Talk:First Motion Picture Unit/workpage
| 18th Army Air Force Base Unit aka First Motion Picture Unit | |
|---|---|
 Credit screen | |
| Active | 1942-1945[1] |
| Country | .svg?lang=en){kind=small} United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Size | 1,110 men[2] |
| Headquarters | Hal Roach Studios, CA |
| Nickname(s) | Celluloid Commandos Hollywood Commandos |
| Motto(s) | We kill ’em with fil’m |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Jack Warner Owen Crump Paul Mantz[3] |
The First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU), officially designated the 18th Army Air Force Base Unit, was the primary film production unit of the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II, and was unique in that it was the first military unit made up entirely of professionals from the film industry. It created more than 400 films, which were notable for being informative as well as entertaining.[4][2]
First Motion Picture Unit is also the title of a 1943 self-produced documentary about the unit narrated by Ken Carpenter.[5]
Background
The US Army Air Forces (USAAF), at that time a branch of the Army, set in motion a plan to wrest control of film production from the Signal Corps.
In 1940, the US Army public relations office in Washington, D.C., requested that 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 (a writer in Warner's Short Subjects Department) agreed and released 8 two-reel technicolor films in 1941.
The first film released by Warner Bros. under USAAF contract, Winning Your Wings, was completed in two weeks[6] and General Hap Arnold claimed the film helped recruit 100,000 pilots.[7]
History
The success of Winning Your Wings created a demand for USAAF training films which proved difficult to fulfill for Warner Bros.
The USAAF First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU) was officially organized out of that core group in April, 1942, when Jack Warner took Hal Wallis (film producer) and Owen Crump to Washington, D.C., at the request of USAAF General "Hap" Arnold who offered the three of them Army Air Force commissions. Warner was made lieutenant colonel and Crump a captain but Wallis, who was then in production with Casablanca, did not accept the offer.[8] 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.[9] Warner returned to running his company within 6 months.[10]: 110
The dual mission of the unit was to (1) produce training and morale films, and (2) train combat cameramen.
First location was the Vitagraph Studios in Hollywood, and then Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, nicknamed "Fort Roach" by the men.
Film production
The first film project undertaken was a flight training film titled, Live and Learn.
Resisting Enemy Interrogation received high marks from the military community.
Animation was an important and integral component of films produced at Fort Roach.
Bombing of Japan
One of the most important assignments of the unit was to develop navigational and topographic materials to support the bombing campaign against Japan. This top secret series of films, code-named "Special Film Project 152" was, according to filmmaker Gregory Orr, "perhaps the most important and challenging effort to come from the First Motion Picture Unit." The unit was given forty days to produce the films which would be used by B-29 Superfortresses.[11]
The United States in 1944 was readying its forces in the Pacific Theatre for the final assault on the Japanese mainland. The 20th Air Force, tasked with carrying out the bombing campaign, lacked necessary information regarding flight routes and targeting data. Orr explains what the unit was expected to deliver:[11]
every landmark, check point, initial point and bomb release point... every radar center, every Japanese naval vessel in a harbor, every railroad, building and forest and rice paddies... The objects had to appear not only as seen on a clear day by the naked eye, but also as viewed by a radar screen through an overcast.
After conducting extensive research on the topography of Japan, an eighty foot by sixty foot scale model (1 foot = 1 mile) of the country was fabricated complete with mountains, buildings, railroads and the rice paddies. It also depicted clouds and fog. The films were created using a specially mounted overhead camera. The camera was motorized and could be moved in a way which simulated an airplane's flight over the model. According to the New York Sun, "the camera recorded what the crew of a B-29 would see from 30,000 feet.[12] Using the films, pilots of the 20th Air Force easily found their targets and were amazed at the level of detail and the accuracy that the unit was able to produce.[11] General Arnold said the following of the units accomplishment: "there never has been anything quite so good as this for briefing men on dangerous missions."[12]
Bomb damage in Europe
Nazi Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945. Known as V-E Day, this marked the end of the war in the European Theatre. General Arnold ordered Crump to document the extent of the damage caused by aerial bombardment. This project was code-named "Special Film Project 186." Crump and his crew, using color film, captured bomb damage inflicted on the major European cities. In addition, Crump recorded the debriefings of Nazi civilian and military personnel in Allied custody such as Herman Goerring, as well as the capture of the infamous Ohrdruf and Buchenwald concentration camps by American soldiers. Upon viewing the film of the camps for the first time, Malvin Wald recollected, "Even though it was a summer day, Reagan came out shivering—we all did. We’d never seen anything like that."[13]
Crump and his crew shot hundreds of hours of film--most of which has never been seen. The Army Air Force declined to produce and edit the footage at an estimate cost of $1 million. Special Film Project 186 has been called "the biggest color film project of World War II--and the biggest unseen film of all time."[14]
Combat camerman training
A primary function of FMPU was the training of combat cameramen. The units were based at nearby Page Military Academy. There were approximately 16 combat units, each made up of seven officers and from 20 to 30 men. They were trained to use a variety of photographic equipment and cameras and also received combat and weapons training.[2][15] The camermen were sent to every army air force base to document all aspects of the base's operations as well as aerial battle tactics and enemy airplane performance.[16] Every camerman was trained to load film into their camera under adverse conditions, and if need be, to develop it on location. Most of the aerial motion picture photography shot during World War II was due to Fort Roach alumni.
Unlike regular personnel at FMPU, combat cameramen suffered a number of casualties.[13] Alumni of the program were "highly praised and much decorated." Lt. James Bray, a camerman trained at Fort Roach was assigned to the Ninth Air Force in Cairo, Egypt. While photographing a mission he sprang into action and shot down two Messerschmitts. For his heroism he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He then returned to Fort Roach as an instructor.[16]
Life at Fort Roach
Personnel assigned to the FMPU included some of the most well known film professionals of the day. Actors such as Clark Gable, William Holden and Alan Ladd, as well as established directors including Richard Bare and John Sturges served with the unit.[11] Future president Ronald Reagan, who transferred from the Calvary Reserve, was a Captain in the unit. He was the Personnel Officer and was responsible for maintaining personnel files and orienting new recruits to the operational aspects of Fort Roach. Later he was appointed Adjutant. [2] Reagan, like the other notable actors appeared in the films produced by the unit. However to avoid distracting the audience these recognizable actors were eventually relegated to narrating the films.[13]
The unit was unique in the methods employed to obtain recruits. Many members were well into middle age and unsuitable for combat duty. Few of the men in the FMPU ever made it overseas. Due to its special mission, the unit was able to bypass the normal recruiting channels and was empowered to draft directly.[11][17] According to former unit member Howard Landres, Boot Camp was mandatory, "but it wasn’t the basic-basic."[13]
Military decorum at Fort Roach was less formal than in most units. Saluting was optional, and unit members used Christian names. Hal Roach Studios did not have a barracks, so commuting from home was commonplace. Men from out of the area were billeted at nearby Page Military Academy.[13]
Impact
Although most FMPU personnel were never assigned to combat duty, they made a significant contribution to the war effort. Air & Space/Smithsonian reported that the air superiority enjoyed by the USAAF in Europe was partly due to the training films delivered by the FMPU. The commander in chief of Germany's armed forces also noted that the role played by the film production units was decisive. After the war, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel said this of American military training: “Our major miscalculation was in underestimating their quick and complete mastery of film education.”[13] The unit's efforts did not go unnoticed by the American military. The Inspector General's office of the Department of Intelligence in an investigative report wrote:[2]
This investigating officer cannot conclude his discussion without saying something for those sincere and patriotic officers and men who have contributed so much to the excellent work of the First Motion Picture Unit. The vast majority of its personnel have succeeded in producing training and orientation films, most of which are superior by every standard of motion picture art, training and effectiveness. Men of the First Motion Picture Unit probably represent a higher civilian income bracket than would be found in any other military organization. They are proud of their work and have a right to be so. This can also be said of the Combat Camera Units.
Filmography
- Selected Warner Bros. filmography
This is a list of selected USAAF films produced by Warner Bros. prior to the formation of the FMPU.
table goes here
- Selected FMPU filmography
The growing demand for training films overwhelmed Warner Bros. and the USAAF established an inhouse production unit. The FMPU released over 300 films between 1942 and 1945. This list is representative of that output. Many of the films produced by the FMPU have been lost or destroyed.
table goes here
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
archiveswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e http://www.militarymuseum.org/1stmpu.html
- ^ http://www.oscars.org/library/collections/oralhistory/crump-owen.html
- ^ http://www.oscars.org/library/collections/oralhistory/crump-owen.html.
- ^ http://midatlanticnostalgiaconvention.com/movie-room-schedule/
- ^ "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.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Harmetz, Aljean (2002). The Making of Casablanca: BOGART, BERGMAN, AND WORLD WAR II. Hyperion. ISBN 0786888148.
- ^ "Partial F.M.P.U. Filmography". First Motion Picture Unit. Magic Lantern Video & Book Store. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Harmetzwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e http://www.gregoryorr.com/s-feature3.html
- ^ a b http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper%209/New%20York%20NY%20Sun/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201945%20Sep-Oct%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201945%20Sep-Oct%20Grayscale%20-%200483.pdf
- ^ a b c d e f http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/World-War-II-The-Movie.html?c=y&page=2
- ^ http://motionvideo.com/videos/sfp186.html
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1997-05-18/entertainment/ca-59844_1_world-war-ii
- ^ a b http://books.google.com/books?id=sbztbqOHQkQC&pg=PA54&dq=%22first+motion+picture+unit%22+filmography&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RsnAT-HYKOGsiQLG0ZXrBw&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=%22first%20motion%20picture%20unit%22%20filmography&f=true
- ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DURING+WWII%2c+STAR+SOLDIERS+DID+CELLULOID+SERVICE-a083868154