UNITED NEWS [Series Title]

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  • Title: UNITED NEWS [Series Title]
  • Film Number: UNY 86
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: Edition of US-produced wartime newsreel featuring the arrival of American nurses in China, the work of elephants for the British Army in Burma, a tribute to the Hollywood actress Carole Lombard after her death in an air crash, and fighting in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.
  • Description: Opening titles. I. ‘Headlines from the Far East!’ American Army Air Forces nurses get off a plane in China and are greeted by Chinese nurses who, the commentary sheet notes, ‘trained in America’. They board vehicles and drive off, waving to the camera. II. ‘Burma’ Indian elephants work with British engineers to haul guns into position in Burma. The elephants attempt to drag the guns and equipment. A shot of a baby elephant, described in the commentary sheet as ‘a new recruit’, is followed by further shots of the elephants pushing materials into place. III. ‘Movie Star, Killed in Line of Duty, Honoured by U.S.’ The item shows Carole Lombard collecting war bonds before her death in an air crash. 15 January 1944; crowds and photographers gather to see the S.S. Carole Lombard, a giant new Liberty ship named in her honour. Lieutenant-Commander Robert Montgomery and Captain Clark Gable, Lombard’s husband, chat. Irene Dunne smashes the bottle against the ship’s bow, watched by Clark Gable. The ship moves off, as those attending give the victory salute. IV. ‘Air and Sea Battles Mark War in Pacific’ Carriers of a United States Task Force head towards Japanese bases in the Marshall Islands. On a flight deck, a fighter plane and dive bomber are rolled into position. A map locates the Marshall Islands. Fighter planes take off just before dawn. The attack, and enemy response, is recorded from Navy cameras. The pilots return and report to the bridge. Japanese torpedo planes open fire. The commentary sheet states that ‘Eight-five enemy planes [were] destroyed in this one operation’. The map now indicates ‘New Britain’, before a more detailed map reveals Cape Gloucester, Bougainville and the Japanese base at Rabaul. Major-General Rupertus, commanding United States Marines, watches giant Liberator bombers launch the ‘softening-up’ attack. Aerial shots reveal the impact of the campaign, before warships begin firing. The Marines now prepare for action, descending into landing boats, and moving towards shore. The camera is positioned alongside them during the attack. Tanks and other vehicles come ashore. Tanks lead the way, with squads of riflemen in close formation following in their tracks. The film shows Japanese planes and vehicles destroyed and then brief shots of Japanese bodies strewn in trenches, watched by smiling Americans. The men continue through heavy rain and deep jungle, as the film highlights the sodden conditions. The commentary sheet notes that ‘heavy rains and seemingly impassable jungle streams fail to stop the Americans as they push on towards Rabaul’.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: UNY 86
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944-01
  • Production Country: United States of America
  • Production Details: United Newsreel Corporation (Production company)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: United States Army (regiment/service) Lombard, Carole (person) Gable, Clark (person) United States Merchant Marine, CAROLE LOMBARD (SS) (regiment/service) Rupertus, William Henry (person)
  • Keywords: New Britain Campaign 1943-1945, Pacific War 1941-1945, Second World War (event) Burma 1942-1945, Second World War (event) United States Home Front 1939-1945 (theme)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 728ft; Running time: approx 10 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    UNY 86

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