The House I Live In (1945) watch online HD

This eleven minute film that came out toward the end of WW2 conveyed a message of religious tolerance and acceptance of people's differences.

It's notable in that it featured a young Frank Sinatra, singing two very beautiful songs, "If You Are But a Dream" and the title song. Both have rich orchestral arrangements by Alex Stordahl, one of Sinatra's favorite music directors at the time.

Earl Robinson, composer of the title song, was also noted for his "Ballad for Americans," which Paul Robeson made famous. In spite of these two nobly patriotic compositions, Robinson was one of the "blacklisted" artists (along with Robeson) by the House of Un-American Activities, which today seems ironic.

Not available on DVD or VHS at this writing, "The House I Live In" was seen on tv following a showing of Sinatra's debut film, "Higher and Higher." Although Frank's voice is lighter here than generally remembered, it still exhibits his trademark smooth lines, firm breath control and clear diction. His acting forecasts his later work, and the film makes its admirable points within a short time frame.

It's sometimes difficult to watch such self-avowed "message films" from an earlier, seemingly-simpler era without a certain degree of cynicism. The issue of racism and religious tolerance is one that has been drummed into us from an early age, and, as we've grown, teachers and authority figures have sought out less blatant yet equally-effective means of getting the message across. 'The House I Live In (1945)' is about as unsubtle as "message films" come, and Frank Sinatra seems to be treating his audience like a child – indeed, perhaps this was the point, as the short was no doubt intended primarily to influence younger film-goers. Even so, I found myself curiously affected when Sinatra launched into that sincere patriotic speech about what it really means to be an American… and I'm not even an American! Released just two months after the end of WWII, director Mervyn LeRoy greeted war-weary audiences with a message of tolerance, togetherness and, above all else, hope. The music ain't bad, either.

Fresh-faced Frank Sinatra – already a star, but not yet the superstar he'd become – opens the film in a recording studio, booming out "If You Are But a Dream" with a full orchestral accompaniment. When, between songs, Frank goes outside for a smoko, he observes a large group of kids bullying a young Jewish boy, their taunts provoked purely by his differing religion. Ol' Blue Eyes quickly puts a stop to this childish behaviour, delicately branding the bullies "Nazi werewolves" and scolding their irrational prejudice. He then earnestly and good-naturely lectures the group on the plain silliness of racial and religious discrimination, assuring them that every American culture, however it differs from our own, is still American at heart… unless, of course, you're one of those bloody "Japs." There's a hint of hypocrisy in pleading for racial tolerance while presenting one nation as the collective enemy, though you could hardly blame Hollywood for being less than enthusiastic about the plight of the Japanese in 1945.

Sinatra drives his point home with a wonderfully heartwarming rendition of "The House I Live In," which was written in 1943 by Abel Meeropol. When the songwriter first heard the song on film, he was furious that the filmmakers had completely excluded three of his verses, which he considered crucial to the message. These omissions were most likely due to time restraints, but Meeropol understandably didn't take too kindly to them, and reportedly had to be ejected from the cinema. When it was first released, 'The House I Live In' was deemed such an important short film that it won a Golden Globe for "Best Film for Promoting International Good Will" and a Honorary Oscar for all involved. In 2007, it was judged to be "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and added to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, which is how I came to hear of it. While its approach may seem a little hokey sixty years later, this film remains quite watchable thanks to a young fella named Frank Sinatra.

An RKO Short Subject.

A group of rowdy little bullies are given a lesson in tolerance by crooner Frank Sinatra, who compares America to THE HOUSE I LIVE IN.

This little film delivers a pertinent message about the evils of prejudice & bias. Sinatra is an absolute natural in front of the camera; intense & sincere, he is the perfect spokesperson for the values espoused here.

Sinatra sings ‘The House I Live In,' by Lewis Allan & Earl Robinson. This fine tune, with a solid, pro-American message, is being given something of a comeback since the horrendous events of September 11, 2001.

After Pearl Harbor, Hollywood went to war totally against the Axis. Not only did many of the stars join up or do home front service, but the output of the Studios was largely turned to the war effort. The newsreels, of course, brought the latest war news into the neighborhood theater every week. The features showcased battle stories or war related themes. Even the short subjects & cartoons were used as a quick means of spreading Allied propaganda, the boosting of morale or information dissemination. Together, Uncle Sam, the American People & Hollywood proved to be an unbeatable combination.

"The House I Live In" is a movie which everyone ought to see ... not just for its substantial entertainment value, but for its true depiction of what it means to be an American. (I came to the U.S.A. from elsewhere as an adult, so I know how precious American citizenship is.) After the world changed forever on September 11, 2001, "The House I Live In" is more relevant than ever before.

Frank Sinatra plays himself in this film. He encounters a group of street boys who are bullying another boy because they don't like his religion. Sinatra handles this issue intelligently and logically, offering some ideas that the boys haven't thought about. (For instance: What if one of your relatives got a blood transfusion from someone who has the "wrong" religion?)

To top off his argument, Sinatra sings "The House I Live In", a song which is often incorrectly identified as "What Is America to Me?" This is a good song by any standards - nice tune, pleasant lyrics - but it's also one of the most moving statements of the American identity I've ever encountered. The usual flag-waving tactics of most patriotic film are completely absent here.

Frank Sinatra was a complex man. His flaws were often displayed in public, while his virtues (such as his many philanthropic acts) were usually exercised only in private, without publicity. In "The House I Live In", Sinatra seems to exhibit his sincere belief in America's deepest values. And if it isn't sincere, then Sinatra was a better actor than he ever let on. Whatever else he may have been, Frank Sinatra was a patriotic American.

There are many excellent films, but very few truly great ones. "The House I Live In" is a great film about the greatest nation in the world.

This short subject gathered kudos from all kinds of places for its plea for religious toleration.

After a session at a recording studio Frank Sinatra leaves and comes upon a group of kids beating up on another because he was Jewish. He lectured them as only an American icon could about the meaning of prejudice and what we had just fought for against the Nazis. The meaning could not be clearer.

Both songs from this short subject were recorded and sold big for Columbia records. If You Are But A Dream and the song written for the film, The House I Live In. The latter is one of the best songs about an idealized version of America, we'd all like to strive for.

Sinatra in fact recorded The House I Live In again during the Sixties for a joint album he did for his Reprise record label. The album is now a rarity and it shouldn't be. His collaborators were Bing Crosby and Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians with the orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle.

Axel Stordahl was Sinatra's primary music conductor and arranger during the forties. When he died that position eventually fell to Nelson Riddle. Stordahl does the orchestration for the short and the Columbia record, Riddle for the Reprise record.

Sinatra aficionados and others should listen to both back to back and compare. And catch this worthwhile film whenever it is shown.

This is a very excellent movie. Although it is very short (10 minutes or so) it shows an ideal of America. Frank Sinatra used this vehicle to show his attitude toward this ideal of tolerance and understanding. It is worth seeing by just about anyone but I would especially like to see it shown to young people. It is probably too short to ever be a commercial success and I have not been able to find a VHS or DVD copy of it anywhere. I have only seen it twice and heard the complete sound track (not just the music, but the entire dialog as well) twice. I would certainly like to have it in my personal collection.

This Honorary Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning one-reeler is renowned for the participation of Frank Sinatra (then still at the beginning of his prolific and varied career) in both his musical and acting guises; he appears as himself recording a new song and then running into a number of children bullying a Jewish boy while taking a cigarette break. This leads him to lecturing them on tolerance by also crooning the title song: curiously enough, the film-makers being still in fervent anti-Japanese wartime mood (is that not in itself a racist attitude?!), he uses as example of different religious groups working in unison towards a common goal the case of the multi-ethnic crew of an Allied aircraft bombing an enemy submarine! That said, it is nicely handled all the way and never quite as sappy as it could have been – with the youths' response to the star's influence developing into a kind of adulation in much the same way The Dead End Kids did at the molding of James Cagney in ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (1938)...but, of course, Sinatra here proves a force for decency and understanding as opposed to encouraging truancy! Ironically, the screenplay was penned by Albert Maltz – soon to be one of "The Hollywood Ten", industry professionals that were infamously imprisoned for refusing to retract their presumed Communist affiliations!

FRANK SINATRA interrupts the beating of a Jewish boy in an alley outside a stage door to lecture the kids on tolerance with a message of anti-bigotry. That's the thrust of this eleven minute short on the subject of racial tolerance at a time when WWII was ending and the world was discovering the truth about Nazi concentration camps.

Sinatra gives a heartfelt, easy-going performance that was an indication of the actor he would become and sings "The House I Live In" with professional ease and charm. The film was a promotional piece that won several awards for its socially significant contribution at a time when Hollywood was confronting the war effort with everything it could muster.

It's a sincere effort at promoting religious or racial tolerance, and Sinatra should be commended for getting the message across with sympathetic treatment, although the preachy overtones may be a bit too much for some.

With all that's been happening since a new president was elected and inaugurated, I had to think "Do I live in the same country as the ones who voted for the opponent of my pick?" Still, I'd like to think that we will prevail and start getting along much better eventually despite many disagreements we have about certain things. This short, starring popular singer Frank Sinatra when he was still quite young, has him at the recording studio doing one of his trademark romantic songs before taking a break outside and encountering some kids bullying a particular one because of his religion. So that leads The Voice to lecture them on the dangers of prejudice though he also does mention a story of various creeds defeating the "Japs" (This was filmed either during or not long after World War II). But his message of Tolerance is something still worth talking about and his song "The House I Live In" is certainly still something worth warbling about especially today. With today being the Fourth of July, I just felt like revisiting this particular short to remind myself what America really is about when Frank sings of it: "The right to speak my mind out, that's America to me." Something still worth pondering about in this age of increasing divided opinions among neighbors...

Frank Sinatra starred in this odd little short from RKO that is now in the public domain. The film came out at about the same time the war ended and is a nice plea for religious tolerance.

The film begins with Sinatra on stage singing. After leaving the stage, he walks out into the alley and finds a group of kids picking on another because of his religion. Instead of yelling at the boys (or helping them for that matter), Sinatra delivers a nice civics lesson on religious toleration and equates prejudice with fascism. The kids seem to get the lesson but then, out of the blue, Sinatra begins singing a song that, frankly (get it?), kids would have hated. He had a lovely voice but unfortunately I think this detracted from the excellent message he gave to the kids about tolerance. It's a case of a good message with too much singing--even if the guy singing is Frank Sinatra. It's also an interesting curio--a nice historical piece that is often overlooked...plus it's quite touching even if it seems a bit schmaltzy.

. . . is an Un-American Menace to Society, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN teaches the young kids in its Target Audience. As with the Civil War a century before, America's very survival during World War Two depended upon Blood Transfusions. Defeating the Axis of Evil was contingent upon each and every U.S. Citizen being ready and willing to donate blood, as well as an eagerness on the part of ALL members of our Armed Forces to receive this Gift of Life when their war wounds mandated such urgent medical treatment, as "Frank S." explains to the children surrounding him. If either side (civilian or military) shirked from this Constitutional Duty, Frank informs his rapt listeners, they could look forward to the American Language being outlawed (with all subsequent conversations conducted in German, Italian, or Japanese, under the pain of Death!). However, one misguided cult appears Hell-bent--Then and Now--upon ruining Freedom for everyone else, leaving their insidious pamphlets on public lavatory floors when they're not busy pounding on residential doors early in the morning after Nurse Nancy or Rosie Riveter has worked a double shift! As Frank might sing, "There ought to be a Law . . . "

"The House I Live In" is an American live action short film from 1945, so this one is already over 70 years old. It runs for 10 minutes and even if the producers, writers and directors here are all Oscar nominees, the star is of course lead actor Frank Sinatra. It is a black-and-white film, but of course they had sound already during that time. So yeah, Sinatra is the grown-up in the center of the action here and he teaches a lesson to American kids who discriminated against a Jewish boy because of his religion. Sinatra's two stories both have military plots to them and this film is a statement in favor of freedom of religion, of course a crucial subject back then, especially when it comes to Jewery. I cannot say I am surprised the film won a Golden Globe and received a special unofficial Academy Award as well. Still there is no denying the stories seem a bit for the sake of it and random, but it's all good. The message is more important and you have to give them a thumbs-up for this emphasis on tolerance. Music's fine too, especially when Sinatra sings the title song in the end. I recommend checking this one out.

Frank Sinatra is known for his roles as a thug, a gangster, a bank robber, a murderer. He reportedly had connections to the mafia in real life. His father was, after all, Italian. What we don't think of Sinatra as is a uniter of people from different faiths.

In this short film, Sinatra sings some campy songs that should only exist in the 1940s. Between songs, he stops a gang of young boys from beating up a young Jewish boy. He encourages them to be friends with him because "religion doesn't matter" and reminds the kids when they get blood from the blood bank it comes from Jews and blacks. He also tells how Americans of different faiths have joined together to defeat the "jap menace".

Would this film work today? Probably not. But it's still enjoyable and a fun little romp in the park. If you want to learn about solidarity in the 1940s, or just love Frank Sinatra, check it out. Recommended, even if it is distributed by the Anti-Defamation League.

Best part of this 10-minute film is seeing a young, rail-thin Sinatra in the studio singing with a lush orchestra. And then he gets to show off some decent acting chops for a few minutes. But holy smokes, this is Hollywood Smug trying to spread itself across America and congratulating itself on its inclusiveness. In fact, they gave themselves an Academy Award for this little artifact. But Google the lyrics for The House I Live In Sinatra. Then Google The House I live In Robeson. The latter is remarkably well-written (by Jews later black-listed) and powerful (and sung by a black man also later black-listed). Whereas the Sinatra version has been bleached to a bland pointlessness, so anodyne and saccharine it should come with a diabetes warning. Apparently, the lyricist was outraged particularly by the deletion of the ''white and black" line. This is America (and particularly Hollywood) at its most self-congratulatory, and most cowardly (note not a single black kid in the mob of boys, either).