The last year of peace before
the outbreak was punctuated by the fluffing of feathers by the US. The
Army Air Force in particular needed the public to believe that the massive build
up of men and machines was needed. Enter the newsreel. In the days
before TV and the internet the American public got their news from the radio and
the talkies at the matinee. These newsreels were the truth as published by
the government and always had a purpose to support the cause.
This DVD contains numerous
newsreels and is broken down into three chapters. This trip down memory
lane starts out with the massive XB-15 deploying to Chile with medical supplies.
The XB-15 is a huge airplane and in its natural metal finish it is truly a
marvel.
Training airplanes are the
order of the day and we are treated to massive formations in the air and on the
ground. These formations are truly inspiring. Interesting to me are
some attack planes/dive bombers that I couldn’t identify, but looked like
predecessors of the Vindicator. In the same newsreel is the
“unidentified” twin boomed airplane (P-38) that just set the coast to coast
record. This airplane made by Lockheed crashes on short final. Not
the way you want to end the trip. It sure is shiny though. Another
aircraft that you see in this short is the B-18. One thing that is readily
apparent is the race to arm the air corps.
P-36s taking off from Langley
Field are colorful and painfully slow. The B-17s that are shown are very
early models and it is nice to see them flying, all shiny and polished.
More B-18s and B-17s are shown at the opening of Sacramento AAF. P-35s and
P-36s on maneuvers in Michigan show that the AAF was nowhere near being ready
for combat but the newsreels do their best to show the strength and fortitude.
There is a strange sequence
showing the XB-15 delivering a casket of a Mexican aviator back to Mexico.
The huge crowds and the whole situation are surreal with crowds rushing the
airplane and the melee that follows as they attack the crew and other Americans.
There seems to be accusations of sabotage.
Visiting dignitaries and
flyovers are the highlight of many of the newsreel. Airplanes doing the
flyovers are impressive. The early B-17s at low level and in formation is
nice. P-26s, one of my favorite airplanes, is seen in formation over New
York City. Amazing how things changed both in aviation and construction.
There are plenty of newsreels dealing with the 30th anniversary of the Army
aviation. Some of them show the historic aircraft and people such as the
early Wright Flyers and Eddie Rickenbacher. In what might have been the
earliest RC model airplane, a model is used for target practice. It is
interesting in the early plane is controlled by a rotor dial like an old phone
of the period.
Flyovers of really colorful (ok
they are in black and white) P-36s will motivate modelers. It is nice to
see the real thing doing what they did best. Roscoe Turner is shown
winning the 1936 Air Races.
OK now there are lots of things
on this DVD that you don’t see everyday. Enter the Aircuda. First
of all it isn’t a very pretty airplane and there just ain’t a lot out there
on them, but you get to see this baby fly. It isn’t as ugly in the air
and actually pretty nice looking. How about a P-37? Long and sleek
and shiny as chrome.
Part Two
This part of the DVD is full
color and not technically a 1939 feature. It is actually a 1941.
17th Pursuit Squadron America’s First Ace Dwight “Buzz” Wagner.
San Francisco to Manila and full color. Loading up the ship with items for
the defense of the Philippines it is interesting to see the clothing and the
cars of the period as they actually appeared. The Golden Gate is
impressive. Upon arrival in Manila we are treated to full color shots of
Catalinas with bright yellow wings and silver skin. P-26s lined up on the
airfield alongside some Swedish redirected P-35s. The P-35s are seen
without the wings and with a lot of panels removed. Beautiful take off
shots of the P-26s taking off with their blue fuselages, yellow wings and red
cowl rings. It is even nicer with in flight shots. The P-35s are
unique in having red, white and blue tails and Swiss markings on the wings and
fuselage. Sikorsky S-43 seaplane is shown loading up. Pan Am Clipper
docking is just like being there. I’m amazed at the clarity and the
color, which is perfect. The P-35s take on a new look with the Olive Drab
and Neutral Grey. These home movies are just glorious in their
representation of life in the Philippines in 1941. A beautiful B-17D lands
at the field in all of its aluminum glory.
Prelude to War is the third
chapter on the DVD. Filmed in black and white is a typical Frank Capra
production. This is the best version I have seen of this newsreel which
was required viewing for the soldiers, sailors and marines. Germany, Italy
and Japan are all included and why they are bad and evil. It deals with
isolationism and the inter-war year.
One thing that is readily
apparent from these newsreels is that America was not ready to go to war in
1939, nor would it be ready for a while.
The quality of this film and
the others in the Victory Films library are well worth the money. The
historical significance cannot be understated.
I highly recommended this and
all of the DVDs from Victory Films. I have not seen a bad one yet.
You can obtain your copy of this and the other great films by going to http://wademeyersart.tripod.com/id73.html
. Tell him you heard about it here.
Floyd
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