''Report from the Aleutians'' is a 1943 documentary

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

film produced by the

U.S. Army Signal Corps ) , colors = Orange and white , colors_label = Corps colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = ...

about the Aleutian Islands Campaign during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was directed and narrated by

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

Plot

In contrast to the other

technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

films made in the Pacific war, ''Report from the Aleutians'' has relatively little combat footage, and instead concentrates on the daily lives of the servicemen on

Adak Island Adak Island ( ale, Adaax, russian: Адак) or Father Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, Alaska, Adak, is located on the island. The isl ...

, as they live and work there while flying missions over nearby

Kiska Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...

. The film opens with a map showing the strategic importance of the island, and the thrust of the 1942 Japanese offensive into Midway and

Dutch Harbor Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942, and was one of the few sites in the United States to be subjected to aerial bombardment by a foreign power during Worl ...

. Photographs of the pilots who beat the Japanese back at Dutch Harbor are passed before the camera. "There is no monument to these men. If you want to see their monument, look around you." The American forces dug in at

, and there commenced daily bombing missions over the Japanese who had taken Kiska. The film focuses on their routine activities such as harbor patrols, messes, news boards and mail call. "Ask any pilot. He'd tell you he'd gladly fly an extra trip over Kiska to get just one letter." One pilot's crash landing is shown, and his funeral is filmed. The last twenty minutes or so of the film is taken from footage taken over a mission over Japanese positions. The monotony of the one-hour trip there is emphasized, noting that some have taken up "mental solitaire" on the way over. But at Kiska there is no lack of excitement, as several loads of bombs are dropped over the Japanese, and fire is exchanged by the tailgunner. At the end of the film the servicemen at Adak are shown rejoicing that all of their comrades have returned. Huston included shots showing the monotony of Army life, e.g. latrine digging and cigarette smoking, and Army authorities objected to the inclusion of these scenes. However, Huston fought for the inclusion of these scenes and eventually prevailed, although after a delay of a couple of months.

External links

* * * * John Huston (Twayne's Filmmakers Series), 1943 films American World War II propaganda films Films directed by John Huston Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin American aviation films Films set in Alaska Aleutian Islands campaign Aleutian Islands 1940s war films American documentary films 1943 documentary films Articles containing video clips {{WWII-documentary-film-stub