Evening star., 1942-09-06
U.S.. MADE War Film Opens Here Friday

The United States Governments
first feature-length movie of the
war-a production packed with as
much excitement, poignancy and
suspense as anything Hollywood has
turned out-will open here this
week.
The World at War" will show at
the Metropolitan Theater, starting
Friday 1t is the first of a series
of productions of the Bureau of
Motion Pictures, owl.
The picture Is to be distributed to
$4,000 exhibitors throughout the
country and will be shown as a
full-length feature in movie houses
without benefit, necessarily, of
double billing with any star-studded.
superfeatures.
Last Decades Events Recorded.
The movie is record of the
events of the last 10 years of world
history. 1t has all the impact of
a rerun on nightmare and pre-
sents for the first time compact,
visual account of how we happen
to be in this war.
The movie is made up of COM
bination of newsreel shots, doeu-
mentary films from Government
files and seized German propaganda
pictures.
The history of events leading to
the war begins with scenes from
Pearl Harbor on December I and 8.
While the audience gazes on movies
of the battleship Arizona sinking
under a cloud of black smoke. the
narrator goes back to September Is,
1881, when Japan clawed Manchu-
ria out of the body of China"
From there on. step by step, the
bloody gripping story unfolds There
is the first japanese campaign in
China and movies of the futile de-
bate in the League of Nations
Then there are pictures of Italy
invading Ethiopia and Germanys
march into Austria. Pictures of the
war in Spain as the Axis practiced
for battles to come are shown.
Nazis Own Films Used.
The story of Hitlers campaigns in
Europe are told with his own propa-
ganda films. These films were
seized by our Government en- route
to South America. They were being
sent there to help intimidate the
governments of free nations as had
been done in Europe.
The Nazi propaganda vehicle has
been cleverly turned against its
makers. The scenes picturing the
German military machine slaughter
ing helpless civilians, wantonly de-
stroying Warsaw and Rotterdam are
described for what they are.
The German pictures constitute
some of the most gripping fare.
One scene was made from German
dive bomber which starts at high
altitude on its plunge toward its
objective. The earth rises swiftly
toward the camera and those who
follow the descent are almost
screaming before the plane pulls
out-followed by the roar OF ex-
ploding bombs.
There are pictures OF Dunkirk
and of the fall of France. One pa
thetic scene shows mothers packing
their children aboard vehicles in
Paris to be sent to the country "un-
til the Germans are turned back"
Russian Fighting Filmed.
When the French sign a truce
with Germany in the railroad car
at Compiegne, Hitler does little
dance of joy.
The narrator points out that in all
the fighting which the Nazis have
pictured, no German soldier re-
ceives so much as scratch. But
when the master race" runs into
the Russians-and to picture this
fighting, there are movies made
from behind the Red lines-it is
different. There are dead Germans
manned Germans and miserable
Germans. a.
Then, in the picture sequence,
comes December 7, 1941, "the day
that will live in infamy." There
are the wrecks of American Navy
ships and-perhaps an even sadder
sight-the twisted remains of dozens
of Flying Fortresses, weapons which
might have gone long way toward
stemming the Jap advance.
The narrator warns that the
scenes portrayed give us an idea of
the strength of the enemy we face.
The picture ends with an angle shot
of Americans marching, and the
sound of our soldiers heavy shoes.
No U. S. Fighters Shown.
There are no scenes in the movie
which portray American fighters in
action. 1t is known that pictures
of the battles of the Coral Sea and
the battle of Midway are in the
possession of the Government.
The picture was written and pro-
duced by Samuel Spewack of Holly
wood. The narrator is Paul Stew
art; the film editor, Gene Milford !;
the musical score by Gail Kubik
and the conductor, Alexander
| Smalleus.
The film runs for 1 hour and 6
minutes and has received highly
| favorable notices. Most of the
footage has never been shown pub
licly in this country. The scenes
were culled from thousands of feet
of newsreel and make it possible
for the first time, for a nation to
go back visually over the road that
led to war.
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