"Let's Pay Our Taxes to Beat the Axis"

April 15 draws night, and in 1942 the government enlisted the help of Walt Disney's Donald Duck to remind Americans it was their duty to pay up. Donald made $2051 in 1941 and paid $13 to the Feds. Americans responded. To see other WWII savings tips you can visit the blog "Of Course I Can!" that has some ideas useful today, too.

In an Empire Far, Far Away

The 1955 British movie Dam Busters recounts the tale of RAF air raiders who wreaked havoc on German war production. A stirring tale made even more so by this familiar opening. A fun mash-up.

The Man Who Came To Dinner

Not all movies made in WWII were about the fighting. Americans needed to laugh, too. Monty Woolley and Bette Davis starred in The Man Who Came to Dinner, a comedy about a New York celebrity stranded in a Ohio home after a fall physically disables all but his put downs, which are legend. Here is Wolley right after his character's accident gleefully spitting venom at anyone who comes near. Still funny, the movie surely provided a respite from dark days.

Superman's Japan Smack Down

Disney and Warner Bros. weren't the only studios to turn their cartoon characters against the Axis. Paramount Pictures enlisted Superman to battle dastardly Japan. Here he is in 1942 Yokohama sabotaging their ship building effort. The Japanese are rendered as racial stereotypes - outrageous to us today - but accepted then in the heat of war. Lois Lane is, as usual, in the thick of things. Warner Brothers is releasing the Superman collection from the war years on DVD soon.