Classic Archives Listing

NEW OFFER!!!!!!:

While our standard delivery is still DVD, we recognize not all of you have a DVD Player. 

We offer delivery on a USB flash drive for this, as a disk image .iso file, when you add USB Flash Drive Delivery from our ebay shop.  If you don't know how to work with a .iso file, please research it first or just buy it in DVD only.

NOTICE: If you don't see our listing for our USB flash drive delivery in our store at this link, that simply means we are currently waiting on more to arrive and can only offer CDs and DVDs at this time!  Check back soon!
 

     

 

The COMPLETE WWII Films

LIBRARY COLLECTION, 7 DVD's

This collection aims to document World War II using film.  Actual War footage is used in many of these productions.  You will see what the nation went through during this difficult time in our history and how a post depression country united and fought back against the evil on this earth.  During some of the darkest days of mankind, we stood united won against a force so evil, it will forever be known as one of America's greatest triumphs.

Some of these films are sincere and true.  Yet, some are the finest pieces of propaganda ever produced by our government.  In any case, they are a national treasure, to be cherished and viewed by generations to come.  Great for scholars, teachers, and students alike.  Is a great companion to many of our other WWII film and newsreel collections, please see our other auctions.

This collection on 7 DVD's contains 62 films, that runs a total of approx 14 hours!.  Each DVD comes with a full interactive menu.  A list of films in this collection is as follows:

DVD 1
A Challenge to Democracy 1944

Government-produced film attempting to defend the massive internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II.

Sound, B&W, 18:03

A Letter from Bataan 1944

A soldier pleads to the folks to home to conserve scarce wartime resources.  Our film first starts out over-seas WWII where solders are ambushed and badly wounded because shortages of supplies, the next scene is in the operating room where our boy "Johnny" dies of shortages of antithetic while doc attempting amputation.
The rest of the film shows the folks at home when they receive a letter from "Johnny" and a telegram informing them of his unfortunate death.

Sound, B&W, 14:12

All Out for Victory 1943

Contributions of handicapped and disabled workers to World War II industrial production.  Blind workers unravel the ends of parachute straps, a one-armed man operates a one-handed hole-punching machine, deaf workers work in the noisiest part of the factory, elderly men come out of retirement to offer their well-honed skills, and, of course, women are everywhere.

Sound, B&W, 20:48

As the twig is bent 1943

On the problem of youth crime during World War II and the fear that America would lose a generation of children to delinquency.  In 1943 America, as the War was still raging on, America feared for it's kids, for they were hanging out in shady bars, listening to the jukebox, girls becoming victory girls, and so on. This film will stop your children's reckless behavior, and teach them to be normal citizens of society!

Sound, B&W, 10:49

Birth of the B-29

This is the Master Hands of World War II, with narration Norman Corwin would have been proud of. It tells the story of how the huge B-29 Superfortress bombers were made in huge factories staffed by workers from all walks of life. The visuals and the stirring narration work together to create a masterful piece of propaganda in that bombastic, yet lyrical style that is peculiar to the form. As is usual for war propaganda, the film starts with some frankly racist commentary about the Japanese designed to inspire hatred for the enemy. Then we get to see the B-29s being built in huge factories––this is really great factory tour footage. When the workers suddenly stop working and look to the skys to hear the "music" of the bombers going through the air, audience members' hearts probably swelled with patriotic pride. The part at the end where the narrator talks about this new, big bomber requiring a "new kind of air force" stimulates disturbing images of a future Cold War. This film is essential for collectors of World War II propaganda and is a great piece of history.

Sound, B&W, 20:10

Campus on the March 1942

This WWII-era film shows us in great detail how colleges across the nation are preparing for war. Mostly it involves doing lots of military training, along with training women to assume jobs usually done by men (what a radical concept!). Lots of scenes of military units marching around college greens are shown. One segment features an African-American college, which was unusual for the time this film was made (not unusual in the sense of existing––there were and are lots of such colleges––but that it was put into a film designed for mainstream audiences).

Sound, B&W, 18:29

Close Harmony 1942

General Motors made this wartime film to explain to the general public why it was taking so long for factories to retool for war production. A guy in a barbershop explains to everybody in the shop that retooling involves not only installing new machinery, but getting new materials, drawing up new manufacturing plans, and retraining workers. In case this gets boring, there’s an African-American porter present to provide comic relief in the form of racist stereotypes. This film has the breezy Jam Handy style applied to wartime content, which means its fairly campy, though the main character’s lecture gets tedious after awhile. It does have quite a bit of historical interest in that it gives you an idea of some of the rumors going around about war production in the early days of the war.

Sound, B&W, 11:03

Conquer by the Clock 1943

Strident WWII propaganda film that warns war workers of the danger of slacking off, even for a second. Occasional periods of R & R are shown to have dire consequences for the soldiers fighting the war. I guess they hadn’t heard of the concept of burnout yet. This makes the film pretty campy. A quintessential propaganda piece with some striking modernistic visuals.

Sound, B&W, 10:40

Curtiss Wright Shorts 1944

Short screen ads recruiting workers for aircraft manufacturing during World War II.

Sound, B&W, 8:58

Every Minute Counts 1944

Balancing work and family in a time of heightened mobilization.

Sound, B&W, 10:14

DVD 2
Combat America 1945

Follows the Flying Fortress crews of the 351st Bombardment Group from the end of their training at a Colorado training field to actual combat over Germany.  In this highly romanticized flick about air bombers, air fighting footage is mixed in with obvious renactments (by the soldiers themselves!) of life at war. Narrated by Clark Gable, who narrated this film as his contribution to the war effort.

4 Parts, Sound, Color, 1:01:40

Our Enemy, The Japanese 1943

Stridently anti-Japanese film that attempts to convey an understanding of Japanese life and philosophy so that the U.S. may more readily defeat its enemy. Depicts the Japanese as "primitive, murderous and fanatical." With many images of 1930s and 1940s Japan, and a portentous and highly negative narration by Joseph C. Grew, former U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Sound, B&W, 19:51

Ring of Steel 1941

U.S. armed forces protect the homefront.  Directed by Garson Kanin; spoken by Spencer Tracy; written by Wallace Russell; music by Morton Gould; produced by Philip Martin, Jr. for The Office for Emergency Management Film Unit; edited by Robert Jahns; photographed by Carl Pryer, Ray Foster, Louis Tumola.

Sound, B&W, 8:39

To the People of the United States 1944

Public education film on combatting the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, especially syphilis, in World War II.  Jean Hersholt,the great humanitarian and character actor hosts this 1944 public information film about stopping venereal diseases. Bit parts are played by Robert Mitchum and Noah Beery, as well as many other recognizable actors of the that time. For the audience of that era, it effectively got the message across. A slick production. Directed by Arthur Lubin, and produced by Walter Wanger.

Sound, B&W, 21:21

Wartime Nutrition 1943

Wartime work of public welfare agencies in the field of nutrition.  An excellent historic film showing civilian suggestions in maintaining good health in W.W.II.

Sound, B&W, 10:22

World at War 1942

A feature length motion picture presenting step-by-step the events which led up to Pearl Harbor and total war. History, filmed as it happened, shows the massacre of Ethiopia, the invasion of Austria and Czechoslovakia, the blitz of Poland, the tragic fall of France. Material was taken from secret government archives.

2 Parts, Sound, B&W, 43:19

DVD 3

Divide and Conquer 1943

"Divide and Conquer," Chapter III of Frank Capra's "Why We Fight" series, begins with Britain and France's declaration of war on Germany after Hitler's invasion of Poland. The film covers the Nazi capture of Denmark and Norway, steps necessary to mount a future attack on Britain, then describes in detail Hitler's strategy as he conquers Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Special attention is paid to Nazi atrocities. Dead and injured children are shown en masse and the film explains how the bombing of Rotterdam leads to "thirty thousand men, women and children killed in ninety minutes." The narrator tells how the Luftwaffe bombs small villages so that refugees clog the highways, and how it uses precision machine gun fire to herd the survivors toward the allied armies, who find their progress severely constrained as a result. An American military officer details the Nazi plan for an invasion of France, which Hitler conquers in just over a month. The Germans bludgeon the French armies into surrender, then "enslave" much of the local population to service the German military regime.

4 Parts, Sound, B&W, 56:26

A Tale of Two Cities 1946

How the atomic bomb destroyed the people and cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

Sound, B&W, 12:02

DDAy Minus One

Record of the operations of the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions in the 1944 invasion of France. Excellent war footage and intriguing first person narrative of events gives a compelling look into the operations of US paratroopers as part of the D-Day invasion. Recommended.

Sound, B&W, 16:52

Deadline for Action 1946

How left-wing labor unions engaged in political activism to combat corporate influence on the U.S. Congress in the years following World War II.

2 Parts, Sound, B&W, 36:43

Freedom Comes High 1944

A young wife learns that freedom must sometimes be paid for in lives, when her husband's ship is struck during battle.  In this excellently acted and melodramatic piece coming from the US Navy of all places. A married couple is separated when the husband goes off to war. As you can tell by the title, consequences ensue. I imagine this film was done by the Navy to warn women that Johnny might not be marching home. This film has a high cinematic feel to it, and all the acting is superb. This comes highly recommended!

Sound, B&W, 12:54

It Can't Last 1944

World War II propaganda film aimed at the home front, attempting to increase popular mobilization.

Sound, B&W, 19:04

DVD 4
Food for Fighters 1943

Importance of nutrition in wartime.  A 1943 documentary about feeding nutritious food to the armed forces. Dehydrated & process food was developed during that time. A very informative production of its time.

Sound, B&W, 9:51

Highballing to Victory 1944

Pretty entertaining film about the importance of rubber in wartime. More specifically of course, the use of it for tires that will be used by the US forces transport vehicles. I found this film interesting in it's personification of the tire as an active participant in the war, like we were supposed to feel for the tires getting blown apart in wartime. Nice production shots too. Recommended.

Sound, B&W, 11:41

Homes for Veterans 1946

This film is almost 2 films in one. In the first half we see a GI coming home from the war, who just can't wait to get a house of his own (he even looks at his dream home on the front lines.. guess nothing else is distracting him). He picks up his wife and kid and they go house hunting, to no avail as the home shortage crisis after WWII was in full swing. In the 2nd half, many people are going to Mayor's office to solve this problem.

2 Parts, Sound, B&W, 28:16

Its Everybody's War 1945

Plea for increased commitment by Americans to win the war.

Sound, B&W, 15:22

Men and Jobs 1944

How the U.S. government tried to match every person to a job during World War II.  The main focus of 'Men and Jobs' is how you need a job, right NOW. Representatives of the government agency trot out and read lines (from left to right) how important it is that we all work when Johnny is overseas. We then see an employment office at work, and how a female is matched to a job most suited to her, and how an older skilled man gets a job just like that.

Sound, Color, 8:46

Mission Accomplished, The Story of the Flying Fortress 1942

Chronicles one of the early (autumn 1942) bombing runs of B-17s over Europe.

Sound, B&W, 10:42

Radio at War 1944

Communications and communicators facilitate World War II.

Sound, B&W, 21:57

Remember These Faces 1945

Intense view of American soldiers in combat, produced to sell World War II bonds.

Sound, Color, 17:18

These People 1944

Frigidaire plant converts to military production during World War II.

Sound, B&W, 15:29

DVD 5

Japanese Relocation 1943

U.S. government-produced film defending the World War II internment of Japanese American citizens.

Sound, B&W, 9:28

Manpower 1943

The battle for industrial production in World War II.  Quite amazing film about how the US is looking for more able bodied people to work at other jobs while Johnny is overseas.

Sound, B&W, 8:33

Mr and Mrs America 1945

Mobilizing citizens on the homefront in World War II.  Another plea to buy war bonds with plenty of talking heads, including FDR.

Sound, B&W, 13:30

News Parade, Bombing of Pearl Harbor 1942

Attack on Pearl Harbor; the S.S. Normandy fire at a New York pier.

Sound, B&W, 9:35

Operation Crossroads 1946

Documents Able Day and Baker Day blasts of the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Island in the Pacific. Contains footage from many of the ground and aerial cameras set up to record the blasts, beginning with B-29 aircraft "Dave's Dream" dropping an atomic bomb on Bikini Atoll.

2 Parts, Sound, B&W,  26:36

Safeguarding Military Information 1941

Walter Huston & Eddie Bracken are featured in this effective 1941 film warning Americans to be careful what they say in public. Well written, directed, and acted.

Sound, B&W, 10:22

That Boy Joe 1944

Temperance as an antidote to juvenile delinquency.

Sound, B&W, 18:12

DVD 6

Special Delivery 1946

Airplanes and missions of the U.S. Army Air Forces, emphasizing Operation Crossroads (the Bikini Island atomic bomb tests).

Sound, B&W, 12:36

Suggestion Box 1945

How war plant workers made suggestions that resulted in efficiency and economy.

Sound, B&W, 8:55

Supervising Women Workers 1944

Management addresses the special problems of women workers with concern and a heavy dose of sexism.

Sound, B&W, 10:36

Target Invisible 1945

Illustrates the use of radar on a dramatized mission over Japan.

Sound, B&W, 8:24

The Arm Behind The Army 1942

How winning World War II depends on successful labor-management collaboration.  Sensational propaganda film which ultimately is about how important industry is to the war, but winds up just being one hell of a propaganda film. Fueled by one heck of a bombastic narrator who must've taken courses in guilt mongering, we're plastered with images of Pearl Harbor! China! France! Norway! All of this is tied very loosely with the industrial theme, but again, this is a mightily trumped up propaganda machine working here folks.
 

Sound, B&W, 10:22

The Town 1945

Shows life during wartime in an American town (Madison, Indiana). Directed by Josef von Sternberg.

Sound, B&W, 10:49

These Are the People 1944

Workers of a Wisconsin town mobilize for World War II production.

Sound, B&W, 15:57

DVD 7

Three Cities 1943

How America mobilizes.  A pile of families move into wartime housing, only to realize the school is not built yet. No problem, we'll just use one of the non-used houses to teach the children!! This leads to ultra bizarre shots of kids desks crammed into what looks like a kitchen..  Segment 2 details people living in trailer parks because of the war. Problem is, those darned kids just can't keep quiet while someone is sleeping! No problem, we'll just import some dangerous-looking dilapidated sheds the army is not using, take them apart and rebuild a community hall/school. This looks.. rickety.
Segment 3 is a typical rah of how people use Sunday, their day of rest of course, to be trained off to do hard labor for the army. I wonder how many people would want to do that now..

Sound, B&W, 10:34

Troop Train 1943

Evocative World War II-era film following a troop train: the coordination of effort; its staging and assembly of cars, cargo and passengers; its heavily guarded journey through the American countryside; and the food, sleep, exercise, training, drilling and recreation of its soldier-passengers.

Sound, B&W, 10:52

US News Review Issue 3

Government-produced World War II newsreel.

Sound, B&W, 19:12

US News Review Issue 5

Hairstyles for war jobs. Making rifles by assembly line. Absenteeism. Our children--a war problem regarding daycare while mothers work. Army fight song: "Off we go/Into the wild blue yonder".  A late 1942 film news review showing the sacrifices and problems facing the American civilians and soldiers of World WAR II. The actual air battle is impressive, and the visual introduction to the Air Force song is inspiring.
 

Sound, B&W, 15:33

Victory Is Our Business 1942

Patriotic motivational film for World War II industrial workers.

Sound, B&W, 10:44

What Makes a Battle 1944

Strategy and successes of the Marshall Islands battle in World War II.

Sound, B&W, 15:35

When Work is Done 1943

War plant workers flood the town of Sylacauga, Alabama, and the town constructs facilities and organizes activities to make them feel welcome. Excellent, idealized view of homefront life in a World War II factory town.

Sound, B&W, 8:55

DVD Menu Sampler:

 

DVD format and quality

All of our DVD's sold are formatted NTSC, without region coding.  This means that they will play on any NTSC DVD Player in the world.  The standard in USA is NTSC.  For those in Europe, your DVD player may be a PAL format, which will not work.  For those overseas customers, please verify that your DVD player can play NTSC disks.

Please note, that most of the films on our disks were made 40 years ago or more.  Some perhaps as old as 80 or 90 years!  As you can imagine, the movie making equipment of the time was a lot more primitive than the high tech equipment that they use today.  Also, many of these films were stored improperly for decades before being digitally coded.  As a result of this, these films are not what one would consider to be "DVD quality" today.   Many, if not most, are black and white.  The sound and picture quality is not perfect.  There are those occasional "snap, crackle, and pops" across many of these films.  We feel that these imperfections add to a film's charm, and provide for a more authentic viewing experience.  WIth that in mind, this collection may not be for those wishing to find digitally remastered and professional recolored duplications of the original work in perfect DVD quality.  Please keep that in mind prior to purchase, since we have fully disclosed that to you.

Catalog Number

This item is our catalog #J20.  If you purchase another item with this same catalog number, you will get two identical items.  Given this, we cannot offer refunds for customers who accidentally purchased two identical disks without reading this auction fully.
 
Questions and Answers:

Why should I buy from you?  There are lots of places to buy similar stuff on ebay.  What makes you so special?

What separates us from the rest is that we want you to be happy.  If you're happy, you'll buy from us again and tell your friends.  Getting one sale from you is great, but we want the next sale from you and the next one after that.  It isn't worth a few bucks to us to have one unhappy customer.  If you are unhappy, tell us and let us try to fix the problem.  How many sellers will say that?

Yeah, so, there are lots of other sellers on ebay.  Are you saying the rest of them will rip me off?

No, of course not.  But, beware of what people sell on ebay.  Many sellers on here will charge you an exhorbitant amount for shipping.  Many will "claim" to provide discount shipping only when you contact them, they'll tell you they'll take a quarter off the shipping price for each additional item.  We never do that.  Our combined shipping policy is clearly spelled out for those to see.  No tricky or cheap discounts.  Just Buy 3, Get One Free.  Simple as that.  Also, when comparing our films to those of others, take note of not only the price of the item, but also the content.  You'll see that we not only offer more films per package then our competition, and not only at the cheapest shipping, but also at the cheapest price too.

I live in country ABC, will your DVD work in my DVD player?

Short answer, probably.  Long answer, it depends.  There are two formats of DVD in the world.  NTSC and PAL.  NTSC is the standard for the US and I believe Japan, along with some other countries too.  PAL is popular in Europe.  If you have an NTSC DVD player (all USA customers), this disk will work for you.  If you have a PAL player, this won't.  Also, many commercial DVD's out there have region coding.  Without getting in a long discussion on it, none of our DVD's have any region coding, so that won't be an issue.  All you need to know is whether or not your DVD player is an NTSC format.

What if my disk arrives damaged?

We offer a no muss, no fuss guarantee that all damaged disks are replaced free of charge.

 
Testimonial emails from customers:

"Just got it,and I love it.  Where did you find this stuff?  I've been looking for these films forever.  I'm a high school Social Studies teacher and a big part of my lesson plan is World War II.  These films are invaluable, and they have been keeping my students engaged. Thank you so much."  Andrea P., Memphis, TN.


"My father served in WWII and I bought these films from him.  Many of them brought a tear to his eye.  We will treasure this collection."  Jeff H., Trenton, NJ.

 

"...Very moving and hard to watch.  I couldn't watch the whole thing. Just brought tears to my eyes."  Lucy N., Atlanta, GA.

 

"Those old fair films are absolutely amazing.  It really is like watching another world like you said.  I was glued to them for hours."  Jake P., San Diego, CA.

 

"My uncle was a firefigher for 36 years and I bought this collection for him.  He just loves it.  Thank you." Sarah P., Boston, MA.

 

"I'm a high school physics teacher and I bought your A-bomb films for my students.  Unbelievable footage.  Its hard to believe that we lived in fear all those years, and we are getting back to that time again."  Robert S., New York, NY.

 

Official PayPal Seal

Shipping and Payment information

Pay through PayPal using:

Official PayPal Seal

We are centrally located in America's heartland in the great state of Tennessee!

All items will be shipped out within 1 business day to your PayPal address. We will only ship to your PayPal verified address.  Please view our shipping and sales tax rules on our shipping and payments tab above.

All items are shipped by USPS first class mail.  In an effort to keep our costs down, that are passed along as low prices to you, all of our disks are packaged and shipped in economic sleeves and mailers.  All of our disks are labeled with a clean label and some graphics.  The disks are made this way for speed and cost, which translates into lower cost for you.  We focus our efforts on the quality of the material on the disk.  We do not believe in charging you an extra 3 or 4 dollars like some companies out there just to throw in a 25 cent plastic case and slap a color label on an item.  We believe you purchase for content, and ours is the best, although we still believe you will be pleased with the presentation.


PLEASE READ ABOUT SHIPPING TIMES:

The estimated delivery dates shown above are ebay's estimates, not ours.  Sometimes ebay's dates are completely unrealistic.  Every effort is made to get your item out the next day, but once it leaves us, we ask that you please understand that we do not guarantee delivery by any date, since the USPS does not give us a guarantee either.  Below is our estimates on what to expect:


USA CUSTOMERS
:  Most times, your package will arrive in about 1 week after we ship them depending on where you are at.  However, lately the Post Office it seems has not been very cooperative with us and we've had a couple of customers wait a few days longer than that.  If the item does not arrive, please email us directly and let us know, and we will make it right.

NON-USA CUSTOMERS
:  Same deal above,  except your packages typically have been taking about 2 weeks or so after we ship them.  We've noticed that maybe 20% of overseas customers have been waiting as long as 4+ weeks for these shipments.  The only explanation we can come up with is that it must be stuck in some container in some dock waiting on customs clearance.  It happens, and for those 20% of customers, we apologize, but there is very little we can do about that.  Your disk will arrive or we will replace it.

Multiple items purchased by the same customer may or may not be shipped in the same package, at our discretion.  We do not offer any additional discounts on multiple items other than the ones noted above.
 

Feedback Policy:

Please offer us a chance to fix any problems before leaving us negative feedback for any reason by emailing us first with your problem.  The only thing we ask from our customers is that if they have a problem, that they give us a chance to fix the problem for them before they leave bad feedback.  If negative feedback is left without any prior communication, we will assume you are no longer interested in communicating and working things out.

 

If you run into issues and wish to speak with us, we ask that you please refrain from opening a request on ebay and email us directly by asking a question first, and give us a chance to answer you before you open a request!

 

If you have any questions prior to bidding, please use contact the seller above and let us know.  Thank you!!!!!!

Copyright notice and disclaimer:

We ARE THE AUTHOR OF THIS DISK.  We have full rights to distribute this collection.  Per eBay policy, we have ownership and rights to these disks and have full legal authorization to replicate the content at our discretion without any further permission.  All of our disks and other media are copyrighted by ADVPlans, LLC, and redistribution without our consent is prohibited.  We also believe that many takedown requests on eBay originate from competitors trying to gain an unfair advantage.

Copyright © 2015, The Classic Archives, LLC.  All rights reserved. (All of our DVD Menu's are branded with our name, web address, and copyright notice to thwart piracy)


Attention eBay Staff: The book or books on this media are free from copyright per the Copyright Act of 1976.   This content of this media resides within the Public Domain as defined by the United States Copyright Office. This ad complies with all eBay rules and regulations.  Verification is available upon request.   All unique content is copyrighted by ADV Plans, LLC.