This is a 1940’s era, black and white movie made by RKO Radio Pictures entitled “The Ramparts We Watch”. It features a script by Robert L. Richards and Cedric R. Worth and was produced and directed by Louis de Rochemont. The film (made just before the entry of the USA into WWII) draws parallels between the First World War and the Second, and shows how the complacency of the “teen” years and the isolationism preceding WWII can lead to disastrous consequences.
This reel opens with a Zeppelin flying overhead, 00:14. Headlines show that a Zep bombs London and kills 55. This is a 1940’s era, black and white movie. The German U-boat, 00:51. Americans discuss the morality of U-boats sinking ships, 1:23. Newsrooms in the US report on the sinking of the Lusitania with 228 Americans on board, 2:30. The Germans had warned America it would sink the Lusitania in a classified ad before the attack, 3:10. Lusitania was the Queen of the great Cunard fleet. 1,200 people perish in the sinking of the Lusitania. Memorial services for the victims of the Lusitania, 5:50. Americans talk with their congressman about talking with President Woodrow Wilson about going to war, 6:40. 100 ambulances on the battlefield of France, supported by the Americans, 8:50. The Lafayette Escadrille, 9:08. Nuns and nurses are shown discussing spies, and the feeling against the Germans becomes clear, 9:50. Parades for peace line the streets in America, 11:15. Young couple discusses going to France to join the war effort, 13:16. Boys say goodbye to their parents; off to war, 13:44. The British Navy drives the Germans back in the great battle of 1916, 14:33. Woodrow Wilson can no longer ignore the growing demand for national defense, 16:02. Charles Evan Hughes runs against Woodrow Wilson in 1916, 16:12. Hughes leads by a narrow margin in the Presidential election, 17:50. The ticker tape comes in – Woodrow Wilson is re-elected, 18:27. Britain introduces the tank to the battlefield, 19:14. World War I kills 5,000 men per day. Soldiers dance with their girls overseas discussing the war, 21:18. Men in US Army ranks presenting arms, 22:08. The American flag is lowered to half mast, 23:24. Poison gas is introduced by the Germans into the First World War, 23:50. Students discuss joining the different branches of the armed services, 25:00. Pacifist songs fall out of favor with Americans, 26:27. Suspicious explosions plague the United States, the work of spies, perhaps, 27:21. Ambassador Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff is suspected by the Americans of planning sabotage, 29:00. Americans at the dinner table discuss the prospect of officially entering the war in 1917, 30:30. Man from the teletype office delivers message that a local hero has died, 31:24.
The movie points the parallel between events in those days and current happenings, is made up of clips from the Nazi picture, “Feuertaufe,” a hideous account of the German invasion of Poland. This is said to be the picture which was shown in Norway and other nations to frighten the intended victims of Nazi aggression. By a brilliant conception of Louis de Rochemont, producer of the film, non-actors were used to play the numerous roles of the townsfolk, thus imparting the illusion of photographed actuality. Through this device, the old newsreel and the fictionized story blend perfectly.
One might reasonably contend that “The Ramparts We Watch” lacks suspense, that it drags in spots. One might hold that it tells a half-truth, that it should have pursued its first purpose. But no one can say that it does not recapture a memorable and poignant phase of our national life, that it fails to remind us effectively of our vital heritage.
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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, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
