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 final reel of the film opens with Woodrow Wilson signing an order to arm all U.S. Merchant ships. Armed neutrality, 00:34. Carter, Sargent at Arms, sends a telegram through a messenger, 1:07. The Americans want war, 1:30. Woodrow Wilson and Congress sign the papers bringing America to War, 2:06. U.S. declares war, 5:00. Young U.S. soldiers head off to war, 6:30. U.S. industry prepares to equip the United States soldiers, 8:15. U.S citizens rally behind the war effort and raise $24 billion dollars, 9:20. The draft conscripts over 3 million men, 10:25. French and British troops in the trenches, 11:06. U.S. troops in training overseas, 11:44. The troops sing as they prepare to ship out overseas, 14:02. Under Admiral William Sims, the U.S. Navy is modernized and ready for war, 14:52 – they try and rid the seas of the German U-boats with the aid of the British “depth bomb”, 15:01. Ships pull out with U.S. troops, 15:57. U.S. troops arrive in Europe, 17:15. Sips are launched from shipbuilding factories at the rate of one per day, 19:00. Wendell Willkie and other future leaders joined the fight, 19:55. U.S. troops break the Hindenburg line, the last stronghold of the Germans, 21:08. In the newsroom, November 11, 1918, the news of the end of the war is received, 21:40. An Armistice had been reached, 22:06. Europe celebrates the end of the war, 23:02. Americans celebrate the coming of 1919 in peace, 24:23. This section of the movie ends, and we jump 21 years ahead to 1940, 25:32. This section of the movie opens with airplane bombers and an introduction to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, 26:12. U.S. officers collect Nazi propaganda, 27:16. Nazi propaganda film, “Baptism of Fire”, 27:27. Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer, is shown making military decisions from his railcar, 28:15. The German air force demonstrates its might in the German propaganda film, 29:17. The brutal tactics of the Blitzkrieg are demonstrated in the German propaganda film, 33:01. German soldiers are greeted by friends and admirers in the German propaganda film, 35:31. Prisoners of war, at the hands of the Germans are marched into labor battalions, 36:24. Franklin Delano Roosevelt rallies the country to war on Germany, 38:40. The U.S. armed forces rally together and head to war against Germany, 39:51. Images of Americana fill the screen, statues, churches, lighthouses, 41:45. The movie ends with an image of Plymouth Rock dated 1620, 42:11.
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
