This fascinating and hilarious film made in celebration of the Army Pictorial Center was produced by Jam Handy (listed as “Handy Jam” in the credits) and contains many wonderful sight and sound gags while presenting the “reel story.” (“Please excuse the long titles we need the reel credit,” a humorous title card reads at mark 00:48). The light-hearted film opens with combat footage from World War II and the sudden need for foot soldiers — and how to quickly and efficiently train them. The answer: training films. At the start of World War II, the United States Army bought Paramount’s motion picture studio in Queens, New York (shown at mark 02:45), taking over in February 1942. The studio became the Signal Corps Photographic Center, later Army Pictorial Center, home to filmmakers and still photographers who covered the war and who produced countless training films. “The army hadn’t bought a white elephant in a long time, so they decided to buy this one,” the narrator explains as the good-natured film continues.
After putting out a call for trained filmmakers, the narrator explains how candidates came from all over — on foot and by plane— as WW2-era footage of soldiers and pilots on the move are shown, “while some of the more creative and artistic types had to be drafted” and we see a scene of an induction ceremony. While some were assigned as combat photographers the “unlucky ones” with “influential relatives” were assigned to the studio. “What a blow to their morale. Everyone wanted to get into combat,” the narrator says. As the film takes a self-deprecating look at their pictures, they point to such “classics” as safe driving techniques and safe food handing onboard ships. The film also takes great pride in mocking Adolf Hitler, setting his movements to a 1960s dance mix at mark 10:12. And as a group of men are shown standing arguing on a street corner, the narrator identifies them as the center’s film editors — “always a friendly bunch.” Mark 11:25 begins a montage of “things you’ll never see in our films” — and shows a series of bloopers.
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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
