Editing Jack L. Warner (section)

===The prewar and war years===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Warnerestate.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Jack Warner's former estate]] -->
As the 1930s came to an end, both Jack and Harry Warner became increasingly alarmed over the rise of [[Nazism]].<ref name="Thomas129">Thomas (1990), p. 129.</ref> As Bernard F. Dick observed, the Warners, "as sons of Polish Jews who fled their homeland because of antisemitic pogroms&nbsp;... had a personal interest in exposing Nazism." Moreover, the attraction to films critical of German [[militarism]] had a long history with the Warners that predated their production of ''My Four Years in Germany'' in 1918. In 1917, while it was still in distribution, the Warners had secured the rights for ''[[War Brides (1916 film)|War Brides]]'', a movie that featured [[Alla Nazimova]] as "a woman who kills herself rather than breed children for an unidentified country whose army looks suspiciously [[Germanic peoples|Teutonic]]."<ref name="dick55">Dick (1985), p. 55.</ref> Beyond this, Jack was shaken by the 1936 murder of studio salesman Joe Kaufman, who was beaten to death by [[Sturmabteilung|Nazi stormtroopers]] in [[Berlin]].<ref name="dick55-56">Dick (1985), pp. 55–56.</ref><ref name="friedman82">Friedman (1982), p. 82.</ref> He later described the incident in the following terms: "Like many an outnumbered Jew he was trapped in an alley. They [Nazi hoodlums] hit him with fists and clubs and then kicked the life out of him with their boots and left him dying there."<ref name="warner249">Warner and Jennings (1964), p. 249.</ref> Hence, while other [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] studios sidestepped the issue, fearing domestic criticism and the loss of European markets, Warner Bros. produced films that were openly critical of [[Nazi Germany]].

In 1939, the studio released ''[[Confessions of a Nazi Spy]]'', starring [[Edward G. Robinson]]. The project, which was recommended to Jack by [[FBI Director]] [[J. Edgar Hoover]], drew on the real-life experiences of Agent [[Leon G. Turrou]], who had worked as an undercover agent.<ref name="Thomas129"/> Despite legal ramifications preventing the use of actual names, the studio aimed for an "aura of authenticity" and Wallis initially recommended eliminating credits to give the film "the appearance of a newsreel."<ref name="dick56">Dick (1985), p. 56.</ref> ''Confessions of a Nazi Spy'' was widely criticized. The critic Pare Lorentz wrote, "The Warner brothers have declared war on Germany with this one." The German ambassador responded by issuing a protest to [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Cordell Hull]], and the German dictator, [[Adolf Hitler]], who watched the film at [[Berchtesgaden]], was outraged.<ref name="thomas129130">Thomas (1990). pp. 129–130.</ref> Meanwhile, the studio received stern warnings from [[U.S. Congressman]] [[Martin Dies Jr.]] about defaming a "friendly country".<ref>Buhle and Wagner (2002), p. 211.</ref>

Initially, the studio bowed to pressure from the [[Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration|Roosevelt Administration]], the [[United States Motion Picture Production Code of 1930|Hays Office]], and [[Isolationism in the United States|isolationist]] lawmakers to desist from similar projects. Jack announced that the studio would release no more "propaganda pictures" and promptly ordered the shelving of several projects with an anti-Nazi theme.<ref name="cepeng310">Ceplair and Englund (1980), p. 310.</ref> In time, however, Warner Bros. produced more films with anti-Nazi messages, including ''[[Underground (1941 film)|Underground]]'' and ''[[All Through the Night (film)|All Through the Night]]''. In 1940, the studio produced short films that dramatically documented the devastation wrought by the German bombing raids on [[London]]. Meanwhile, the studio celebrated the exploits of the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] with films such as ''[[Captains of the Clouds]]''.<ref name="Thomas130">Thomas (1990), p. 130.</ref> In 1941, Warner also produced the influential war film ''[[Sergeant York (film)|Sergeant York]]''.<ref name="sperling246">Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 246.</ref>

Contemporary reports that Jack had banned the use of the [[German language]] throughout the company's studios were denied by studio representatives who indicated that this move would have prevented scores of studio employees from communicating with each other.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090114112344/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,764049,00.html "Hollywood & War."] ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. June 10, 1940.</ref>

After the American declaration of war against the [[Axis Powers]], Jack, like some other studio heads, was commissioned as a [[lieutenant colonel]] in the [[U.S. Army Air Corps]].<ref name="Thomas130132">Thomas (1990), pp. 130–132.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.militarymuseum.org/1stmpu.html |title=1st Motion Picture Unit |publisher=Militarymuseum.org |access-date=November 28, 2010 |archive-date=February 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223134945/http://www.militarymuseum.org/1stmpu.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1943 the studio's film ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' won the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]]. When the award was announced, Wallis got up to accept, only to find Jack had rushed onstage "with a broad, flashing smile and a look of great self-satisfaction" to take the trophy, Wallis later recalled. "I couldn't believe it was happening. ''Casablanca'' had been my creation; Jack had absolutely nothing to do with it. As the audience gasped, I tried to get out of the row of seats and into the aisle, but the entire Warner family sat blocking me. I had no alternative but to sit down again, humiliated and furious.&nbsp;... Almost forty years later, I still haven't recovered from the shock."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/791 |title=''Casablanca'': The Unexpected Classic |author=Ronald Haver |publisher=The Criterion Collection Online Cinematheque |access-date=January 8, 2010 |author-link=Ronald Haver |archive-date=June 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629120246/http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/791 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Also in 1943, Jack, at the advice of President Roosevelt, produced a film adaptation of the controversial book ''[[Mission to Moscow]]'',<ref name="Thomas146">Thomas (1990), p. 146.</ref> a film intended to inspire public support of the uneasy military alliance between the U.S. and the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>Buhle and Wagner (2002), p. 240.</ref> Later, while testifying before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] (HUAC) on October 27, 1947,<ref name="sperling272">Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 272</ref> Jack dismissed allegations during the [[Cold War]] that this film was subversive, and he argued that ''Mission to Moscow'' was produced "only to help a desperate war effort, and not for posterity."<ref>Buhle and Wagner (2002), p. 241.</ref> After the film's lackluster response under distribution, the [[Republican National Committee]] accused him of producing "New Deal propaganda."<ref name="Thomas147">Thomas (1990), p. 147.</ref>

In line with the Warner brothers' early opposition to Nazism, Warner Bros. produced more pictures about the war than any other studio, covering every branch of the armed services.<ref name="Thomas132">Thomas (1990), p. 132.</ref> In addition, the studio produced patriotic musicals such as ''[[This Is the Army]]'' and ''[[Yankee Doodle Dandy]]''.<ref name="Thomas132"/>