The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-09-03
= Capital
Comment
Battle Of Midway Filmed
BY Hollywood Expert
Much Persuasion Used
To Get Action Picture,
John Ford Joins NAVY
To Make Epic Film Study
BY PETER EDISON

A full scale modern war-the
Battle of Midway-has at last
been filmed in teehnieolor. II
took a Hollywood ace 10 do it
John Ford. the man who direct
ed Grapes Of Wrath" The In
former" and other prize pic
lures. He is Lieut. Com. John
Ford now. having given up
his several thousand dollars a
week salary for the navy pay
Of several thousand dollars a
year and the right TO wear a
uniform with gold braid on it.
But he has shown that actual
battle can be recorded as a mov-
ing picture, and this Battle of
Midway film will probably be
rated as one of his greatest.
Dive bombers race toward the
earth and drop their loads or
are hit by anti-aircraft guns
and crash in flames. Naval ves-
sells get hit, shells explode. men
are wounded. killed. 1t is real
war, for civilian consumption.
Commander Ford is working
out at the Department Of Ag-
rculture film laboratory. edit
ing his film. waiting for the
navy brass hats to make up
their minds as TO how it shall
be released. The navy both does
and does not want to sponsor it.
II the navy doesn't sponsor it.
maybe Office Of War Informa-
ton or somebody else will. While
the bureaucrats wrangle, the
public is being kept from what
is probably good propaganda
medicine for domestic and for
eign consumption.
Quite A Concession
The way Ford got this pic
ture makes an interesting story.
The idea of putting Ford into
the navy with a Hollywood cam
era crew was Ford's but when
he couldn't sell il TO the navy,
he sold it to Col. William Dom
cvan's old outfit, the Office Of
the Co-ordinator OF Informa-
tion. With Donovan backing.
Ford was permitted to let his
crew be enlisted in the naval
reserve.
That was supposed to be quite
4 concession, for many of the
detail didn't know an anchor
from a marlinspike, and to give
such people the rating of a
chief petty officer was against
all the rules, and supposedly
quite disrupting TO navy morale.
Also, the navy was against hav-
, ing people who were just sup
posed to take pictures and do
nothing else. What the navy
wanted was people who could
also stand watch or maybe even
swab a deck.
Finally all these objections
were overcome and the Ford
crew was mustered into service.
Playing pure bunch, Com
rnander Ford and his men got
permission to go to Midway.
When the Japs came over in
their big effort early in June,
there was the cameramen on
the Job to grind away.
In the three-day battle the
fancy sailors from Hollywood
stood around and took II. They
were put on land when the Jap
bombers came over, they rode in
American planes on bombing
missions, they worked on the
landing decks of the sirplane
carriers ana they shot" scenes
from cruisers and bsttlewagons.
A couple OF the cameras actual
~ were shot out of the hands of
the men operating them. Com
mander Ford was wounded
hit in the shoulder by a flying
fragment of concrete from an
emplacement struck by a Jap
shell.
The picture IL stark realism
Of war, but il is not without its
Hollywood touches OF pathos,
whimsy and sob stuff. When
Ford and his men got back TO
the United States, they dubbed
In a sound track with a staff
Of snnouncers TO heighten the
dramatic effects.
Hokum-But Good
When a number Of men are
wounded aboard one Of the
ships, the announcer comes IN
with comment that the men
will be rushed TO the hospital
bay. But there Is no hospital
bay, Follows a closeup. show
ing the roof SHOT off Of the hos
pital bay. and the doctors and
orderlies working away, prae-
tically unprotected.
A closeup is shown Of young
pilot, just back from a mission
The announcer oubs in COM
ment to the effect that this
looks like so and sos boy, back
in Ohio. Sure. IL Is so and SOS
hoy. and his psppy is railroad
engineer. Know the whole fam
ily we'll Ford sent = camera
man for . closeup Of pappy pull
Ing his train into the station,
and another Of his mother and
sisters.
Yeh, they're touches Of Holly
wood corn, all right but they
put over the idea that this =
everybody's war. Well, Ford
has shown il can be done. May
Be they'll let him do i again