The Negro Soldier

1944 DocumentaryDrama 43 minutes Directed by Stuart Heisler

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About The Negro Soldier

Carlton Moss, as a preacher in a large church, preaches on Black soldiers and reads Nazi lines against them. The sermon runs through Crispus Attucks, a World War I monument, and Jesse Owens’s wins over Germany at the Berlin Olympics. A mother, Mrs. Bronson, reads a letter from her son in training. The picture then shows Black enlistment, shared drills, and troops marching out to fight.

Cast & crew

More about The Negro Soldier

Stuart Heisler directed. Carlton Moss wrote it and plays the preacher. Frank Capra produced it for the War Department as a follow-up to the Why We Fight series. It runs 43 minutes. The Army used it to urge Black Americans to enlist.

Themes

  • A sermon on Black soldiers
  • A mother’s letter from camp
  • Troops marching out
  • Carlton Moss
  • church
  • Crispus Attucks
  • Berlin Olympics
  • Mrs. Bronson
  • Why We Fight

Background

The War Department put it into circulation in 1944 as an enlistment picture aimed at Black Americans.

Making

Capra’s unit made it inside the Army’s wartime documentary program, after Why We Fight, with Moss both writing the sermon and delivering it.

Reviews

James Agee wrote in The Nation that it would matter a good deal to Black soldiers. The Motion Picture Herald judged it competent, with varied scenes and a strong musical background.

Music

Albert Glasser, Calvin Jackson, Howard Jackson, Earl Robinson, and Dimitri Tiomkin are credited with the music.

Preservation

Selected for the National Film Registry in 2011.

Notes

  • Music credits include Albert Glasser, Calvin Jackson, Howard Jackson, Earl Robinson, and Dimitri Tiomkin.
  • William Broadus, Clarence Brooks, Norman Ford, Clyde Turner, and Bertha Woolford are in the catalog cast.
  • The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 2011.
  • James Agee, in The Nation, wrote that the film would matter a good deal to Black soldiers.
  • The Motion Picture Herald called the job competent and noted the photography, the changes of scene, and the music.

Awards

  • National Film Registry (2011)

Scenes

  • The preacher quotes Nazi writing and sets it against Black military service.
  • Mrs. Bronson reads her son’s letter about training.

Influenced by

  • Frank Capra’s Why We Fight series

Also available

  • Internet Archive (negrosoldier)