After Pearl Harbor, Gregg Toland filmed a propaganda movie for the navy about the attack. The military and John Ford would reshape the 82 min film down to a 34 min short which would win the 1944 Oscar for documentary short. In recent years, the full length film is recovered and released.
Uncle Sam is eagerly promoting Hawaii as a peaceful vacation spot. Mr. C questions him and their conversation reveals the history of Japanese immigration onto the island. While Uncle Sam shows them as patriotic Americans, Mr. C counters with suspicions of their true loyalties. Uncle Sam is shown to be naive in his beliefs as Mr. C uses a false story to illustrate the disloyalty of some of the Japanese population cooperating with the Japanese Empire and the German Nazis. Uncle Sam is shown as a weak-kneed disbeliever until the attack wakes him from his sleep proving him wrong. Of all the hokey propaganda takes, the most effective is the voices from the soldiers' graves. It really makes it a war for all Americans.
The fictional espionage story reminds me of the old industrial educational films with bad acting. On the hand, the attack recreations blend very well with real footage of the attack. I can see why so much of it was cut while the leftovers would be award winning. Overall, there is great craftmanship in the battle while the preceding espionage story is poorly acted and problematic as a documentary endeavor. It does show how easily fear can be whipped by against the local Japanese population and explain the popularity of the internment decision. As a time capsule, it shows how a false narrative can easily push people into the wrong conclusions. As a film, it shows great skills in combat recreation.
Uncle Sam is eagerly promoting Hawaii as a peaceful vacation spot. Mr. C questions him and their conversation reveals the history of Japanese immigration onto the island. While Uncle Sam shows them as patriotic Americans, Mr. C counters with suspicions of their true loyalties. Uncle Sam is shown to be naive in his beliefs as Mr. C uses a false story to illustrate the disloyalty of some of the Japanese population cooperating with the Japanese Empire and the German Nazis. Uncle Sam is shown as a weak-kneed disbeliever until the attack wakes him from his sleep proving him wrong. Of all the hokey propaganda takes, the most effective is the voices from the soldiers' graves. It really makes it a war for all Americans.
The fictional espionage story reminds me of the old industrial educational films with bad acting. On the hand, the attack recreations blend very well with real footage of the attack. I can see why so much of it was cut while the leftovers would be award winning. Overall, there is great craftmanship in the battle while the preceding espionage story is poorly acted and problematic as a documentary endeavor. It does show how easily fear can be whipped by against the local Japanese population and explain the popularity of the internment decision. As a time capsule, it shows how a false narrative can easily push people into the wrong conclusions. As a film, it shows great skills in combat recreation.