"Say what you like about those Hollywood writers of the '30s and '40s, but they were serious lefties."
Right. And after Germany invaded Russia, they sure did not mind getting politics involved in their movies. When all the lefties get behind a cause, they sure can turn the volume up, can't they?
Disney's studios, in WW II, set production records. John Ford and John Huston both directed pro-American propaganda films; Ronald Reagan and many others made propaganda movies; and virtually EVERY major actor in Hollywood was drafted (and served) or volunteered.
In my forthcoming book, "America's Victories" (Sentinel, May 2006) I detail the radical difference between Hollywood then and now. Even future lefties like Henry Fonda served, and many, many were war heroes. (Most people know that Jimmy Stewart flew B-17s, but few know that his radio operator was Walter Matthau, who won six bronze stars).