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Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Visit our website This 1945 RKO short film “The House I Live In“ was made to oppose anti-Semitism and promote religious tolerance and ethnic harmony in the wake of WWII. It stars Frank Sinatra, who appears playing himself, and was written by Albert Maltz (who later famously was blacklisted due to his leftist leanings). In the film, Sinatra is seen taking a smoke break from a recording session. He sees a group of boys who are chasing a Jewish boy. Sinatra intervenes and gives his two cents about how all Americans should be respected, regardless of their religion, and that “one American's blood is as good as any other“. The song “The House I Live In“ originally appeared in the musical revue Let Freedom Sing, which opened on Broadway on October 5, 1942. The song lyrics were by Abel Meeropol and music by Earl Robinson. Sinatra's version went on to become a national hit. The lyrics to the song “The House I Live In“ describe the wonderful things about the United States, with images of the town grocer, butcher, and the churchyard. Here, the “house“ is a metaphor for the United States. Meeropol is also famous for writing the anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit“, which became Billie Holiday's signature song. Like Albert Maltz, Meeropol and Robinson were leftists who both ran afoul of the government in the McCarthy Era. Sinatra introduced the song in 1974 with these words: “It's a song about this great, big, wonderful, imperfect country. I say imperfect because if it were perfect it wouldn't be any fun trying to fix it, trying to make it work better, trying to make sure that everybody gets a fair shake and then some. My country is personal to me because my father, who wasn't born here, rest his soul, he made sure that I was born here. And he used to tell me when I was a kid that America was a land of dreams and a dreamland, well I don't know if our country fulfilled all of his dreams while he was alive, but tonight with all of us together for this hour, it sure fulfills my dreams. And to all of you in the country and all of you watching tonight, here's a song about a place we call home, probably the greatest nation ever put on this earth.“ We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
