my neighbor’s wooded hunting grounds during a snow day {like in bitterly cold weather with at least over 6 inches of snow} than in this movie. May not be the most accurate rendition but at least the terrain and weather would be right.)

During the Battle of the Bulge, large numbers of American tanks sacrificed themselves against the heavy Tiger IIs until the enemy ran out of fuel. (The Tiger II tanks were already stranded by this point even without effort from the US, which is perfect for Allied aircraft to hit the Germans hard in the event of clear weather. Yeah, lack of fuel wasn’t the only weakness the Allies were willing to exploit from the Tiger tanks. Not to mention, the Germans only had 100 available for the Bulge operation. Also, the reason for the high Allied casualties in the Battle of the Bulge had more to do with a Nazi counteroffensive catching the Allies by surprise and the confusion that followed.)

The Battle of the Bulge was solely American operation. (What about Montgomery’s effort who took temporary command of two American armies on the northern half of the Bulge though his British troops were usually kept behind the Meuse River and were thus almost entirely out of the fighting. Still, it kind of counts. Also absent in Battle of the Bulge besides Montgomery’s role is Eisenhower’s decision to split the Bulge front into two as well as Patton’s response whose 3rd Army relieved the Siege of Bastogne. No wonder Eisenhower hated this movie.)

Miscellaneous:

The Italians and French and Italians were utter incompetents and total war cowards who couldn’t fight. (Oh, sure they could, and did. For God’s sake Mussolini was overthrown and later killed by his own people as well as joined the allies as soon as they got fed up with Il Duce. Yet, there was a civil war in Italy between resistance and fascists forces which would continue until near the end of the war. As for the French, while there was a resistance movement, most of those who supported Marshall Philippe Petain’s coup in Vichy France either were fascist to begin with or saw no hope of Germany ever being defeated. Yet, when it was clear that Germany would lose, resistance groups formed and they were ready to welcome the Allies’ return with some of the best espionage work the world has ever seen. General DeGaulle’s Free French Forces also contributed thousands of combat troops in Bir Hakeim, Monte Cassino, and Ouistreham. Once France was liberated, they formed an army of 100,000 strong to take over support roles for British and American troops at the front lines.)

There was a real Battle of Romelle. (Contrary to Saving Private Ryan, there wasn’t.)

No one knows what happened to Glenn Miller’s plane. (Yes, but it’s very likely that Glenn Miller died from a combination of boarding a plane with a defective carburetor, piloted be a guy who wasn’t really qualified to fly the aircraft, and bad weather that would be a terrible obstacle for the Allies during the Battle of the Bulge. Sorry, conspiracy theorists.)

American pilots joined in the Eagle Squadron. (Sorry, Michael Bay, but there were a grand total of zero USAAF pilots who joined the RAF’s Eagle Squadron. Active duty US Army airmen would’ve simply not been allowed. Only US civilians served as Eagle Squadron pilots.)

Letters of transit signed by General Charles DeGaulle carried great weight in Vichy France and its territories. (Charles DeGaulle was a leader of the Free French movement so any letters of transit signed by him would’ve been meaningless, but don’t tell Captain Renault that.)

The Netherlands was under German occupation in April of 1945. (Most of the country had been liberated by this point, contrary to the movie Black Book.)

Dutch sheep managed to survive in the fields during the “Hunger Winter” of 1944. (Contrary to the movie Black Book, there were no sheep in the field by the spring of 1945. Also, people weren’t traveling by train at this point in the war either.)

French girls always preferred American GIs over their own countrymen. (If there’s a love interest in World War II movies set in the Western Front, she’s usually French and she’ll end up with the American GI protagonist. It’s the other way around in I Was a Male War Bride with the French guy being played by Cary Grant who marries an American servicewoman portrayed by Ann Sheridan. It’s the one he dresses in drag.)

The German-Swiss border was open during this time. (It was closed completely so you couldn’t travel by train between Germany and Switzerland anyway. Besides, the Germans knew that so many POWs would’ve wanted to escape there.)

Helicopters were used in the Western Front during World War II in 1944. (Except in Burma and a bit in the Coast Guard, helicopters weren’t around in military use during 1944. Yet, you see one in Eye of the Needle, which is based on a Ken Follet novel. Still, the Germans did have them.)

In 1940, Norwegian Lieutenant Thor O. Hannevig was abandoned by his soldiers and forced to face the Germans alone. (Actually he disbanded his unit and a small staff remained with him until he surrendered to the Germans. Not to mention, the German POWs he captured were still held and were handed over to the German forces directly unlike in The Last Lieutenant.)

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The Lone Girl in a Crowd

The thoughts and perceptions of an aspiring writer on life and the world around her

Tag Archives: WTF?

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 77 – The Space Race

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 76 – The Cold War

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 75 – The Post-War World

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 74 – Music of Post-War America

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 73 – The Post-War American West

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 72 – Post-War America

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 71 – World War II: POWs, Resistance Fighters, and Other Things

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 70 – World War II: The American Home Front

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 69 – World War II: The British Home Front

History of the World According to the Movies: Part 68 – World War II: The Western Front