These raw film “dailies” are from the 1943 Clark Gable documentary film “Combat America”. Although silent, they provide some interesting insight into the making of one of the iconic propaganda films of WWII. Some of the material seen herein was utilized in the finished movie and some was not…
Combat America is a 1943 Allied propaganda film of World War II that came about through orders given to one of Hollywood’s brightest stars: “1st Lieutenant Clark Gable is hereby directed to proceed to England … for making a combat film dealing particularly with the combat phases of aerial gunnery … “.
The finished film begins with shots of aircraft flying over American mountains, with Gable narrating that this is what they are fighting for. Bob Hope also appears in the film, and the film mostly depicts 351st Bombardment Group life at RAF Polebrook. Combat footage begins three-quarters of the way into the movie and includes take off and return of aircraft. The film depicts a wall poster with target names and, for confirmed kills, swastika stickers. Footage at the end of the film includes a B-17 in an uncontrolled dive with a portion of the horizontal stabilizer missing and shoot-down of Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Intercut with the combat footage is close-up footage of machine gun firing from a B-17 waist gun port.
Gable flew five World War II combat missions from May 4-September 23, and during one of them, his shoe was struck by an anti-aircraft shell. Gable’s film crew included MGM cameraman Andrew J McIntyre; “1st Lt. Howard Voss, a sound engineer; Master Sgt. Robert Boles, a cameraman; Master Sgt. Merlin Toti, another cameraman; and 1st Lt. John Lee Mahin, a scriptwriter.
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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
