Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Jun 3, 2018 7:22:49 GMT
December 7th: The Movie (1943), directed by John Ford and Gregg Toland. DVR'd off of recent TCM telecast. This was the original 82-minute version.
Nice post-Attack on Pearl Harbor propaganda piece that interestingly enough was censored and/or suppressed by the U.S. Navy because they didn't like the vibe it put out. The censors cut out much of the 82 minute original, yielding a 32-minute version that was deemed acceptable for release to the public back then. Much of the complete 82-minute version of the documentary (which is what TCM aired) is devoted to examining the culture of the large Japanese population living in Hawaii. It wavers between casting dark brooding suspicions on their true loyalty, to an "aw-shucks they're just like all red-blooded Americans even if they are 'hyphenated'" The viewer is ultimately left with a sympathetic image of the Japanese residing in Hawaii.
Another portion of the film is devoted to the old war-time concept of "loose lips sink ships," in that it shows how servicemen as well as their family members were too casual with letting slip seemingly innocuous comments about military activity - comments that probably helped contribute to the wealth of intelligence the Japanese military had to assist them in preparing the attack.
Anyway, it was a very interesting documentary, and a real time capsule, even if most of the Pearl Harbor attack sequences were somewhat hokey re-creations.
Nice post-Attack on Pearl Harbor propaganda piece that interestingly enough was censored and/or suppressed by the U.S. Navy because they didn't like the vibe it put out. The censors cut out much of the 82 minute original, yielding a 32-minute version that was deemed acceptable for release to the public back then. Much of the complete 82-minute version of the documentary (which is what TCM aired) is devoted to examining the culture of the large Japanese population living in Hawaii. It wavers between casting dark brooding suspicions on their true loyalty, to an "aw-shucks they're just like all red-blooded Americans even if they are 'hyphenated'" The viewer is ultimately left with a sympathetic image of the Japanese residing in Hawaii.
Another portion of the film is devoted to the old war-time concept of "loose lips sink ships," in that it shows how servicemen as well as their family members were too casual with letting slip seemingly innocuous comments about military activity - comments that probably helped contribute to the wealth of intelligence the Japanese military had to assist them in preparing the attack.
Anyway, it was a very interesting documentary, and a real time capsule, even if most of the Pearl Harbor attack sequences were somewhat hokey re-creations.