Letter to a Hero
US (1943): Short
LETTER TO A HERO (1943) is a black and white, 2-reel short subject from the "This is America" series. Director Larry O'Reilly filmed it in his town of residence, Monroe, NY. Then a rural dairy farming and resort village, Monroe was an idyllic setting for a schoolteacher to narrate a letter to her favorite pupil, now off fighting in the South Pacific.
The "letter" shows early autumn in the village, and deals with how the local folk are coping with sacrifices and supporting the war effort. Real residents of Monroe make up the bulk of the cast, with just a small number of actors rounding things out. The charm, schmaltz, and simplicity of small-town life culminates in a bond drive and parade.
LETTER lets us see a vanished, innocent America through the lens of wartime propaganda. Although most of the places and buildings in the film can still be found in Monroe, today it is just another New York suburb. -- [Paul M. Simon, former president of the Monroe (NY) Historical Preservation Society]
1 nomination
· Short Subjects (Two-reel) 1943: RKO Radio (This Is America) - Frederic Ullman, Jr., producer