9/10/2023 0 Comments Army signal corpThis footage was promptly returned to Washington for dissemination to military leaders. The Signal Corps had film crews deployed throughout the world shooting combat footage. Informational films were used to keep both the force and the public informed on the war’s status. The undersecretary of war said films like this counteracted any tendency on workers’ part "to take things easy" when it appeared the United States was winning later in the war. manufacturing base who directly or indirectly supported the war. Films like "The Arm Behind the Army" brought the war home to the factory worker, the farmer and the miner – to anyone within the U.S. Other Signal Corps films were intended to stimulate war production or build public confidence in the U.S. The 5th film in the Why We Fight series, “Battle for Russia,” made its Army premier at Fort Monmouth. The first in the Why We Fight series, "Prelude to War" (1942), won the Academy Award for Best Documentary feature. The films were shown not just to service members but also to civilians. They defined the enemy, taught about allies, and even provided entertainment. These successful films helped Soldiers, sailors or Marines understand why they were in uniform, how they fit into the global conflict, and how their jobs related to the jobs of other servicemen. This was the start of the Why We Fight series, one of the Signal Corps’ most famous. Within a month of the tasking, Capra and some Hollywood screenwriters had completed scripts for a number of films based on the War Department lectures. Marshall chose Capra to "make a series of documented, factual information films – the first in our history – that will explain to our boys in the Army why we are fighting, and the principles for which we are fighting." The troops found the speeches to be confusing and boring after a challenging day in basic training. The War Department believed a force that understood why it was fighting – and understood the consequences if it lost – made for a motivated and effective one.Īt the start of the war, the War Department had speakers traveling the country giving speeches designed solely for this purpose, but they were failing. The inductees needed to understand just why they were being sent to war – leaving their families and risking their lives. In addition to training films, there were morale and orientation films designed to explain the war to the new service member. Marshall, excited by the training films’ effectiveness, expanded the Signal Corps mission to include other types of products that, like the training films, would disseminate knowledge quickly and efficiently. The training films cut training time by an average of 30%. Marshall himself ordered the commissioning of Frank Capra, who later produced and directed "It’s a Wonderful Life." Other talent commissioned directly out of Hollywood included Theodor Seuss Geisel, later known as children’s book writer Dr. The quality of its early training films left much to be desired, so it drafted and commissioned many of Hollywood’s elite to ensure the films were effective. The Army recognized early in this process that they lacked trained film crews, directors and producers, and contracted with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for assistance. Frank Capra cuts Army film as a Signal Corps Reserve, circa 1943. The Signal Corps formed the Army Pictorial Service, or APS, and soon thereafter purchased a motion-picture studio on Long Island, New York.ĭuring the course of the war, the Signal Corps had other studios at places like Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and it had photographers located throughout the world. They gave the mission to produce the films to the Signal Corps. Marshall and other high-ranking officers recognized that the use of training films could speed the indoctrination and training process. When the United States entered World War II, the Army faced the daunting task of quickly and effectively training millions of civilians to be Soldiers.Īrmy Chief of Staff Gen. These included training and indoctrination films targeted at military audiences, newsreel footage and informative films designed to keep the American public informed and to boost their morale, and motivational films meant to increase and maintain a high production level by factory workers supporting the war effort. The films, which many say directly influenced the war’s outcome, covered wide-ranging topics. –The Signal Corps in World War II was responsible for producing and distributing thousands of motion-picture films.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |