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Auction History Result CALL TO DUTY 1sh '45  Lease from Hershenson/Allen ArchiveAn Original Vintage One-Sheet Movie Poster (1sh) (Learn More) Call to Duty, the 1946 black African-American World War II (WWII) military documentary ("The Heroic Story of the Negro Soldier"; produced by William D. Alexander) with commentary by Walter Huston. Note that this was one of three documentaries funded by the U.S. War Department immediately after World War II about black soldiers (the first two were "Teamwork" and "The Highest Tradition"). They were made by William D. Alexander, who, during the war, worked for the Office of War Information, and he and his team made more than 250 newsreels during the war, all concerning African American soldiers and sailors, and they were released under the title "All American News", and were surely shown in all-black theaters throughout the U.S. It seems extremely likely that this documentary, and the other two that Alexander made, were compiled out of the newsreels he had made during the war for All American News. This documentary had narration by Walter Huston, and we imagine the other two also had a famous name associated with them, but that is just a guess. There is remarkably little information available about this movie (or the other two documentaries, or the 250 newsreels), and also only sketchy information about what William D. Alexander did before and during the war. After World War II, Alexander moved to New York City, and founded the Associated Film Producers of Negro Motion Pictures. He also produced musical shorts, including "Jivin' in Bebop" (featuring Dizzy Gillespie), "Burlesque in Harlem", and "Open the Door, Richard". He made some feature films, including "The Fight Never Ends" and "Souls of Sin". In 1950, Alexander moved to London, where he spent 18 years making documentaries about the new African countries that emerged from the former colonies there. In 1974, he produced "The Klansman", which was a mainstream Hollywood production, and it starred O.J. Simpson, Richard Burton, and Lee Marvin, and it is one of the very few (or perhaps the only one) Hollywood movies to have been made by someone who also made all-black movies in the 1930s or 1940s. If anyone knows more about this movie, please e-mail us and we will post it here. NOTE: Click on linked names to see a biography. If you know who did the art (if any), please let us know. 
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