December 7th (1943)

Thanks for the memories!

Pretty Good

Admirable film.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

For the time this was made, this is an amazing effort. While the combat sequences are not perfect, when this was made many films were still using military props that date back to World War 1. At least this one appears more current. This full length one has all the objectionable stuff that had to be cut for the award winning short version.In a way, a lot of the later versions of this story owe things to this one. Up until Tora Tora Tora, this is a better telling of the attack than other efforts. There are errors and there is some great points about the peace that existed before the attack and the Japanese Propaganda after it. There is racism, is that goes with the era this was made. People want to forget that the races stayed separate in the American Military until after World War 2. It is interesting that the film points out that the Japanese Propaganda after the attack claimed credit for sinking the US Carrier Enterprise which luckily was out at sea when the attack happened. This was wishful thinking as the American Carriers were the ships that if they had been there and sank, would have crippled the American war effort in the Pacific for months. A major error is in the morning services before the attack. The minister makes a speech saying that December 7th is the third Sunday of Advent. There is no way that is possible as that Sunday would be December 14th. Obviously the service is either staged, or shot on December 14th. There is some good factual information in this movie that makes it a good film to watch. On the 75th Anniversary of the attack in 2016, Turner Classic Movies ran this unedited version directly ahead of Tora Tora Tora, a smart thing to do as it is the best double feature describing that day. I like the touches of the censorship here on the radar equipment and some other parts that were sensitive intelligence when this movie was made.

Docudrama about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, that led to the US entering World War II. The version I have seen twice now on TCM is the unedited 82-minute version. The shorter version, which runs 34 minutes, is the one that won the Oscar for short subject documentary. The first part of the film is amusingly corny. Uncle Sam (Walter Huston) is vacationing in Hawaii, where he is interrupted by his conscience (Harry Davenport) the day before the attack. They discuss the history of Hawaii, the loyalty of Japanese-Americans, and America's complacency. From there we have the Pearl Harbor attack and the entry into the war. These scenes are a combination of stock footage and recreations shot by famed cinematographer Gregg Toland. It's not hard to differentiate between the two. Dana Andrews plays the ghost of a sailor who died at Pearl Harbor and Paul Hurst plays the ghost of a soldier who died in WWI. The credit for this film seems to go to John Ford, although it appears all he may have done is edit down Gregg Toland's longer version. I haven't read up on the film's history so I can't say for sure. I will say that very little about this screamed John Ford to me, stylistically speaking. Like I said, it's corny and maybe a little offensive if you want it to be, but I found it pretty fascinating. It's a nice window into the mindsets of Americans at the time and how they felt about these issues and events. The attack itself is excitingly recreated. WWII buffs should find a lot to chew on here. Everybody else, how you'll feel about it likely depends on the baggage you bring with you. Some will like it, some will hate it, and some will like to hate it. Hopefully most of you will find it interesting and your blood pressure will be unaffected.

December 7th, 1941 (1943) *** 1/2 (out of 4) John Ford's highly entertaining recreation of Pearl Harbor and the events after it certainly deserved the Academy Award win it received for Best Documentary Short. The film mixes recreated scenes very well with actual footage and I'd go as far to say that the battle scenes (done with models) are among the best from any war film of the period. The version I watched was the original, 34-minute theatrical version.All of Ford's WW2 shorts are worth seeking out as well as the film's done by Frank Capra during this period.

I saw the short, 34 minute, version of this film and I'm intrigued by the notion of what constitutes a documentary since so much of this film has been recreated. Essentially the story of what happened on that morning this is brief retelling of what happened, mixed with a rousing warning to the Japanese that the destruction they caused wasn't as fatal as they would have liked.I'm of mixed minds about the film. Certainly the recreation of the bombing is stunning and had I seen this film back in the 1940's I would have been floored by it since its often a great mix of almost believable Hollywood magic and real life footage. Its so good that its clear that later recreations of the attack like Tora Tora Tora and Pearl Harbor stole shots and sequences from it. Unfortunately these same films, freed of the shackles of having to be a propaganda puff piece, are more interesting to watch. We can get lost in the story and don't need to have our patriotism pumped up.Its not bad, its just more a curio that should be viewed in context of when it was made rather than as a piece of entertainment or a source of real information on the subject.Worth a look for those who want to see a snapshot of how the war was viewed during the war, or for those cine-files who want to see where later movies cribbed their shots.