This film is notable because the narrator of this World War II era documentary short, produced for the U.S. Government’s Office of War Information, was the great Orson Welles, creator of “Citizen Kane” and “The Magnificent Ambersons”. The dramatic music and tempo are highly reminiscent of Hollywood’s “Golden Age”, as it should be, since droves of Hollywood production professionals and talent volunteered or were drafted, kickstarting the U.S. Government’s efforts to educate the public, and its own soldiers, about the war effort.
However, I’ve got mixed feelings about this one! I need to apologize for the poor video and audio quality of this screening reel. This was originally transferred to videotape 25 years ago and shows all the limitations of the technology of the time. I worry that sharing such screeners helps reinforce the expectation that archival film looks soft and low contrast, with lots of scratches. Reproduction from actual archival elements using a modern film scanner are usually contrasty and sharp, and lack the multiple scratches common to projection prints. Best of all, as a “U.S. Government work”, films like this are not subject to copyright, which means that documentary film producers can spend what they won’t need to clear rights on beautiful new transfers!
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