Heavenly Music

None of the previous reviewers seem to have put this short in historical context. It was produced and shown in 1943, when things were still going badly for us in the war. Europe was still occupied by the Fascists. The Europe of almost every composer on those risers: Beethoven, Wagner - Hitler's favorite -, Brahms, Paganini, Schubert, LIzst, etc.

And yet their place as the great masters of music is never called into question.

There is more to this short than meets the eye. MGM bothered to hire musicians who could compose versions of the American's song that are really in the styles of the various composers mentioned. A lot more work was done here than for the average short. So yes, this short didn't win that Oscar just by chance.

This is propaganda in the good sense, and that would not have been lost on moviegoers of the time.