# WORLD WAR II SIGNAL CORPS FILM "THE ARM BEHIND THE ARMY" 77934

The Arm Behind the Army is a sensational propaganda film produced by the US Army Signal Corps in 1942 to encourage the home front to participate in war production -- the "Arm Behind the Army". The film uses stock footage of both Japan and Germany, along with driving score and urgent narration, to promote "outproducing the Axis". This type of appeal was especially important in this era, as there was worry that labor unrest and strikes could torpedo the war effort. The film begins with a short outline of American military history, noting that each war has advanced military technology a little further, from the muskets of the Revolutionary War in 1776, to Thaddeus Lowe's observation ballon in the Civil War, the gatling gun, and the tanks and airplanes of the First World War. The various arms of the US Army are introduced: infantry, artillery, air corps, signal corps. These are Uncle Sam's fist, the narrator notes, and behind it is American labor "Uncle Sam's muscle" the arm behind the army. The narrator notes "Behind the desks, behind the drawing board, behind the benches, on the assembly lines, American industry is making the greatest production effort in history to supply our armed forces with the weapons of war." (Great assembly line footage in airplane factories at the 3:15 mark onward). The film briefly explains how dissention among Austrian and Czech management and labor led to the ruin of both, and how French factories were left idle while France fell. It noted the…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: War, Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/77934TheArmyBehindTheArmy)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/77934TheArmyBehindTheArmy?play=1)