Let There Be Light (1946)
*** (out of 4)
John Huston's third and final documentary for the U.S. Army was another controversial one, which was originally banned for over thirty years as it didn't get shown to the public until 1980. It's easy to see why the film was banned because had people watched this at the end of WW2 it's doubtful very many would want to enlist. The film centers on a group of men who are psychologically scared from their time in the war. One man can't talk, one can't walk and various other psychological problems occur. A psychiatrist is used to try and cure the men as they go through a program at the Mason General Hospital in Long Island. Walter Huston does a nice job narrating the story but for the most part the patients and the doctor are the ones talking. The documentary is a very interesting one because it gives us a view of American soldiers coming back from WW2. On that ground alone this film is worth checking out but Huston does his typical nice work and really digs in deep into the material. I'm not sure how well the practice used here would hold up today but the theories being discussed are interesting to hear about. This early look at "battle shock" is certainly a nice history lesson that fans of the director will want to check out.
