--- title: Frank SInatra's Letter on How Movies Can Make Society Better description: In 1945, Sinatra saw the potential in a film that tackled the issue of physical and mental rehabilitation for veterans. canonical: https://time.com/5671126/frank-sinatra-letter/ author: Rocky Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-01T23:41:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:10.335Z article:section: History og:title: Frank SInatra's Letter on How Movies Can Make Society Better og:description: "You've got to hit 'em right in the kisser with it" og:url: https://time.com/5671126/frank-sinatra-letter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d1ed02602234cec/698a028209208fc79641581d/sinatra.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Frank Sinatra still from The House I Live In og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Frank SInatra's Letter on How Movies Can Make Society Better twitter:description: "You've got to hit 'em right in the kisser with it" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d1ed02602234cec/698a028209208fc79641581d/sinatra.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read Frank Sinatra's 1945 Letter on Why Movies Are the 'Most Effective Weapon' Against Discrimination by [Rocky Lang](/author/rocky-lang/) and [Barbara Hall](/author/barbara-hall/) Oct 1, 2019 11:41 PM CUT  Frank Sinatra in a still from The House I Live In (1945). Frank Sinatra in a still from The House I Live In (1945).John Springer Collection/Corbis/Getty Images by [Rocky Lang](/author/rocky-lang/) and [Barbara Hall](/author/barbara-hall/) Oct 1, 2019 11:41 PM CUT _Hollywood stars, by definition, are known for their public personas, but in private communication, there’s so often something personal to be learned about even the biggest celebrities. Rocky Lang and Barbara Hall’s new book_ [Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking ](https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/letters-from-hollywood%5F9781419738098/ "undefined")_(Abrams) brings together some enlightening examples of that phenomenon. In this excerpt, Frank Sinatra — in between a cheerful greeting and a subtle reference to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “_[_The Day Is Done_](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45896/the-day-is-done "undefined")_” — opens up about his ideas on how the movies could make a difference in addressing some of America’s most pressing problems._ In this letter to Albert Maltz, [Frank Sinatra](https://time.com/3857736/frank-sinatra-civil-rights/ "undefined") praises his acclaimed screenplay for _Pride of the Marines_, which was being released just as the war in Japan was coming to an end. Maltz’s script was based on the true story of Al Schmid, a Marine who was blinded at [Guadalcanal](https://time.com/3518085/life-behind-the-picture-skull-on-a-tank-guadalcanal-1942/ "undefined") after singlehandedly killing two hundred Japanese soldiers. _Pride_ was among the first films to tackle the issue of physical and mental rehabilitation for veterans and to frankly address problems that returning soldiers might face, such as unemployment and racial and religious discrimination. The fight against bigotry was an important issue for both Maltz and Sinatra, who had recently collaborated on a short film called _The House I Live In_, in which Sinatra sings the title song in order to preach tolerance to a group of boys who are tormenting a Jewish classmate. The RKO short was released widely in theaters in November 1945 and earned a special Academy Award the following year. In 1947, Maltz was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee and later was blacklisted and imprisoned as one of the [Hollywood Ten](https://time.com/3513597/huac-hollywood-hearings/ "undefined"). In 1960, Sinatra attempted to break the blacklist by openly hiring Maltz to work with him on an adaptation of _The Execution of Private Slovik_, but Sinatra was forced to abandon the project under pressure from powerful industry and political forces.  Frank Sinatra's letter to Albert Maltz. Aug. 31, 1945. Courtesy of Frank Sinatra Enterprises My dear Albert: This is probably the first letter I’ve written anyone in quite a few moons. However, in every instance there’s an exception to the rule and in this instance, you’re it! I have just seen “Pride of the Marines” and throughout my entire chaotic existence, I have never been so emotionally moved by anything—whether it be a film, a book or a story. Honestly, Albert, I was genuinely awed. You see, you must first understand—excuse me, I know you _do_ understand—that my anxiety and interest in our social discrimination (or what have you) problems have been hungrily awaiting such valuable assistance. When I think of the tremendous amount of Americans who will see and hear and be made aware of this deplorable problem, I tell you, Albert, it’s wonderful. A thousand guys like me could talk to kids in schools and people in auditoriums for a year and we’d still only reach a small amount in comparison. Please don’t think I’m going overboard on this thing; it’s just that I’m completely convinced that the greatest, most effective weapon has suddenly come to life for the millions of bigoted, stupid, anti-everything people. I’m sure that they have read it in books and newspapers and I’m sure they’ve heard it on their radios, and I’m also sure that they have been talked to—but I tell you, Albert, this is it—just plain movies. You’ve got to hit ‘em right in the kisser with it and, baby, you really did. So there—I’ve said my piece and [unlike](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45896/the-day-is-done "undefined") the Arab and his tent and his silence, I will very loudly fold up my soap box and make a helluva lot of noise on my way out. Fondly, Frank P.S. If you haven’t already guessed how I feel—just for the record, I know that you’re the best goddam writer around. And believe me, it’s a big “around”.  Abrams _Excerpted from the new book_ [**Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking** ](https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/letters-from-hollywood%5F9781419738098/ "undefined")_(Abrams) compiled and edited by Rocky Lang and Barbara Hall. © 2019 Rocky Lang and Barbara Hall._ _Letter courtesy of Frank Sinatra Enterprises._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5671126/frank-sinatra-letter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5671126/frank-sinatra-letter/"},"headline":"Read Frank Sinatra's 1945 Letter on Why Movies Are the 'Most Effective Weapon' Against Discrimination","datePublished":"2019-10-01T23:41:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:10.335Z","description":"\"You've got to hit 'em right in the kisser with it\"","url":"https://time.com/5671126/frank-sinatra-letter/","keywords":["movies","Books","celebrity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d1ed02602234cec/698a028209208fc79641581d/sinatra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rocky Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rocky-lang/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Barbara Hall","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/barbara-hall/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d1ed02602234cec/698a028209208fc79641581d/sinatra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Frank Sinatra still from The House I Live In","caption":"Frank Sinatra still from The House I Live In","creditText":"John Springer Collection/Corbis/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5671126/frank-sinatra-letter/","name":"Read Frank Sinatra's 1945 Letter on Why Movies Are the 'Most Effective Weapon' Against Discrimination"}}]}] ```