Narrated by Lowell Thomas, this WWII propaganda newsreel purports to show previously classified footage of the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, including shots of the crippled USS Arizona. It also shows the salvage of the battleship West Virginia in Pearl Harbor. The battleship USS California, as well as USS Nevada, USS Maryland, USS Oklahoma and mine layer USS Oglala is also shown, as well as wreckage of sea planes and aircraft on Ford Island. The film also features and celebrates Al Brick, the veteran Movietone Newsreel cameraman who was at sea with the Pacific Fleet in 1940-41, and who filmed the Japanese attack. It was by all rights got the “scoop of the war” for the American press.
Fox Movietone News released this single-subject newsreel on December 7th, 1942 to celebrate the work of Brick and show the full extent of Japanese treachery to an already engaged and outraged American public. The film was then quickly mass-produced by the U.S. Government and shown far and wide for propaganda purposes as part of the Army-Navy Newsmagazine of the Screen. A short time later “Life” magazine printed frame enlargements from Brick’s film as part of its anniversary article on the subject. The film ends with footage of the U.S. fleet attacking the Japanese in the Solomon Islands.
Much of the footage shown in this film was utilized in WWII American propaganda films including John Ford’s famous “December 7th” which featured almost every shot seen in the film prior to the 5 minute mark.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
