1941 (1979)

Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Robert Zemeckis (screenplay), Bob Gale (screenplay),

Stars:

Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Treat Williams

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dan Aykroyd	...	Sgt. Frank Tree
Ned Beatty	...	Ward Douglas
John Belushi	...	Capt. Wild Bill Kelso
Lorraine Gary	...	Joan Douglas
Murray Hamilton	...	Claude Crumn
Christopher Lee	...	Capt. Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt
Tim Matheson	...	Capt. Loomis Birkhead
Toshirô Mifune	...	Cmdr. Akiro Mitamura (as Toshiro Mifune)
Warren Oates	...	Col. 'Madman' Maddox
Robert Stack	...	Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
Treat Williams	...	Cpl. Chuck 'Stretch' Sitarski
Nancy Allen	...	Donna Stratton
Lucille Benson	...	Gas Mama (Eloise) (as Lucille Bensen)
Jordan Brian	...	Macey Douglas
John Candy	...	Pvt. Foley

Storyline

Hysteria grips California in the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. An assorted group of defenders attempt to make the coast defensible against an imagined Japanese invasion, in this big budget, big cast comedy. Members of a Japanese submarine crew scout out the madness, along with a Captain in Germany's Kreigsmarine (Navy).

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Plot Keywords:

california | pearl harbor | captain | submarine | hollywood sign | 

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Taglines:

A Comedy Spectacular!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese German

Release Date:

14 December 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Night the Japs Attacked

Filming Locations:

Cannon Beach, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 5,051,675 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation, A-Team

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 146 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the "attack" on Hollywood scene, when Wild Bill Kelso is flying his plane through the streets of Los Angeles chasing and shooting at the trainer airplane, the soldiers move into action. Two soldiers man an anti-aircraft gun. The soldiers manning this gun, Willy and Joe, are Michael McKean and David L. Lander, who played "Lenny" and "Squiggy" in Laverne & Shirley. McKean and Lander also appeared as the TV jamming duo, Eddie and Freddie in Used Cars which was also written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale (and directed by Zemeckis).

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Goofs

When Sgt. Tree introduces himself to Ward Douglas he identifies his unit as the 10th Armored Division. This unit was not activated until July 1942, seven months after the events depicted in the film.

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Quotes

Private Foley: Now Sarge, what is the loading and firing procedure for the 75-millimeter cannon?
Sergeant Frank Tree: [delirious] There are five basic components...
Private Foley: This is it, pay attention.
Sergeant Frank Tree: ...to the new General Electric refrigerator: one, the freon compressor, two, the freon tube...

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Crazy Credits

End credits feature scenes showing cast members screaming.

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Connections

Referenced in Mighty Joe Young (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Swing, Swing, Swing"
(uncredited)
Music by Johnny Mandel
Musician: clarinet solo Abe Most

User Reviews

This film was made for 1% of the population. Happily, I'm in that 1%.

Steven Speilberg once asked a friend of mine, "Why didn't anyone like this movie?" Well, I think that I can answer that - "1941" is a gigantic in-joke. The people who are in on the joke are people who, like myself, have an oversized love and knowledge of the city of Los Angeles and it's history. I think that in the vast, world-wide movie-going public, this group probably comprises 1%. For that group, "1941" has a wonderful nostalgia value. And for the people in that 1% that have a twisted sense of humor and enjoy seeing nostalgic L.A. blown to bits, this movie really delivers. By the way, the folks with that twisted sense of humor probably account for about 1% of the original 1%.

I don't know why, but having grown up in L.A. and being an aficionado of it's history, I find it funny to see planes in a dogfight over Hollywood Blvd, the ferris wheel rolling off the end of Santa Monica Pier, and aircraft crashing into the La Brea Tarpits. But for non-locals and people unfamiliar with the paranoia that gripped Southern California in the wake of Pearl Harbor, this movie will likely seem confusing and silly. To the history buff with a twisted sense of humor (like me, proud member of the 1% of the 1%), the movie is not only amusing, but sometimes surprisingly accurate, historically. Robert Stack plays General Joseph Stillwell - a very real historical figure in L.A. history. Stack even bears a striking resemblance to the real General Stillwell. The whole movie is based upon a few real-life incidents of panicky anti-aircraft fire that occurred over L.A. in 1941/1942, as well as a Japanese sub that actually shelled an oil refinery near Santa Barbara. Like "Chinatown" (a film mistakenly thought to be an accurate account of L.A. water politics in the 1930s), "1941" borrows from real-life history and distorts it into pure fabrication. The difference is that while "Chinatown" is a noir drama, "1941" is an over-the-top comedy. Both films appeal to the historian, but as it is often said, comedy is much harder to pull off than drama. You either love "1941", or sit though it, saying, "huh?".