''Don't Be a Sucker'' is a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

produced by the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, ...

released in 1943, and adapted as a slightly shorter version in 1947. It has

anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

and anti-fascist themes, and was made to educate viewers about

prejudice Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...

and discrimination. The film was also made to make the case for the

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

of the

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

. It is held for preservation by the

U.S. National Archives The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

Plot

An American Freemason who has been listening to a racist and bigoted rabble-rouser, who is preaching hate speech against ethnic and religious minorities and immigrants, is warned off by a naturalized Hungarian immigrant, possibly a

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

survivor or escapee, who explains to him how such rhetoric and

demagoguery A demagogue (from Greek , a popular leader, a leader of a mob, from , people, populace, the commons + leading, leader) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, ...

allowed the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

to rise to power in

Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is als ...

, and warns Americans not to fall for similar demagoguery propagated by American racists and bigots.

In popular culture

In August 2017, the short film went viral on the internet in the aftermath of the

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...

in Charlottesville, Virginia, and various copies have been uploaded to video-sharing sites since then.

Cast

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance in the film '' Wat ...

as the Hungarian Refugee * Richard Lane as the Soapbox Orator *

Felix Bressart Felix Bressart (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1949) was a German-American actor of stage and screen. Life and career Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born in East Prussia, Germany (now part of Russia). His acting debut came in 1914 as Malvo ...

as the Anti-Nazi Teacher * Bob Bailey as Mike *

Robert Adler Robert Adler (December 4, 1913 – February 15, 2007) was an Austrian-American inventor who held numerous patents. He worked for Zenith Electronics, retiring as the company's Vice President and Director of Research. His work included developing ...

as a Listener * Chick Chandler as a Con artist * George Chandler as Sucker *

Kurt Kreuger Kurt Kreuger (July 23, 1916 – July 12, 2006) was a Swiss-reared German actor. Kreuger once was the third-most-requested male actor at 20th Century Fox. He starred with, among others, Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. Life and career Kreuger w ...

as Hans * Frank O'Connor as a Listener

Gallery

File:Don't Be a Sucker (DontBeaS1947) 00 00 00.png, 00:00:00 File:Don't Be a Sucker (DontBeaS1947) 00 17 08.png, 00:17:08 File:Don't Be a Sucker (DontBeaS1947) 00 17 14.png, 00:17:14

References

Other sources

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PDF
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External links

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''Don't Be a Sucker'' download
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

''Don't Be a Sucker'' download
by

Prelinger Archives The Prelinger Archives is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life, and social history. It was in New York City from 1982 to 2002 and is now in San Francisco. History The ...

on the

* 1943 short films 1943 films 1947 films Anti-fascist propaganda films American social guidance and drug education films United States Department of War American World War II propaganda shorts Germany–United States relations Articles containing video clips American black-and-white films American war films 1940s war films Anti-racism in the United States 1940s American films {{short-film-stub