Hollywood's Rogue Neighbor: The Argentine Film Industry During the Good Neighbor Policy, 1939-1945

• Published in: The Americas (Washington. 1944) Vol. 63; no. 2; pp. 245 - 260
• Main Author: Falicov, Tamara L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 01.10.2006
• ISSN: 0003-1615; 1533-6247
• DOI: 10.1353/tam.2006.0153

‘During World War II, the United States created a political, economic, I land cultural policy aimed at improving hemispheric relations between the U.S. and Latin America. Dubbed the “Good Neighbor Policy,” its objectives were twofold: 1) to insure that nations in Latin America were joined in the Allied war effort and were not associated with the Axis or Communist sympathizers, and 2) to allow the U.S. access to Latin America as a source of raw materials and a market for goods, including films. Because Argentina did not side with the Allies, instead preferring neutrality, it was castigated by an economic boycott. Beginning in 1941, the U.S. sold small rations of raw film stock to Argentina, and over time, refused to sell it all together. The film industry in Argentina, at the time considered the most profitable and advanced in Latin America, began to lose its hold on the Spanish-language market.