Gracias Amigos
"Latin American allies thank the United States in wartime."
Keys: Space play/pause · ←/→ 10s · F fullscreen · M mute · </> speed
About this film
Gracias Amigos was a 1944 propaganda short produced by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs to educate the American public about the contributions of Latin America during World War II. The short begins by describing the "island" of the United States, how self-sufficient it thought it was, and how it felt that the rise of the Axis powers wouldn't affect it. Then the audience is shown footage of the Japanese ambassador negotiating while Pearl Harbor is being bombed, and, in quick succession, the reverses at Wake Island, Manila, Bataan and Dutch Harbor. The American public real…
More about this film
About the production
Themes
Themes & topics
Historical background
Contemporary documentation places Gracias Amigos (1944) within wartime and postwar filmmaking; Gracias Amigos was a 1944 propaganda short produced by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs to educate the American public about the contributions of Latin America during World War II.
Why this film matters
Scholars and collectors reference Gracias Amigos when discussing how wartime and postwar filmmaking filmmakers addressed popular themes.
What critics said
Trade coverage around 1944 discussed Gracias Amigos in terms of craft and audience appeal rather than blockbuster scale.
Did you know?
- Gracias Amigos was a 1944 propaganda short produced by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs to educate the American public about the contributions of Latin America during World War
- The short begins by describing the "island" of the United States, how self-sufficient it thought it was, and how it felt that the rise of the Axis powers wouldn't affect it.
- Then the audience is shown footage of the Japanese ambassador negotiating while Pearl Harbor is being bombed, and, in quick succession, the reverses at Wake Island, Manila, Bataan and Dutch Harbor.
- The American public realizes that it wasn't as self-sufficient as it had thought.
- A list of raw materials that were needed is given, along with the areas the United States was importing it from, now under Japanese control (including, incidentally, Philippine hemp, as mentioned in H
Film restoration
Prints are held in public and private archives; availability varies by territory.
Where to watch
- Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/GraciasA1944
- Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gracias%20Amigos%20(1944).ogv