January | 2025 | The History of the Twentieth Century

The Warner Brothers studio was in fact founded by four brothers named Warner. The youngest of them, Jack L. Warner ran the studio for over forty years.

The studio released the first all-talking picture, The Jazz Singer, in 1927, and this technological breakthrough made it into one of the majors. In the Thirties, it was known primarily for its crime dramas. In the early Forties, the studio released two of the greatest American films ever made: The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca.

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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald” (“Tales from the Vienna Woods”)
Composed in 1868 by Johann Strauss II. Public domain.
Performed by The United States Air Force Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The above image, taken from a Japanese propaganda booklet of the period, depicts the Japanese occupation of East Asia as the Japanese wanted it to be perceived: The Japanese Army and Navy give Allied soldiers and ships a good thumping, while also performing acts of kindness and generosity for the happy peoples they liberated, while a glum Winston Churchill and a distraught Franklin Roosevelt look on.

The reality of the occupation was quite different. It was remarkably brutal and remains a sore spot in relations between these countries and Japan to this day.