The Harvey Girls (1946)

The Harvey Girls: Directed by George Sidney. With Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Ray Bolger, Angela Lansbury. On a train trip West to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley (Judy Garland) meets a cheery crew of young women travelling out to open a “Harvey House” restaurant at a remote whistle-stop.

“Whatu0026#39;s there to say about a documentary which combines letters from soldiers in the Vietnam War with news clips and music of the day?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI saw u0026quot;Dear Americau0026quot; only once, back in 1987 as a senior in high school, yet I remember it as well as movies I saw last year. Celebrities–including Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Robert DeNiro, and Michael J. Fox–read actual letters from the soldiers fighting the war with such passion, it seemed the letters were read by their writers. But somehow, the focus stayed on the grunts who wrote the letters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe most moving and memorable was the final letter, read by Ellen Burstyn, written by a mother to the son she lost to the war. The actual letter was placed at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s been nearly 17 years since I first watched u0026quot;Dear America.u0026quot; I use the video now, a lifetime later, to teach *my* high school students about the Vietnam War.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePG13: real war footage, mild language, and brief nudity. Despite the rating, less mature middle and high schoolers might see u0026quot;Dear Americau0026quot; as just another war movie and not appreciate its importance.”