 More recently , some critics have reassessed the film positively , and it has been cited as 1943 's " great emotional drama . " Critics and scholars note that the film is a good example of the type of anti @-@ fascist films produced in America early in World War II . Kevin Starr states that the film " remains astonishing in its bold effort to shape American public opinion " , and is a film which " preaches a hard @-@ line Popular Front message . " Robert Fyne , author of The Hollywood Propaganda of World War II ( 1997 ) notes the film 's " strong warning to the American people about demagoguery , domestic fascism , and mind control , while praising the virtues of freedom of the press . " One film historian has concluded that Keeper of the Flame is " truly provocative in that it was one of Hollywood 's few forays into imagining the possibility of homegrown American Fascism and the crucial damage which can be done to individual rights when inhumane and tyrannical ideas sweep a society through a charismatic leader . " Other authors have noted that the film is different from other anti @-@ fascist films of the period in that it clearly links wealth and fascism and points out the ways in which patriotism may far too easily be turned toward fascist ends . 
