Talk:First Motion Picture Unit/workpage
The First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU) was the first unit of the United States Military to be made up entirely of motion picture personnel. It was also the title of a 1943 documentary about the unit.
Organization
In 1940, the US Army public relations office in Washington, D.C., requested Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles produce short films for educating the public about the military. Jack Warner, Gordon Hollingshead (film producer), and Owen Crump (writer) agreed and released 8 two-reel technicolor films in 1941.
FMPU was officially organized in April 1942, when USAAF General Henry H. Arnold offered Jack Warner and Owen Crump military commissions.[1] Warner and Crump assembled the unit in Culver City, California at the unused studio facilities of Hal Roach. Personnel included draft-eligible men and civilian contractors working as animators, editors, writers, production assistants and office staff, experienced film technicians and widely-known movie actors.[2] Warner returned to running his company within 6 months.[1]: 110
Films
The first FMPU film, Winning Your Wings, was completed in two weeks[3] and General Hap Arnold claimed the film helped recruit 100,000 pilots.[4]
- ^ a b Harmetz, Aljean (2002). The Making of Casablanca: BOGART, BERGMAN, AND WORLD WAR II. Hyperion. p. tbd. ISBN 0-7868-8814-8.
- ^ "Partial F.M.P.U. Filmography". First Motion Picture Unit. Magic Lantern Video & Book Store. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ^ "Hollywood's Army". The California State Military Museum. Retrieved tbd.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Warner Sperling, Cass (1998—edition 2, reprint) [tbd]. Hollywood be thy name: the Warner Brothers story (html—Google books). University Press of Kentucky. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-8131-0958-9. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
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