Victory Through Air Power (1943)

An animated documentary promoting of the soundness of strategic aerial bombing in World War II.

Directors:

James Algar, Clyde Geronimi

Writers:

Alexander de Seversky (book) (as Maj. Alexander P. Seversky), Perce Pearce (story direction)

Stars:

Alexander de Seversky, Art Baker, Billy Mitchell

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Alexander de Seversky	...	Self (as Major Alexander P. de Seversky)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Art Baker	...	Narrator (voice)
Billy Mitchell	...	Self (archive footage)

Storyline

This is a unique film in Disney Production's history. This film is essentially a propaganda film selling Major Alexander de Seversky's theories about the practical uses of long range strategic bombing. Using a combination of animation humorously telling about the development of air warfare, the film switches to the Major illustrating his ideas could win the war for the allies.

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Plot Keywords:

propaganda | big ben | 1940s | strategy | world war one | 

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Taglines:

There's a Thrill in the Air!

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Genres:

Documentary | Animation | History | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film illustrates the idea of a heavy rocket-powered bomb that could penetrate thickly reinforced bunker installations. Unlike de Seversky's proposal of a long-range bombing campaign from the Aleutian islands, this proposal inspired the British to develop such a weapon, which was called the "Disney bomb," and it saw limited use during the final phase of World War II.

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Goofs

The film claims the German's used air power to break through the Maginot line to conquer France. In reality, the German forces avoided directly engaging the Line and instead completely circumvented it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Billy Mitchell: Today, a war is very different than the last European war was. Now air power is the dominant feature of military operations. Air power can fly directly to the vital centers of an opposing state and neutralize them. It can destroy the cities, it can wreck the aqueducts, it can knock out the lines of communication, it can destroy the food supplies, and make the people helpless to resist.

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Connections

Referenced in The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics (2008)

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Soundtracks

Horst Wessel Lied
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Historical curiosity, deserving of a niche release.

Now that Disney's released the Black Cauldron and Melodytime, that leaves very few Disney films that have never been released on a home video format. In fact, it pretty much leaves this and Song of the South.

I have seen about half of the movie, in bits and pieces, because of Disney's habit of using clips from older animations in newer compilations. Chances are, if you've ever seen Disney animation showing WWII vintage fighters or bombers, you've seen a part of this film.

There's nothing terribly entertaining anymore about Victory- it's as entertaining as any other WWII-era propaganda film. But, given collectors' completist mindset, and given the historical significance of any and all war-era films, I think Disney needs to release this movie; even if it's in an extremely limited mail-order-only release. It needn't come in a clamshell, but Disney owes it to their fans to let them have the opportunity to see ALL of their work.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 July 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Vitória Pela Força Aérea

Box Office

Budget:

$788,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1