Distributed by Eugene Castle’s Castle Film company, makers of sound and silent newsreels, cartoons and other novelty movies, this short film focuses on the aftermath of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the 1942 burning of the liner SS Normandie. The film begins with official U.S. Navy footage of destroyed ships, aircraft and facilities at Pearl Harbor. For reasons of national security, the film’s narration and footage are fairly vague when it comes to specific damage. The narrator expresses outrage at the Japanese attack and vows that the Japanese will also “remember Pearl Harbor” once they are defeated. At 2:50 the capsized ships USS Utah and USS Oklahoma are shown. At 3:38, famous footage of the burning USS Arizona is shown immediately after the ship was hit. At 4:16, an Arizona whaleboat is seen off the side of the sunken vessel. At 6:13, a U.S. cruiser leaves Pearl Harbor, bound for the Pacific.
At 6:40, the film shows the ill-fated SS Normandie arriving in New York City in 1935. Normandie served in the fleet of the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). At the time of her launch, she was the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat, and to this day is known as the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built. After the defeat of France in 1940, Normandie was seized by U.S. authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette. On February 9, 1942, the liner caught fire while being converted to a troopship (7:29). The ship eventually capsized. Although salvaged at great expense, restoration was deemed too costly and she was scrapped in October 1946.
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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
