December 7th (1943)

"Docudrama" about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and its results, the recovering of the ships, the improving of defense in Hawaii and the US efforts to beat back the ... See full summary »

Directors:

John Ford, Gregg Toland

Stars:

Walter Huston, Harry Davenport, Dana Andrews

Won 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Walter Huston	...	Uncle Sam 'U.S.'
Harry Davenport	...	Mr. 'C'
Dana Andrews	...	Ghost of US sailor killed at Pearl Harbor
Paul Hurst	...	World War I Ghost Soldier
George O'Brien	...	Single Voice of the Dead Servicemen (voice)
James Kevin McGuinness	...	Narrator (voice) (as James K. McGuiness)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Addie Allen	...	Herself
James E. Kelley	...	Himself
Mrs. James E. Kelley	...	Herself
Mrs. William J. Leight	...	Herself
William J. Leight	...	Himself
Henry L. Rosenthal	...	Himself
Mrs. Henry L. Rosenthal	...	Herself
Mrs. William H. Schick	...	Herself
William H. Schick	...	Himself

Storyline

"Docudrama" about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and its results, the recovering of the ships, the improving of defense in Hawaii and the US efforts to beat back the Japanese reinforcements.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese | hawaii | pearl harbor | japan | docudrama | 

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Genres:

Action | History | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

December 7, 1941

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Navy Department, U.S. War Department

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min 82 min (restored) 20 min (war workers') 20 min (Academy Award) 34 min (original theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Ford was brought in to re-shoot some scenes, shoot new ones and re-edit the film after the Army expressed its displeasure with the results of original director Gregg Toland.

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Crazy Credits

The War and Navy Departments, producers of the movie, are credited orally by a narrator.

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Connections

Edited into The Winds of War (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean"
Written by David T. Shaw
Arranged by Thomas A. Beckett
Played as background music often

User Reviews

Short Version: Dated recreation of the bombing of Pearl Harbor is best viewed in context of its time

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.